Hi Swerve,

Although the prompt does not explicitly state it, we're meant to infer that the company continues to produce products EVERY month (in the years 2005 through 2008, inclusive). A 200% increase in the monthly average (from 2005) would be 6,000 products per month for the ENTIRE 4-YEAR period.

Thus, the TOTAL number of products produced during those 4 years would have to be (48 months)(6,000 products/month) = 288,000 products.

In 2005, the total number of products produced was (12 months)(2,000 products/month) = 24,000 products.

To hit the 288,000 product grand total, the company would have to produce 288,000 - 24,000 = 264,000 products in the years 2006 - 2008.

Final Answer: D

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

swerve wrote:During 2005, a company produced an average of 2,000 products per month. How many products will the company need to produce from 2006 through 2008 in order to increase its monthly average for the period from 2005 through 2008 by 200% over its 2005 average?

A. 148,000
B. 172,000
C. 200,000
D. 264,000
E. 288,000

We need to determine how many products a company will need to produce in order to increase its monthly average of 2,000 products by 200% for the period from 2005 through 2008. Thus, the average has to increase to 3 x 2,000 = 6,000 products.

Since the company produced an average of 2,000 products per month in 2005, the company produced 2,000 x 12 = 24,000 products in 12 months of 2005 (or in all of 2005).

We can let x = the total number of products made from 2006 through 2008, and we know the number of months from 2005 through 2008 is 4 x 12 months = 48 months. Now let's use the average equation to determine x:

6,000 = (24,000 + x)/48

288,000 = 24,000 + x

x = 264,000

Answer: D