MBA & GCBA

Math Proficiency Practice Exams

May 2014

MBA & GCBA

Math Proficiency Practice Exams
Introduction
At the start of the GCBA and/or MBA program, you will be required to write the Math
Proficiency exam. This is a one-hour exam consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions,
designed to assess your readiness for GCBA / MBA studies. This should not be a
difficult exam for you, since the math problems are at the level of high school math.
You may not use a calculator for the exam. You may perform rough calculations on
scrap paper that will be provided to you during the exam.
It is recommended that you work through the sample exams provided here, which are
identical in format to the Math Proficiency exam you will be required to write. It is
necessary to achieve a minimum score of 70% in order to pass the exam.
Those who do not achieve the minimum score of 70% on the Math Proficiency exam
(i.e., 14 questions correct out of 20) will be required to complete up to 12 hours of Math
Preparation Workshops during the first two weeks of the GCBA / MBA program. Those
who achieve the minimum required score will be exempted from these Math Proficiency
Workshops.

School of Business and Economics

Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road
Kamloops, BC Canada V2C 0C8
E-mail: mba@tru.ca

KEY TERMS
Mean
The mean is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers. To calculate the mean, sum the
values of all the elements and divide by the number of elements.
Median
The median is the middle value in a set. To find the median, arrange the values in the set
from smallest to largest. The median will be the middle value.
Mode
The mode is the most common element in a set. For example, in the following set the
mode is 100 because this number appears the most often:
{79, 83, 97, 99, 100, 100, 100, 103, 103, 107, 117, 121}
Range
The range of a set is the difference between the largest and smallest elements. For
example, in the following set the range is equal to 42 (since 121 79 = 42).
{79, 83, 97, 99, 100, 100, 100, 103, 103, 107, 117, 121}
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a measure of the degree to which a sets values spread out from one
another. A set with values that are tightly clustered together will have a small standard
deviation:
{96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 100, 100, 101, 102, 103, 103, 104}
A set with widely separated numbers will have a large standard deviation:
{79, 83, 97, 99, 100, 100, 100, 103, 103, 107, 117, 121}
Rectangles
The area of a rectangle is equal to its length times its width (l x w). The perimeter of a
rectangle is equal to: (2 x l) + (2 x w)
Squares
The area of a square is also equal its length times its width (only the length and the width
are equal to one another). Since each side of a square is equivalent in measure, the
perimeter of a square is four times the value of one side.
Factorials
The factorial of an integer is the successive product of n times all the positive integers
smaller than n. A factorial is designated by the ! sign, and is calculated as follows:
1! = 1
2! = 2 x 1 = 2
3! = 3 x 2 x 1 = 6
4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24
5! = 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120 etc.
Factorials are useful for problems that ask how many different ordered arrangements can
be made (i.e., 4 items can be ordered in 4! ways = 24 ways).
2

MATH PROFICIENCY PRACTICE EXAM #1

1. Carol can run a mile in seven minutes. How long does it take her to run 1/10 of a
mile, assuming she maintains a continuous speed?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

30 seconds
42 seconds
60 seconds
360 seconds
420 seconds

2. Jeff must travel a total of 225 kilometers to visit his aunt. He rides his bike 5
kilometers to the bus station. He travels by bus to the train station. He then takes
the train 10 times the distance he traveled by bus. How many kilometers did Jeff
travel by bus?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

20
22.7
200
44.7
22.7

3. Gerald drives 50 miles to work each day and returns by the same route in the
evening. He is able to drive only 25 miles per hour during rush hour in the
morning. He decides to come home early and take advantage of the light traffic in
the early afternoon. He makes it back home in half the usual rush-hour time.
What is his average speed to and from work that day?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

25 mph
301/3 mph
331/3 mph
37.5 mph
50 mph

4. Thirty percent of Canadian taxpayers deduct charitable contributions on their

federal income tax returns. Forty percent of Canadian taxpayers deduct RRSP
contributions on their federal income tax returns. If 55% of all taxpayers do not
deduct either charitable contributions or RRSP contributions from their federal
income tax returns, what portion of taxpayers are claiming both types of
deductions?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

