Problem Solving

When a fruit seller sells 20 of his oranges on a fixed selling price per piece, he bears a loss that is equivalent to the selling price of 4 of those oranges. What is the percent of loss in his aforesaid deal?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

let cost price be 100,
selling price=100-x;
20*(100-x)=1600;
x=20;
therefore selling price =80; hence his loss percentage=20% hence B

manpsingh87 wrote:

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

let cost price be 100,
selling price=100-x;
20*(100-x)=1600;
x=20;
therefore selling price =80; hence his loss percentage=20% hence B

How do you know that the selling price of 20 oranges is 1600?

sanju09 wrote:

manpsingh87 wrote:

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

let cost price be 100,
selling price=100-x;
20*(100-x)=1600;
x=20;
therefore selling price =80; hence his loss percentage=20% hence B

How do you know that the selling price of 20 oranges is 1600?

he can make loss on selling price of 4 oranges when his 4 oranges got rotten, or got damaged or lost etc., i.e. his 4 oranges are actually not with him..!!!

now putting it in the scenario presented in the question, a vendor by selling his oranges in a loss, actually vanishing the cost price of its 4 oranges...!!!

i hope it helps...!!!

manpsingh87 wrote:

sanju09 wrote:

manpsingh87 wrote:

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

let cost price be 100,
selling price=100-x;
20*(100-x)=1600;
x=20;
therefore selling price =80; hence his loss percentage=20% hence B

How do you know that the selling price of 20 oranges is 1600?

he can make loss on selling price of 4 oranges when his 4 oranges got rotten, or got damaged or lost etc., i.e. his 4 oranges are actually not with him..!!!

now putting it in the scenario presented in the question, a vendor by selling his oranges in a loss, actually vanishing the cost price of its 4 oranges...!!!

i hope it helps...!!!

Sorry! It really didn't help because the question reads " he loses the selling price of 4 oranges".

How about this?

Let 100 be the cost price of each orange that he sells, and x be the loss that he incurs on each of the 20 oranges that he sells. We are to answer x here.

Therefore, for the 20 oranges that he sells

CP = 20 × 100 = 2000 and SP = 20 (100 - x), hence

Loss = CP - SP = 20 x = SP of 4 oranges

or, 20 x = 4 (100 - x)

24 x = 400

or, x = [spoiler]50/3%



C[/spoiler]

I must have a masochistic streak in me - I really don't know why I keep replying to these threads!

This question isn't written in proper English. What does "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" mean? What does "loss percent" mean? That language is way too ambiguous for the actual GMAT and serious studiers shouldn't be using these questions for practice.

If you're going to make up questions (which I'm assuming that you're testing here so you can sell them/use them on your own site), at least make sure you use proper GMAT language!

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

Stuart Kovinsky wrote:I must have a masochistic streak in me - I really don't know why I keep replying to these threads!

This question isn't written in proper English. What does "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" mean? What does "loss percent" mean? That language is way too ambiguous for the actual GMAT and serious studiers shouldn't be using these questions for practice.

If you're going to make up questions (which I'm assuming that you're testing here so you can sell them/use them on your own site), at least make sure you use proper GMAT language!

sanju09 wrote:A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

I am not writing everything that's coming across my mind while replying to this attitude, just one question. Who on an English land doesn't know the direct meaning of "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" or "loss percent/percent loss"? Healthy suggestions in an affectionate atmosphere are still welcome, so please give an alternate wording to this question if you now understand what I really meant.

sanju09 wrote:I am not writing everything that's coming across my mind while replying to this attitude, just one question. Who on an English land doesn't know the direct meaning of "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" or "loss percent/percent loss"? Healthy suggestions in an affectionate atmosphere are still welcome, so please give an alternate wording to this question if you now understand what I really meant.

First, there are lots and lots of people who would have no idea what "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" means - especially people for whom English isn't their first language.

So, even though I always understood what you meant, that's not the point.

The point is that if you're trying to create questions to help people study for the GMAT, you should create questions that are as similar as possible to what actually appears on the GMAT. Creating questions with ambiguous language doesn't prepare people for the actual exam, on which they will never see ambiguous or careless language. The main reason that the GMAT is such an expensive test to take is that GMAC spends a ridiculous amount of money pre-testing every question that appears (based on one article that I read, it costs GMAC approximately $2000 per question).

Stuart Kovinsky wrote:

sanju09 wrote:I am not writing everything that's coming across my mind while replying to this attitude, just one question. Who on an English land doesn't know the direct meaning of "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" or "loss percent/percent loss"? Healthy suggestions in an affectionate atmosphere are still welcome, so please give an alternate wording to this question if you now understand what I really meant.

First, there are lots and lots of people who would have no idea what "loses the selling price of 4 oranges" means - especially people for whom English isn't their first language.

So, even though I always understood what you meant, that's not the point.

The point is that if you're trying to create questions to help people study for the GMAT, you should create questions that are as similar as possible to what actually appears on the GMAT. Creating questions with ambiguous language doesn't prepare people for the actual exam, on which they will never see ambiguous or careless language. The main reason that the GMAT is such an expensive test to take is that GMAC spends a ridiculous amount of money pre-testing every question that appears (based on one article that I read, it costs GMAC approximately $2000 per question).

Very well. Is the following wording correct?


When a fruit seller sells 20 of his oranges on a fixed selling price per piece, he bears a loss that is equivalent to the selling price of 4 of those oranges. What is the percent of loss in his aforesaid deal?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%

Made up

And I really don't know what takes GMAT $2000 per question; an enquiry committee must be set up for such an overgenerous quiz show.

I solved it this way:

Let P be purchase price and S be sale price of 1 piece of orange

Total loss =total P- Total S

20P-20S = 4 S ( As loss is selling price of 4 oranges)

5P-5S =S
(P-S)/ S = 1/5

Precentage loss =

(Change in value/ original value)*100

and it will be 20%

Please post OA

ankurmit wrote:I solved it this way:

Let P be purchase price and S be sale price of 1 piece of orange

Total loss =total P- Total S

20P-20S = 4 S ( As loss is selling price of 4 oranges)

5P-5S =S
(P-S)/ S = 1/5

Precentage loss =

(Change in value/ original value)*100

and it will be 20%

Please post OA

CP for the Cost Price and SP for the Selling Price

Percent of loss = {(CP - SP)/CP} times 100 NOT {(CP - SP)/SP} times 100. Remember, be it profit or loss, its percent is always calculated on the basis of the CP, not that of SP.

OA is [spoiler]C[/spoiler]

You can refer to my method presented above for verification.

thanks Sanju

A fruit seller loses the selling price of 4 oranges when he sells 20 oranges. What is his loss percent?
(A) 25%
(B) 20%
(C) 50/3%
(D) 15%
(E) 40/3%


let cost price be 100,
selling price=100-x;
2000-20(100-x)=4(100-x);
24x=400;

x=400/24;


hence his loss percentage= {[4(100 - (400/24))]/2000} * 100 ;
hence , {[4(100 - (100/6))]/2000} * 100 ;
= {[4(500/6)]/2000} * 100 ;
= {[2000/6]/2000} * 100;
= {1/6} * 100;
= 100/6;
= 50/3 ;
this is the correct ans , i guess..