Last visit was: 05 Sep 2026, 11:03 It is currently 05 Sep 2026, 11:03
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
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.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
Alessiod
User avatar
Joined: 06 Jan 2017
Last visit: 08 Jan 2021
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
31
 [31]
Given Kudos: 19
Location: Italy
GMAT 1: 720 Q47 V41
GPA: 4
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 720 Q47 V41
Posts: 10
Kudos: 31
 [31]
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 22 Jul 2017, 11:57
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
27
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

65% (hard)

Question Stats:

65% (02:34) correct 35% (02:42) wrong based on 334 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened and resealed before being released. It also has 20% of its opened items released but not resealed. What percentage of the items inspected are opened?

(A) 2.5%
(B) 3.0%
(C) 3.5%
(D) 4.0%
(E) 4.5%

Source: Optimus Prep

Show Spoiler


I got lost on this one... actually I barely understood the meaning of the question. Kudos for the best explanation :wink:
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 05 Sep 2026
Posts: 22,730
Own Kudos:
26,938
 [10]
Given Kudos: 302
Status:Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Location: United States (CA)
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 22,730
Kudos: 26,938
 [10]
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 26 Jul 2017, 16:43
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Alessiod
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened and resealed before being released. It also has 20% of its opened items released but not resealed. What percentage of the items inspected are opened?

(A) 2.5%
(B) 3.0%
(C) 3.5%
(D) 4.0%
(E) 4.5%
Show more

We can let 1000 = the number of inspected items and x = the number of opened items.

We are given that the number of inspected items opened and resealed is 3.2% or 32 items.

We are also given that 20% of the opened items, or 0.2x, are not resealed. Since the number of opened resealed items plus the number of opened unsealed items equals the total number of opened items, we have:

32 + 0.2x = x

32 = 0.8x

x = 32/0.8 = 320/8 = 40

Since there are 40 opened items out of 1000 inspected items, the percentage of inspected items that are opened is 40/1000 = 4/100 = 4%.

Answer: D
User avatar
Leo8
User avatar
Joined: 23 May 2017
Last visit: 11 Sep 2020
Posts: 182
Own Kudos:
406
 [6]
Given Kudos: 9
Concentration: Finance, Accounting
WE:Programming (Energy)
Posts: 182
Kudos: 406
 [6]
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 22 Jul 2017, 15:05
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
+D
Attachment:
FullSizeRender (15).jpg
FullSizeRender (15).jpg [ 71.63 KiB | Viewed 6765 times ]
General Discussion
User avatar
pushpitkc
User avatar
Joined: 26 Feb 2016
Last visit: 19 Feb 2025
Posts: 2,794
Own Kudos:
6,346
 [4]
Given Kudos: 47
Location: India
GPA: 3.12
Posts: 2,794
Kudos: 6,346
 [4]
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 22 Jul 2017, 12:18
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Assume the total inspected items are 1000.
Since, 3.2% of the inspected items are opened and released(32 are opened and released)
Also, 20% of the items were opened but not released

Therefore, 80%(100-20) of opened items are not released.
80% of total opened items(which is x) is 32
\(x = \frac{32*100}{80} = 40\)

Therefore, the total number of opened items is 40,
which is \(\frac{40}{1000}*100\) or 4% of the items inspected(Option D)

Hope that helps!
User avatar
Devbek
User avatar
Joined: 06 Feb 2016
Last visit: 28 Feb 2018
Posts: 30
Own Kudos:
40
 [1]
Given Kudos: 26
Location: Poland
Concentration: Finance, Accounting
GMAT 1: 730 Q49 V41
GPA: 3.5
GMAT 1: 730 Q49 V41
Posts: 30
Kudos: 40
 [1]
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 24 Jul 2017, 05:50
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Basically, 80% of opened items are resealed which is equal to 3.2% of total items. So:
80% of opened = 3.2% of the total items
4% of the total is opened.
User avatar
Alessiod
User avatar
Joined: 06 Jan 2017
Last visit: 08 Jan 2021
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
31
Given Kudos: 19
Location: Italy
GMAT 1: 720 Q47 V41
GPA: 4
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 720 Q47 V41
Posts: 10
Kudos: 31
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 27 Jul 2017, 01:37
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
ScottTargetTestPrep
Alessiod
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened and resealed before being released. It also has 20% of its opened items released but not resealed. What percentage of the items inspected are opened?

(A) 2.5%
(B) 3.0%
(C) 3.5%
(D) 4.0%
(E) 4.5%

We can let 1000 = the number of inspected items and x = the number of opened items.

We are given that the number of inspected items opened and resealed is 3.2% or 32 items.

We are also given that 20% of the opened items, or 0.2x, are not resealed. Since the number of opened resealed items plus the number of opened unsealed items equals the total number of opened items, we have:

32 + 0.2x = x

32 = 0.8x

x = 32/0.8 = 320/8 = 40

Since there are 40 opened items out of 1000 inspected items, the percentage of inspected items that are opened is 40/1000 = 4/100 = 4%.

Answer: D
Show more

Thank you Scott, extremely clear explanation. I was unable to understand the meaning of the data till now. Finally I got it :lol:
avatar
kdgupta
avatar
Joined: 02 Sep 2019
Last visit: 16 Oct 2019
Posts: 5
Own Kudos:
5
Given Kudos: 12
Posts: 5
Kudos: 5
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 05 Sep 2019, 22:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Consider - 3.2% as 80% of Materials Released after Opening …. Balance 20% Opened but not released
If 3.2% is 80% , then 100% is 3.2/80/100*100/100 = 4
User avatar
gullyboy09
User avatar
Joined: 13 Oct 2025
Last visit: 05 Sep 2026
Posts: 298
Own Kudos:
24
Given Kudos: 72
Products:
Forum Quiz
Posts: 298
Kudos: 24
The customs department has 3.2% of its inspected items opened 05 Sep 2026, 02:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
There is an issue with this question IMO. It is not very clear to me that all the open items were released, which generally is not the case in custom.
Moderator:
Bunuel
Math Expert
113150 posts