Since this is a ratio question, let’s draw a Ratio Box. We know the ratio for the votes for Skinner and Whitehouse, and the total number of votes cast. Fill in the total by adding the ratio (4 + 3 = 7), and then find the multiplier by seeing how many times 7 goes into 140,000 (140,000 ÷ 7 = 20,000).

The question wants to know how many votes Whitehouse received, which is 60,000, (C).

This is a hard question, so you have to stay on your toes. If the owner buys 3 pounds of each spice, that means she pays the following amounts for each spice:

cinnamon: $8 × 3 = $24

nutmeg: $9 × 3 = $27

ginger: $7 × 3 = $21

cloves: $10 × 3 = $30

So she pays a total of 24 + 27 + 21 + 30, or $102 for 12 pounds of spices. She then sells the spices per ounce, so you have to figure out first how many ounces of spices she has. If 1 pound is 16 ounces, then 12 pounds is 12 × 16, or 192 ounces. She sells all the spices at $2 per ounce, so she makes 192 × $2, or $384. To figure out her profit, subtract the amount she paid for the spices from the amount she made selling them: $384 – $102 = $282, (B).

Start by figuring out what percent of the houses do not have two-car garages. Since 60% of the houses with garages have two-car garages, 40% of the houses with garages do not have two-car garages. In other words, 40% of 80% of the houses do not have two-car garages. Translate that into  math to get ​\( \frac{40}{100} \)​ × ​\( \frac{80}{100} \)​= 0.32 or 32% of the houses. The problem tells us that 56 houses do not have two-car garages, which means 32% of the houses equals 56. Translating into math gives us ​\( \frac{32}{100} \)​ × x = 56. Solve for x, and you’ll get 175, which is (D).

Let’s try out the answers and see which one works. Start with (B). If the watchmaker made 21 watches on Tuesday, then he must have made 17 watches on Monday. We know that he should have made 16% more watches on Tuesday than on Monday, so let’s use the percent change formula ​\( \frac{difference}{original} \)​× 100 to see if we get 16%: ≈ 23.5%, which is too big. Eliminate answer choice (B). We want the 4 watches to be a smaller percent of the total, so we need a bigger total. Try a bigger answer choice, like (D). If he made 29 watches on Tuesday, then he made 25 watches on Monday. Now the percent change is ​\( \frac{4}{25} \)​ = 0.16 = 16%, which is exactly what we wanted. Therefore, (D) is your answer.