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MasteringGMAT
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 29 Jun 2023, 01:04
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Question Stats:

88% (02:25) correct 12% (02:50) wrong based on 755 sessions

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Right Way house painting charges its customers a fixed charge per gallon for the paint it uses, plus a fixed charge per hour for labor to apply the paint. Last week, Right Way charged Customer M a total of $1,050 for 5 gallons of paint and 20 hours of labor and charged Customer N a total of $795 for 4 gallons of paint and 15 hours of labor. What is Right Way's fixed charge per hour for labor?

A. $53
B. $51
C. $49
D. $45
E. $30
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 29 Jun 2023, 02:10
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MasteringGMAT
Right Way house painting charges its customers a fixed charge per gallon for the paint it uses, plus a fixed charge per hour for labor to apply the paint. Last week, Right Way charged Customer M a total of $1,050 for 5 gallons of paint and 20 hours of labor and charged Customer N a total of $795 for 4 gallons of paint and 15 hours of labor. What is Right Way's fixed charge per hour for labor?

A. $53
B. $51
C. $49
D. $45
E. $30
Show more

Let's assume that
  • The charge per gallon of paint is 'x'
  • The charge per hour of labor is 'y'

Right Way charged Customer M a total of $1,050 for 5 gallons of paint and 20 hours of labor

5x + 20y = 1050

Dividing the equation by 5

x + 4y = 210 ---- (1)

charged Customer N a total of $795 for 4 gallons of paint and 15 hours of labor

4x + 15y = 795 ---- (2)

Multiplying equation (1) by -4 and adding to equation (2)

-4x - 16y = -840
4x + 15y = 795
--------------------
-y = -45

y = $45

Option D
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 09 Jul 2023, 17:37
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Right Way house painting charges its customers a fixed charge per gallon for the paint it uses, plus a fixed charge per hour for labor to apply the paint. Last week, Right Way charged Customer M a total of $1,050 for 5 gallons of paint and 20 hours of labor and charged Customer N a total of $795 for 4 gallons of paint and 15 hours of labor. What is Right Way's fixed charge per hour for labor?

A. $53
B. $51
C. $49
D. $45
E. $30
Show more

If P is the fixed charge per gallon for the paint and L is the fixed charge per hour for the labor, we have:

5P + 20L = 1,050

4P + 15L = 795

Divide the first equation by 5:

P + 4L = 210 => P = 210 – 4L, which we can substitute into the second equation:

4(210 – 4L) + 15L = 795

840 – 16L + 15L = 795

$45 = L

Answer: D
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 10 Mar 2024, 12:19
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Start with B or D. I'll start with D cause it's cleaner. For Customer M $45 per hour for 20 hours equals $900 total from just hourly pay. Thus, 1050-900 = 150 left per gallon. 150/5 = 30$ per gallon.

Now lets plug 45$ per hour wage into second customer and see if we get 30$ per gallon.

45x15= 675. Total amount 795-675=120 left for paint gallons.

120/4 gallons equals 30$ per gallon which is the same as customer M. Thus, the hourly wage is 45 per hour.
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 17 May 2024, 08:49
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­Practice manipulating equations instead of isolating and plugging in:

­
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 09 Sep 2024, 19:49
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L= Price per hour
P=Price per gallon

1. Set up two equations
5P+20L=1050
4P+15L=795

2. Divide Equation 1 by 5 (this looks easier to do)
P+4L=210
P=210-4L

3. Plug in P into Equation 2
4(210-4L0+15L=795
840-16L+15L=795
45=L

Answer is 45
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Right Way house painting charges its customers Updated on: 16 Sep 2025, 22:47
Originally posted by HarshavardhanR on 09 Sep 2024, 20:15.
Last edited by HarshavardhanR on 16 Sep 2025, 22:47, edited 1 time in total.
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Right Way house painting charges its customers 16 Sep 2025, 13:23
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