Each month a retailer sells 100 identical items. On each item he makes a profit of $40 that constitutes 10% of the item's price to the retailer. If the retailer contemplates giving a 5% discount on the items he sells, what is the least number of items he will have to sell each month to justify the policy of the discount? Pick one:  A) 191  B) 213  C) 221  D) 223  E) 226
For this question, we'll need the following formula:   Sell Price = Cost + Profit   We're told that the profit on 1 item is $20 and that this represents 10% of the cost:   Sell Price = Cost + $40   Sell Price = $400 + $40   Thus, the Sell Price is $440 for each item. Selling all 100 items gives the retailer...   100($40) = $2,000 of profit   If the retailer offers a 5% discount on the sell price, then the equation changes...   5%(440) = $22 discount   $418 = $400 + $18   Now, the retailer makes a profit of just $18 per item sold.   To earn $2,000 in profit, the retailer must sell....   $18(X) = $2,000   X = 2,000/18   X = 222.222222 items   You'll notice that this is not among the answer choices.... 221 and 223 are.   Selling 221 items would get us 9(221) = $1989 which is NOT enough money. To get back to AT LEAST $2,000, we need to sell 223 items.   Final Answer:   223
<result>D</result>
Each month a retailer sells 100 identical items. On each item he makes a profit of $40 that constitutes 10% of the item's price to the retailer. If the retailer contemplates giving a 5% discount on the items he sells, what is the least number of items he will have to sell each month to justify the policy of the discount?