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## Global Stats

Difficult

GMAT Prep

Bobby bought 2 shares, and which he sold for $96 each. If he had a profit of 20% on the sale of one of the shares but a loss of 20% on the sale of the other share, then on the sale of both shares Bobby had... A. A profit of 10 B. A profit of 8 C. A loss of 8 D. A loss of 10 E. Neither a profit nor a loss OA C. ### GMAT/MBA Expert GMAT Instructor Joined 09 Oct 2010 Posted: 528 messages Followed by: 25 members Upvotes: 59 Top Reply AAPL wrote: GMAT Prep Bobby bought 2 shares, and which he sold for$96 each. If he had a profit of 20% on the sale of one of the shares but a loss of 20% on the sale of the other share, then on the sale of both shares Bobby had...

A. A profit of 10
B. A profit of 8
C. A loss of 8
D. A loss of 10
E. Neither a profit nor a loss
(Common) Assumption: although not explicitly mentioned, we are dealing with profit of 20% over the cost on the corresponding sale. The same for the loss.

$?\,\,\,:\,\,\,{\text{profit/loss}}\,\,\left( \ \right)$
$1{\text{st}}\,\,{\text{share}}:\,\,\,\,\,96 = \,\,\left( {1 + \frac{1}{5}} \right)\,\,{\text{cost}}\,\,\,\,\,\, \Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{\text{cost}} = \frac{5}{6}\left( {96} \right)\,\,\,\,\,\, \Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{\text{profit}} = \frac{1}{6}\left( {96} \right) = \underleftrightarrow {\frac{{60 + 36}}{6}} = 16\,\,\,\left( \ \right)$
$2{\text{nd}}\,\,{\text{share}}:\,\,\,\,\,96 = \,\,\left( {1 - \frac{1}{5}} \right)\,\,{\text{cost}}\,\,\,\,\,\, \Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{\text{cost}} = \frac{5}{4}\left( {96} \right)\,\,\,\,\,\, \Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{\text{loss}} = \frac{1}{4}\left( {96} \right) = \underleftrightarrow {\frac{{80 + 16}}{4}} = 24\,\,\left( \ \right)$
$?\,\, = \,\,\,16 + \left( { - 24} \right) = - 8\,\,\left( \ \right)$

This solution follows the notations and rationale taught in the GMATH method.

Regards,
Fabio.

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### GMAT/MBA Expert

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AAPL wrote:
GMAT Prep

Bobby bought 2 shares, and which he sold for $96 each. If he had a profit of 20% on the sale of one of the shares but a loss of 20% on the sale of the other share, then on the sale of both shares Bobby had... A. A profit of 10 B. A profit of 8 C. A loss of 8 D. A loss of 10 E. Neither a profit nor a loss We are given that Bobby bought 2 shares, which he sold for$96 each, and that he made a 20% profit on the sale of one share and had a loss of 20% on the sale of the other share. We can set up the following equations in which c = the cost of the first share and d = the cost of the second share.

For the first share, with a profit of 20%, we have:

Profit = 0.2c

Since profit = revenue - cost, we have:

96 - c = 0.2c

96 = 1.2c

c = 80

Thus, the profit for the first share was 96 - 80 = 16 dollars.

For the 20% loss we have:

Profit = -0.2d

Since profit = revenue - cost, we have:

96 - d = -0.2d

96 = 0.8d

d = 120

Thus, the loss for the second share was 96 - 120 = 24 dollars.

Since Bobby has a profit of 16 dollars and a loss of 24 dollars, he has a net loss of 8 dollars.

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### GMAT/MBA Expert

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Hi All,

We're told that Bobby bought 2 shares, which he sold for $96 each, he had a profit of 20% on the sale of one of the shares but a loss of 20% on the sale of the other share. We're asked to find the TOTAL profit or loss on the sale of the two shares. This question essentially comes down to creating two equations and then solving for the original purchase price of each share. The 20% profit share --> X + .2X = 96 The 20% loss share --> Y - .2Y = 96 1.2X = 96 12X = 960 X = 960/12 =$80
For the first share, the PROFIT was $96 -$80 = $16 .8Y = 96 8Y = 960 Y = 960/8 =$120
For the second share, the LOSS was $120 -$96 = $24$16 profit - $24 loss = Total LOSS of$8

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

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