Answer:
The number of best sellers on the shelf are 13.333 best sellers
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is a word problem with the following specifications;
Proportion of the books, B, on the shelf that are number 1 best seller = 1/2 of B
Proportion of the books that are Number 3 book = 1/4 of (1 - 1/2) of B
Proportion of the books that are Number 2 book = 1/2 - 1/4 of (1 - 1/2) of B
Given that there are 5 copies of Number 2 book we have;
1/2 - 1/4 × (1 - 1/2) × B = 3/8 × B = 5
Which gives the number of best sellers on the shelf as B = 40/3 books
If there is a grammatical misunderstanding, we should have;
There appear to be an error in grammar as the statement maybe should have read as follows
Half of the books on he shelf are copes of the Number 1 best seller. The remainder are 1/4 copies of the Number 3 book.....
Which gives;
Proportion of the books that are Number 3 book = 1/4 of B
Proportion of the books that are Number 2 book = (1 - 1/2 - 1/4) of B
Given that there are 5 copies of Number 2 book we have;
(1 - 1/2 - 1/4) × B = 1/4 × B = 5
Which gives the number of best sellers on the shelf as B = 20 books.
