GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE PS

Solution:

We are given a diagram of a right triangle with two legs of 6 and 8. The total length of those two legs represents the distance that Mary walked (6 miles + 8 miles = 14 miles). Ted walked the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle. Since the triangle is a right triangle with legs of 6 and 8, it must be a 6-8-10 right triangle in which the hypotenuse is 10, or 10 miles. Thus, we know that Ted walked 10 miles.

Finally we must determine by what percent the distance that Mary walked exceeded the distance that Ted walked. Since Mary walked 14 miles and Ted walked 10 miles, the distance that Mary walked exceeded the distance that Ted walked by 4 miles.

Expressing this as a percentage we have:

4/10 x 100% = 40%

Answer: 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.