A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set

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BTGModeratorVI: Legendary Member; Posts: 1223; Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:23 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by BTGModeratorVI » Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:01 am

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A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set of encyclopedias he sells. If he sells 12 identical sets of encyclopedias and makes $1800 in commissions, what is the selling price of each set?

A. $300
B. $600
C. $750
D. $900
E. $1080

Answer: B
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

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swerve: Legendary Member; Posts: 2539; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:04 pmFollowed by: 6 members

Re: A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set

by swerve » Sat Feb 29, 2020 5:49 am

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:01 am
A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set of encyclopedias he sells. If he sells 12 identical sets of encyclopedias and makes $1800 in commissions, what is the selling price of each set?

A. $300
B. $600
C. $750
D. $900
E. $1080

Answer: B
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

\begin{align*}
& 0.20 \cdot 12x = 1800 \\
& 2.40x = 1800 \\
& x = \dfrac{1800}{2.40} \\
& x = 750.
\end{align*}

Check the OA, please.

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

Re: A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:08 am

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:01 am
A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set of encyclopedias he sells. If he sells 12 identical sets of encyclopedias and makes $1800 in commissions, what is the selling price of each set?

A. $300
B. $600
C. $750
D. $900
E. $1080

Answer: B
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

Let x = the selling price of ONE set of encyclopedias
So, 12x = the TOTAL price of 12 sets of encyclopedias

If the commission is 20%, then the salesman's commission = 20% of 12x
If the salesmen receives $1800 in commissions, we can write: 20% of 12x = $1800
Rewrite as: (0.2)(12x) = $1800

We COULD evaluate (0.2)(12) to get 2.4, but I'd rather not have to divide 1800 by 2.4
Instead, here's what I'd do to speed up the calculations (in my head).

Take: (0.2)(12x) = $1800
Divide both sides by 12 to get: (0.2)(x) = $150
Rewrite 0.2 as 1/5 to get: (1/5)x = $150
Multiply both sides by 5 to get: x = $750

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8144; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times

Re: A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:07 am

BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑
Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:01 am
A salesman makes a 20 percent commission on the selling price of each set of encyclopedias he sells. If he sells 12 identical sets of encyclopedias and makes $1800 in commissions, what is the selling price of each set?

A. $300
B. $600
C. $750
D. $900
E. $1080

Answer: B
Source: GMAT Paper Tests

Letting n = the selling price of one set of encyclopedias, we can create the equation:

0.2(12n) = 1800

2.4n = 1800

n = 750

Answer: C

(Double-check OA, please)

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

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