If the sales tax on a $12.00 purchase is $0.66, what is the

Expert replies

Previous Topic Next Topic

BTGmoderatorDC: Moderator; Posts: 7187; Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:43 pmFollowed by: 23 members

by BTGmoderatorDC » Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:35 pm

Timer

00:00

Answers

Stats

Difficulty—

If the sales tax on a $12.00 purchase is $0.66, what is the sales tax on a $20.00 purchase?

A. $1.08
B. $1.10
C. $1.16
D. $1.18
E. $1.20

OA B

Source: Magoosh

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:35 pm

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:38 pm

Hi All,

We're told that the sales tax on a $12.00 purchase is $0.66. We're asked for the sales tax on a $20.00 purchase. This question can be solved in a number of different ways (depending on how you want to organize your math). Here's how you can use a ratio to answer the question.

$20/$12 = 5/3.... so the ratio of the sales taxes will ALSO be 5/3...

5/3 = $X/$0.66
3X = $3.30
X = $1.10

Final Answer: B

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

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

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:54 am

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:If the sales tax on a $12.00 purchase is $0.66, what is the sales tax on a $20.00 purchase?

A. $1.08
B. $1.10
C. $1.16
D. $1.18
E. $1.20

OA B

Source: Magoosh

We can also solve this question using equivalent ratios

We're comparing sales tax to retail price
We get: sales tax/retail price = $0.66/$12.00

What is the sales tax on a $20.00 purchase?
Let x = the sales tax

We can write: $0.66/$12.00 = x/$20.00
Cross multiply to get: (0.66)(20) = (12)(x)
To make things easier, let's first divide both sides by 4 to get: (0.66)(5) = (3)(x)
Then divide both sides by 3 to get: (0.22)(5) = x
Evaluate: 1.10 = x

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8136; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:26 pm

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:If the sales tax on a $12.00 purchase is $0.66, what is the sales tax on a $20.00 purchase?

A. $1.08
B. $1.10
C. $1.16
D. $1.18
E. $1.20

If we let n = the sales tax on the 20 dollar purchase, we can create a proportion and solve for n:

0.66/12 = n/20

20 x 0.66 = 12n

13.2 = 12n

13.2/12 = n

1.1 = n

Thus, the sales tax is $1.10.

Alternate solution:

Since 0.66/12 = 0.055 = 5.5%, we see that the sales tax rate is 5.5%. Therefore, on a $20.00 purchase, the sales tax is 20 x 0.055 = $1.10.

Answer: B

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

Like this post

swerve: Legendary Member; Posts: 2535; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:04 pmFollowed by: 6 members

by swerve » Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:17 pm

Let x be the sales tax rate.

$12*x/100= 0.66
Solving x=22/4%

For $20,
22/4*20/100=$1.10

Option B

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review