Bunuel wrote:
This year, a woman has a lucrative one-year position. During this year, she will give a fraction f of her salary to her husband, a private investor, to invest and they will live this year on the remainder. Through investments, her husband can turn each dollar she gives him into 1 + r, which will be deposited in a bank account. Their goal is to save & invest enough money so they can live off this money for two years following the end of the wife'sLet position. Toward this end, they want to choose f such that the amount in the account at the end of the year is twice what they lived off this year. In terms of r, what should f be?
A. 1/(r+1)
B. 2/(r+2)
C. 2/(2r+1)
D. 2/(r+3)
E. 2/(2r+3)
Let T = the woman's total salary for the year
During this year, she will give a fraction f of her salary to her husband, a private investor, to invest and they will live this year on the remainder. So, the amount SAVED (and then given to huspand)= fT
This means the amount SPENT = T - fT (total salary minus the amount saved)
In other words,
T - fT = living expenses for ONE yearThrough investments, her husband can turn each dollar she gives him into 1 + r, which will be deposited in a bank account. Many will struggle converting this info to an algebraic expression.
When this happens, start by examining a few easier scenarios and then try to generalize. Here's what I mean:
If the husband is given 1 dollar, then he will turn that into 1 + r dollars
If the husband is given 2 dollars, then he will turn that into 2 + 2r dollars
If the husband is given 3 dollars, then he will turn that into 3 + 3r dollars
.
.
.
So, If the husband is given fT dollars, then he will turn that into
fT + fTr dollars
They want to choose f such that the amount in the account at the end of the year is twice what they lived off this year. In terms of r, what should f be?We want: (
invested money) = 2(
living expenses for 1 year)
Rewrite as: (
fT + fTr) = 2(
T - fT)
Expand right side: fT + fTr = 2T - 2fT
Divide both sides by T to get: f + fr = 2 - 2f
Add 2f to both sides: 3f + fr = 2
Factor right side: f(3 + r) = 2
Divide both sides by (3 + r) to get: f = 2/(3 + r)
Answer: D
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Brent Hanneson – Creator of gmatprepnow.com
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