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Today Puzzle #523

Puzzle No. 523 – Monday 15 July

Tonight sees the return of University Challenge with Jeremy Paxman hosting the University of Lancaster and Glasgow University. The losing team scores two thirds the number of points of the winning team's total. Assuming the cumulative score between both teams was 300, how much did the winning and losing teams score?

Today’s #PuzzleForToday has been set by Bobby Seagull, a school Maths teacher and Cambridge University Doctorate student.

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Winning team = 180 points

Losing team = 120 points

You can use trial and improvement, or set up an algebraic equation. Let Winning team = x points. Losing team = 2/3 x

Total score = x + 2/3 x = 5/3x

5/3x = 300

x = 180

Therefore losing team = 2/3 x 180 = 120

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