There are 59 students in a certain class. The number of females is 5 less than three times the number of males. Find the number of females and the number of males in the class.
A) 16 males and 43 females
B) 44 males and 17 females
C) 43 males and 16 females
D) 44 males and 16 females
E) 17 males and 44 females

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Let the number of males be $m$ and the number of females be $f$. According to the problem, $f = 3m - 5$ and $m + f = 59$. Substituting the first equation into the second gives $m + 3m - 5 = 59$, which simplifies to $4m = 64$, so $m = 16$. Then, $f = 3(16) - 5 = 43$. Therefore, there are 16 males and 43 females.

There Are 59 Students in a Certain Class