Alex paid a $12 fee to receive a 10% discount off of the list price on all

[BTGModeratorVI]

Alex paid a $12 fee to receive a 10% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in a six-month period. Victor paid a $15 fee to receive a 15% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in the same period. If each bought books with a total list price of b during that period and each paid the same net amount, including the discount and the fee, what is b ?

A. $54
B. $60
C. $66
D. $100
E. $120

Answer: B
Source: Princeton Review

[Jay@ManhattanReview]

Alex paid a $12 fee to receive a 10% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in a six-month period. Victor paid a $15 fee to receive a 15% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in the same period. If each bought books with a total list price of b during that period and each paid the same net amount, including the discount and the fee, what is b ?

A. $54
B. $60
C. $66
D. $100
E. $120

Answer: B
Source: Princeton Review

For Alex, total bill = 12 + (100 – 10)% of b = 12 + 0.9b;
For Victor, total bill = 15 + (100 – 15)% of b = 15 + 0.85b;

=> 12 + 0.9b = 15 + 0.85b

b = $60

Correct answer: B

Hope this helps!

-Jay
_________________
Manhattan Review GMAT Prep

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[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Alex paid a $12 fee to receive a 10% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in a six-month period. Victor paid a $15 fee to receive a 15% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in the same period. If each bought books with a total list price of b during that period and each paid the same net amount, including the discount and the fee, what is b ?

A. $54
B. $60
C. $66
D. $100
E. $120

Answer: B
Source: Princeton Review

IMPORTANT:
If Alex received a 10% discount, then Alex PAID 90% of the cost of the books
If Victor received a 15% discount, then Victor PAID 85% of the cost of the books

Start with a word equation

Total amount Alex paid = Total amount Victor paid
We get: $12 + 90% of b = $15 + 85% of b
Rewrite as: $12 + (0.9)(b) = $15 + (0.85)(b)
Eliminate decimals by multiplying both sides by 100 to get: 1200 + 90b = 1500 + 85b
Subtract 1200 from both sides: 90b = 300 + 85b
Subtract 85b from both sides: 5b = 300
Solve: b = 60

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent

[Scott@TargetTestPrep]

Alex paid a $12 fee to receive a 10% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in a six-month period. Victor paid a $15 fee to receive a 15% discount off of the list price on all books he bought in the same period. If each bought books with a total list price of b during that period and each paid the same net amount, including the discount and the fee, what is b ?

A. $54
B. $60
C. $66
D. $100
E. $120

Answer: B

Solution:

We can create the equation:

12 + 0.9b = 15 + 0.85b

0.05b = 3

b = 60

Answer: B