Bunuel wrote:
How much greater is the combined area in square inches of the front and back of a rectangular sheet of paper measuring 11 inches by 17 inches than that of a rectangular sheet of paper measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches?
A. 50%
B. 87%
C. 100%
D. 187%
E. 200%
Kudos for a correct solution.
VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTIONCorrect Answer: C
Because we're concerned with the percentage difference between the two sheets of paper, we don't need to calculate the areas if it's easier to simply compute the difference in percent/ratio terms. The area of the larger sheet is 11 * 17 * 2, while the area of the smaller sheet is 11 * 8 . 5 * 2 . Because the 11s cancel each other out, and 17 = 8.5 * 2, the difference between the two sheets is that the larger sheet has an additional factor of 2. Therefore, the larger sheet is twice the area of the smaller. Because this is a percentage difference problem, we need to determine how much must be added to the smaller to equal the larger. We would need to double it, or add one more sheet, to do so, so the larger sheet is 100% greater (the initial sheet plus an entire new one) than the smaller, and the correct answer is C.
Greetings.
I have a small confusion: Isn't the question stem asking us to calculate the areas of both-front and back- sides of the 11, 17 sheet of paper and then compare the total combined area with the the total area of smaller rectangle that has sides 11, 8.5?
Please let me know if I am misinterpreting the question stem.
Thank you.