A certain library assesses fines for overdue books as follow

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

A certain library assesses fines for overdue books as follow

by BTGmoderatorDC » Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:15 pm

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A certain library assesses fines for overdue books as follows. On the first day that a book is overdue, the total fine is $0.10. For each additional day that the book is overdue, the total fine is either increased by $0.30 or doubled, whichever results in the lesser amount. What is the total for a book on the fourth day it is overdue?

A. $0.60
B. $0.70
C. $0.80
D. $0.90
E. $1.00

OA B

Source: GMAT Prep

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:15 pm

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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 » Sat Apr 20, 2019 4:48 am

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A certain library assesses fines for overdue books as follows. On the first day that a book is overdue, the total fine is $0.10. For each additional day that the book is overdue, the total fine is either increased by $0.30 or doubled, whichever results in the lesser amount. What is the total for a book on the fourth day it is overdue?

A. $0.60
B. $0.70
C. $0.80
D. $0.90
E. $1.00

OA B

Source: GMAT Prep

1st day - $0.10

2nd day - $0.20 or $0.40 (double or add $0.30)
$0.20 is the lesser amount

3rd day - $0.40 or $0.50 (double or add $0.30)
$0.40 is the lesser amount

4th day - $0.80 or $0.70 (double or add $0.30)
$0.70 is the lesser amount

The correct answer is B

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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swerve: Legendary Member; Posts: 2499; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:04 pm; Followed by:6 members

by swerve » Sat Apr 20, 2019 10:01 am

The total fine is increased by $0.30 or doubled, whichever results in a lesser amount - Keep the bolded phrases in mind... it is quite confusing though...

Day 1 - $0.10
Day 2- $0.10 *2 or $0.10+$0.30 (Whichever results in a lesser amount), hence its $.20
Day 3 - $0.20*2 or $0.20+$0.30, $0.40 as its lesser
Day 4 - $0.40*2 or $0.40+$0.30, $0.70 as this is lesser

So, the correct answer is __B__.

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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 » Thu Apr 25, 2019 5:52 pm

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A certain library assesses fines for overdue books as follows. On the first day that a book is overdue, the total fine is $0.10. For each additional day that the book is overdue, the total fine is either increased by $0.30 or doubled, whichever results in the lesser amount. What is the total for a book on the fourth day it is overdue?

A. $0.60
B. $0.70
C. $0.80
D. $0.90
E. $1.00

OA B

Source: GMAT Prep

On day 1, the fine is $0.10.

On day 2, we have two options:

1) 0.10 + 0.30 = $0.40

2) 0.10 x 2 = $0.20

Since option 2 is the lesser of the 2 fines, the total fine, as of day 2, is $0.20.

On day 3 we have two options:

1) 0.20 + 0.30 = $0.50

2) 0.20 x 2 = $0.40

Since option 2 is the lesser of the 2 fines, the total fine, as of day 3, is $0.40.

On day 4 we have two options:

1) 0.40 + 0.30 = $0.70

2) 0.40 x 2 = $0.80

Since option 1 is the lesser of the 2 fines, the total fine, as of day 4, is $0.70.

Answer: B

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