GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE PS – When 1/10 percent of 5,000 is subtracted from…

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Last Updated on May 3, 2023

When 1/10 percent of 5,000 is subtracted from…

Solution:

We can break this problem into two parts:

1) What is 1/10 percent of 5,000?

2) What is 1/10 of 5,000?

Let’s start with part 1.

To calculate 1/10 percent of 5,000 we must first remember to DIVIDE 1/10 BY 100.

So we have: (1/10)/(100)

To divide a number by 100 means to multiply it by 1/100, so we have:

1/10 x 1/100 = 1/1,000

Thus, 1/10 percent of 5,000 = 1/1,000 x 5,000 = 5.

(Note: If dividing 1/10 by 100 was confusing, consider a simpler example. Say we were asked for 20% of a number. Well, to get 20% as a fraction, we would divide 20 by 100. So 20% is 20/100, or 1/5.)

Now let’s concentrate on part 2. We need to calculate 1/10 of 5,000. To do this we simply multiply 1/10 by 5,000.

1/10 x 5,000 = 500

The answer to part 1 is 5, and the answer to part 2 is 500. Their difference is 500 – 5 = 495.

Answer: D

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