BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

help

Expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Legendary Member
Posts: 512
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:31 pmFollowed by: 20 members
Thanked: 42 times
by sana.noor » Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:47 pm
How many patterns can be created from 9 fruits taking 3 at a time (all fruits are identical):
4 are Bananas
2 are Cherries
3 are Pineapples

a) 27
b) 26
c) 24
d) 25
e) 12

is the answer 26 right?
Work hard in Silence, Let Success make the noise.

If you found my Post really helpful, then don't forget to click the Thank/follow me button. :)
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Problem Solving |
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pmFollowed by: 119 members
Location: East Bay all the way
Thanked: 625 times
GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:59 pm
Here's a nice way of doing it:

For each of the three fruits, we could have a banana, a cherry, or a pineapple. So this gives us 3 * 3 * 3 = 27 options. But we can't have three cherries, so remove that possibility. 27 - 1 = 26. Done! :D
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 16207
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members
Location: Vancouver, BC
Thanked: 5254 times
GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Oct 28, 2013 6:48 am
sana.noor wrote:How many patterns can be created from 9 fruits taking 3 at a time (all fruits are identical):
4 are Bananas
2 are Cherries
3 are Pineapples

a) 27
b) 26
c) 24
d) 25
e) 12
In its current state, this question is too ambiguous to be a GMAT question. "Taking 3 fruit at a time" could mean that there's only one way to select 2 bananas and 1 pineapple. However, if we're arranging them in "patterns," then there are countless possibilities. For example, here are 5 patterns using 2 bananas and 1 pineapple:
Image

Working backwards from an official answer of 26, we can assume that we're to take the 3 selected fruit and arrange them in a line, in which case Matt's solution is perfect. However, this is not an assumption that the GMAT would require you to make.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
Image
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 447
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:25 amFollowed by: 1 member
Thanked: 25 times

by Mathsbuddy » Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:39 am
How many different patterns or how many patterns altogether, including duplicates?

Well if we assume the patterns are all different, then I agree that there are 26 combinations.

However, GMat questions teach us never to assume, so perhaps we should consider the other possibility. In fact as there are 4 bananas available to use, it may be a hint not to make this assumption. Just because the fruit are identical doesn't mean that 2 or more patterns can't look identical. For example, if a pair of dice each had 2 fives and 4 threes, we could not ignore the duplicates in our count, when calculating our odds - even if they were identical.

9 * 8 * 7 * 6 = 3024 patterns including 3024 - 26 = 2998 repeats.

From the answers offered, I can only now deduce that the patterns must be distinctly different.

Therefore the answer is 26 (answer b)

Not being pedantic. Just exercising ideas :)
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1