Practice GMAT Problem Solving Question

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After running a series of television advertisements, a leading beverage producer saw its sales increase by 25% to $1 million dollars per month. Prior to the advertising campaign, about how many dollars in sales did the company average per day?
Correct Answer: D
  1. We are interested in the sales of the old month. We know that the new month had 25% more sales than the old. Since a 25% increase is equal to multiplying a number by 1.25 (=100% + 25% = 1 + .25), we can write the following equation:
    1.25(Old month sales) = $1,000,000
    Divide both sides by 1.25 to yield $800,000 for the value of sales for the past month.
    (Old month sales) = $800,000
  2. Be careful that you are not tricked into choosing answer B at this point. The question asks for the amount per day, not per month.
  3. To get the amount per day, divide the monthly amount by 30 to yield $26,666 per day (=$800,000/30).
  4. The question asks for an approximate value, so answer D, $27,000, is the closest and is correct.

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