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In the interior of a forest, a certain number of apes equal

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by vinni.k » Thu Jan 09, 2014 8:18 am
In the interior of a forest, a certain number of apes equal to the square of one-eighth of the total number are playing and having great fun. The remaining twelve apes are on a hill and the echo of their shrieks by the adjoining hills frightens them. They came and join the apes in the forest and play with enthusiasm. What is the total number of apes?

A. 48

B. 16

C. 64

D. 80

E. 16 or 48

OA is E

How to create the right equation, not matching with my equation.

Thanks & Regards
Vinni
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by Uva@90 » Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:00 am
Hi Vinni,
Total # of Apes = (x/8)^2 +12
where x is the total number of apes playing and having great fun.

since x and Total # are number of apes they must of integer.

1^2+12 =13
2^2+12 =16
3^2+12 =23
4^2+12 =28
5^2+12 =37
6^2+12 =48
7^2+12 =61
8^2+12 =76
9^2+12 =93

Only the green color highlighted one are in the options.

Hence Ans is E

Regards,
Uva.
Known is a drop Unknown is an Ocean
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:36 am
The question stem should read as follows:
vinni.k wrote:In the interior of a forest, a certain number of apes equal to the square of one-eighth of the total number are playing and having great fun. The remaining twelve apes are on a hill and the echo of their shrieks by the adjoining hills frightens them. They came and join the apes in the forest and play with enthusiasm. Which of the following includes every possible value for the total number of apes?

A. 48

B. 16

C. 64

D. 80

E. 16 or 48
We can plug in the answers, which represent the total number of apes.

The square of one-eighth of the total number are playing and having great fun.
The remaining twelve apes are on a hill.


Answer choice A: 48 apes
Here, the number playing = (48/8)² = 36, implying that the number on the hill = 48-36 = 12.
This works.
Eliminate B, C, and D.

Answer choice E: 16 or 48 apes
If there are 16 apes, the number playing = (16/8)² = 4, implying that the number on the hill = 16-4 = 12.
This also works.
Eliminate A.

The correct answer is E.
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by vinni.k » Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:28 am
Thank you.
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by Matt@VeritasPrep » Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:22 pm
Great question! For fun and further practice, here's a follow up from the famous Lilavati, a 12th century Indian math text (as you can see, these sort of questions have been around forever):

Out of a group of swans, 7/2 times the square root of the number are playing on the shore of a pond. The two remaining ones are fighting in the water. What is the total number of swans?
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by vipulgoyal » Sun Jan 12, 2014 9:03 pm
T-(t/8)^2=12
T^2 - 64T + 768 = 0
(t-48)(t-16)=o
t= 48,16
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