A soccer tournament is organized with 32 teams participating

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A soccer tournament is organized with 32 teams participating, so that every game must end with a winner and the losing team is eliminated from the tournament until there is one team left. If each game is between two teams, what is the total number of games played in the tournament?

A. 5
B. 15
C. 16
D. 31
E. 32

How can i solve this?

OA D

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:14 pm
lheiannie07 wrote:A soccer tournament is organized with 32 teams participating, so that every game must end with a winner and the losing team is eliminated from the tournament until there is one team left. If each game is between two teams, what is the total number of games played in the tournament?

A. 5
B. 15
C. 16
D. 31
E. 32

How can i solve this?

OA D
Fact #1: The tournament begins with 32 teams
Fact #2: With each game played, 1 team leaves
Fact #3: The tournament continues until only 1 team remains.

So, if there are 31 games, there will be 31 teams that leave the tournament, leaving only 1 team (the winning team).

Answer: D

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by Jeff@TargetTestPrep » Mon Mar 12, 2018 4:08 pm
lheiannie07 wrote:A soccer tournament is organized with 32 teams participating, so that every game must end with a winner and the losing team is eliminated from the tournament until there is one team left. If each game is between two teams, what is the total number of games played in the tournament?

A. 5
B. 15
C. 16
D. 31
E. 32
In the first round, since 32 teams are playing, there will be 32/2 = 16 games played. In the second round, there will be 16/2 = 8 games played. In the third round, there will be 8/2 = 4 games played. In the fourth round, there will be 4/2 = 2 games played. In the fifth or final round, there is 1 game played. Thus, the total number of games is:

16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 31

Answer: D

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