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by [email protected] » Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:50 pm
Hi didieravoaka,

In these types of questions, you have to be careful about how you set up your initial equations; the concept of 'percentage change' works in a very specific way.

We're told that marking up the price of an item 80% leads to a final price of $45...

X + .8X = $45
1.8X = $45
(9/5)X = $45

X = (45)(5/9)
X = 25

Now that we know the original price of the item, we can determine how many MORE dollars must be added to increase the original price 100%

X = 25
A 100% increase in price = 50

Since we're already at $45, we need $5 more.

Final Answer: E

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Feb 22, 2016 4:41 am
A retailer bought a shirt at wholesale and marked it up 80% to its initial retail price of $45. By how many more dollars does he need to increase the price to achieve a 100% markup?

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An alternate approach is to PLUG IN THE ANSWERS.

Initial markup = 80% = 4/5.
Implication of the denominator in red:
All of the prices in the problem are almost certainly divisible by 5.

The answer choices imply the following options for the selling price after a 100% markup:
45+1 = 46
45+2 = 47
45+3 = 48
45+4 = 49
45+5 = 50.

Only E yields a multiple of 5.
Since the price after a 100% markup is DOUBLE the wholesale price, E implies a wholesale price of $25.
If E is correct, adding 80% to the wholesale price will yield a selling price of $45:
25 + (4/5)(25) = 45.
Success!

The correct answer is E.
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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Feb 22, 2016 4:55 am
A retailer bought a shirt at wholesale and marked it up 80% to its initial retail price of $45. By how many more dollars does he need to increase the price to achieve a 100% markup?

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5
A markup of 80% implies 180% of the wholesale price.
A markup of 100% implies 200% of the wholesale price.

According to the prompt, 180% of the wholesale price = $45.
To calculate 200% of the wholesale price, we can solve the following proportion:
(180%)/45 = (200%)/x
180/45 = 200/x
4 = 200/x
4x = 200
x = 50.

Since the final selling price = $50 and the initial selling price = $45, the increase in the selling price = 50-45 = 5.

The correct answer is E.
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by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Fri Dec 15, 2017 11:32 am
A retailer bought a shirt at wholesale and marked it up 80% to its initial retail price of $45. By how many more dollars does he need to increase the price to achieve a 100% markup?

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We can let x = the increased price and create the following proportion:

1.8/45 = 2/x

1.8x = 90

x = 90/1.8 = 50

Thus, the item needs to be marked up by 5 more dollars.

Answer: E

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