GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE PS

Solution:

There are actually two great methods to solving a problem such like this. The first is create a simple word translation. We are given that Company P had 15 percent more employees in December than it had in January and that it had 460 employees in December.

So we can say:

D = number of employees in December

J = number of employees in January

J x 1.15 = D

J x 1.15 = 460

J = 460/1.15

J = 46,000/115 = 400

Answer: B

Note: Alternately, we could have looked at our answer choices and used divisibility and a little logic. We know that the answer choices represent the number of employees in January.

Thus we can say the following:

(Answer Choice)(1.15) = 460

Answer Choice x 115/100 = 460

Right away we can see that answer choice B stands out because it is divisible by 100. If we do the arithmetic, we see that:

400 x 115/100 = 400/100 x 115 = 4 x 115 = 460.

Again, the answer is B.

About The Author

Scott Woodbury-Stewart is the founder & CEO of Target Test Prep. A passionate teacher who is deeply invested in the success of his students, Scott began his career teaching physics, chemistry, math, and biology. Since then, he has spent more than a decade helping students gain entry into the world’s top business schools, logging 10,000+ hours of GMAT, EA, GRE and SAT instruction. Scott also served as lead content developer and curriculum architect for the revolutionary courses Target Test Prep GMAT, Target Test Prep EA, Target Test Prep GRE and Target Test Prep SAT Quant.