BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0559 reviews
GMATLiveTeach Starts Oct 17
Chris Peckover, Target Test Prep GMAT expert
LIVE ONLINE CLASSES

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

with Chris Peckover, 100th-Percentile GMAT Scorer

Oct 17 · Chris Peckover
Sat · 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET
Oct 20 · Chris Peckover
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Oct 25 · Josh Braslow
Sun · 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes + 6 months of TTP OnDemand
  • Attend the first class for free
  • Every class is recorded, so you never fall behind
View classes & enroll
Limited seats availableTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeachOnDemand 5 seats left Start anytime
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Self-paced EA prep. Study on your schedule.

Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

165+ EA score guarantee
$05-day trial no automatic billing
Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll Start free 5-day trial
Limited cohort · enrollment openTrial includes full course accessTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

Challenging Problem from nostressprep.com

Expert replies
by [email protected] » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:44 pm
Hi beatthegmat community!

I'm trying this problem out as one of the challenge problems on my blog/website-- nostressprep.com.

Trying to get a good sense of what level GMAT problem this question would be at. As a GMAT
tutor, I'm guessing somewhere in the upper 700's, but as I am the creator of the problem
I may be a bit biased. Anyways, here it is-- let's see if anyone can get it!


A cube is to be constructed from 8 smaller, equally sized cubes. How many possible ways can the larger cube be arranged taking into account the position and orientation of each of the smaller cubes?


(A) (8^2) (4^1) (2^1)
(B) 6^8
(C) 4! X6^8 X 2^7
(D) 4! (2X3) ^8
(E) 35 (2^15 X 3^10)
Join the discussion
Source: — Problem Solving |

by Maciek » Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:36 am
Hi Chris!

This is great question.

IMO E

We need to divide this problem into two problems.
How many possible ways can the larger cube be arranged taking into account the position of each of the smaller cubes?
We have 8 smaller cubes, so it is 8!

How many possible ways can the larger cube be arranged taking into account the orientation of each of the smaller cubes?
We have 8 smaller cubes and 6 orientations, so it is 6^8

The answer is:
8!*6^8 = 8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1*(2*3)^8 = (2^3)*7*(2*3)*5*(2^2)*3*2*(2^8)*(3^8) = 2^15*3^10*7*5 = 35*(2^15*3^10)

It is answer E

Hope it helps!
Best,
Maciek
"There is no greater wealth in a nation than that of being made up of learned citizens." Pope John Paul II

if you have any questions, send me a private message!

should you find this post useful, please click on "thanks" button :)
Join the discussion

by [email protected] » Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:52 am
Great Maciek!

The answer is E.

The last part can be a bit tricky-- breaking up 8!. Seeing that none of
the other answers have 8! factorial (most only have 4!), you can arrive at
(E) by process of elimination.
Join the discussion

by Maciek » Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:09 am
Chris, it was really tricky:)
"There is no greater wealth in a nation than that of being made up of learned citizens." Pope John Paul II

if you have any questions, send me a private message!

should you find this post useful, please click on "thanks" button :)
Join the discussion

by Ian Stewart » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:08 am
[email protected] wrote:Great Maciek!

The answer is E.

The last part can be a bit tricky-- breaking up 8!. Seeing that none of
the other answers have 8! factorial (most only have 4!), you can arrive at
(E) by process of elimination.
There are more than six ways to orient a cube: once you choose which face will be the top face (6 choices) you can rotate the cube in 4 ways, so there are 24 different orientations of each cube. So the answer here (unless my interpretation of the question is different from what's intended) should be 24^8 * 8!.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com
Join the discussion

by [email protected] » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:56 am
I realize that I did ask for the orientation of the cube, so 24^8--as you'd pointed out Ian--is correct. What I was asking for was the number of ways a cube can be positioned so that a face is in a distinct position regardless of the position of the other faces. Since I didn't explicitly state this, and I did ask for orientation, Ian's response is correct.

At least, I don't think there is any ambiguity in the original question.

It just looks like the question was even more diabolical then I'd intended :).
Join the discussion

by [email protected] » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:57 am
Also, posting another question today. Hopefully, this one is what I'd intended.
Join the discussion