Find the Number of Squares

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puneetkhurana2000: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 131; Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:01 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 39 times

by puneetkhurana2000 » Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:28 am

Hi everybody,

Question:-
Find the number of squares possible that can be constructed using 31 sticks of equal length on a table.

1) 30
2) 15
3) 29
4) 42
5) 20

Please help!!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:28 am

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:38 am

puneetkhurana2000 wrote:Hi everybody,

Question:-
Find the number of squares possible that can be constructed using 31 sticks of equal length on a table.

1) 30
2) 15
3) 29
4) 42
5) 20

Please help!!

This doesn't really feel like a true GMAT question. It seems more like something you'd see in a Mensa challenge-type resource.

Having said that, I think the answer is 20
You can find 20 squares of different sizes if you arrange the sticks as follows.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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puneetkhurana2000: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 131; Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:01 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 39 times

by puneetkhurana2000 » Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:41 am

Thanks Brent,

So it is 12+6+2 = 20.

And how we get to the figure at the first place.

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