A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax...

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BTGmoderatorLU: Moderator; Posts: 2505; Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:50 pm; Followed by:6 members

A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax...

by BTGmoderatorLU » Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:15 am

A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

The OA is B.

I'm really confused with this PS question. Experts, any suggestion about how to solve it? Thanks in advance.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:15 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; Followed by:1268 members; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:00 am

LUANDATO wrote:A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

10% tip
Tip = 10% of $35.50 = $3.55
TOTAL AMOUNT = $35.50 + $3.55 = $39.05

15% tip
Tip = 15% of $35.50 â‰ˆ $3.55 + $1.77 â‰ˆ $5.32
TOTAL AMOUNT â‰ˆ $35.50 + $5.32 = $40.82

So, the TOTAL cost will be between $39.05 and $40.82

Only answer choice B meets this requirement

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8085; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times; Followed by:29 members

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:41 am

BTGmoderatorLU wrote:A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

The OA is B.

I'm really confused with this PS question. Experts, any suggestion about how to solve it? Thanks in advance.

We can determine the lower end and the upper end of the meal cost plus the tip. The lower end is the meal cost plus 10% tip:

35.50 + 0.1(35.50) = 35.50 + 3.55 = $39.05

The upper end is the meal cost plus 15% tip:

35.50 + 0.15(35.50) = 35.50 + 5.33 = $40.83

Thus, the total amount paid is between $39 and $41.

Answer: B

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