blackjack wrote:A survey of employers found that during 1993 employment costs rose 3.5 percent, where employment costs consist of salary costs and fringe-benefits costs. If salary costs rose 3 percent and fringe-benefit costs rose 5.5 percent during 1993, then fringe-benefit costs represented what percent of employment costs at the beginning of 1993?
A 16.5%
B 20%
C 35%
D 65%
E 65%
OA is B
Can anyone please demonstrate a non-algebric i.e. faster method to solve this?
Salary increase = 3%.
Fringe increase = 5.5%.
Salary+Fringe increase = 3.5%.
I too would use alligation, which dictates the following:
The proportion of each element in the mixture is equal to the distance between the percentage attributed to the other element in the mixture and the percentage attributed to the mixture.
Proportion of salary in the mixture = distance between fringe % and mixture % = |5.5 - 3.5| = 2
Proportion of fringe in the mixture = distance between salary % and mixture % = |3 - 3.5| = .5
Ratio of salary:fringe in the mixture = (2) : (.5) = 4:1.
Since salary:fringe = 4:1, and 4+1 = 5, fringe/total = 1/5 = 20%.
The correct answer is
B.
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