15%
18%
20%
28%
25%
3

5. There are four different entres on the lunch buffet. These need to be arranged in
a row. How many different arrangements of the four entres are possible
(assuming they must remain in a straight line)?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

4
8
24
100
40,320

6. If 3 pounds of dried cherries that cost x dollars per pound are mixed with 4
pounds of dried apple chips that cost y collars per pound, what is the cost, in
dollars, per pound of the mixture?
(a)

3x + 4y

(b)

3x + 4y
x+y

(c)

3x + 4y
xy

(d)

3x + 4y
12

(e)

3x + 4y
7

7. Sarah tried to compute the mean average of her 8 test scores. She mistakenly
divided the correct sum of all of her test scores by 7 and got an average of 96.
What is Sarahs actual mean test score?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

8.

80
84
96
100
108

The scores of eight employees on an aptitude test were 47, 63, 53, 39, 72, 53, 54,
and 57. What was the range?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

8
53
39
72
33

9. Five employees from three different departments wrote an aptitude test, with the
following scores:
Department A: 55, 56, 57, 58, 59
Department B: 41, 55, 57, 59, 73
Department C: 57, 57, 57, 57, 57
Rank the departments from the least standard deviation to the greatest standard
deviation.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

A, B, C
A, C, B
B, C, A
C, A, B
C, B, A

10. A survey reveals that the average income of a companys customers is $45,000
per year. If 50 customers responded to the survey and the average income of the
wealthiest 10 of those customers is $75,000, what is the average income of the
other 40 customers?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$27,500
$35,000
$37,500
$42,500
$50,000

11. An electronics firm produces 300 units of a particular MP3 player every hour of
every day. Each unit costs the manufacturer $60 to produce, and retailers
immediately purchase all the produced units. What is the minimum wholesale
price (amount the manufacturer receives) per unit that the manufacturer should
charge to make an hourly profit of $19,500?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$60
$65
$95
$125
$145

12. If Barbara will be 35 years old in 6 years, how old was she n years ago?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

41 - n
n - 41
35 - n
n - 29
29 - n
5

13. A local furniture store is having a sale on top of a sale! The price of a certain
sofa, which already had been discounted by 20 percent, is further reduced by an
additional 20%. These successive discounts are equivalent to a single discount of
which of the following?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

40%
38%
36%
30%
20%

14. In a given year, the United States census estimated that there were approximately
6.5 billion people in the world and 300 million in the United States.
Approximately what percentage of the worlds population lived in the United
States that year?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

0.0046%
0.046%
0.46%
4.6%
46%

15. Which of the following is less than 1/3?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

/27
/5
18
/50
3
/8
4
/11
2

16. In the figure below, the product of the three numbers in the horizontal row equals
the sum of the three numbers in the vertical column. What is the value of x + y?

6
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

x
12
y

12
24
114
204
216

17. Barbs Bakery produces specialty birthday cakes. Her production costs consist of
annual fixed costs totaling $120,000 and variable costs averaging $4 per cake. If
Barbs selling price per cake is $20, how many cakes must she produce and sell to
earn an annual profit of $200,000?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

20,000
15,000
3,333
5,000
1,333

18. Which of the following fractions is equal to the decimal 0.375?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

/7
/8
4
/9
2
/5
1
/3
3

19. You are going to illustrate your monthly budget using a pie chart. If the size of
each sector is proportional to the amount of budget it represents, how many
degrees of the circle would you use to represent rent, which is 30% of your
budget?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

252
189
126
108
63

20. Bobs Bike Shop earned $5 million last year. If this years earnings are projected
to be 150 percent greater than last years earnings, what are Bobs Bike Shops
projected earnings this year?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$7.5 million
$10 million
$12.5 million
$13.5 million
$18.5 million

