Answer: d is 45% smaller than a.
Explanation:
Here we have:
d = (1 + 0.10)*c = 1.10*c
c = (1 - 0.25)*b = 0.75*b
a = (1 + 0.5)*b = 1.5*b
we want to find the relation between a and d.
we can replace the second equation into the first one:
d = 1.10*c = 1.10*(0.75*b) = 0.825*b
then b = d/0.825 = d*1.21
Now we can replace it into the third equation:
a = 1.5*b = 1.5*(1.21*d) = 1.815*d
a*(1/1.815) = d
a*0.55 = d
a*( 1 - 0.45) = d
This means that d is 45% smaller than a.