## question from Grockit - can't get it

##### This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 9
Joined: 02 Apr 2010
Thanked: 2 times

### question from Grockit - can't get it

by wiut » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:57 am
Ann and Bill are both salespeople at a car dealership. Ann earns $1250 each month plus 0.4 percent of her sales over$200,000 for that month. Bill earns 0.5 percent of his total sales each month. If in a given month Ann and Bill earned the same amount of money and had the same total sales, what was each of their total sales for that month?

Thank you!

GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3650
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Location: India
Thanked: 267 times
Followed by:81 members
GMAT Score:760
by sanju09 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:12 am
wiut wrote:Ann and Bill are both salespeople at a car dealership. Ann earns $1250 each month plus 0.4 percent of her sales over$200,000 for that month. Bill earns 0.5 percent of his total sales each month. If in a given month Ann and Bill earned the same amount of money and had the same total sales, what was each of their total sales for that month?

Thank you!

If $t was each of their total sales for that month, then Ann's earnings in the month =$[1250 + 0.004 (t - 200000)], and that of Bill's

=$0.005 t Since, the two earnings are given as equal, we can have$[1250 + 0.004 (t - 200000)] = $0.005 t 0.005 t - 0.004 t = 1250 - 800 0.001 t = 450 Or t = [spoiler]$450,000[/spoiler]
The mind is everything. What you think you become. -Lord Buddha

Sanjeev K Saxena
Quantitative Instructor
The Princeton Review - Manya Abroad
Lucknow-226001

www.manyagroup.com

GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15521
Joined: 25 May 2010
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1894 members
GMAT Score:790
by GMATGuruNY » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:13 am
wiut wrote:Ann and Bill are both salespeople at a car dealership. Ann earns $1250 each month plus 0.4 percent of her sales over$200,000 for that month. Bill earns 0.5 percent of his total sales each month. If in a given month Ann and Bill earned the same amount of money and had the same total sales, what was each of their total sales for that month?

Thank you!
We could plug in the answer choices, one of which would say that Ann and Bill each had sales of $450,000. Answer choice:$450,000 sales for each
Ann's sales over 200,000 = 450,000 - 200,000 = 250,000.
Ann earns = 1250 + .004*250,000 = 1250+1000 = 2250.
Bill earns = .005*450,000 = 2250.
Success! Ann and Bill earn the same amount.
Mitch Hunt
Private Tutor for the GMAT and GRE
GMATGuruNY@gmail.com

If you find one of my posts helpful, please take a moment to click on the "UPVOTE" icon.

Available for tutoring in NYC and long-distance.
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Legendary Member
Posts: 537
Joined: 22 Jan 2010
Thanked: 14 times
Followed by:1 members
by frank1 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:13 am
wiut wrote:Ann and Bill are both salespeople at a car dealership. Ann earns $1250 each month plus 0.4 percent of her sales over$200,000 for that month. Bill earns 0.5 percent of his total sales each month. If in a given month Ann and Bill earned the same amount of money and had the same total sales, what was each of their total sales for that month?

Thank you!
Lets sales be X
same for both as per question
now
1250+(X-200,00)x.(04/100)=(0.5/100)*X

i think this gives value for X

If it were gmat question best tactics would be to backsolve and check options in this equation
GMAT score is equally counted as your GPA and 78 clicks can change you life.

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 9
Joined: 02 Apr 2010
Thanked: 2 times
by wiut » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:27 am
First of all, thanks to the Experts (and non-experts) for such a fast reply! Its fantastic! I never actually thought that it could be that fast! :!:

The explanation is perfect! Actually, I just made an error with (t-200,000) - I used (200,000*0,004x).

Once again, many thanks and good working week for everyone! :!: :!: :!:

• Page 1 of 1