A man distributes ₹ 165000 among his daughter, wife and son in such a manner that $\frac{1}{2}$ of the daughter's share, $\frac{1}{4}$ of the wife's share and $\frac{1}{5}$ of the son's share are equal. Find the daughter's share.
Aptitude
Ratio and Proportion
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A₹ 15000
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B₹ 30000
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C₹ 45000
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D₹ 60000
Answer
Correct Answer: ₹ 30000
Explanation
### Concept & Equating Fractional Shares
When fractions of different shares are declared equal, the standard technique is to set them all equal to a constant $k$. This allows you to express every individual's share in terms of that single variable $k$, easily yielding the underlying ratio.
$$ \text{If } \frac{A}{x} = \frac{B}{y} = \frac{C}{z}, \text{ then } A : B : C = x : y : z $$
### Step-by-Step Solution
1. **Set up the equality:**
Let the shares of the daughter, wife, and son be $D$, $W$, and $S$ respectively.
According to the problem:
$\frac{1}{2}D = \frac{1}{4}W = \frac{1}{5}S$
2. **Introduce a constant $k$:**
Let $\frac{D}{2} = \frac{W}{4} = \frac{S}{5} = k$
From this, we extract each share:
$D = 2k$
$W = 4k$
$S = 5k$
3. **Determine the ratio:**
The ratio of their shares $D : W : S$ is $2k : 4k : 5k$, which simplifies directly to $2 : 4 : 5$.
4. **Calculate the daughter's share:**
Total ratio parts = $2 + 4 + 5 = 11$.
Total amount distributed = ₹ 165000.
Daughter's share = $\frac{2}{11} \times 165000$
$165000 \div 11 = 15000$.
Daughter's share = $2 \times 15000 = 30000$.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Whenever you see "$\frac{1}{a}$ of A = $\frac{1}{b}$ of B = $\frac{1}{c}$ of C", the ratio of their shares is immediately exactly $a : b : c$. You can instantly write down the ratio $2 : 4 : 5$, sum it to $11$, divide $165000$ by $11$ to get $15000$, and multiply by $2$ to get the daughter's share. The whole problem takes less than 15 seconds.
### Common Pitfall
A common mistake is inverting the fractions to form the ratio, assuming the ratio is $\frac{1}{2} : \frac{1}{4} : \frac{1}{5}$. This would require finding an LCM and yields an entirely incorrect distribution.
### Final Answer
Therefore, the correct answer is **₹ 30000**.