In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers,

[BTGModeratorVI]

In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers, 20% are engineers, and the rest are managers. Marketers make an average salary of $50,000 a year, and engineers make an average of $80,000. What is the average salary for managers if the average for all employees is also $80,000?

A. $80,000
B. $130,000
C. $240,000
D. $290,000
E. $320,000

Answer: D
Source: Magoosh

[Jay@ManhattanReview]

In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers, 20% are engineers, and the rest are managers. Marketers make an average salary of $50,000 a year, and engineers make an average of $80,000. What is the average salary for managers if the average for all employees is also $80,000?

A. $80,000
B. $130,000
C. $240,000
D. $290,000
E. $320,000

Answer: D
Source: Magoosh

Say there are 100 employees.

Sum of salaries of all the employees = 100*80,000 = $8,000k;

Sum of salaries of all the marketers = 70*50,000 = $3,500k;
Sum of salaries of all the engineers = 20*80,000 = $1,600k;
Sum of salaries of all the managers = 10*xk = $10xk; where $xk is the average salary for managers

We have to get the value of x.

Thus, 8,000k = 3,500k + 1,600k + 10xk

$2,900k = 10xk

x = $290k = $290,000

The correct answer: D

Hope this helps!

-Jay
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[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers, 20% are engineers, and the rest are managers. Marketers make an average salary of $50,000 a year, and engineers make an average of $80,000. What is the average salary for managers if the average for all employees is also $80,000?

A. $80,000
B. $130,000
C. $240,000
D. $290,000
E. $320,000

Answer: D
Source: Magoosh

We can solve this using weighted averages

Weighted average of groups combined = (group A proportion)(group A average) + (group B proportion)(group B average) + (group C proportion)(group C average) + . . .

We're told that:
The marketers (with an average annual salary of $50,000) comprise 7/10 of the group
The engineers (with an average annual salary of $80,000) comprise 2/10 of the group
The managers (with an average annual salary of $x) comprise 1/10 of the group
The average salary of all groups COMBINED = 80,000

Applying the formula we get: 80,000 = (7/10)($50,000) + (2/10)($80,000) + (1/10)(x)
Simplify: 80,000 = 35,000 + 16,000 + 0.1x
Simplify: 80,000 = 51,000 + 0.1x
We get: 29,000 = 0.1x
Solve: x = 290,000

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers, 20% are engineers, and the rest are managers. Marketers make an average salary of $50,000 a year, and engineers make an average of $80,000. What is the average salary for managers if the average for all employees is also $80,000?

A. $80,000
B. $130,000
C. $240,000
D. $290,000
E. $320,000

Answer: D
Source: Magoosh

We can let the total number of employees in Plutarch Enterprises be 10. So 7 are marketers, 2 are engineers, and 1 is a manager. Letting n = the salary of the manager, we can create the equation:

(7 x 50,000 + 2 x 80,000 + n)/10 = 80,000

350,000 + 160,000 + n = 800,000

510,000 + n = 800,000

n = 290,000

Answer: D

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

In Plutarch Enterprises, 70% of the employees are marketers, 20% are engineers, and the rest are managers. Marketers make an average salary of $50,000 a year, and engineers make an average of $80,000. What is the average salary for managers if the average for all employees is also $80,000?

A. $80,000
B. $130,000
C. $240,000
D. $290,000
E. $320,000

Answer: D
Source: Magoosh

We can solve this using weighted averages

Weighted average of groups combined = (group A proportion)(group A average) + (group B proportion)(group B average) + (group C proportion)(group C average) + . . .

We're told that:
The marketers (with an average annual salary of $50,000) comprise 7/10 of the group
The engineers (with an average annual salary of $80,000) comprise 2/10 of the group
The managers (with an average annual salary of $x) comprise 1/10 of the group
The average salary of all groups COMBINED = 80,000

Applying the formula we get: 80,000 = (7/10)($50,000) + (2/10)($80,000) + (1/10)(x)
Simplify: 80,000 = 35,000 + 16,000 + 0.1x
Simplify: 80,000 = 51,000 + 0.1x
We get: 29,000 = 0.1x
Solve: x = 290,000

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent