Bunuel
A vendor buys 10 t-shirts at an average price of $14 per t-shirt. He then buys 15 more t-shirts at an average price of $11 per t-shirt. What is the average price per t-shirt that the vendor paid for these purchases?
A. $12.20
B. $12.50
C. $12.55
D. $12.70
E. $13.00
Kudos for a correct solution. VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTIONCorrect Answer: A
Explanation: The relevant formula for this problem is Average = (Sum)/(Number of Terms). Another way to look at the formula is Sum = Average x Number of Terms. For the first purchase, the vendor's sum (total cost) was $140, since 14 x 10 = 140. For the second purchase, the vendor's cost was $165, since 11 x 15 = 165. The grand sum is then $140 + $165, which equals $305. The total number of shirts purchased was 25, so to get the average price per shirt, we divide 305 by 25, which equals $12.20. As a result, the correct answer is A.
NOTE: A relative understanding of weighted average offers a shortcut to this problem. Because the true average of 11 and 14 is 12.5, but the vendor sells more shirts at the lower price than at the higher price, the weighted average must be less than $12.50; only answer choice A is a possibility.