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Data Sufficiency Question

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by sparkles3144 » Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:05 pm
Hello,

I am unable to understand this question. I got this from Barron's flashcards.

35% of a certain amount of money was invested in stocks. Of the remaining amount of money, 50% was used to buy bonds, and $975 was put in a savings account. Find the initial amount of money,

A. $2,000
B. $2,500
C. $3,000
D. $3,500
E. $4,000

I understood till (50/100) (65/100) x
I didn't understand how to use $975.
Can somebody explain?

x represents total amount

Thanks!
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by brianlange77 » Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:23 pm
sparkles3144 wrote:Hello,

I am unable to understand this question. I got this from Barron's flashcards.

35% of a certain amount of money was invested in stocks. Of the remaining amount of money, 50% was used to buy bonds, and $975 was put in a savings account. Find the initial amount of money,

A. $2,000
B. $2,500
C. $3,000
D. $3,500
E. $4,000

I understood till (50/100) (65/100) x
I didn't understand how to use $975.
Can somebody explain?

x represents total amount

Thanks!
Could be one of two things, right?

TOTAL = 35% + 50% + $975 (15%) ...
or

TOTAL = 35% + (50% * 65%) + $975 (which is 50% * 35%)

What do you think?

-Brian
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:29 pm
sparkles3144 wrote:Hello,

I am unable to understand this question. I got this from Barron's flashcards.

35% of a certain amount of money was invested in stocks. Of the remaining amount of money, 50% was used to buy bonds, and $975 was put in a savings account. Find the initial amount of money,

A. $2,000
B. $2,500
C. $3,000
D. $3,500
E. $4,000

I understood till (50/100) (65/100) x
I didn't understand how to use $975.
Can somebody explain?

x represents total amount

Thanks!
Let x = initial amount

35% of a certain amount of money was invested in stocks
This leaves 65% of the money.
So, the remaining money = 0.65x

Of the remaining amount of money, 50% was used to buy bonds
So, half of the 0.65x dollars was spent on bonds, and the other half was put in a savings account.
In other words, the amount spent on bonds = (0.5)(0.65x) = 0.325x
Similarly, the amount put in a savings account = 0.325x

$975 was put in a savings account.
0.325x = 975
x = 975/0.325
x = 3000

Answer = C

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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