HMMT-Nov 2017 guts, Problem 10

Compute $\frac{x}{w}$ if $w \neq 0$ and $\frac{x+6 y-3 z}{-3 x+4 w}=\frac{-2 y+z}{x-w}=\frac{2}{3}$.

Solution: We have $x+6 y-3 z=\frac{2}{3}(-3 x+4 w)$ and $-2 y+z=\frac{2}{3}(x-w)$, so \[ \frac{x}{w}=\frac{(x+6 y-3 z)+3(-2 y+z)}{(-3 x+4 w)+3(x-w)}=\frac{\frac{2}{3}(-3 x+4 w)+3 \cdot \frac{2}{3}(x-w)}{(-3 x+4 w)+3(x-w)}=\frac{\frac{2}{3}[(-3 x+4 w)+3(x-w)]}{(-3 x+4 w)+3(x-w)}=\frac{2}{3} \] $\fbox{\frac{2}{3}}$.

Answer: \frac{2}{3}