Busy word problem

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jk2010: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 66; Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:41 am; Location: Washhington, DC; Thanked: 8 times

by jk2010 » Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:14 pm

Alice's take-home pay last year was the same each month, and she saved the same fraction of her take-home pay each month. The total amount of money she saved at the end of the year was 3 times the amount of that portion of her take-home pay that she did NOT save. If all the money she saved last year was from take-home pay, what fraction of her take-home pay did she save each month?

A - 1/2
B - 1/3
C - 1/4
D - 1/5
E - 1/6

I tried this by plugging in numbers but did not come out with any of the options. Thanks.

D

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:14 pm

anshumishra: Legendary Member; Posts: 543; Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:01 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 147 times

by anshumishra » Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:29 pm

jk2010 wrote:Alice's take-home pay last year was the same each month, and she saved the same fraction of her take-home pay each month. The total amount of money she saved at the end of the year was 3 times the amount of that portion of her take-home pay that she did NOT save. If all the money she saved last year was from take-home pay, what fraction of her take-home pay did she save each month?

A - 1/2
B - 1/3
C - 1/4
D - 1/5
E - 1/6

I tried this by plugging in numbers but did not come out with any of the options. Thanks.

D

x-> saved each month
y-> Total take home

so; 12x = 3(y-x)
=> 4x = y-x
=> 5x = y
=> x/y = 1/5

Hence, D

This question tries to confuse with the wordings :

problem wants you to use :

Alice's yearly savings = 3(Alice's monthly spending)

One may confuse it with :

Alice's yearly savings =3(Alice's yearly spending).

Thanks
Anshu

(Every mistake is a lesson learned )

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