small easy questions

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lukaswelker: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 65; Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:56 amFollowed by: 1 member

by lukaswelker » Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:43 am

Hey Guys

A small easy question that made me doubt at first:

For all positive integers m, m=3m when m is odd and m= 0.5m when m is even. Which of the following is equivalent to 9X6?

81; 54; 36; 27;18

I first had the reflex to treat 9 and 6 separately, before figuring out that I needed to do the multiplication first.

Can anybody tell me what I should have looked for in the question to not make this mistake again?

let me know
Many thanks
Lukas

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:43 am

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:10 am

For all positive integers m, @m=3m when m is odd and @m=(1/2)m when m is even. Which of the following is equivalent to @9 x @6?

A - @81
B - @59
C - @36
D - @27
E - @18

Since @m=3m when m is odd, @9 = 3*9 = 27.

Since @m=(1/2)m when m is even, @6 = (1/2)6 = 3.

Thus, @9 * @6 = 27*3 = 81.

Notice the @ symbol in the answer choices.
The correct answer must be the EQUIVALENT of 81.

Answer choice D: @27
Since @m=3m when m is odd, @27 = 3*27 = 81.

The correct answer is D.

Answer choice A is A TRAP.
Always beware of an answer choice that seems TOO EASY or TOO OBVIOUS.

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:19 am

lukaswelker wrote:Hey Guys

A small easy question that made me doubt at first:

For all positive integers m, m=3m when m is odd and m= 0.5m when m is even. Which of the following is equivalent to 9X6?

81; 54; 36; 27;18

I first had the reflex to treat 9 and 6 separately, before figuring out that I needed to do the multiplication first.

Can anybody tell me what I should have looked for in the question to not make this mistake again?

let me know
Many thanks
Lukas

Make sure that when you transcribe questions with symbols in them, you indicate the symbols in both the question and the answer choices. As written, it would be impossible to answer your question!

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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