Median - word problem

SaraLotfy wrote:The median annual household income in a certain community of 21 houses is $50,000. If the mean income of a household increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years, what will the median of the community be in 2 years?

A) 50,000
B) 60,000
C) 60,500
D) 65,000
E) Can not get

Are you sure you wrote the question correctly? When you write "a", do you mean only one household experienced an increase? I believe the answer is still E (as theCodeToGMAT noted), I just want to get some clarification.

Cheers,
Brent

Hi SaraLotfy,

YES, if the question had stated that "each" or "all" households saw their incomes increased by 10% per year, then the range would "move" and so would the "median"

It would become....

Start = $50,000
Year 1 = +10% = $55,000
Year 2 = +10% = $60,500

In this case, the answer would be C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

SaraLotfy wrote:The median annual household income in a certain community of 21 houses is $ 50,000. If the mean income of a household increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years, what will the median of the community be in 2 years?

A) 50,000
B) 60,000
C) 60,500
D) 65,000
E) Can not get

It’s impossible to determine the median household income from the information given. For example, if the reason the mean household income increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years is because the annual income of every household increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years, then the median household income would also increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years, to 50,000 x 1.1 x 1.1 = $60,500. However, it’s possible that only the household with the highest annual income increases by a tremendous amount each year for the next 2 years, such that the mean household income for the community increases by 10% per year over the next 2 years. In that case, the median household income would stay the same at the end of the 2 years, i.e., at $50,000.

Answer: E