im having problems with these word problems.

Question

A bill is sent to the President of the United States when it has passed both houses of
Congress. A majority vote in both the House of Representatives (435 members) and the
Senate (100 members) is needed for the bill to be passed on to the President. The majority
vote is a majority of the members present, as long as more than one-half of all the members
are present. More than one-half of the members makes up what is called a quorum.
Once the bill comes to him, the President may either sign the bill, making it a law,
or he can veto the bill. His veto sends the bill back to Congress.
Congress can still make the bill a law by overriding the Presidential veto. To over
ride the veto,2/3 of the members of each legislative body must vote to override it. Again,
this is 2/3of a quorum of members.
1. Assume that 420 members of the House are available to vote. How many votes are
necessary to make up a majority, which is anything over1/2 ?
2. If 90 members of the Senate are available to vote, how many votes would constitute a
majority?
3. How many votes from a group of 420 members of the House would be necessary to
overturn a veto?
4. How many votes from a group of 90 members of the Senate would be necessary to
overturn a veto?

Answer 1

1. Assume that 420 members of the House are available to vote. How many votes are
necessary to make up a majority, which is anything over1/2 ?
(1/2)*420 = 210. So 211 would constitute a majority.
2. If 90 members of the Senate are available to vote, how many votes would constitute a
majority?
(1/2)*90 = 45 so 45+1=46 would be a majority.
3. How many votes from a group of 420 members of the House would be necessary to
overturn a veto?
Now that you see how these are done, I will leave 3 and 4 for you. Note that the problem tells you that it must be 2/3 of those present.
4. How many votes from a group of 90 members of the Senate would be necessary to
overturn a veto?

Answer 2

Thsmk you so much!

Answer 3

so would i then take 420 and divide that by 2.3 =182.61

Answer 4

No, you want (2/3)*420. Note that the problem says 2/3 of the members present. "Of" means times, so (2/3) times 420

Answer 5

420 / 3 = 140 (which i one third)
you want two thirds so x the answer by 2
140 x 2 = 280.

-facepalms.