A library contains 3 times as many fiction as non fiction books.
In the library are twice as many non fiction as fiction books.
Only one of these two statements can be true.
You missed a bit. Twice as many non-fiction as fiction, AFTER 120 Fiction and 24 Non fiction had been borrowed.
pedantic
pɪˈdantɪk/
adjective
- excessively concerned with minor details or rules; overscrupulous.
"his analyses are careful and even painstaking, but never pedantic"
3n=fI think you win the prize : bravo !
But please post your calculation.
No I didn't IMO. "A Library Contains" is in the present. It therefore contains that ratio of books right now - regardless of what is out on loan.
"In the library are twice as many non fiction as fiction books." is also in the present tense. Only one can be correct.
If the first sentence had read "A library contains...when full" then I would not have needed to suggest this.
Not in the slightest. If someone is going to post a mathematical teaser then they should at least get the premises right.
3n=f
f-120=2(n-24)
Hence
3n-120=2n-48
Hence n=72, f=216, total equals 288.
Smart-Ass This was mine
But you didn't quote the original sentences, you missed, ""Left in the library are twice as many non fiction as fiction books." (96 & 48 in this instance). I understood it perfectly - I just think you are in the wrong thread