BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Help with DS problem

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:50 am
Thanked: 7 times

Help with DS problem

by hengirl03 » Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:45 pm
Martha bought an armchair and a coffee table at an auction and sold both items at her store. Her gross profit from the purchase and sale of the armchair was what percent greater than her gross profit from the purchase and sale of the coffee table?

1. Marth paid 10 percent for the armchair than for the coffee table
2. Marth sold the armchair for 20 percent more than she sold the coffee table



Is the answer E because we don't know that price of either the coffee table or armchair?
Top
Source: — Data Sufficiency |
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:05 am
Thanked: 2 times

by Senator 153 » Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:47 am
Sheet of paper. We're looking for:

ARMprofit
________ (divided by)
COFFEEprofit


where ARMprofit = ARMretail - ARMwhole
and COFFEEprofit = COFFEEretail - COFFEEwhole

(1) and (2) give us certain variables but don't deliver by themselves, so let's try putting them together. (1) tells us that ARMwhole = 1.1 COFFEEwhole. (2) tells us ARMretail = 1.2 COFFEEretail.

We plug those into the main division formula (do some switching)... and it doesn't go anywhere. And you know, I think we actually could have solved this if they told us that the armchair cost 20% more, instead of 10% more, because we could have pulled out a 1.2 in the main division formula.

To answer your question, exact values would be enough to solve, but so would a simplified formula.

(E)

See: if they had told us ARMwhole = 1.2 COFFEEwhole, the formula would reduce to:
ARMretail - ARMwhole
__________________
COFFEEretail - COFFEEwhole

equals:
1.2 COFFEEretail - 1.2 COFFEEwhole
______________________________
COFFEEretail - COFFEEwhole

... and the we could have just pulled out the 1.2 in the numerator and that would be our answer, regardless of specific values for each of those variables. Yeah I did some extra work here...
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 215
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:07 am

by rosh26 » Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:33 am
Isnt it coffee profit/arm profit since cofee profit is greater?
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1