Pick 100
GMAT glossary · Playbook
Definition
Setting a missing starting value to 100 so successive percent changes stay concrete and ordered on easy arithmetic.
Pick 100 in plain English
Use Pick 100 on percents and successive percent changes without a given starting value. Clues include increased by 20% then decreased by 10%, markup, or discount. Set the start to 100. Apply each percent in order. Read the finish off 100 as a final index, then translate to percent change if needed. Variables cancel anyway; 100 keeps arithmetic concrete and ordered so you never add percents across stages by mistake. Successive changes multiply, they do not add. Micro-example: up 20% then down 10%. Start 100 -> 120 -> 108, so a net +8% change, not a naive +10%. The ordered passes are the whole method.
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