And so the answer is (E).
PICK NUMBERS
When the answer choices are algebraic expressions, it is often quickest
to pick numbers for the unknowns, plug those numbers into the stem
and see what you get, and then plug those same numbers into the
answer choices to find matches.Warning: When you pick numbers, you have to check all the answer
choices. Sometimes more than one works with the number(s) you
pick, in which case you have to pick numbers again.The direct way to do this question is the algebraic way. But as you can see, the
algebra is quite convoluted, and the matter of the different r’s can be
confusing. There’s another, less sophisticated way to do this question—pick
numbers. All the given measures are in terms of x, and all the answer choices
are in terms of x, so to make things simpler, you could just pick a number for x,
plug it into the question, and see what you get. Pick a number that’s easy to