The quantities x and y are positive. If x is decreased by 20 percent and y is increased by 20 percent, then the product of x and y is

Explanation

Let's assume that the original values of x and y are X and Y, respectively.If x is decreased by 20%, then its new value is:x = X - 0.2X = 0.8XIf y is increased by 20%, then its new value is:y = Y + 0.2Y = 1.2YThe product of x and y is:xy = (0.8X)(1.2Y) = 0.96XYSo the new product is 0.96 times the original product.This means that the product of x and y is decreased by 4%.Therefore, the answer is (B) decreased by 4%