500 PS#16

Question

Hi,

I thought the answer is E) but turned out to be C)...Can anyone help me?

There were 36.000 hardback copies of a certain novel sold before the paperback version was issued. From the time the first paperback copy was sold until the last copy of the novel was sold. 9 times as many paperback copies as hardback copies were sold. If a total of 441.000 copies of the novel were sold in all, how many paperback copies were sold?
(A) 45.000
(B) 360.000
(C) 364.500
(D) 392.000
(E) 396.900

ajith · Answer

dunkin77 wrote:Hi,

I thought the answer is E) but turned out to be C)...Can anyone help me?

There were 36.000 hardback copies of a certain novel sold before the paperback version was issued. From the time the first paperback copy was sold until the last copy of the novel was sold. 9 times as many paperback copies as hardback copies were sold. If a total of 441.000 copies of the novel were sold in all, how many paperback copies were sold?
(A) 45.000
(B) 360.000
(C) 364.500
(D) 392.000
(E) 396.900

Hi dunkin77,
Let's take a look at your question.

hardback copies sold before the paperback version = 36,000
Let 'x' be the hardback copies sold after the paperback version issued then '9x' will be the paperback copies of novel sold.
Total copies sold including hardback and paperback copies = 441,000

The total copies of novel sold in all can be shown by the equation,
36,000 + x + 9x = 441,000
36,000 + 10x = 441,000
10x = 441,000 - 36,000
10x = 405,000
x = 405,000/10
x = 40,500

Number of paperback copies of novel sold = 9x = 9 x 40,500 = 364,500

Therefore, Option C is correct.

I am available if you'd like any followup.

dunkin77 · Answer

I got it - Thanks!

BTGmoderatorRO · Answer

let say x was the number of hardback copies sold from the time the first paper back copy was sold.
Then the total number of paperback copies was 9x; Hence, the total number of copies sold was (hardback) + (paperback)
(36+x) + (9x) = 441
36+x +9x =441
10x = 405
x=40.5

Therefore, from the total number of paperback copies sold was 9x = 9* 40.5 = 364.5
Hence, option C is correct :roll:

Rich.C@EMPOWERgmat.com · Answer

Hi All,

We're given a few facts to work with:
1) 36.000 hardback copies of a certain novel are sold
2) AFTER those initial hardback copies are sold, 9 TIMES as many paperback copies as hardback copies were sold.
3) TOTAL copies sold = 441,000

We're asked for the total number of paperback copies sold. This question has a built-in math 'shortcut' that you can take advantage of to avoid some of the 'math.'

To start, we have to remove the initial 36,000 hardback books from the total:
441,000 - 36,000 = 405,000

For those remaining 405,000 books, we have a ratio of paperback to hardback of 9:1 which can be thought of as 9X to 1X. With a total of 10X books, each X would represent:
X = 405,000/10 = 40,500

Since 9(40,000) = 360,000, the correct answer would have to be a little more than that. There's only one answer that 'fits.'

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

EconomistGMATTutor · Answer

dunkin77 wrote:Hi,

I thought the answer is E) but turned out to be C)...Can anyone help me?

There were 36.000 hardback copies of a certain novel sold before the paperback version was issued. From the time the first paperback copy was sold until the last copy of the novel was sold. 9 times as many paperback copies as hardback copies were sold. If a total of 441.000 copies of the novel were sold in all, how many paperback copies were sold?
(A) 45.000
(B) 360.000
(C) 364.500
(D) 392.000
(E) 396.900

Hi dunkin77,
Let's take a look at your question.

hardback copies sold before the paperback version = 36,000
Let 'x' be the hardback copies sold after the paperback version issued then '9x' will be the paperback copies of novel sold.
Total copies sold including hardback and paperback copies = 441,000

The total copies of novel sold in all can be shown by the equation,
36,000 + x + 9x = 441,000
36,000 + 10x = 441,000
10x = 441,000 - 36,000
10x = 405,000
x = 405,000/10
x = 40,500

Number of paperback copies of novel sold = 9x = 9 x 40,500 = 364,500

Therefore, Option C is correct.

I am available if you'd like any followup.

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Scott@TargetTestPrep · Answer

dunkin77 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 01, 2007 6:16 am Hi, I thought the answer is E) but turned out to be C)...Can anyone help me? There were 36.000 hardback copies of a certain novel sold before the paperback version was issued. From the time the first paperback copy was sold until the last copy of the novel was sold. 9 times as many paperback copies as hardback copies were sold. If a total of 441.000 copies of the novel were sold in all, how many paperback copies were sold? (A) 45.000 (B) 360.000 (C) 364.500 (D) 392.000 (E) 396.900 We can let x = the number of hardback novels sold after the paperback was introduced. Thus, the number of paperbacks sold is 9x. We can set up the equation: 36,000 + x + 9x = 441,000 10x = 405,000 x = 40,500 Thus, the number of paperback copies sold is 9x = 9 * 40,500 = 364,500. Answer: C

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