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GMAT Prep simple yet confusing ?

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by gxj007 » Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:24 pm
A library assesses fines for overdue books as follows. On the first day that the book is overdue, the total fine is $0.10. For each additional day that the book is overdue, the total fine is either increased by $0.30 or doubled, which results in the lesser amount. What is the total fine for a book on the fourth day it is overdue?

the total fine is increase by .30 per day so
day 1 .10
day 2 .40
day 3 .70
day 4 1.00

so $1.00 is the total fine on day four

or
the fine is double each day
day 1 .10
day 2 .20
day 3 .40
day 4 .80
So .80 is the less than $1.00. Why is the answer $.70 instead of $.80 ?




Answer:
$0.70
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by xcusemeplz2009 » Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:12 pm
the q is asking which ever is less
therefore
day1 fine =0.1
day2=0.1*2 or 0.4(whichever is less)=0.2.
day3=0.4 or 0.7=0.4(lower value)
day 4=0.8 or 0.4+0.3=0.7 ; hence 0.7(lower value)
It does not matter how many times you get knocked down , but how many times you get up
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by gxj007 » Tue Sep 15, 2009 5:14 am
Thanks so much for clarifying what they were asking! I completely misinterpreted the question.
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by kiton » Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:04 am
Hello! My approach:

option 1: 0,1 + 0,3*3 = $1 (1st day + 0,3 for each additional day)

option 2: 0,1 + 0,2*3 = 0,7 (1st day + double 0,1 for each additional day)

Hence, 0,7 is the answer.

Hope, this might help someone :)
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by manasgoswami1 » Thu Aug 22, 2013 8:18 am
day 1= 0.1
day 2= 0.2 and not 0.3 as 0.3+0.11>0.2+0.1
day 3= 0.3 again 0.3+0.2+0.1< 2(0.3)+0.2+0.1
day 4= 0.3

total= 0.9
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Aug 22, 2013 8:31 am
manasgoswami1 wrote:day 1= 0.1
day 2= 0.2 and not 0.3 as 0.3+0.11>0.2+0.1
day 3= 0.3 again 0.3+0.2+0.1< 2(0.3)+0.2+0.1
day 4= 0.3

total= 0.9
You made an error in your Day 3 calculation.
For Day 2, the total fine is $0.20

Day 3
If we double the total fine, we get $0.40
If we add $0.30, we get $0.50
So, the total fine on Day 3 = $0.40

Continuing . . .

Day 4
If we double the total fine, we get $0.80
If we add $0.30, we get $0.70
So, the total fine on Day 4 = [spoiler]$0.70 [/spoiler]

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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