The Balance of A Trader Weighs 10% Less than It Should GMAT Problem Solving

Question: The balance of a trader weighs 10% less than it should. Still the trader marks up his goods to get an overall profit of 20%. What is the mark up on the cost price?

  1. 40%
  2. 8%
  3. 25%
  4. 16.66%
  5. 9%


Approach Solution (1)

Original cost before weight adjustment: x
Cost after 90% weight adjustment:\({9\over10}x\)
20% profit on\({{9\over10}x}:{({120\over100})}{({9\over10})}(x)or{({108\over100})}x\)
Markup on original cost of x:\({{({108\over100}x)}\over{x-1}}={8\over100}\)
Correct option: B

Approach Solution (2)

The most natural way to deal with ‘weights’ questions is by assuming values
Say the trader’s balance shows 100 grams. It is actually 90 grams because it weighs 10% less. Say, the cost price is $90 ($1/gm). Since he gets profit of 20%, the selling price must be
\(90+{({120\over100})}*90=$108\)
Since the cost price is actually supposed to be $100 (for 100 grams) and the selling price is $108, the mark up is simply 8%
Correct option: B

Approach Solution (3)

Given: The balance of a trader weighs 10% less than it should. Still the trader marks up his goods to get an overall profit of 20%
Asked: What is the mark up on the cost price?
Let the mark up on the cost price be x
\({{1\over0.9}}*(1+x)=1.2\)
\((1+x)=1.2*0.9=1.08\)
\(x =8\%\)
Correct option: B

“The balance of a trader weighs 10% less than it should. Still the trader marks up his goods to get an overall profit of 20%. What is the mark up on the cost price?”- is a topic of the GMAT Quantitative reasoning section of GMAT. This question has been taken from the book “GMAT Official Guide Quantitative Review”. To solve GMAT Problem Solving questions a student must have knowledge about a good amount of qualitative skills. The GMAT Quant topic in the problem-solving part requires calculative mathematical problems that should be solved with proper mathematical knowledge.

Suggested GMAT Problem Solving Samples:

Comments


No Comments To Show