<PRE><B>Question 1182797</B>
&lt;br&gt;
The number you can buy for sh.200 is 200 divided by the price.&lt;br&gt;
The new price is sh.5 more than the old, so&lt;br&gt;
let x = old price
then x+5 = new price&lt;br&gt;
The number you can buy at the new price is 2 less than the number you could buy at the old price:&lt;br&gt;
{{{200/(x+5) = 200/x-2}}}&lt;br&gt;
Multiply everything by the least common denominator to clear fractions:&lt;br&gt;
{{{200(x)=200(x+5)-2(x(x+5))}}}
{{{200x = 200x+1000-2x^2-10x}}}
{{{2x^2+10x-1000 = 0}}}
{{{x^2+5x-500 = 0}}}
{{{(x+25)(x-20) = 0}}}&lt;br&gt;
x=-25 or x=20; obviously the negative number makes no sense in the problem, so x=20.&lt;br&gt;
The problem asks for the &quot;current&quot; (new) price, which is x+5=25.&lt;br&gt;
ANSWER: The current price is sh.25.&lt;br&gt;
Knowing how to solve the problem using formal algebra is important.  But if this is a question on a competitive math exam, it&#39;s much faster to solve the problem informally.&lt;br&gt;
To do that, write out (on paper if needed; or just in your mind) a list of all the pairs of positive integers whose product is 200; then look for two of those pairs in which one of the numbers differs by 2 and the other differs by 5.&lt;br&gt;
1 * 200
2 * 100
4 * 50
5 * 40
8 * 25
10 * 20&lt;br&gt;
Look at the last two pairs.  The 8 and 10 differ by 2; the 25 and 20 differ by 5.&lt;br&gt;
That gives you your answer.  For sh.200, you can buy 8 of the items at sh.25 each or 10 of them at sh.20 each.  So the current price, at which you can buy 2 fewer of the items than before, is sh.25.&lt;br&gt;
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