Carcass wrote:
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
Kudos for the right answer and explanation
Question part of the project GRE Quantitative Reasoning Daily Challenge - (2021) EDITIONGRE - Math BookIMPORTANT:
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 equationTotal amount Alex paid =
Total amount Victor paid We get:
$12 + 90% of b =
$15 + 85% of bRewrite 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