A clothing store originally bought 100 jackets at a total cost of j

Question

A clothing store originally bought 100 jackets at a total cost of j dollars. If each jacket was sold for 40 percent more than its original cost, what was the individual price, in terms of j, of each jacket sold?

A j/140
B 7j/500
C 140j
D j/100+40
E 140j/100

A j/140
B 7j/500
C 140j
D j/100+40
E 140j/100

Answer is listed as B - but if j=1000, then a 40% increase would mean each jacket sold for $140 - Correct answer choice is supposed to be B - but if j is 1000, then 7(1000)/500 is 14, not 140. Was this a goof up by the creator of the question?

Explanation provided is - 100 jackets cost j dollars, so each jacket cost j/100 dollars. Since the retail price is 40% above cost, the retail price for each jacket is 1.4(j/100)=7/5(j/100)=7j/500. The correct answer is B.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
you are wrong on coloured part..
lets take j=1000, as decided by you..
now 40% increase makes it 1400..
this is the price for 100 jackets, so selling price for each jacket=1400/100=$14..
so ans is correct as B..

CounterSniper · Answer

cost of 100 jackets = j dollars
each jacket costing 40% more is same as 
all costing 40% more.
therefore over all price = 1.40j
price for each = 1.40j/100 => 14j/1000=7j/500

djprithvi · Answer

Thanks a lot chetan2u - extra zeros are trouble!

Abhishek009 · Answer

Cost of 1 jacket is  \frac{j}{100} 
 Selling price of each jacket is \frac{140}{100}  *\frac{j}{100}

\frac{140}{100}  *\frac{j}{100}  =>( \frac{7}{5} * \frac{j}{100} ) =>( \frac{7j}{500} )

Hence IMHO (B) ( \frac{7j}{500} )

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi All,

This question can be solved by TESTing VALUES.

IF....J = 100, then each jacket cost $1. Since we're selling each jacket for 40% more than its original cost, the sell price is $1.40. Thus, we're looking for an answer that equals 1.4 when J = 100...

There's only one answer that matches...(Hint: 1.4 is a specific decimal; you won't have to do much math to prove that the 4 wrong answers are NOT 1.4).

Final Answer:  B

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

A clothing store originally bought 100 jackets at a total cost of j

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 Problem Solving (PS) Questions

A clothing store originally bought 100 jackets at a total cost of j

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