Question

Tom's salary is 150% of John's salary. John's salary is 80% of Steve's salary. What is the ratio of Steve's salary to Tom's salary?

• A. 6:5
• B. 5:4
• C. 5:6
• D. 4:5

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

To find the ratio of Steve's salary to Tom's salary, let's start by introducing variables for the salaries:

• Let Steve's salary be \(S\).
• John's salary is 80% of Steve's salary, so John's salary is \(0.8S\).
• Tom's salary is 150% of John's salary. Hence, Tom's salary is \(1.5 \times 0.8S = 1.2S\).

Now, let's determine the ratio of Steve's salary to Tom's salary:

The ratio is given by:

\(\text{Ratio} = \frac{S}{1.2S} = \frac{S/S}{1.2} = \frac{1}{1.2}\)

Converting the decimal to a fraction gives us:

\(\frac{1}{1.2} = \frac{1 \times 10}{1.2 \times 10} = \frac{10}{12}\)

Simplifying this fraction by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 2:

\(\frac{10}{12} = \frac{5}{6}\)

Thus, the ratio of Steve's salary to Tom's salary is 5:6.

Therefore, the correct answer is: 5:6.