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GMAT/MBA Expert

Matt@VeritasPrep GMAT Instructor
Joined
12 Sep 2012
Posted:
2640 messages
Followed by:
113 members
625
Target GMAT Score:
V51
GMAT Score:
780
Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:57 pm
I'm going to leave you guys in the shade here

We know a + b < 13, since 13 * 50Â¢ is too much money.

We know a + b > 9, since 9 * 70Â¢ = $6.30, and we were told that we didn't only buy apples. So a + b = 10, 11, or 12. We also know that 7a + 5b = 63. If a and b are both odd, then we'd have Odd + Odd, which = Even. But we're told that 7a + 5b = Odd. Hence a = even and b = odd, or vice versa. Since Even + Odd = Odd, we know the only answer is 11. Enroll in a Veritas Prep GMAT class completely for FREE. Wondering if a GMAT course is right for you? Attend the first class session of an actual GMAT course, either in-person or live online, and see for yourself why so many students choose to work with Veritas Prep. Find a class now! GMAT/MBA Expert Rich.C@EMPOWERgmat.com Elite Legendary Member Joined 23 Jun 2013 Posted: 8954 messages Followed by: 468 members Upvotes: 2867 GMAT Score: 800 Top Reply Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:06 pm Hi danielanassar, In the future, you should make sure to post the entire prompt (including the 5 answer choices). In many cases, the answer choices provide a 'hint' as to how you might go about solving the problem. Here, the answer choices are relatively small and 'close together', so we can use a bit of 'brute force' to get to the correct answer: We know that there will be no fewer than 10 total pieces of fruit and no more than 14 total pieces of fruit that will total$6.30, so I'm going to list out the first several multiples of apple prices and banana prices:

Apples:
$0.70$1.40
$2.10$2.80
$3.50$4.20
$4.90$5.60
Etc.

Bananas:
$0.50$1.00
$1.50$2.00
$2.50$3.00
$4.00$4.50
Etc.

Now we just have to find a pair of numbers (one from each group) that will total $6.30. It's not too much work to find that$2.80 and $3.50 total$6.30, so the total number of pieces of fruit is 7+4 = 11

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

_________________
Contact Rich at Rich.C@empowergmat.com

GMAT/MBA Expert

Matt@VeritasPrep GMAT Instructor
Joined
12 Sep 2012
Posted:
2640 messages
Followed by:
113 members
625
Target GMAT Score:
V51
GMAT Score:
780
Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:57 pm
I'm going to leave you guys in the shade here

We know a + b < 13, since 13 * 50Â¢ is too much money.

We know a + b > 9, since 9 * 70Â¢ = $6.30, and we were told that we didn't only buy apples. So a + b = 10, 11, or 12. We also know that 7a + 5b = 63. If a and b are both odd, then we'd have Odd + Odd, which = Even. But we're told that 7a + 5b = Odd. Hence a = even and b = odd, or vice versa. Since Even + Odd = Odd, we know the only answer is 11. Enroll in a Veritas Prep GMAT class completely for FREE. Wondering if a GMAT course is right for you? Attend the first class session of an actual GMAT course, either in-person or live online, and see for yourself why so many students choose to work with Veritas Prep. Find a class now! GMAT/MBA Expert Rich.C@EMPOWERgmat.com Elite Legendary Member Joined 23 Jun 2013 Posted: 8954 messages Followed by: 468 members Upvotes: 2867 GMAT Score: 800 Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:06 pm Hi danielanassar, In the future, you should make sure to post the entire prompt (including the 5 answer choices). In many cases, the answer choices provide a 'hint' as to how you might go about solving the problem. Here, the answer choices are relatively small and 'close together', so we can use a bit of 'brute force' to get to the correct answer: We know that there will be no fewer than 10 total pieces of fruit and no more than 14 total pieces of fruit that will total$6.30, so I'm going to list out the first several multiples of apple prices and banana prices:

Apples:
$0.70$1.40
$2.10$2.80
$3.50$4.20
$4.90$5.60
Etc.

Bananas:
$0.50$1.00
$1.50$2.00
$2.50$3.00
$4.00$4.50
Etc.

Now we just have to find a pair of numbers (one from each group) that will total $6.30. It's not too much work to find that$2.80 and $3.50 total$6.30, so the total number of pieces of fruit is 7+4 = 11

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

_________________
Contact Rich at Rich.C@empowergmat.com

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