Javier works in a photo lab and needs to make a reduced copy of a photograph that is 8 inches long. The customer wants the copy to have a length of 4.5 inches. Each time he presses the reduce button on the copier, the copy is reduced by 12%. Javier and his boss had an argument, because Javier claimed that pressing the button 5 times would be enough to fulfill the customer's request. His boss said that pressing the button 5 times would result in a length less than the desired 4.5 inches. Which of the following conclusions can be made?

Question

Javier works in a photo lab and needs to make a reduced copy of a photograph that is 8 inches long. The customer wants the copy to have a length of 4.5 inches. Each time he presses the reduce button on the copier, the copy is reduced by 12%. Javier and his boss had an argument, because Javier claimed that pressing the button 5 times would be enough to fulfill the customer's request. His boss said that pressing the button 5 times would result in a length less than the desired 4.5 inches. Which of the following conclusions can be made?

A Javier is correct and he should press the button five times.
B Javier's boss is correct and he should press the button five times.
C Javier is correct and he should not press the button five times.
D Javier's boss is correct and he should not press the button five times
explain your answer

Answer 1

D. Javier's boss is correct and he should not press the button five times.

If Javier were to press the button five times, the length of the photograph would be reduced by a total of 12% x 5 = 60%. This would result in a length of 8 inches * (1-0.60) = 3.2 inches, which is less than the desired 4.5 inches. Therefore, Javier should not press the button five times in order to fulfill the customer's request.