As a salesperson, Brandon's compensation is structured so that each

Question

As a salesperson, Brandon's compensation is structured so that each month he earns a $5000 base salary plus 10% of his total sales above $10000 for the month. What were Brandon's total sales for the month of August?

(1) Had Brandon sold $10000 more than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 15% of his sales.

(2) Had Brandon sold $40000 less than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 10% of his sales.

This is a  Data Sufficiency Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects: 
 
   Data Sufficiency Butler 
   Problem Solving Butler  
   Sentence Correction Butler  
   Reading Comprehension Butler  
   Integrated Reasoning Butler

RitambharaJaiz · Answer

1 Alone-   10,000+x = 15% of (10,000 + x)------------Sufficient.
2 Alone-    x- 40,000= 10% of (x - 40,000)--------------Sufficient.

The correct answer is D. Each statement alone is suffcient.

Shwarma · Answer

Option A ??

1. x+10000=y
0.15y= 5000+0.1(y-10000)
total comp = x

Sufficient

2. x-4000=y
0.1y= 5000+0.1(y-10000)

Not-Sufficient ??

Purnank · Answer

I think A,
Given - Brandon's compensation is structured so that each month he earns a $5000 base salary plus 10% of his total sales above $10000 for the month.
If we assume brandons sales figure as x for any month the equation we will able to form for total compensation is like below.
Total compensation = $5000 + 0.1 (x-$10000) -- (eq1)
lets find Brandon's total sales for the month of August using given conditions.

1st -  Had Brandon sold $10000 more than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 15% of his sales.
Therefore equation will be form like, 
brandon new sales figure will be = x + $10000
$5000 + 0.1 (x + $10000 - $10000) = 0.15 ( x + $10000) 
5000 + 0.1x = 0.15x + 1500
3500 = 0.05x
x = 350000/5 = $70000.. Hence Sufficient.

2nd - Had Brandon sold $40000 less than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 10% of his sales.
Therefore equation will be form like, 
brandon new sales figure will be = x - $40000
$5000 + 0.1 (x - $40000 - $10000) = 0.1 (x - $40000)
if you see 0.1x will get cancelled on each side so there will be no solution.. Hence Not sufficient.
Answer A.

tgsankar10 · Answer

The compensation is 5000+0.1(S-10000) --> 4000+0.1S

Statement 1:

4000+0.1(A+10000)=0.15(A+10000) --> Sufficient

Statement 2:

4000+0.1(A-40000)=0.1(A-40000). Here both sides have 0.1A and will gets cancelled. No solution is possible --> Not Sufficient

Answer is A – (1) ALONE is sufficient, but (2) alone is not sufficient

prantorboni · Answer

Let's assume, Brandon's sells for the month of August is x.
According to the statement 1, it is clear that x is the amount which is addition to 10000. So, the equation would be, 
5000+.10x = .15(x+10000)

From the equation, we find out the value of x. So, A is sufficient. At the same time, options, BCE are out. Now, we just need to deal with option D.

Let's assume, Once more, Brandon's sells for the month of August is x.
Now, according to the statement 2, it remains unclear whether x-40000 is less than 10000, more than 10000 or equal to 10000. Since, based on these informations, our equation will be different. So, statement 2 is not sufficient alone and D is out.

Answer for the question would be A.

kop18 · Answer

I think this is a good question. Hence, the difficulty level must be increased as it clearly has a very very good trap that many might fall for.

Bunuel · Answer

The difficulty level of a question on the site, after sufficient attempts, is determined  automatically  based on various parameters collected from users' attempts via timer, such as the percentage of correct answers and the time taken to answer the question. So, this is a 555-605 level question based on our statistics.

unraveled · Answer

As a salesperson, Brandon's compensation is structured so that each month he earns a $5000 base salary plus 10% of his total sales above $10000 for the month. What were Brandon's total sales for the month of August?

(1) Had Brandon sold $10000 more than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 15% of his sales.

(2) Had Brandon sold $40000 less than he did in August, his total compensation for the month would have been equal to 10% of his sales.

Little brainstorming on this question.

Since we know that we would be getting an equation with one degree(one variable), we can be sure that a solution is possible. The two statements looks similar logically wherein in one there is an addition in the sales and in the other there's subtraction. But there is another parameter to look at.

In statement 1 we have Sales as variable with compensation being a part of it. So, if sales is determined compensation is know. Here the part of sales is 10% as given in the question stem and in the choice it is 15%. Hence the compensation with 5% * C is solvable.

SUFFICIENT.

In Statement 2 we have part of sales being 10% as given in the question stem and in the choice it is 10%. Hence the compensation with 0%(10-10=0) * C, an equaiton which is not solvable.

INSUFFICIENT.

Answer A.

sherlocked221B · Answer

Total sales made by Brandon = x
Salary for Brandon in August = 5000+0.1(x-10000)

Statement 1
-> If sales increased by 10000 -
Total Sales = x+10000

5000+0.1(x+10000-10000)=0.15(x+10000) -> Equation 1;

Sufficient to find out x.

Statement 2

-> If sales decreased by 40000 -
Total Sales = x-40000

5000+0.1(x-40000-10000)=0.1(x-40000) -> Equation 2;

0.1x gets cancelled on both sides.

Not Sufficient to find out x.

So only Statement 1 is sufficient.

bumpbot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club BumpBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

As a salesperson, Brandon's compensation is structured so that each

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Data Sufficiency (DS) Questions

As a salesperson, Brandon's compensation is structured so that each

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards