REINE wrote:If A equals the sum of the even integers from 2 to 20 inclusive and B equals the sum of the odd integers from 1 to 19 inclusive, what is the value of a- b.
A. 1
B.10
C. 19
D. 20
E. 21
A: 20 + 18 + 16 + . . . + 4 + 2
B: 19 + 17 + 15 + . . . + 3 + 1
NOTE: There are 10 values in
set A and there are 10 values in
set B
When we subtract A - B, we can do so in PAIRS
A -
B = (
20 -
19) + (
18 -
17) + (
16 -
15) + . . . + (
4 -
3) + (
2 -
1)
= (1) + (1) + (1) + . . . + (1) + (1)
= 10 (since there are 10 PAIRS)
Answer: 10
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
