Find the Number of Squares

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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.

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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.