11 Plus Exams Forum

Please could someone shed some light in working out Question 30 on paper 3 in the pack.

Sean, Michelle, Jack, Joe and Katie each have a paper round.
Katie earns the most, exactly twice as much as Michelle.
Sean earns £8 per week.
Jack and Joe earn the same as each other: £3 less than Katie.
Michelle is the lowest paid child.
WHich statement is true ?

A - Katie earns £20 per week
B - Michelle earns £3.50 per week
C - Jack earns more than Joe
D - Sean earns less than Michelle
E - Jack earns £9

Please can someone explain the best way of working these ones out. Much appreciated !

I am sure someone more expert will have better advice, but hope this helps for now. My advice to my DC's on these have always been 'stick to what you know is a fact' and see if there is an obvious statement which is true, then its a process of elimination. Cant be 'C' as Jack and Joe earn the same, cant be 'D' as Michelle earns the lowest. Cant be 'A' as that would mean Michelle earns £10 (not the lowest), cant be 'B' as that would mean Katie earns £7 (not the highest) got to be 'E'.

Stocky, thanks for a prompt reply. I'll go through this and hopefully the peeny will drop with me....at some point !
Thanks again

It is just practice I found - my DD was a whizz once she'd tackled a few.

Drat - I just typed a really long explanation and it has vanished!

The key is to take every scrap of information and create a rough diagram of earnings in descending order, which might look like this for this question:

K - most, 2xM

S?? - £8.00

Ja & Jo - same

S?? - £8.00

M - (Assume) £7.50.

The rest follows from there. Note that only initials are used, two letters where necessary. No fancy lines or grids, just quick notes.

E can be wrong as well, if Jack has £9 which means 9x2+3=21 (Katie earned), but it is impossible to be the twice of Mikes earning. As M is the lowest earning must below £9. I hope it does not confuse you. Quin

You've really got me thinking now. Will need to revisit these with DS. Thanks for your help

I'm sorry to take issue with your first post, Quin, but it doesn't make sense.

qinrun wrote:E can be wrong as well, if Jack has £9 which means 9x2+3=21 (Katie earned),

The statement in the question is that "Jack & Joe earn the same as each other: £3.00 less than Katie". If Jack earns £9.00 then Katie earns £12.00. It is not "Jack plus Joe +£3.00".

but it is impossible to be the twice of Mikes earning. As M is the lowest earning must below £9. I hope it does not confuse you. Quin

Michelle (not Mike) is the lowest earning and must therefore be below the figure of £8.00 earned by Sean.

The question asks for the only statement that could be true. A - D cannot be true, and therefore E remains as the only one that could be true.

I agree with E. Roughly the same working out as Stocky.

My DD was told to always leave these until last because they take far longer than any other type.
You could get 5 other Qs done in the time one of these takes.
As far as I know they are not worth extra marks - so don't waste time that could be earning extra points, do them last if your DC has time to spare.

Its process of elimination.

Facts first...

S - £8
M - Lowest paid
Ja- Same as Joe - £3 less than Katie
Jo- Same as Jack - £3 less than Katie
K- The most [2 x Mi]

A – Katie earns £20 = No because that would mean Mi would have £10 but she cannot as she is the lowest paid £10 is more than £8.

B – Michelle earns £3.50 = No because that would mean Katie earns £7 and she is the highest paid.

C – Jack earns more than Joe = Definite No as we know they earn the same.

D – Sean earns less than Michelle = Definite No because we know Michelle is the lowest paid.

E – Jack earns £9 = Bingo!

If Jack earns £9 that means Katie earns £12 [the most] and Michelle earns £6 [the least]

Patricia