BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Arithmetic

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 344
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:21 am
Thanked: 1 times
Followed by:2 members

Arithmetic

by sud21 » Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:05 pm
Four friends, Charles, Mike, Brian, and John, went on a shopping trip. If Mike spent $400 more than Brian did, John spent $1200 less than Charles did, and Charles spent $400 more than Mike did, how many more dollars did Brian spend than John did?

a)$400

b)$600

c)$800

d)$1000

e)$1200
Top
Source: — Problem Solving |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1100
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:34 pm
Location: New Delhi, India
Thanked: 205 times
Followed by:24 members

by GMATinsight » Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:44 pm
sud21 wrote:Four friends, Charles, Mike, Brian, and John, went on a shopping trip. If Mike spent $400 more than Brian did, John spent $1200 less than Charles did, and Charles spent $400 more than Mike did, how many more dollars did Brian spend than John did?

a)$400

b)$600

c)$800

d)$1000

e)$1200
Let, Amounts of Money spent by Four friends, Charles, Mike, Brian, and John are C, M, B and J respectively

M = B + 400--------------Eq(1)
J = C - 1200--------------Eq(2)
C = M + 400--------------Eq(3)
B - J = ?

Substituting the value of C from Eq(3) in Eq(2)

J = (M+400) - 1200
i.e. J = M - 800
i.e. M = J + 800

Substituting the value of M in Eq(1)

J + 800 = B + 400
i.e. B - J = 800-400 = 400

Answer: option A
"GMATinsight"Bhoopendra Singh & Sushma Jha
Most Comprehensive and Affordable Video Course 2000+ CONCEPT Videos and Video Solutions
Whatsapp/Mobile: +91-9999687183 l [email protected]
Contact for One-on-One FREE ONLINE DEMO Class Call/e-mail
Most Efficient and affordable One-On-One Private tutoring fee - US$40-50 per hour
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 10392
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Thanked: 2867 times
Followed by:511 members
GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:59 pm
Hi sud21,

While most Test Takers would approach this question with Algebra, it can actually be solved rather easily by TESTing VALUES.

We're never given any limitations on how much total money is actually spent, so the individual values (and the total) can be ANYTHING, as long as the values relate to one another as described. So, working through the information that is provided....

IF....
Brian = $1,000
Mike spent $400 more than Brian....

Mike = $1,400

John spent $1,200 less than Charles (we'll come back to this in a moment)

Charles spent $400 more than Mike...
Charles = $1,800

Now, back to the prior info - John spent $1,200 less than Charles...
John = $600

The question asks how many MORE dollars Brian spent than John:
Brian = $1,000
John = $600
$1,000 - $600 = $400

Final Answer: A

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
Image
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1