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by Abhijit K » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:23 am
At a certain company, each employee has a salary grade s that is at least 1 and at most 5.
Each employee receives an hourly wage p, in dollars, determined by the formula p = 9.50
+ 0.25(s - 1). An employee with a salary grade of 5 receives how many more dollars per
hour than an employee with a salary grade of 1?

A. $0.50
B. $1.00
C. $1.25
D. $1.50
E. $1.75

Why is B wrong and whats the correct answer?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:47 am
Abhijit K wrote:At a certain company, each employee has a salary grade s that is at least 1 and at most 5.
Each employee receives an hourly wage p, in dollars, determined by the formula p = 9.50
+ 0.25(s - 1). An employee with a salary grade of 5 receives how many more dollars per
hour than an employee with a salary grade of 1?

A. $0.50
B. $1.00
C. $1.25
D. $1.50
E. $1.75

Why is B wrong and whats the correct answer?
B IS the correct answer.

SALARY GRADE OF 5
s=5
We get, hourly wage = 9.50 + 0.25(5 - 1)
= 9.50 + 0.25(4)
= 9.50 + 1
= $10.50

SALARY GRADE OF 1
s=1
We get, hourly wage = 9.50 + 0.25(1 - 1)
= 9.50 + 0.25(0)
= $9.50

$10.50 - $9.50 = [spoiler]$1[/spoiler]
Answer: B

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Brent
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by Matt@VeritasPrep » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:23 pm
Another way to see this: since (s - 1)(.25) is what we're adding to our base (9.50), every salary grade is exactly .25 greater than the one below it. (Grade 2 is .25 greater than Grade 1; Grade 3 is .25 greater than Grade 2, etc.)

Since Grade 5 is FOUR grades higher than Grade 1, Grade 5 must be $.25 * 4, or $1, greater than Grade 1.
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by towerSpider » Mon Feb 16, 2015 6:28 am
in case of 5:
p = 9.50 + 0.25(s - 1)
Putting values
p = 9.50 + 0.25(5 - 1)
p = 9.50 + 0.25(4)
p = 9.50 + 1
p = 10.5

in case of 1:
p = 9.50 + 0.25(s - 1)
Putting values
p = 9.50 + 0.25(1 - 1)
p = 9.50 + 0.25(0)
p = 9.50 + 0
p = 9.5

Subtracting:
$1
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by towerSpider » Mon Feb 16, 2015 6:30 am
Abhijit K wrote:At a certain company, each employee has a salary grade s that is at least 1 and at most 5.
Each employee receives an hourly wage p, in dollars, determined by the formula p = 9.50
+ 0.25(s - 1). An employee with a salary grade of 5 receives how many more dollars per
hour than an employee with a salary grade of 1?

A. $0.50
B. $1.00
C. $1.25
D. $1.50
E. $1.75

Why is B wrong and whats the correct answer?
2nd method:

9.50 + 0.25(s - 1) - (9.50 + 0.25(s - 1))
.25(4)-.25(0)
$1
People are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own mind.
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