GMAT Practice Question: Andrew started saving at the beginning of the year and had saved 240USD by the end of the year....
Question
Andrew started saving at the beginning of the year and had saved 240USD by the end of the year. He continued to save and by the end of 2 years had saved a total of 540USD. Which of the following is closest to the percent increase in the amount Andrew saved during the second year compared to the amount he saved during the first year?
- 11 \%
- 25 \%
- 44 \%
- 56 \%
- 125 \%
Topics: word problems, percentages, translations
Solution
Step 1
We first create variables for the amounts saved in each year.
F = \text{amount saved during the first year} S = \text{amount saved during the second year}
Step 2
We translate \textbf{\text{"Andrew had saved 240USD by the end of the year"}} into an equality.
F = 240
Step 3
We translate \textbf{\text{"by the end of 2 years had saved a total of 540USD"}} into a sum.
F + S = 540
Step 4
We solve for the second-year saving amount by subtracting the first-year amount from the total.
S = 540 - F
Step 5
We substitute the first-year amount into the expression for the second-year saving.
S = 540 - 240
Step 6
We find the value of the second-year saving.
S = 300
Step 7
We calculate the percent increase by finding the difference between the second- and first-year amounts divided by the first-year amount.
\frac{S - F}{F} = \frac{300 - 240}{240} = \frac{60}{240} = \frac{1}{4}
Step 8
We convert the fraction to a percentage.
\frac{1}{4} \times 100\% = 25\%
Answer
25%