MATH PROFICIENCY PRACTICE EXAM #2

1. If 80 percent of a rectangular park is covered by a rectangular football field that is
120 yards by 50 yards, what is the area of the park in square yards?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

4,800
6,000
7,200
7,500
10,000

2. There are two dock workers, Al and Rob. Al can load 16 tons of steel per day,
and Rob can load 20 tons per day. If they each work 8-hour days, how many tons
of steel can the two of them load in one hour, assuming they maintain a steady
rate?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

2.5
4.5
36
160
320

3. How many minutes does it take to travel 140 miles at 200 miles per hour?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

1
13/10
14
21
42

4. If the perimeter of a rectangular swimming pool is 40 feet and its width is 5 feet,
what is the length of each of the longer sides?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

5 ft.
10 ft.
15 ft.
20 ft.
30 ft.

5. If the number of airline tickets sold per week (t) varies with the price (p) in
dollars, according to the equation t = 1,000 2 p, what would the total weekly
revenue be from the sale of airline tickets priced at $200?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$600
$1,000
$1,400
$120,000
$280,000

6. Ed has earned revenues of $230, $50, and $120 at his last three garage sales, and
he plans to hold one additional sale. If Ed earns an average revenue of exactly
$160 on the 4 sales, the revenue of the fourth sale must be:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$220
$230
$240
$250
$260

7. What is the maximum number of 1 foot pieces of wood that can be cut from 4
pieces of wood that are each 12 feet in length?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

6
14
21
24
27

8. Five employees had the opportunity to earn bonus points for completing a task
quickly. Their respective bonus point scores were 3, 4, 1, 7, 10. How much
greater is the mean of these scores compared to the median of these scores?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5

9. Bobs Bike Shop earned $10 million last year. If this years earnings are
projected to be 125 percent greater than last years earnings, what are Bobs Bike
Shops projected earnings this year?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$12.5 million
$15 million
$18 million
$20 million
$22.5 million

10. The table in the figure below shows the amount of waste material in pounds
thrown away by each of five different families in a single year and the amount of
waste material in pounds recycled by each of the five families in that same year.
According to the table, which family had the highest ratio of waste material
recycled to waste material thrown away?
Family
A
B
C
D
E
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

Waste Material
Thrown Away
100
50
20
60
10

Waste Material
Recycled
30
22
7
30
4

Family A
Family B
Family C
Family D
Family E

11. Bob can run a kilometer in four minutes. How long does it take him to run 1/10 of
a kilometer, assuming he maintains a continuous speed?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

20 seconds
24 seconds
48 seconds
60 seconds
240 seconds

12. There are three different figurines that need to be displayed in a jewellery store
window. These need to be arranged in a straight row. How many different
arrangements of the three figurines are possible (assuming they must remain in a
straight line)?
(a)
3
(b)
6
(c)
9
(d)
12
(e)
27
10

13. The scores of eight employees on an aptitude test were 77, 93, 83, 69, 103, 83,
84, and 87. What was the range?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

8
34
69
103
679

14. If Fred will be 45 years old in 10 years, how old was he x years ago?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

45 - x
x - 45
35 - x
x -35
30 - x

15. Which of the following fractions is equal to the decimal 0.625?

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

/7
/8
5
/9
3
/5
2
/3
5

16. If 2 pounds of raisins that cost x dollars per pound are mixed with 3 pounds of
peanuts that cost y collars per pound, what is the cost, in dollars, per pound of the
mixture?
(a)

2x + 3y

(b)

2x + 3y
x+y

(c)

2x + 3y
xy

(d)

2x + 3y
5

(e)

2x + 3y
6

11

17. How many minutes does it take to travel 120 miles at 200 miles per hour?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

32
36
40
42
45

18. If the perimeter of a playing field is 300 feet and the width is one-half of the
length, what is the width?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

25 ft.
30 ft.
40 ft.
50 ft.
100 ft.

