The price of gasoline at a service station increased from $1.65 per gallon last week to $1.82 per gallon this week. Sally paid $26.40 for gasoline last week at the station. How much more will Sally pay this week at the station for the same amount of gasoline?
A. $1.70
B. $2.55
C. $2.64
D. $2.72
E. $2.90
Answer: D
Source: Official Guide
The price of gasoline at a service station increased from $1.65 per gallon last week to $1.82 per gallon this week. Sall
This topic has expert replies
-
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 1622
- Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:22 am
- Followed by:2 members
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Brent@GMATPrepNow
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 16207
- Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm
- Location: Vancouver, BC
- Thanked: 5254 times
- Followed by:1268 members
- GMAT Score:770
Since the amount paid is proportional to the price per gallon, we can use equivalent ratiosGmat_mission wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:27 amThe price of gasoline at a service station increased from $1.65 per gallon last week to $1.82 per gallon this week. Sally paid $26.40 for gasoline last week at the station. How much more will Sally pay this week at the station for the same amount of gasoline?
A. $1.70
B. $2.55
C. $2.64
D. $2.72
E. $2.90
Answer: D
Source: Official Guide
Let x = how much Sally will pay THIS WEEK
We get: 26.40/1.65 = x/1.82
Cross multiply to get: 1.65x = (26.40)(1.82)
Divide both sides by 1.65 to get: x = (26.40)(1.82)/1.65
So, the amount Sally pays this week = (26.40)(1.82)/1.65
ASIDE: This expression is a bit of a mess to calculate (without a calculator!!)
Notice that 1.82/1.65 probably won't simplify nicely, but maybe 26.40/1.65 will simplify.
At this point, we have two options.
We can use long division to calculate 26.40/1.65, or we can try to simplify the fraction.
Let's simplify the fraction
Take: 26.40/1.65
Multiply top and bottom by 100 to get: 2640/165 [much easier to work with integers!]
Divide top and bottom by 5 to get: 528/33 [below I have a video that shows a quick way to mentally divide numbers by 5]
Divide top and bottom by 3 to get: 176/11
Divide top and bottom by 11 to get: 16
Since 26.40/1.65 = 16, we know that (26.40)(1.82)/1.65 = (1.82)(26.40/1.65) = (1.82)(16)
= $29.12
How much more will Sally pay this week at the station for the same amount of gasoline?
Answer = $29.12 - $26.40
= $2.72
Answer: D
It's not pretty, but it MIGHT be a little faster than long division.
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Scott@TargetTestPrep
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 7285
- Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Thanked: 43 times
- Followed by:29 members
Solution:Gmat_mission wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:27 amThe price of gasoline at a service station increased from $1.65 per gallon last week to $1.82 per gallon this week. Sally paid $26.40 for gasoline last week at the station. How much more will Sally pay this week at the station for the same amount of gasoline?
A. $1.70
B. $2.55
C. $2.64
D. $2.72
E. $2.90
Answer: D
Source: Official Guide
Since $26.40 bought 26.40/1.65 = 16 gallons last week, and this week she has to pay 1.82 - 1.65 = $0.17 more per gallon, she has to pay 16 x 0.17 = $2.72 more this week for the same amount of gasoline.
Answer: D
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