16 percent of it by 42

[sanju09]

The number which exceeds 16 percent of it by 42 is
(A) 42
(B) 48
(C) 50
(D) 52
(E) 57


[spoiler]??????????[/spoiler]

[Geva@EconomistGMAT]

The number which exceeds 16 percent of it by 42 is
(A) 42
(B) 48
(C) 50
(D) 52
(E) 57


[spoiler]??????????[/spoiler]

reverse Plug in the answers. Start with the middle answer choice C: if the number is 50, then 16% of 50=8 (half of 16% of 100). Since 50 exceeds 8 by 42, this is the right answer.

[Rezinka]

It can be done by simple calculation as well. I think plugging in will require much more time.

Solution :
Let the number be 'x'.
The question says that the number exceeds 16% of it. So, we can write :

x - (16/100)x

by 42; so :

x - (16/100)x = 42
100x - 16x = 4200
84x = 4200
x = 50