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GMAT Set 8 Q7

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GMAT Set 8 Q7

by Abhijit K » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:48 am
For a certain race, 3 teams were allowed to enter 3 members each. A team earned 6 - n
points whenever one of its members finished in nth place, where 1<=n<=5. There were
no ties, disqualifications, or withdrawals. If no team earned more than 6 points, what is
the least possible score a team could have earned?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4

Why is the answer D and not A?
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Feb 19, 2015 3:38 am
For a certain race, 3 teams were allowed to enter 3 members each. A team earned 6-n points whenever one of its members finished in nth places, where 1≤n≤5. there were no ties, disqualifications, or withdrawals. If no team earned more than 6 points, what is the least possible score a team could have earned?
0
1
2
3
4
nth place = 6-n points.
Thus:
1st place = 6-1 = 5 points.
2nd place = 6-2 = 4 points.
3rd place = 6-3 = 3 points.
4th place = 6-4 = 2 points.
5th place = 6-5 = 1 point.

Let the 3 teams be A, B and C.

To MINIMIZE the number of points that Team C could earn, we must MAXIMIZE the number of points that Teams A and B earn.
The maximum allowed total per team = 6.
It's possible that Team A wins 1st and 5th places (for a total of 6 points) and that Team B wins 2nd and 4th places (for a total of 6 points) -- the MAXIMUM allowed sum for each team.
Thus, the MINIMUM number of points that could be earned by team C -- winning only 3rd place -- is 3.

The correct answer is D.
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by [email protected] » Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:21 am
Hi Abhijit K,

Mitch's explanation for this question is spot-on, so I won't rehash any of that here. Instead, I want to focus on the 'design element' of most GMAT questions.

While the 'math' involved in most Quant questions is usually fairly straight-forward (low-to-mid level Arithmetic, Algebra or Geometry, in most cases), the questions themselves usually involve 3-5 'steps.' The steps themselves are usually not individually all that complex, but you do have to go through them to be sure that you have the correct answer. If you find yourself thinking "oh, the answer is obviously ____, and I don't have to write anything down....", then you might be correct, but there's a decent possibility that you're NOT. That choice - whether to do work on the pad or not - is pivotal to your performance throughout the Test. Your goal should be to do efficient, organized and strategic work on EVERY question - since that's what will help you get a high score and those are skills that Business Schools are looking for in their applicants.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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