If \(p\) is a price in whole cents, which of the following could NOT be the result of increasing \(p\) by \(20\%?\)
A. \(\$1.20\)
B. \(\$1.25\)
C. \(\$1.38\)
D. \(\$1.80\)
E. \(\$2.52\)
Answer: B
Source: Princeton Review
If \(p\) is a price in whole cents, which of the following could NOT be the result of increasing \(p\) by \(20\%?\)
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Solution:Gmat_mission wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:41 amIf \(p\) is a price in whole cents, which of the following could NOT be the result of increasing \(p\) by \(20\%?\)
A. \(\$1.20\)
B. \(\$1.25\)
C. \(\$1.38\)
D. \(\$1.80\)
E. \(\$2.52\)
Answer: B
Notice that $1.25, or 125 cents, is the only odd number of cents of the answer choices, so we will guess that $1.25 couldn’t be the result of increasing p by 20%. In other words, if p is increased by 20% and the result is $1.25, p couldn’t be a whole number of cents. Let’s show that this is indeed the case.
p x 1.2 = 125
p = 104.167
We see that 104.167 is not a whole number.
Answer: B
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