James and Layla have been completing practice papers for their upcoming exams. They sat six papers, each with 50 marks.
Their mean percentages after completing five papers were:
James 60%
Layla 52%
After completing all six papers their mean percentages were equal.
On the sixth paper, James scored 24 out of 50.
Can you work out Layla’s score out of 50 on the sixth paper.
Answer:
After 5 papers, total possible marks = 50 x 5 = 250
At that point the pupils’ total marks were as follows:
James = 60% x 250 = 150
Layla = 52% x 250 = 130
After paper 6:
James total marks = 150 + 24 = 174
So Layla = 174 – 130 = 44
So Layla scored 44 on the 6th paper
(And their overall mean score for all 6 papers was 58%)