Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Manhattan PS
This topic has expert replies
- GMATGuruNY
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 15539
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
- Location: New York, NY
- Thanked: 13060 times
- Followed by:1906 members
- GMAT Score:790
Let x = 5 pounds of candy.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Let d = 20 dollars per pound.
Cost = 5*20 = 100.
Let w = 2 pounds of candy eaten.
Number of pounds left = 5-2 = 3 pounds.
Let m = $10 per pound selling price.
Selling price to Jill = 3*10 = 30.
Amount spent by John = 100-30 = 70. This is our target.
Now we plug x=5, d=20, w=2 and m=10 into the answers to see which yields our target of 70.
Only answer choice C works:
xd -xm + wm = (5*20) - (5*10) + (2*10) = 70.
The correct answer is C.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
-
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 2789
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 am
- Location: Chennai, India
- Thanked: 206 times
- Followed by:43 members
- GMAT Score:640
Thanks a lot GMATGuru,GMATGuruNY wrote:Let x = 5 pounds of candy.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Let d = 20 dollars per pound.
Cost = 5*20 = 100.
Let w = 2 pounds of candy eaten.
Number of pounds left = 5-2 = 3 pounds.
Let m = $10 per pound selling price.
Selling price to Jill = 3*10 = 30.
Amount spent by John = 100-30 = 70. This is our target.
Now we plug x=5, d=20, w=2 and m=10 into the answers to see which yields our target of 70.
Only answer choice C works:
xd -xm + wm = (5*20) - (5*10) + (2*10) = 70.
The correct answer is C.
Is there any particular way of choosing numbers?
I do understand that x needs to be > w, and so on for this particluar problem. But in general, do you follow any specific rule for choosing numbers, to get to the answer faster.
TIA,
GK
-
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:20 am
- Thanked: 5 times
- GMAT Score:640
Do we have to chose numbers for this one?GmatKiss wrote:Thanks a lot GMATGuru,GMATGuruNY wrote:Let x = 5 pounds of candy.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Let d = 20 dollars per pound.
Cost = 5*20 = 100.
Let w = 2 pounds of candy eaten.
Number of pounds left = 5-2 = 3 pounds.
Let m = $10 per pound selling price.
Selling price to Jill = 3*10 = 30.
Amount spent by John = 100-30 = 70. This is our target.
Now we plug x=5, d=20, w=2 and m=10 into the answers to see which yields our target of 70.
Only answer choice C works:
xd -xm + wm = (5*20) - (5*10) + (2*10) = 70.
The correct answer is C.
Is there any particular way of choosing numbers?
I do understand that x needs to be > w, and so on for this particluar problem. But in general, do you follow any specific rule for choosing numbers, to get to the answer faster.
TIA,
GK
Jack spent xd on the candy and sold it for (x-w)m
So in total, Jack spent xd-(x-w)m, which is option C
-
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 2789
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 am
- Location: Chennai, India
- Thanked: 206 times
- Followed by:43 members
- GMAT Score:640
Hi,sunilrawat wrote:Do we have to chose numbers for this one?GmatKiss wrote:Thanks a lot GMATGuru,GMATGuruNY wrote:Let x = 5 pounds of candy.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Let d = 20 dollars per pound.
Cost = 5*20 = 100.
Let w = 2 pounds of candy eaten.
Number of pounds left = 5-2 = 3 pounds.
Let m = $10 per pound selling price.
Selling price to Jill = 3*10 = 30.
Amount spent by John = 100-30 = 70. This is our target.
Now we plug x=5, d=20, w=2 and m=10 into the answers to see which yields our target of 70.
Only answer choice C works:
xd -xm + wm = (5*20) - (5*10) + (2*10) = 70.
The correct answer is C.
Is there any particular way of choosing numbers?
I do understand that x needs to be > w, and so on for this particluar problem. But in general, do you follow any specific rule for choosing numbers, to get to the answer faster.
TIA,
GK
Jack spent xd on the candy and sold it for (x-w)m
So in total, Jack spent xd-(x-w)m, which is option C
This problem can be solved in n no.of ways, assigning no.s is one amongst them.
-GK
GMATGuruNY wrote:Let x = 5 pounds of candy.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Let d = 20 dollars per pound.
Cost = 5*20 = 100.
Let w = 2 pounds of candy eaten.
Number of pounds left = 5-2 = 3 pounds.
Let m = $10 per pound selling price.
Selling price to Jill = 3*10 = 30.
Amount spent by John = 100-30 = 70. This is our target.
Now we plug x=5, d=20, w=2 and m=10 into the answers to see which yields our target of 70.
Only answer choice C works:
xd -xm + wm = (5*20) - (5*10) + (2*10) = 70.
The correct answer is C.
Hi Mitch,
I tried pluggin in numbers and it didn't work for me.
x=10
d=2
w=5
m=3
So, he purchased for 20$ (10*2), ate 5, sold 5*3=15. So he spent net 20-15=5, which is answer A. In C, I get 20$. Please explain what went wrong for me. Thanks!
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Scott@TargetTestPrep
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 7272
- Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Thanked: 43 times
- Followed by:29 members
Jack spent dx dollars on candies before he sold some of them to Jill. Since he ate w pounds of candies, he had x - w pounds left, and since he sold them to Jill at m dollars per pound, he received m(x - w) = mx - mw dollars from Jill. Therefore, net of Jill's payment, he spent dx - (mx - mw) = dx - mx + mw dollars on candies.GmatKiss wrote:Jack bought x pounds of candy at d dollars per pound. If he ate w pounds
of his candy and sold the rest to Jill for m dollars per pound, how much
money did Jack spend, in dollars, net of Jill's payment?
(A) xd- wm
(B) xm - wd
(C) xd -xm + wm
(D) xd+xm-xw
(E) 2xd-xm
Please let me know the procedure to solve this problem.
Answer: C
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]
See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews