Last visit was: 12 Jul 2025, 13:09 It is currently 12 Jul 2025, 13:09
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
kuristar
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Last visit: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 37
Own Kudos:
74
 [67]
Posts: 37
Kudos: 74
 [67]
7
Kudos
Add Kudos
60
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
avatar
PareshGmat
Joined: 27 Dec 2012
Last visit: 10 Jul 2016
Posts: 1,538
Own Kudos:
7,892
 [22]
Given Kudos: 193
Status:The Best Or Nothing
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Technology
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
Posts: 1,538
Kudos: 7,892
 [22]
16
Kudos
Add Kudos
6
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
jaynayak
Joined: 30 Mar 2006
Last visit: 07 Jul 2008
Posts: 894
Own Kudos:
626
 [8]
Posts: 894
Kudos: 626
 [8]
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
User avatar
kuristar
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Last visit: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 37
Own Kudos:
Posts: 37
Kudos: 74
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
You are right...

How did you get that? for some reason, I got 0.83...
User avatar
shobhitb
Joined: 09 May 2006
Last visit: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 58
Own Kudos:
74
 [7]
Location: Bangalore, India
Posts: 58
Kudos: 74
 [7]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
5
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kuristar
You are right...

How did you get that? for some reason, I got 0.83...


kilograms of substance in one capsule = 600/10^6

Cost of substance in one capsule = 500* (600/10^6)
User avatar
kuristar
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Last visit: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 37
Own Kudos:
Posts: 37
Kudos: 74
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Gotcha. Thank you, I think I divided by 500 instead of multiplying.
User avatar
uphillclimb
Joined: 11 Sep 2006
Last visit: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 456
Own Kudos:
Posts: 456
Kudos: 49
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule costs $500.00 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of this ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

$.30
$.83
$1.20
$3.00
$3.33
User avatar
yezz
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Last visit: 26 Apr 2022
Posts: 837
Own Kudos:
1,641
 [1]
Given Kudos: 49
Posts: 837
Kudos: 1,641
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule costs $500.00 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of this ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

$.30 $.83 $1.20 $3.00 $3.33

what is the cost of 600 milligrams given cost of one killogram is 500

10^6 / 600 = 1/6 *10^4 = number of capsules in one killogram

500 / (1/6 *10^4) = 30 * 10^-2 = 3/10 = 0.3
User avatar
londonluddite
Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Last visit: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 221
Own Kudos:
279
 [2]
Posts: 221
Kudos: 279
 [2]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule costs $500.00 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of this ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

$.30
$.83
$1.20
$3.00
$3.33

10^6 / 10^3 = 1000mg
500/10^3 = 500/1000 = 0.5

can stop here, we know 1000mg = 0.5$
so must be A

or we can work the rest out :-D 6/10 * 0.5 = $0.3
User avatar
n2739178
Joined: 12 May 2010
Last visit: 05 Jul 2013
Posts: 233
Own Kudos:
124
 [1]
Given Kudos: 12
Location: United Kingdom
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Technology
GMAT Date: 10-22-2011
GPA: 3
WE:Information Technology (Internet and New Media)
Posts: 233
Kudos: 124
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Find the cost per mg, and multiply that by 600mg…

1kg = 1*10^6 mg. Cost per kg = $500. Therefore cost per mg = $500/10^6 = $5/10^4 .

Multiply this by 600 to get cost per 600mg = (5/10^4)*(6*10^2) = 30*10^-2 = 0.3
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 12 July 2025
Posts: 102,636
Own Kudos:
740,747
 [2]
Given Kudos: 98,172
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 102,636
Kudos: 740,747
 [2]
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kuristar
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule cost $500 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

A. $0.30
B. $0.83
C. $1.20
D. $3.00
E. $3.33

Check other Conversion problems to practice in Special Questions Directory.
User avatar
BrainLab
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 10 Mar 2013
Last visit: 26 Jan 2025
Posts: 350
Own Kudos:
3,010
 [3]
Given Kudos: 200
Location: Germany
Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship
GMAT 1: 580 Q46 V24
GPA: 3.7
WE:Marketing (Telecommunications)
GMAT 1: 580 Q46 V24
Posts: 350
Kudos: 3,010
 [3]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kuristar
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule cost $500 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

A. $0.30
B. $0.83
C. $1.20
D. $3.00
E. $3.33

\(\frac{5*10^2}{10^6}*6*10^2=0,3\)
User avatar
Cez005
Joined: 13 Dec 2013
Last visit: 11 Feb 2020
Posts: 96
Own Kudos:
143
 [1]
Given Kudos: 122
Location: United States (NY)
Concentration: General Management, International Business
GMAT 1: 710 Q46 V41
GMAT 2: 720 Q48 V40
GPA: 4
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Products:
GMAT 2: 720 Q48 V40
Posts: 96
Kudos: 143
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
500/(10^6)=$0.0005/mg

0.0005*600=0.3
User avatar
hmazariegos
Joined: 14 May 2016
Last visit: 09 Sep 2019
Posts: 14
Own Kudos:
49
 [1]
Given Kudos: 17
Posts: 14
Kudos: 49
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
PareshGmat
\(Answer = \frac{500 * 600}{10^6} = \frac{3}{10} = 0.3\)

Answer = A


by far this is the best solution since you can solve it manually with no calculator. I bet some used calculator for this question. :)
User avatar
EMPOWERgmatRichC
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Last visit: 31 Dec 2023
Posts: 21,788
Own Kudos:
12,488
 [5]
Given Kudos: 450
Status:GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
Location: United States (CA)
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: Q170 V170
Posts: 21,788
Kudos: 12,488
 [5]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
3
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi All,

We're told that the main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule cost $500 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams). This is a 'unit conversion' question and comes down to basic Arithmetic. You can do the math in a number of different ways - and if you're concerned about manipulating "big numbers", then you can do several 'smaller decimal shifts' instead.

Since $500 = 1 kilogram = 1,000,000 milligrams
$500 = 1,000,000 milligrams
$50 = 100,000 milligrams
$5 = 10,000 milligrams
$0.50 = 1,000 milligrams

We're asked what 600 milligrams of the drug would cost. Since 600 is less than 1,000 we know that we'll spend LESS than $0.50 on the drug. There's only one answer that fits...

Final Answer:

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
User avatar
fskilnik
Joined: 12 Oct 2010
Last visit: 03 Jan 2025
Posts: 885
Own Kudos:
1,694
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Status:GMATH founder
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 885
Kudos: 1,694
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
kuristar
The main ingredient in a certain prescription drug capsule cost $500 per kilogram. If each capsule contains 600 milligrams of ingredient, what is the cost of the ingredient in a capsule? (1 kilogram = 10^6 milligrams)

A. $0.30
B. $0.83
C. $1.20
D. $3.00
E. $3.33
Perfect opportunity for UNITS CONTROL, one of the most powerful tools of our method!


\({\text{licit}}\,\,{\text{converters}}\,\,:\,\,\,\frac{{\$ \,500}}{{1\,\,{\text{kg}}}}\,\,\,\,\,;\,\,\,\,\,\frac{{1\,\,{\text{capsule}}}}{{600\,\,{\text{mg}}}}\,\,\,\,;\,\,\,\,\,\frac{{1\,\,{\text{kg}}}}{{{{10}^6}\,\,{\text{mg}}}}\)

\(?\,\,:\,\,\,\$ \,\,\,\,{\text{for}}\,\,\,1\,\,{\text{capsule}}\)

\({\text{?}}\,\,\,{\text{:}}\,\,\,\,1\,\,{\text{capsule}}\,\,\left( {\frac{{600\,\,{\text{mg}}}}{{1\,\,{\text{capsule}}}}} \right)\left( {\frac{{1\,\,{\text{kg}}}}{{{{10}^6}\,\,{\text{mg}}}}} \right)\left( {\frac{{\$ \,500}}{{1\,\,{\text{kg}}}}} \right)\,\,\,\, = \,\,\,\,\$ \,\,\frac{{500 \cdot 600}}{{{{10}^6}}}\,\,\, = \,\,\,\$ \,\,\frac{{30 \cdot {{10}^4}}}{{{{10}^6}}}\,\, = \,\,\,\$ \,0.3\)


This solution follows the notations and rationale taught in the GMATH method.

Regards,
Fabio.
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 37,369
Own Kudos:
Posts: 37,369
Kudos: 1,010
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
Math Expert
102636 posts
PS Forum Moderator
690 posts