Hi All,
We're told that the figure shown consists of four differently rectangles, EACH of which has length L and width W and the area of the painting is 4,800 square inches. We're asked for the width, in inches, of each of the four rectangles. This question can be solved by TESTing VALUES.
One of the 'keys' to this question is in realizing that the 3 widths of the 'stacked' rectangles total the exact length of each of the rectangles. Thus, the painting has the following dimensions:
Length = (L+W)
Width = 3W = L
Since the area of the painting ends in '00', it's likely that we'll be multiplying two numbers that both end in 0, so let's start with the easiest one first and TEST Answer B...
Answer B: 20 inches
IF width of a rectangle is 20 inches...
then the length of a rectangle is 3(20) = 60 inches
and then the width of the painting is 3(20) = 60 inches
and the length of the painting is (60+20) = 80 inches
Area of the painting = (60)(80) = 4800 square inches.
This is an exact match for what we were told, so this must be the answer.
Final Answer: B
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
