Store sells two types of pens

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talaangoshtari: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 154; Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 4:29 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 8 times

by talaangoshtari » Thu May 14, 2015 11:47 am

A certain store sells two types of pens: one type for $2 per pen and the other type for $3 per pen. If a customer can spend up to $25 to buy pens at the store and there is no sales tax, what is the greatest number of pens the customer can buy?
A.9
B.10
C.11
D.12
E.20

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Thu May 14, 2015 11:47 am

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu May 14, 2015 11:54 am

talaangoshtari wrote:A certain store sells two types of pens: one type for $2 per pen and the other type for $3 per pen. If a customer can spend up to $25 to buy pens at the store and there is no sales tax, what is the greatest number of pens the customer can buy?
A.9
B.10
C.11
D.12
E.20

We can PLUG IN THE ANSWERS.
Since the question stem asks for the GREATEST number of pens that can be purchased for $25, start with the biggest answer choice.

E: 20
Since the price of each cheaper pen = $2, and 20*2 = $40, it is not possible to buy 20 pens.
Eliminate E.

D: 12
Since the price of each cheaper pen = $2, and 12*2 = $24, it is possible to buy 12 pens.

The correct answer is D.

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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

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu May 14, 2015 11:55 am

talaangoshtari wrote:A certain store sells two types of pens: one type for $2 per pen and the other type for $3 per pen. If a customer can spend up to $25 to buy pens at the store and there is no sales tax, what is the greatest number of pens the customer can buy?
A.9
B.10
C.11
D.12
E.20

We can maximize the number of pens we buy by buying as many CHEAP ($2) pens as possible.
We can buy 12 CHEAP pens for a total cost of $24
Alternatively, we can 11 CHEAP ($2) pens and 1 expensive ($3) for a total cost of $25
In both cases, we are able to buy 12 pens.

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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