Problem Solving

Hi boomgoesthegmat,

This question can be solved algebraically or by TESTing VALUES.

Let's TEST...
C = 2
B = 3

So each case contains 2 cartons and each carton contains 3 boxes. We're told that each box contains 100 paper clips, so that's a total of...

2(3)(100) = 600 paperclips in 1 case.

We're asked for the number of paperclips in 2 CASES though... so we're looking for an answer that equals 2(600) = 1200, when C=2 and B=3. There's only one answer that matches...

Final Answer: C

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Rich and Ankur have demonstrated the two methods (Algebraic and Input-Output) for solving a question type I call Variables in the Answer Choices.
If you'd like more information on these approaches, we have some videos:
- Variables in the Answer Choices - https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... /video/933
- Tips for the Algebraic Approach - https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... /video/934
- Tips for the Input-Output Approach - https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... /video/935

Here are some more questions to practice with:
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/what-mistake ... 76293.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/car-dealer-s ... 74136.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/ps-rate-times-t276107.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/to-find-the- ... 73338.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/y-dollars-fr ... 73031.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/meters-in-x- ... 73854.html
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-better-exp ... 79396.html


Cheers,
Brent

boomgoesthegmat wrote:A case contains c cartons. Each carton contains b boxes, and each box contains 100 paper clips. How many paper clips are contained in 2 cases?

A) 100bc

B) 100b/c

C) 200bc

D) 200b/c

E) 200/bc

We are given that a case contains c cartons. Each carton contains b boxes, and each box contains 100 paper clips. Thus we can say the following:

c x b x 100 = 100bc paper clips per case. Thus, 2 cases would contain 2 x 100bc = 200bc paper clips.

Answer: C