In May Mrs Lee's earnings were 60 percent of the Lee family'

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:In May Mrs Lee's earnings were 60 percent of the Lee family's total income. In June Mrs Lee earned 20 percent more than in May. If the rest of the family's income was the same both months, then, in June, Mrs Lee's earnings were approximately what percent of the Lee family's total income ?

(A) 64%
(B) 68%
(C) 72%
(D) 76%
(E) 80%

Since we're asked to find a PERCENT (and not an actual value), we can assign a nice value to the Lee family's total income.

In May Mrs Lee's earnings were 60 percent of the Lee family's total income
Let's say $100 = Lee family's total income IN MAY
This means $60 = Mrs Lee's earnings IN MAY

In June Mrs Lee earned 20 percent more than in May.
Mrs Lee's earnings in June = $60 + (20% of $60)
= $60 + $12
= $72

If the rest of the family's income was the same both months, then, in June, Mrs Lee's earnings were approximately what percent of the Lee family's total income ?
Since Mrs. Lee made an extra $12 in June, the family's TOTAL income for June = $100 + $12 = $112

Percent = (100)$72/$112
≈64%

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent

BTGmoderatorDC wrote:In May Mrs Lee's earnings were 60 percent of the Lee family's total income. In June Mrs Lee earned 20 percent more than in May. If the rest of the family's income was the same both months, then, in June, Mrs Lee's earnings were approximately what percent of the Lee family's total income ?

(A) 64%
(B) 68%
(C) 72%
(D) 76%
(E) 80%

OA A

Source: GMAT Prep

We can let 100 = the Lee family’s total income in May. Thus, Mrs. Lee made 60, and the rest of the family made 40. Since Mrs. Lee made 20% more in June than in May, she made 60 x 1.2 = 72 in June. Since the rest of the family still made 40, Mrs. Lee’s earnings were

72/(72 + 40) = 72/112 ≈ 0.64 = 64% of the family’s total income.

Answer: A