A certain cathedral bell marks every hour by ringing a number of times equal to the current hour ( for example, at 2:00PM, the bell rings twice). Each toll of the bell lasts for three seconds, with 2 seconds of silence between tolls. At 9:00AM, how many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first toll and the end of the last toll?
a) 52
b) 48
c) 45
d) 43
e) 40
Please assist with above problem.
A certain cathedral bell marks every hour by ringing a numbe
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Hi alanforde800Maximus,
You might find it helpful to draw a picture of the activity that's described in this prompt. Based on the time for each toll (3 seconds) and the silence between tolls (2 seconds), the total length of time at 2pm would be:
(toll)(silence)(toll)
(3s)(2s)(3s)
8 total seconds
Seeing this pattern (re: the number of 'silences' is one less than the number of 'tolls), you can quickly deduce how long the total activity would be at 9am:
9 tolls + 8 silences
(9)(3) + (8)(2)
27 + 16
43 total seconds
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
You might find it helpful to draw a picture of the activity that's described in this prompt. Based on the time for each toll (3 seconds) and the silence between tolls (2 seconds), the total length of time at 2pm would be:
(toll)(silence)(toll)
(3s)(2s)(3s)
8 total seconds
Seeing this pattern (re: the number of 'silences' is one less than the number of 'tolls), you can quickly deduce how long the total activity would be at 9am:
9 tolls + 8 silences
(9)(3) + (8)(2)
27 + 16
43 total seconds
Final Answer: D
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Small doubt in the question. Please check the bold part.
A certain cathedral bell marks every hour by ringing a number of times equal to the current hour ( for example, at 2:00PM, the bell rings twice). Each toll of the bell lasts for three seconds, with 2 seconds of silence between tolls. At 9:00AM, how many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first toll and the end of the last toll?
Stem says beginning and end of the toll. It could also mean excluding the first toll and the last toll, and counting in between.
I think stem must mention that beginning and end must be included. I have seen some questions in which word "including" or similar word is mentioned.
Please let me know where I am wrong.
Thanks
A certain cathedral bell marks every hour by ringing a number of times equal to the current hour ( for example, at 2:00PM, the bell rings twice). Each toll of the bell lasts for three seconds, with 2 seconds of silence between tolls. At 9:00AM, how many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first toll and the end of the last toll?
Stem says beginning and end of the toll. It could also mean excluding the first toll and the last toll, and counting in between.
I think stem must mention that beginning and end must be included. I have seen some questions in which word "including" or similar word is mentioned.
Please let me know where I am wrong.
Thanks
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I don't think that interpretation is correct.vinni.k wrote: Stem says beginning and end of the toll. It could also mean excluding the first toll and the last toll, and counting in between.
I think stem must mention that beginning and end must be included. I have seen some questions in which word "including" or similar word is mentioned.
"How many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first toll and the end of the last toll?"
If a 3-second toll sounds like "bonnnnnnnnnnng" then the time would start at "b" of the first toll and end at "g" of the last (ninth) toll.
Cheers,
Brent
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Rich's solution is solid, so I won't rehash that.alanforde800Maximus wrote:A certain cathedral bell marks every hour by ringing a number of times equal to the current hour ( for example, at 2:00PM, the bell rings twice). Each toll of the bell lasts for three seconds, with 2 seconds of silence between tolls. At 9:00AM, how many seconds elapse between the beginning of the first toll and the end of the last toll?
a) 52
b) 48
c) 45
d) 43
e) 40
Another option is to write out the entire event.
Let T represent each second the bell Tolls
Let S represent each second of Silence
So, the 9 tolls (from start to end) look like this:
TTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTTSSTTT
There are 43 letters, so the time is 43 seconds.
Answer: D
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Hi vinni.k,
If you were to interpret the prompt in the way that you described, then you would start with the beginning of the first 'silence' and end with the end of the last 'silence', which would make the total....
8 silences + 7 tolls = 8(2) + 7(3) = 37 seconds
This answer is NOT among the five answer choices, so this CANNOT be the solution. One of the great things about PS questions is that if "your answer" isn't there then that means you've made some kind of mistake (that you might be able to go back and fix).
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
If you were to interpret the prompt in the way that you described, then you would start with the beginning of the first 'silence' and end with the end of the last 'silence', which would make the total....
8 silences + 7 tolls = 8(2) + 7(3) = 37 seconds
This answer is NOT among the five answer choices, so this CANNOT be the solution. One of the great things about PS questions is that if "your answer" isn't there then that means you've made some kind of mistake (that you might be able to go back and fix).
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich