Area of circle in terms of r?

This topic has expert replies
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:35 pm
Followed by:1 members

Area of circle in terms of r?

by Ahmed MS » Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:29 pm
A thin piece of 40 m wire is cut in two. One piece is a circle with radius of r. Other is a square. No wire is left over. Which represents total area of circle and square in terms of r?

a. Πr2
b. Πr2 + 10
c. Πr2 + ¼ π2r2
d. Πr2 + (40 - 2πr)2
e. Πr2 + (10 - ½ Πr)2

The answer is E. Can anyone explain how?

Cheers!
Source: — Problem Solving |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3835
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:00 pm
Location: Milpitas, CA
Thanked: 1854 times
Followed by:523 members
GMAT Score:770

by Anurag@Gurome » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:26 pm
Ahmed MS wrote:A thin piece of 40 m wire is cut in two. One piece is a circle with radius of r. Other is a square. No wire is left over. Which represents total area of circle and square in terms of r?

a. Πr2
b. Πr2 + 10
c. Πr2 + ¼ π2r2
d. Πr2 + (40 - 2πr)2
e. Πr2 + (10 - ½ Πr)2
Perimeter of the circle = 2Ï€r
Therefore, perimeter of the square = (40 - 2Ï€r)

Hence, length of each side of the square = (40 - 2πr)/4 = (10 - πr/2)

Therefore, total area of circle and square = (Area of the circle) + (Area of the square) = πr² + (10 - πr/2)²

The correct answer is E.
Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
GMAT Expert, Admissions and Career Guidance
Gurome, Inc.
1-800-566-4043 (USA)

Join Our Facebook Groups
GMAT with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272466352793633/
Admissions with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/461459690536574/
Career Advising with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/360435787349781/

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
Followed by:1906 members
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:09 am
Ahmed MS wrote:A thin piece of 40 m wire is cut in two. One piece is a circle with radius of r. Other is a square. No wire is left over. Which represents total area of circle and square in terms of r?

a. Πr2
b. Πr2 + 10
c. Πr2 + ¼ π2r2
d. Πr2 + (40 - 2πr)2
e. Πr2 + (10 - ½ Πr)2

The answer is E. Can anyone explain how?

Cheers!
Each answer choice includes πr², the area of the circle.
Eliminate A, which clearly does not include the area of the square.
Since πr² is included in each answer choice, we can ignore the first part of each remaining answer choice.
Our only concern is the second part: the area of the square.

Plug in r = 4.
Circumference of circle = 2πr = 2π*4 ≈ 24.
Perimeter of square = remaining wire = 40-24 = 16.
Side of square = 16/4 = 4.
Area of square = 4² = 16.

Now we plug r=4 into the second part of each answer choice to see which yields our target of 16.

Only answer choice E works:
(10 - ½ Πr)²
= (10 - ½ *3*4)²
= 4²
= 16.

The correct answer is E.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:35 pm
Followed by:1 members

by Ahmed MS » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:07 am
Thanks Anurag and GMATGuruNY.

Cheers!