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Bunuel
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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 9%. However, the merch 29 Jul 2022, 05:04
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58% (02:09) correct 42% (02:22) wrong based on 276 sessions

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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 5%. However, the merchant falsifies the meter scale and gains 25%. What is the measure of the scale, in centimeters, that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth? (1 meter = 100 centimeters)

A. 70
B. 72
C. 75
D. 76
E. 77

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Bunuel
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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 9%. However, the merch 03 Jan 2024, 00:46
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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 5%. However, the merchant falsifies the meter scale and gains 25%. What is the measure of the scale that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth?

A. 70
B. 72
C. 75
D. 76
E. 77

Hi Bunuel and av1901, I am having a hard time with the wording of this question. The way the question is worded, it asks us to solve for the measure of the scale that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth, yet the question seems to be solved by using simple profit and loss, giving us an answer in dollars. The way this question is worded does not make it obvious to understand that the final answer must be in dollars. Rather it seems that we are solving for a length (the measure of the scale used when measuring 1 meter of cloth). Please advise.
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Official Solution:

A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 5%. However, the merchant falsifies the meter scale and gains 25%. What is the measure of the scale, in centimeters, that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth? (1 meter = 100 centimeters)

A. 70
B. 72
C. 75
D. 76
E. 77


Let's assume that the cost of 1 centimeter of cloth is $1. Therefore, for a meter (100 centimeters), the base cost would be $100. However, the merchant claims to sell 1 meter of cloth at a 5% loss, which means he is selling it for $95 (95% of the original cost).

In reality, this $95 still incorporates a 25% gain for the merchant, which means \(1.25 * ($1 * \text{actual length in meters}) = $95\). This yields \(\text{actual length in meters} = 0.76\). So, the actual length of cloth the merchant claims to be 1 meter is, in fact, only 0.76 meters.


Answer: D­

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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 9%. However, the merch 29 Jul 2022, 13:15
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Bunuel
A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 5%. However, the merchant falsifies the meter scale and gains 25%. What is the measure of the scale that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth?

A. 70
B. 72
C. 75
D. 76
E. 77
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Let the original purchase price be \(100\)
Merchant professes to sell at \(5%\) loss so \(SP = 95\)

But he still gets \(25%\) profit so the selling price of \(95\) is actually equal to \(25% (1.25)\) profit

\(95 = 1.25W => W = 95/1.25 = 76\)

Answer - D
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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 9%. However, the merch 02 Jan 2024, 21:11
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Hi Bunuel and av1901, I am having a hard time with the wording of this question. The way the question is worded, it asks us to solve for the measure of the scale that he uses when measuring 1 meter of cloth, yet the question seems to be solved by using simple profit and loss, giving us an answer in dollars. The way this question is worded does not make it obvious to understand that the final answer must be in dollars. Rather it seems that we are solving for a length (the measure of the scale used when measuring 1 meter of cloth). Please advise.
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A cloth merchant professes to sell at a loss of 9%. However, the merch 30 Aug 2024, 07:39
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First, let's understand what's happening:

The merchant claims to sell at a 5% loss
But actually, they're gaining 25% due to a false meter scale


Let's say the actual cost price of 1 meter of cloth is x.
The merchant claims to sell at a 5% loss, so the selling price would be: 0.95x
However, they're actually gaining 25%, so the real selling price is: 1.25x
This means that the amount of cloth the merchant is actually selling for 1.25x is what they claim is 0.95 meters.
We can set up an equation:
0.95 / actual length = 1.25 / 1
Cross multiply:
0.95 = 1.25 * actual length

Solve for actual length:
Actual length = 0.95 / 1.25 = 0.76
This means the merchant is actually selling 0.76 meters when they claim to sell 1 meter.

To find the scale in centimeters:
0.76 * 100 = 76 cm

Therefore, the merchant's false meter scale measures 76 cm for what should be 1 meter (100 cm).
The correct answer is D. 76 cm.­
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