19. Five employees had the opportunity to earn bonus points for completing a task
quickly. Their respective bonus point scores were 6, 3, 1, 7, 8. How much
greater is the median of these scores compared to the mean of these scores?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
6.0

20. Anthony and Isabelle are both salespersons. In any given week, Anthony makes
$550 in base salary plus 8 percent of the portion of his sales above $1,000 for that
week. Isabelle makes 10 percent of her total sales for any given week. For what
amount of weekly sales would Anthony and Isabelle earn the same amount of
money?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)

$23,500
$24,500
$25,500
$26,500
$27,500

12

MATH PROFICIENCY PRACTICE EXAM #1

SOLUTIONS
1. If Carol can run a mile in 7 minutes, then it should take her 1/10 of the time to run
1/10 of this distance. One-tenth of seven minutes is .7 minutes. Since there are
60 seconds in a minute, .7 minutes is equal to 42 seconds. (B)

2. We know that the total journey is 225 kilometers, and that 5 of these kilometers
are traveled by bike. That leaves 220 kilometers for the bus & train portions of
the journey. We know that the train journey is 10 x the distance of the bus
journey.
Therefore, the bus journey must be

1
of the total distance
(10 + 1)

This means that the bus journey is: 220 x

1
(10 + 1)

= 220 x 1
11
= 20 kilometers for the bus journey. (A)

3. The total distance driven is 100 miles (i.e., 50 kilometers each way). The total
time taken is 2 hours on the way to work and one hour on the way home, for a
total of 3 hours. Therefore, the avg. speed is 100 miles = 33 1/3 miles per hr. (C)
3 hours
4. We know that 55% of all tax payers do not deduct either charitable contributions
or RRSP deductions. This means that 45% of tax payers deduct one or the other
or both. Of this 45%, we know that 40% deduct RRSP contributions (so 5% do
not). Of this 45%, we also know that 30% deduct charitable contributions (so
15% do not). Since 5% plus 15% deduct only one of the deductions (i.e., 20%),
this means that 45% - 20% = 25% must deduct both. We can draw a pie chart to
show this:

13

RRSP only
15%
RRSP only
Both
Neither
55%

Both
25%

Charitable only
Neither

Charitable only
5%

Therefore, the answer is 25% who claim both types of deductions. (E)

5. This is a factorial problem. The factorial for 4! is:

4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1
Therefore, the solution is 24.
You could also try writing out all 24 of the combinations, since this is a small
problem. Assume the Entres are entitled A, B, C, & D:
ABCD
ABDC
ACBD
ACDB
ADBC
ADCB

BADC
BACD
BCDA
BCAD
BDAC
BDCA

CABD
CADB
CBAD
CBDA
CDAB
CDBA

DABC
DACB
DBAC
DBCA
DCAB
DCBA

There are only 24 unique ways in which these four entres can be arranged. (C)
6. The mixture will produce 7 pounds in total (i.e., 3 pounds of dried cherries and 4
pounds of apple chips). The total cost for these 7 pounds will be 3x + 4y.
Therefore, the cost per pound will be (E):
3x + 4y
7
7. Because we know the mean of the test scores when divided by 7, we can multiply
this mean of 96 by 7 to get the total of the test scores:
7 x 96 = 672
Now we can divide this total by 8 in order to discover the correct mean score:
672 / 8 = 84
The correct mean score is 84. (B)
14

8. The range is simply the biggest value minus the smallest value in the data set.
Therefore, when we subtract 39 (the smallest score) from 72 (the largest score),
we calculate the range to be 33. (E)

9. The standard deviation expresses variation by measuring how spread out the
distribution is from the mean. A small value for the standard deviation means that
the values of the group are more rightly clustered around the mean. A greater
standard deviation means that the numbers are more scattered away from the
mean.
Therefore, the set with the least standard deviation will be the set where the
numbers are all equivalent (Department C). The set with the greatest standard
deviation will be the set where the numbers are furthest from the mean
(Department B).
The correct answer will be C, A, B, since this ranks the departments from the
least standard deviation to the greatest standard deviation. (D)

