SSAT Math Question 622: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 622

3. The zoo has four times as many monkeys as lions. There are four more lions than there are zebras at the zoo. If z represents the number of zebras in the zoo, then in terms of z, how many monkeys are there in the zoo?

  • A. z + 4
  • B. z + 8
  • C. 4z
  • D. 4z + 16

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

This is a Plugging In question because there are variables in the choices and the question stem contains the phrase in terms of. Plug In a value, work through the problem to find a target answer, and then check each of the choices to see which yields the target answer. The zoo has four times as many monkeys as lions, so, for instance, Plug In 40 for the monkeys, which translates to 4 × lions, = 40, so there are 10 lions. There are four more lions than zebras, which means that 10 - 4 = 6 zebras, so z = 6. The question asks how many monkeys are there in the zoo, so the target answer is 40. Now, plug 6 into the choices for z to see which choice matches your target answer (40). Eliminate (A) because 6 + 4 = 10 is too small. Eliminate (B) because 6 + 8 = 14 is still too small. In (C), 4 × 6 = 24 is still not equal to 40, so eliminate (C). Since 4(6) + 16 = 40, keep (D). Remember to try all five choices when Plugging In, so check (E) as well. 4(6) + 4 = 28, which is too small, so eliminate (E). The correct answer is (D).

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