Question:
Mr. Peter gave his eldest son David a bag with 1000 gold coins. David took 230 gold coins from the bag and gave the rest to his younger brothers John, Joe and Jonathan, and advised them to distribute the balance left in the bag amongst themselves in proportion to their age which together amounted to 17.5 years. After a lot of deliberation and discussion John, Joe and Jonathan came to a conclusion to distribute the gold coins. Their methodology was as follows: As often John took 4 gold coins, Joe took 3. As often John took 6 gold coins Jonathan took 7. What was the age of John, Joe and Jonathan?
Mr. Peter gave his eldest son David a bag with 1000 gold coins. David took 230 gold coins from the bag and gave the rest to his younger brothers John, Joe and Jonathan, and advised them to distribute the balance left in the bag amongst themselves in proportion to their age which together amounted to 17.5 years. After a lot of deliberation and discussion John, Joe and Jonathan came to a conclusion to distribute the gold coins. Their methodology was as follows: As often John took 4 gold coins, Joe took 3. As often John took 6 gold coins Jonathan took 7. What was the age of John, Joe and Jonathan?
Show Hint
Combine the two coin sharing rates into one ratio by matching John's number in both, then apply that same ratio to the ages.
Updated On: Jul 16, 2026
- 6 years, 4.5 years and 7 years respectively
- 5 years, 5.5 years and 7 years respectively
- 6 years, 5 years and 6.5 years respectively
- 5 years, 6.5 years and 6 years respectively
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Combine the two given coin ratios into one.
John : Joe = 4 : 3, and John : Jonathan = 6 : 7. To compare all three together, make John's number match in both ratios: multiply the first ratio by 3 to get John : Joe = 12 : 9, and multiply the second ratio by 2 to get John : Jonathan = 12 : 14. Now John's share is 12 in both, so John : Joe : Jonathan = 12 : 9 : 14.
Step 2: Check this ratio against the coin total.
David took 230 coins out of 1000, leaving 770 coins for the three brothers. The ratio parts add up to 12 + 9 + 14 = 35, and 770 divided by 35 gives 22 coins per part, so John gets 12 times 22 = 264, Joe gets 9 times 22 = 198, and Jonathan gets 14 times 22 = 308. These add back to 770, so the ratio 12 : 9 : 14 is confirmed correct.
Step 3: Apply the same ratio to their ages.
The question tells us the brothers share coins in proportion to their ages, so their ages are also in the ratio 12 : 9 : 14. Their ages together add up to 17.5 years, and 17.5 is exactly half of 35, so each brother's age is exactly half of his ratio number.
Step 4: Work out each age.
John: 12/2 = 6 years. Joe: 9/2 = 4.5 years. Jonathan: 14/2 = 7 years.
Final Answer:
John, Joe and Jonathan are 6, 4.5 and 7 years old. \[ \boxed{6,\ 4.5,\ 7 \text{ years}} \]
John : Joe = 4 : 3, and John : Jonathan = 6 : 7. To compare all three together, make John's number match in both ratios: multiply the first ratio by 3 to get John : Joe = 12 : 9, and multiply the second ratio by 2 to get John : Jonathan = 12 : 14. Now John's share is 12 in both, so John : Joe : Jonathan = 12 : 9 : 14.
Step 2: Check this ratio against the coin total.
David took 230 coins out of 1000, leaving 770 coins for the three brothers. The ratio parts add up to 12 + 9 + 14 = 35, and 770 divided by 35 gives 22 coins per part, so John gets 12 times 22 = 264, Joe gets 9 times 22 = 198, and Jonathan gets 14 times 22 = 308. These add back to 770, so the ratio 12 : 9 : 14 is confirmed correct.
Step 3: Apply the same ratio to their ages.
The question tells us the brothers share coins in proportion to their ages, so their ages are also in the ratio 12 : 9 : 14. Their ages together add up to 17.5 years, and 17.5 is exactly half of 35, so each brother's age is exactly half of his ratio number.
Step 4: Work out each age.
John: 12/2 = 6 years. Joe: 9/2 = 4.5 years. Jonathan: 14/2 = 7 years.
Final Answer:
John, Joe and Jonathan are 6, 4.5 and 7 years old. \[ \boxed{6,\ 4.5,\ 7 \text{ years}} \]
Was this answer helpful?
0
0
Top SNAP Logical Reasoning Questions
- Four children A, B, C and D are having some chocolates each.
A gives B as many as he already has, he gives C twice of what C already has and he gives D thrice of what D already has.
Now, D gives (\(\frac 18\))th of his own chocolates to B.
Then A gives 10% chocolates he now owns to C and 20% to B.
Finally, all of them have 35 chocolates each. What is the original number of chocolates each had in the beginning? - There are two similar figures below with some numbers. The left one is complete where as one number is missing in the right one. Find a suitable number to fill in place of the question mark.
- Complete the following series by replacing the ?
TBLD, VEPI, XHTN, ? - In a cricket team, three batsmen Ricky, Sachin and Brian are the top three run-scorers in any order. Each of them gives two replies to any question, one of which is true and the other is false, again, in any order. When asked about who the top scorer was, following were the replies they gave:
Sachin : I got the top score. Ricky was second.
Brian : I got the top score. Sachin was second.
Ricky : I got the top score. Sachin was third.
Which of the following is the correct order of batsmen who got the top score, second best and third best score respectively? - 60 employees in an office were asked about their preference for tea and coffee. It was observed that for every 3 people who prefer tea, there are 2 who prefer coffee. For every 6 people who prefer tea, there are 2 who drink both of tea and coffee. The number of people who drink both is the same as those who drink neither.
How many people drink both tea and coffee?
View More Questions
Top SNAP Problems on Ages Questions
Top SNAP Questions
- In a retail outlet, the average revenue was Rs.10,000 per day over a 30 day period. During this period, the average revenue on weekends (total 8 days) was Rs. 20,000 per day. What was the average daily revenue on weekdays?
- Two different prime numbers X and Y, both are greater than 2, then which of the following must be true?
- It takes 6 hours for pump A, used alone, to fill a tank of water. Pump B alone takes 8 hours to fill the same tank. A, B and another pump C all together fill the tank in 2 hours. How long would pump C take, used alone, to fill the tank?
- A swimming pool can be filled by pipe A in 3 hours and by pipe B in 6 hours, each pump working on its own. At 9 am, pump A is started. At what time will the swimming pool be filled if pump B is started at 10 am?
- The sum of prime numbers that are greater than 60, but less than 70 is :
View More Questions