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least possible score a team could have earned

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by jain2016 » Sat May 14, 2016 10:27 pm
For a certain race, 3 teams allowed to enter 3 members each. A team earned 6-n points whenever one of its team members finished in nth place, where 1<equal n <equal 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

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by GMATGuruNY » Sun May 15, 2016 2:47 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 DavidG@VeritasPrep » Sun May 15, 2016 4:44 am
The GMAT loves min/max questions. See here for another one: https://www.beatthegmat.com/5-pieces-of- ... 69883.html
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by [email protected] » Sun May 15, 2016 9:16 am
Hi jain2016,

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.

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by Mo2men » Mon May 16, 2016 5:14 am
GMATGuruNY wrote:
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.
Hi GMATGuru,

I do not understand how the maximum allowed total per team = 6. what is the scenario if All team A takes the first 3 places and Team B takes the bottom 2 places?

I have calculated this as follows:

A team members can be in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. So total points should be 5+4+3=12
B team members can be in 44th and 5th places. So total =3

Can you please clarify??

Thanks
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Mon May 16, 2016 7:14 am
I do not understand how the maximum allowed total per team = 6.
Reread the prompt: If no team earned more than 6 points, what is the least possible score a team could have earned?
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by Mo2men » Mon May 16, 2016 2:54 pm
DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:
I do not understand how the maximum allowed total per team = 6.
Reread the prompt: If no team earned more than 6 points, what is the least possible score a team could have earned?
yes, you are right. Rush reading leading to that question.

thanks for pointing out.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Mon May 16, 2016 5:29 pm
Mo2men wrote:
DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:
I do not understand how the maximum allowed total per team = 6.
Reread the prompt: If no team earned more than 6 points, what is the least possible score a team could have earned?
yes, you are right. Rush reading leading to that question.

thanks for pointing out.
Always worth it to reread questions, just to be safe :)
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by rindam » Tue May 17, 2016 2:53 am
I think 4 should be the there is no tie..so team a and b can not have same score 6..so if we maximize score team a got 6 b 5 then c is left with 4..Pls let me know if I miss anything
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue May 17, 2016 4:06 am
rindam wrote:I think 4 should be the there is no tie..so team a and b can not have same score 6..so if we maximize score team a got 6 b 5 then c is left with 4..Pls let me know if I miss anything
The no-tie restriction applies to individual placement in the race, not to the total number of points a team has accumulated. In other words, there cannot be two fourth-place finishers in the race, etc. (But, rest assured, you are not the first to have had this confusion.)
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