2014-05-21 09:00:05

At Taft High School, 140 students tried out for the school musical. 30% of all students got parts in the musical, and 2/3 of the boys who tried out got parts. If twice as many girls as boys got roles in the musical, how many girls auditioned?

(A) 21
(B) 23.5
(C)  42
(D) 119
(E) 121

The correct answer is D

Explanation: Start by finding out the number of students who got roles. If 30% of 140 students got parts, then 140 x .3, or 42, students got roles. Since twice as many girls as boys got parts, 2/3 of the cast is girls. 2/3 of 42 is 28, so 14 boys and 28 girls got roles. 14 boys represents the 2/3 of boys who got parts, so 21 must have auditioned (as 14/.6666 is 21). Finally, the question asks for the number of girls who auditioned, which must be 140 - 121, or 119.