Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

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BTGModeratorVI: Legendary Member; Posts: 1223; Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:23 pm; Followed by:1 members

Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

by BTGModeratorVI » Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 am

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Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks. Each of the first four months’ paychecks was for $4500, and each of the remaining months’ paychecks was for $4800. What was her average paycheck for the year?

A. $4600
B. $4650
C. $4700
D. $4750
E. $4800

Answer: C
Source: Veritas Prep

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

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

Re: Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:33 am

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 am
Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks. Each of the first four months’ paychecks was for $4500, and each of the remaining months’ paychecks was for $4800. What was her average paycheck for the year?

A. $4600
B. $4650
C. $4700
D. $4750
E. $4800

Answer: C
Source: Veritas Prep

One approach:
Total pay = 4($4500) + 8($4800)
= $56,400

So, average of all 12 paychecks = $56,400/12 = $4700

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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GMAT/MBA Expert

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

Re: Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:39 am

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 am
Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks. Each of the first four months’ paychecks was for $4500, and each of the remaining months’ paychecks was for $4800. What was her average paycheck for the year?

A. $4600
B. $4650
C. $4700
D. $4750
E. $4800

Answer: C
Source: Veritas Prep

Another approach is to use weighted averages.

Weighted average of groups combined = (group A proportion)(group A average) + (group B proportion)(group B average) + (group C proportion)(group C average) + ...

In this question, the proportion of $4500 paychecks = 4/12 = 1/3
And the proportion of $4800 paychecks = 8/12 = 2/3

Plugging these values into the formula, we get: average paycheck = (1/3)($4500) + (2/3)($4800)
= $1500 + $3200
= $4700
= C

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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i256: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 5:24 am

Re: Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

by i256 » Mon Jun 08, 2020 6:38 am

Total pay = 4 x 4500 + 8 x 4800 = 56400

Avg of 12 paychecks = \frac{56400}{12}= 4700

Quote

GMAT/MBA Expert

Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8084; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times; Followed by:29 members

Re: Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks.

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Fri Jun 12, 2020 1:49 pm

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:46 am
Last year, Christine received 12 monthly paychecks. Each of the first four months’ paychecks was for $4500, and each of the remaining months’ paychecks was for $4800. What was her average paycheck for the year?

A. $4600
B. $4650
C. $4700
D. $4750
E. $4800

Answer: C