BTGmoderatorDC wrote:Angela has 15 pairs of matched socks. If she loses 7 individual socks, which of the following is NOT a possible number of matched pairs she has left?
A. 8
B. 9
C. 10
D. 11
E. 12
OA E
Source: Veritas Prep
We can also
systematically eliminate 4 of the 5 answer choices.
Let's say the 15 PAIRS of socks are as follows:
AA, BB, CC, DD, EE, FF, GG, HH, II, JJ, KK, LL, MM, NN, OO
Let's first see what happens if we "lose"
7 unmatched socks. Say, we lose, A, B, C, D, E, F, G
We get: A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
HH, II, JJ, KK, LL, MM, NN, OO
We have
8 pairs remaining.
So, we can ELIMINATE A
Now let's see what happens if we "lose"
1 pair of matched socks and 5 unmatched socks. Say, we lose, AA, B, C, D, E, F
We get: B, C, D, E, F,
GG, HH, II, JJ, KK, LL, MM, NN, OO
We have
9 pairs remaining.
So, we can ELIMINATE B
Let's see what happens if we "lose"
2 pairs of matched socks and 3 unmatched socks. Say, we lose, AA, BB, C, D, E
We get: C, D, E,
FF, GG, HH, II, JJ, KK, LL, MM, NN, OO
We have
10 pairs remaining.
So, we can ELIMINATE C
Let's see what happens if we "lose"
3 pairs of matched socks and 1 unmatched sock. Say, we lose, AA, BB, CC, D
We get: D,
EE, FF, GG, HH, II, JJ, KK, LL, MM, NN, OO
We have
11 pairs remaining.
So, we can ELIMINATE D
By the process of elimination, the correct answer is E
Cheers,
Brent
