Word Problems

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swerve: Legendary Member; Posts: 2499; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:04 pm; Followed by:6 members

Word Problems

by swerve » Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:27 am

A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce, the ball was caught when it reached a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?

A. 21
B. 19
C. 17
D. 15
E. 13

The OA is A

Source: GMAT Paper Tests

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:27 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; Followed by:1268 members; GMAT Score:770

Re: Word Problems

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:57 am

swerve wrote: ↑
Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:27 am
A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce, the ball was caught when it reached a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?

A. 21
B. 19
C. 17
D. 15
E. 13

The OA is A

Source: GMAT Paper Tests

Drop 8 meters
Rise 4 meters
Drop 4 meters
Rise 2 meters
Drop 2 meters
Rise 1 meters (DONE!)

8 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 21 meters

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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GMAT/MBA Expert

Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8085; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 am; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times; Followed by:29 members

Re: Word Problems

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Sun Feb 02, 2020 5:17 am

swerve wrote: ↑
Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:27 am
A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce, the ball was caught when it reached a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?

A. 21
B. 19
C. 17
D. 15
E. 13

The OA is A

Source: GMAT Paper Tests

We can create the following list:

Drop of 8

Bounce of 4

Drop of 4

Bounce of 2

Drop of 2

Bounce of 1

Therefore, the ball traveled 8 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 21 meters.

Answer: A

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