Question

The sum of the numerator and denominator of a fraction is 12. If the denominator is increased by 3, the fraction becomes 1/2. Find the fraction.

Answer 1

Let the numerator and denominator of the fraction be x and y respectively. Then the fraction is

The sum of the numerator and denominator of the fraction is 12. Thus, we have

If the denominator is increased by 3, the fraction becomes. Thus, we have

So, we have two equations

Here x and y are unknowns. We have to solve the above equations for x and y.

By using cross-multiplication, we have

Hence, the fraction is.