Patrick purchased 80 pencils and sold them at a loss equa

This topic has expert replies
Legendary Member
Posts: 2276
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2017 6:10 am
Followed by:3 members

Timer

00:00

Your Answer

A

B

C

D

E

Global Stats

Patrick purchased 80 pencils and sold them at a loss equal to the selling price of 20 pencils. The cost of 80 pencils is how many times the selling price of 80 pencils?

(A) 0.75
(B) 0.8
(C) 1
(D) 1.2
(E) 1.25

The OA is the option E.

I don't understand the questions. Could anyone explain this PS questions to me? Thanks in advance.

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

Patrick

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:44 am
VJesus12 wrote:Patrick purchased 80 pencils and sold them at a loss equal to the selling price of 20 pencils. The cost of 80 pencils is how many times the selling price of 80 pencils?

(A) 0.75
(B) 0.8
(C) 1
(D) 1.2
(E) 1.25
Since the two blue values above are equal, the given question stem is the same as the following:
The cost of EACH PENCIL is how many times the selling price of EACH PENCIL?

Let the selling price of each pencil = $1.
Thus, the selling price of 80 pencils = $80.

Since Patrick's loss is equal to the selling price of 20 pencils, we get:
Loss = 20*1 = 20.

Since the 80 pencils are sold for $80 at a loss of $20, Patrick's cost for the 80 pencils must be $100.
Since 80 pencils have a total cost of $100, the cost per pencil = 100/80 = 5/4 = 1.25.

Resulting ratio:
(cost per pencil)/(selling price per pencil) = (1.25)/1 = 1.25.

The correct answer is E.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3008
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:19 am
Location: Grand Central / New York
Thanked: 470 times
Followed by:34 members

by Jay@ManhattanReview » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:44 am
VJesus12 wrote:Patrick purchased 80 pencils and sold them at a loss equal to the selling price of 20 pencils. The cost of 80 pencils is how many times the selling price of 80 pencils?

(A) 0.75
(B) 0.8
(C) 1
(D) 1.2
(E) 1.25

The OA is the option E.

I don't understand the questions. Could anyone explain this PS questions to me? Thanks in advance.
Say the cost price of one pencil is x and the selling price of one pencil is y.

Thus, loss in selling 80 pencils = 80(y - x)

This loss is equal to the selling price of 20 pencils = 20y

Since 80(y - x) is a loss, it is a negative quantity, thus, we must equate -80(y - x) with 20y.

=> -80(y - x) = 20y

=> x = 1.25y.

The correct answer: E

Hope this helps!

-Jay
_________________
Manhattan Review GMAT Prep

Locations: Manhattan Review New Delhi | Hyderabad | GRE Prep Chennai | Madhapur GRE Coaching | and many more...

Schedule your free consultation with an experienced GMAT Prep Advisor! Click here.

Legendary Member
Posts: 2218
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:04 pm
Followed by:6 members

by swerve » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:15 pm
Let cots price of 80 pencils = 80c
Let selling price of 80 pencils = 80s------------------(1)

Pencils sold at a lost equal to the selling price of 20 pencils:
80c - 80s = 20s
80c = 100s
s = (4/5)c

The selling price of 80 pencils (=80*(4/5)c = 64c)-------------- From (1)
Required to find
Cost of 80 pencils = how many times the selling price of 80 pencils
80c = 64c x ?
80/64 = 5/4 = 1.25. Option E.

Regards!

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 7223
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 43 times
Followed by:29 members

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:23 pm
VJesus12 wrote:Patrick purchased 80 pencils and sold them at a loss equal to the selling price of 20 pencils. The cost of 80 pencils is how many times the selling price of 80 pencils?

(A) 0.75
(B) 0.8
(C) 1
(D) 1.2
(E) 1.25
We can let c = the cost per pencil and p = the selling price per pencil; thus:

80p - 80c = -20p

100p = 80c

The problem is asking for the ratio of 80c to 80p. Since 80c = 100p, 80c/80p = 100p/80p = 10/8 = 5/4 = 1.25.

Alternate Solution:

Let x be the cost of 80 pencils and y be the sale price of 80 pencils. The loss of Patrick is the sale price of 20 pencils and 20 is 1/4 of 80; therefore loss of Patrick, in terms of y, is y/4. With this information, we can create the following equation:

x - y = y/4

x = 5y/4 = 1.25y

Thus, the cost of 80 pencils is 1.25 times the sale price of 80 pencils.

Answer: E

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

Image

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

ImageImage