problem solving

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problem solving

by sumasajja » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:21 pm
Some birds settled on the branches of a tree. First,they sat one to a branch and there was one bird extra.Next they sat two to a branch and there was one branch extra.How many branches are there?
a]5
b]4
c]3
d]6
e]7
the answer is c i.e 3
this can be solved by trail and error method ,,,but i can't figure out the best way to solve this!!!! when given bigger numbers in the choices.
Source: — Problem Solving |

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by Frankenstein » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:31 pm
Hi,
Let the number of branches be n
From 1st statement, number of birds is (n+1)
From 2nd statement, number of birds is 2(n-1)
So, 2(n-1) = n+1 =>n=3.
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