Two salesmen, John and Paul, are always vying for the best daily commission, which is 20% on all goods priced at $5 or more. On a particular day, the only items for sale on which they could get a commission are priced at $20, $160, $640, $40, $5, $1,280, $320, $80 and $10. At the end of that day, all these items had been sold, and John's total commission was just $1 more than Paul's. Who, then, sold the article priced at $160? Thanks for help.
Add up all the items on sale for that day:
20+160+640+40+5+1,280+320+80+10 = $2,555
Commission on $2,555 @ 20% =$511 for both men. But, since John got $1 more, that means:
511 -1 = $510 is to be divided evenly between the two men, or:
$510/2 = $255 each.
Since John got $1 more, or $255 + $1 = $256, it therefore follows that John sold:
$256/20% =$1,280, which turns out to be the most expensive item on the list.
Therefore, ALL the other items were sold by Paul including the $160 item, because:
$2,555 - $1,280 = $1,275 x 20% = $255, which is Paul's commission as stated above.
