Question

The sum of two numbers is 20 and the difference of the squares of those numbers is 80. Find the ratio of the bigger to the smaller numbers?

• A. 7 : 3
• B. 3 : 2
• C. 3 : 1
• D. 5 : 1

Answer 1

Answer:

B. 3 : 2

x^2 – y^2 = (x + y) (x – y) x + y = 20 x^2 – y^2 = 80 (x – y) = 4 x = 12, y = 8 Required ratio = 12 : 8 = 3 : 2