If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles, the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number of

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BTGmoderatorLU: Moderator; Posts: 2505; Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:50 pm; Followed by:6 members

If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles, the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number of

by BTGmoderatorLU » Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:05 pm

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If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles, the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number of marbles. What is the greatest possible number of marbles that were in the jar originally?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
E. 6

The OA is C

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:05 pm

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; Followed by:1268 members; GMAT Score:770

Re: If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles, the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:19 am

BTGmoderatorLU wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:05 pm
Source: GMAT Prep

If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles, the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number of marbles. What is the greatest possible number of marbles that were in the jar originally?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
E. 6

The OA is C

If 9 marbles were added to a jar of marbles....
Let x = the ORIGINAL number of marbles in the jar
So, x + 9 = the NEW number of marbles in the jar

..., the number of marbles would be greater than 3 times the original number of marbles
In other words: (the NEW number of marbles in the jar) > 3(the ORIGINAL number of marbles in the jar)
In other words: x + 9 > 3x
Subtract x from both sides of the inequality to get: 9 > 2x
Divide both sides by 2 to get: 4.5 > x
In other words, the ORIGINAL number of marbles is less than 4.5

What is the greatest possible number of marbles that were in the jar originally?
4 is the biggest integer value that's less than 4.5

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com