10. Find the total income for the group of 50 customers: $45,000 x 50 = $2,250,000
Next, subtract the income for the top 10 customers: $75,000 x 10 = $750,000
This leaves $2,250,000 - $750,000 = $1,500,000 to be divided among the
remaining 40 customers.
$1,500,000 / 40 = $37,500
The average income of the other 40 customers is $37,500. (C)
11. If the electronics manufacturer needs to make an hourly profit of $19,500 and
there are 300 units produced per hour, then the profit needed per unit is:
$19,500 / 300 = $65
Add $65 to the unit cost of $60 to determine that the wholesale price should be
$125. (D)
12. If Barbara will be 35 years old in 6 years, then she must be 29 right now.
Therefore, to find how old she was n years ago, the answer would be 29 - n. (E)
13. Try applying some round numbers to calculate this problem. For example, if the
original price of the sofa was $100, then a 20% discount would make it $80.
Taking an additional 20% from $80 would put the price at $64. This means a
total discount of $36 off the original $100 price, or 36% discount. (C)
14. Since all of the answers to this problem are derivatives of 46 and only differ by
the number of decimal places, it is not necessary to actually calculate the solution.
Instead, use an estimate find the correct answer, by canceling out all the zeros:
300,000,000 = 3
6,500,000,000
65
3 / 65 should be slightly more than 3%, so the closest answer is 4.6%. (D)
15

15. The fraction 1/3 is equal to 33%. Therefore, youre looking for fractions that are
equal to less than 33%. The only fraction that meets this requirement is 8/27. (A)
16. Solve this problem by setting up an equation. The product of the three numbers in
the horizontal row is 6 x 12 x 3 = 216. This means the sum of the three numbers
in the vertical column must be 216. When we subtract 12 from 216, we are left
with 204. Therefore, x plus y must be equal to 204. (D)

17. Profit of $200,000 will be equal to total revenue minus total production costs.
The total revenue will be equal to the number of items sold times the price per
item.
The total production costs equals the fixed costs plus the variable costs.
Profit =$200,000 = total revenue - total production costs
$200,000 = ($20x) ($120,000 + $4x)
$200,000 = $20x - $120,000 - $4x
$320,000 = $16x
x = $20,000 (A)
18. The solution is 3/8. If you dont happen to know that 0.375 is equal to 3/8, then you
have to use long division, dividing the denominator into the numerator and
eliminating the obviously incorrect choices. (B)
19. There are 360 degrees in a circle. Therefore, 30% of 360 degrees = 108 degrees.
(D)

20. Multiply $5 million by 150 percent: $5,000,000 x 1.5 = $7,500,000

Since this is the amount by which this years earnings are projected to be greater
than last years earnings of $5,000,000, we must add the two amounts together to
find this years earnings:
$5,000,000 + $7,500,000 = $12,500,000 = $12.5 million (C)

16

MATH PROFICIENCY PRACTICE EXAM #2

SOLUTIONS
1. The football field is 120 yards x 50 yards = 6,000 square yards.
If this is equal to 80% of the park, then divide 6,000 by .80 to find the size of the
park:
6,000 / .80 = 7,500 square yards (D)

2. This question tells you the amount of production per day for two workers, and
asks you to calculate their total production per hour. Because a workday is 8
hours, one hour is 1/8 of a day. Therefore, figure out how much Al loads in one
hour (1/8 of a day) and add it to what Rob loads in one hour.
Total production = Als production + Robs production
Total production = (1/8 x 16) + (1/8 x 20)
Total production = 2 + 2.5
Total production = 4.5
Total production is 4.5 tons of steel in one hour. (B)

3. By travelling at 200 miles per hour, it will take 140 / 200 hours to complete 140
miles. Turn 140 / 200 into minutes by multiplying by 60:
140 x 60 = 42 minutes (E)
200

4. Set up an equation:
Perimeter: 2 x length + 2 x width = 40
2 x length + 2 x (5) = 40
2 x length + 10 = 40
2 x length = 30
length = 30 / 2 = 15 feet (C)

5. Use the given equation to solve this problem. First, substitute 200 for p to see
how many airline tickets were sold:
t = 1,000 2p
t = 1,000 2 (200)
t = 1,000 400
t = 600
Then multiply the 600 tickets by $200 per ticket to get the total weekly revenue of
$120,000. (D)

17

6. If the average revenue is $160 per sale on 4 garage sales, then Ed has earned $160
x 4 = $640 in total. Subtract the revenues from the first three garage sales to find
out how much he needs to earn on the fourth garage sale:
x = $640 ($230 + $50 + $120)
x = $640 - $400
x = $240 (C)
7. To calculate how many 1 foot pieces of wood can be cut from a 12 foot length,
divide 12 by 1 and ignore the remainder:
12 = 6
1
Ignore the remainder and multiply the 6 pieces x 4 lengths of wood = 24. (D)
8. The mean of the set of numbers is equal to:
3 + 4 + 1 + 7 + 10 = 25 = 5
5
5
The median of the set of numbers is found by putting them in order and taking the
middle value:
1, 3, 4, 7, 10 --- the middle value is 4
Therefore, the mean minus the median = 5 4 = 1.0

(B)

9. This years earnings will be 125% greater than last year. 1.25 x $10 million =
$12.5 million. Since it is that much greater than last year, we need to add this to
last years earnings of $10.0 million, for a total projection of $22.5 million. (E)
10. You can calculate the ratio for each Family. When you do so, youll find that the
ratio of .50 for Family D is the highest. (D)
11. If Bob can run a kilometer in 4 minutes, then it should take him 1/10 of the time
to run 1/10 of this distance. One-tenth of four minutes is .4 minutes. Since there
are 60 seconds in a minute, .4 minutes is equal to 24 seconds. (B)
12. This is a factorial problem. The factorial for 3! is:
3! = 3 x 2 x 1
Therefore, the solution is 6.
You could also try writing out all 6 of the combinations, since this is a small
problem. Assume the Figurines are entitled A, B & C:
ABC
ACB

BAC
BCA

CAB
CBA

There are only 6 unique ways in which these three figurines can be arranged. (B)
18

13. The range is simply the biggest value minus the smallest value in the data set.
Therefore, when we subtract 69 (the smallest score) from 103 (the largest score),
we calculate the range to be 34. (B)
14. If Fred will be 45 years old in 10 years, then he must be 35 right now. Therefore,
to find how old he was x years ago, the answer would be 35 - x. (C)
15. The solution is 5/8. If you dont happen to know that 0.625 is equal to 5/8, then you
have to use long division, dividing the denominator into the numerator and
eliminating the obviously incorrect choices. (B)

16. The mixture will produce 5 pounds in total (i.e., 2 pounds of raisins and 3 pounds
of peanuts). The total cost for these 5 pounds will be 2x + 3y. Therefore, the cost
per pound will be (D):
2x + 3y
5
17. By travelling at 200 miles per hour, it will take 120 / 200 hours to complete 120
miles. Turn 120 / 200 into minutes by multiplying by 60:
120 x 60 = 36 minutes (B)
200
18. Set up an equation:
Perimeter of a rectangle: [2 x length] + [2 x width] = 300
Length = 2 x width
Therefore, Perimeter = [2 x (2 x)] + [2 x width] = 300
4 x width + 2 x width = 300
6 x width = 300
width = 300 / 6
width = 50 ft. (D)
19. Median of {1, 3, 6, 7, 8} = 6
Mean of {1, 3, 6, 7, 8} = 1+3+6+7+8 = 25 = 5
5
5
Median Mean = 6 5 = 1.0 (B)
20. Write an equation that makes Anthony and Isabelles weekly earnings equal to
each other, with x equal to weekly sales:
$550 + .08(x - $1,000) = .10 x
$550 + .08 x (.08 x $1,000) = .10 x
$550 + .08x - $80 = .10 x
$470 + .08x = .10 x
$470 = .02 x
x = $470 /.02
x = $23,500 (A)
19