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GMAT - Simple Arithmetic

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GMAT - Simple Arithmetic

by akay » Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:11 am
I am somehow not being able to get this one...I know it is easy but *$&!

Before leaving on a trip, Ms. Rodes exchanged 500 United States dollars for German marks at an exchange rate of 1.55 marks per dollar. When the trip was canceled, she exchanged the total amount of marks for dollars at an exchange rate of 0.60 dollar per mark. What was the total amount, in dollars, that she lost through the two transactions?

(A) $20.00
(B) $30.00
(C) $35.00
(D) $45.00
(E) $55.00
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by mschling52 » Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:25 am
I think it's C - $35.

$500 * (1.55 Mark/$) = 775 Marks (the $ units in the numerator and denominator cancel each other out)

775 marks * (0.60 $/Mark) = $465

Then, $500-$465 = $35 lost.
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tks - my stupid assumptions

by akay » Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:57 am
tks for some reason I was dividing 500 by 1.55 instead of multiplying (all the while equating the Mark with the Euro in my mind). Now I know better. tks
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by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Mon Dec 09, 2019 5:18 pm
akay wrote:I am somehow not being able to get this one...I know it is easy but *$&!

Before leaving on a trip, Ms. Rodes exchanged 500 United States dollars for German marks at an exchange rate of 1.55 marks per dollar. When the trip was canceled, she exchanged the total amount of marks for dollars at an exchange rate of 0.60 dollar per mark. What was the total amount, in dollars, that she lost through the two transactions?

(A) $20.00
(B) $30.00
(C) $35.00
(D) $45.00
(E) $55.00

First, Ms. Rodes received 500 x 1.55 = 775 marks from exchanging 500 dollars.

Next, when converting marks back to dollars, she received 775 x 0.6 = 465 dollars.

Thus, she lost 500 - 465 = 35 dollars.

Answer: C

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Dec 12, 2019 7:57 am
akay wrote:I am somehow not being able to get this one...I know it is easy but *$&!

Before leaving on a trip, Ms. Rodes exchanged 500 United States dollars for German marks at an exchange rate of 1.55 marks per dollar. When the trip was canceled, she exchanged the total amount of marks for dollars at an exchange rate of 0.60 dollar per mark. What was the total amount, in dollars, that she lost through the two transactions?

(A) $20.00
(B) $30.00
(C) $35.00
(D) $45.00
(E) $55.00
Let's use equivalent ratios to solve this question

Ms. Rodes exchanged 500 United States dollars for German marks at an exchange rate of 1.55 marks per dollar.
In other words: marks/dollars = 1.55/1

So, we can write: x/500 = 1.55/1
Cross multiply to get: x = (500)(1.55) = 775
So, $500 is equal to 775 marks

When the trip was canceled, she exchanged the total amount of marks for dollars at an exchange rate of 0.60 dollar per mark.
So she now wants to exchange her 775 marks to dollars.
The new exchange rate is: dollars/marks = 0.6/1
So, we can write: y/775= 0.6/1
Cross multiply to get: y = (775)(0.6) = 465 dollars

What was the total amount, in dollars, that she lost through the two transactions?
Ms Rodes started with $500 and now has 465 dollars
$500 - $465 = $35

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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