A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax...

[BTGmoderatorLU]

A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

The OA is B.

I'm really confused with this PS question. Experts, any suggestion about how to solve it? Thanks in advance.

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

10% tip
Tip = 10% of $35.50 = $3.55
TOTAL AMOUNT = $35.50 + $3.55 = $39.05

15% tip
Tip = 15% of $35.50 ≈ $3.55 + $1.77 ≈ $5.32
TOTAL AMOUNT ≈ $35.50 + $5.32 = $40.82

So, the TOTAL cost will be between $39.05 and $40.82

Only answer choice B meets this requirement

Cheers,
Brent

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

A meal cost $35.50 and there was no tax. If the tip was more than 10 percent but less than 15 percent of the price, then the total amount paid should be:

A. 40 - 42
B. 39 - 41
C. 38 - 40
D. 37 - 39
E. 36 - 37

The OA is B.

I'm really confused with this PS question. Experts, any suggestion about how to solve it? Thanks in advance.

We can determine the lower end and the upper end of the meal cost plus the tip. The lower end is the meal cost plus 10% tip:

35.50 + 0.1(35.50) = 35.50 + 3.55 = $39.05

The upper end is the meal cost plus 15% tip:

35.50 + 0.15(35.50) = 35.50 + 5.33 = $40.83

Thus, the total amount paid is between $39 and $41.

Answer: B