Q. A craftsman sold his identical handcrafted items at a profit of 20 percent. Had he charged 20 percent more per item, his profit per item would have been $9.6 more. What price did he charge, in dollars, for each item?
A. 24
B. 28.8
C. 40
D. 48
E. 57.6
Percentage problem
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- Jay@ManhattanReview
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Say the selling price be $X.Joy Shaha wrote:Q. A craftsman sold his identical handcrafted items at a profit of 20 percent. Had he charged 20 percent more per item, his profit per item would have been $9.6 more. What price did he charge, in dollars, for each item?
A. 24
B. 28.8
C. 40
D. 48
E. 57.6
Thus, the increased profit = 20% of X = 0.2X = 9.6
=> X = 9.6/0.2 = $48.
He charged [spoiler]$48[/spoiler] per item.
Answer: D
-Jay
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Hi Joy Shaha,
What is the source of this question? I asked because it's poorly-worded and isn't designed in proper GMAT "style." The first sentence actually has little bearing on the prompt - other than to state that the current 'sell price' of an item leads to a profit (the 20% is a non-factor). The question essentially asks "which price, if increased by 20%, would give us an extra $9.60 in profit?"
You can TEST THE ANSWERS here, or do a bit of rounding (20% of what number is 'approximately 10') and you'll get the correct answer without too much trouble.
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
What is the source of this question? I asked because it's poorly-worded and isn't designed in proper GMAT "style." The first sentence actually has little bearing on the prompt - other than to state that the current 'sell price' of an item leads to a profit (the 20% is a non-factor). The question essentially asks "which price, if increased by 20%, would give us an extra $9.60 in profit?"
You can TEST THE ANSWERS here, or do a bit of rounding (20% of what number is 'approximately 10') and you'll get the correct answer without too much trouble.
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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The wording is fine.
Let's say the cost to the craftsman is c. Then we've got
Normal price = c + .2c = 1.2c
Hypothetical price = 1.2c + .2*1.2c = 1.44c
We're told that hypothetical - normal = $9.60, so
1.44c - 1.2c = $9.60
.24c = $9.60
24c = $960
c = $40
That's the cost, so the normal price is 1.2c, or 1.2 * $40 = $48.
Let's say the cost to the craftsman is c. Then we've got
Normal price = c + .2c = 1.2c
Hypothetical price = 1.2c + .2*1.2c = 1.44c
We're told that hypothetical - normal = $9.60, so
1.44c - 1.2c = $9.60
.24c = $9.60
24c = $960
c = $40
That's the cost, so the normal price is 1.2c, or 1.2 * $40 = $48.
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- ceilidh.erickson
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Just because the question is solvable doesn't mean that the wording is "fine." I'm with Rich - wording that is confusing or misleading won't help students to do well on test day!
Joy, what is the source of this question?
Joy, what is the source of this question?
Ceilidh Erickson
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EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
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We can let r = revenue (or sale price) and c = cost.Joy Shaha wrote:Q. A craftsman sold his identical handcrafted items at a profit of 20 percent. Had he charged 20 percent more per item, his profit per item would have been $9.6 more. What price did he charge, in dollars, for each item?
A. 24
B. 28.8
C. 40
D. 48
E. 57.6
Since profit = revenue - cost, his (original) profit would be (r - c). We are given that had the craftsman charged 20 percent more per item, his profit would have been $9.60 more. His new profit would be (1.2r - c), or (r - c + 9.6). Therefore:
1.2r - c = r - c + 9.6
0.2r = 9.6
2r = 96
r = 48
Answer: D
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What's confusing or misleading about it? Not seeing that.ceilidh.erickson wrote:Just because the question is solvable doesn't mean that the wording is "fine." I'm with Rich - wording that is confusing or misleading won't help students to do well on test day!