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If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total

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enigma123
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If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   10 Jul 2011, 09:03
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If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total dollar amount of a certain trade, what was the total dollar amount of that trade?

Statement 1: The dollar amount of the trade minus the brokerage firm's commission was $88000

Statement 2: The brokerage firm's commission decreased the profit earned on the trade by 20%.

Show SpoilerMy approach
Here is my approach to solve the question. I am stuck on Statement 2 which I have presented over here.

Solution:

Lets say d be the dollar amount of that trade and c be the brokerage firm's commission.
So c=0.02d

Considering statement 1 : d - c =88000

Substitute the value of c and we can find the value of d so its sufficient.

Considering Statement 2: This is where I get stuck:

Let say p be the firm's initial profit

Its decreased by 20% = p-0.20p=0.80p. After this I get lost........ Can someone please tell me if my approach is correct and how to move ahead with statement ?


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A
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sudhir18n
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   10 Jul 2011, 11:05
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enigma123 wrote:
If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total dollar amount of a certain trade, what was the total dollar amount of that trade?

Statement 1: The dollar amount of the trade minus the brokerage firm's commission was $88000

Statement 2: The brokerage firm's commission decreased the profit earned on the trade by 20%.

Show SpoilerMy approach
Here is my approach to solve the question. I am stuck on Statement 2 which I have presented over here.

Solution:

Lets say d be the dollar amount of that trade and c be the brokerage firm's commission.
So c=0.02d

Considering statement 1 : d - c =88000

Substitute the value of c and we can find the value of d so its sufficient.

Considering Statement 2: This is where I get stuck:

Let say p be the firm's initial profit

Its decreased by 20% = p-0.20p=0.80p. After this I get lost........ Can someone please tell me if my approach is correct and how to move ahead with statement ?



Hi Enigma,
your approach is perfect ..

st1: you are right on money

St2: clearly insufficient.
profits decreased by 20% .. so its now 80%. It says commission decreased the proflt by 20%.
you just cant solve this to get total dollar value

Do let me know if you have any problem understanding this .
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   10 Jul 2011, 11:10
Statement 2: The brokerage firm's commission decreased the profit earned on the trade by 20%.

For statement 2: Profit = S.P - C.P
Now S.P=total dollar amount of trade=x
Let initial C.P be y
So initial profit p1=x-y
Commission earned = 2% of x = 0.02x
p2=0.02x-y
p1-p2/p1 * 100 = 20
x-y-0.02x+y/x-y * 100 = 20
0.08x/x-y =0.2
We do not know y (C.P). Hence insufficient.
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   10 Jul 2011, 11:39
enigma123 wrote:
If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total dollar amount of a certain trade, what was the total dollar amount of that trade?

Statement 1: The dollar amount of the trade minus the brokerage firm's commission was $88000

Statement 2: The brokerage firm's commission decreased the profit earned on the trade by 20%.


Let the total amount be $x

1.
x-0.02x=88000
0.98x=88000
x=88000/0.98
Sufficient.

2.
Let the profit be P.
0.2P=0.02x
P/x=0.02/0.2=1/10
10P=x

If P=10; x=100; commission=2;
If P=20; x=200; commission=4;

We can have many such combination, each giving us a different value for x.
Not Sufficient.

Ans: "A"
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   13 Jul 2011, 06:03
enigma123 wrote:
If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total dollar amount of a certain trade, what was the total dollar amount of that trade?

Statement 1: The dollar amount of the trade minus the brokerage firm's commission was $88000

Statement 2: The brokerage firm's commission decreased the profit earned on the trade by 20%.

Show SpoilerMy approach
Here is my approach to solve the question. I am stuck on Statement 2 which I have presented over here.

Solution:

Lets say d be the dollar amount of that trade and c be the brokerage firm's commission.
So c=0.02d

Considering statement 1 : d - c =88000

Substitute the value of c and we can find the value of d so its sufficient.

Considering Statement 2: This is where I get stuck:

Let say p be the firm's initial profit

Its decreased by 20% = p-0.20p=0.80p. After this I get lost........ Can someone please tell me if my approach is correct and how to move ahead with statement ?


like it. A is the answer
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink] New post   25 Oct 2015, 05:47
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Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Data Sufficiency (DS) Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
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Re: If a brokerage firm charged a commission of 2% of the total [#permalink]
25 Oct 2015, 05:47
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