Rates for having a manuscript typed at a certain typing service are $5 per page for the first time a page is typed and $3 per page each time a page is revised. If a certain manuscript has 100 pages, of which 40 were revised only once, 10 were revised twice, and the rest required no revisions, what was the total cost of having the manuscript typed?
- $430
- $620
- $650
- $680
- $770
Answer & Explanation
Correct Answer is (D).
This problem has been circulating in the official practice tests for over a decade. It is amazing how many smart, high-scoring students miss it! There is no hard math present and you just need to follow specific instructions, but people are far too casual on these types of “reading comprehension” math questions. When you are performing well on this exam, there is something hard about every question, so always try to identify where that difficulty is coming from. In this example, the key is to carefully note that the question says, “40 were revised only once.” The “sucker” incorrect answer on this question is calculated as follows:
100 × $5 = $500
40 × $3 = $120
10 × $3 = $30 (incorrectly assuming that you have accounted for the first charge of $3 in the first revision category)
The last calculation is wrong because the ones revised “only once” and “twice” are two completely separate categories—there is no overlap. So, the pages revised twice will cost $6 for each page and the correct charge for those is $6 × 10 = $60. Correct answer is thus $680, not $650.
When I review an official practice test with a student who misses this question, I literally yell: “You cannot miss this question!” Never be casual with any question regardless of how simple it seems and always find the trap; otherwise, you are surely falling for it. I always emphasize that the “soft skills” on the quant side—reading carefully, critical thinking, strategy—are just as important as hard quant skills, if not more so.
The overwhelming majority of our clients are admitted to one of their target schools. We help applicants to select schools that are in line with their qualifications and don’t hesitate to recommend against particular schools (or even against an MBA). We’re happy to help you apply to a stretch school if you understand the odds and do so in the context of a balanced list of schools.
Having said that, we recommend against using success rate as the main way to select a consultant because this metric is easily manipulated by either a) taking only perfect candidates or b) convincing applicants to apply to easy schools. Furthermore, there is no satisfying way for applicants to verify claimed success rates.
Looking for effective preparation? Enroll in one of our top-rated GMAT prep courses and achieve your target score.
Sample GMAT Questions by Topic
