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Help with this problem please

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by Ilikemeat321 » Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:40 pm
Question # 28
Area of a right-angled triangle is doubled while the base is reduced to its half. What % increase occurs in its height?

(A) 300%

(B) 370%

(C) 150%

(D) 400%

(E) 510%

The Way I tried to solve this is by plug in numbers

Let base = 2 ,height = 4

Area= 1/2*B*H

Area=4

Now I double this Area = 8

Reduce base by 1/2 = 1

Height --- 8=1/2 * h H= 16

New Height to Old Height 16/4 which is 4 = 400% (D)? seems pretty straight forward...am I missing something here?

Real Answer is A can someone explain?
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by Ian Stewart » Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:52 pm
What you've done looks good to me, but one small (but important!) thing: the question asks for the % increase. Recall

% increase = increase/original * 100%

So with the numbers you've chosen, the increase is 16 -4 = 12, and 12/4 * 100 = 300%.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com
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by Ilikemeat321 » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:32 pm
Thanks Ian got it
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