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OG-12 Problem Solving question #50

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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OG-12 Problem Solving question #50

by fatalityish » Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:40 am
50. If y is an integer, then the least possible value of
|23 - 5y| is
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5


Guys while solving this simple question the answer i get is y=5(E). I know it is a pretty simple and straightforward question but OG mentions the answer as (B). i checked the solution for this and they say that y=5 but answer is option B.
I was like totally confused.
If u have faced the same thing please dont be alarmed.
Ishaan
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by ASKI@1st » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:13 pm
Morning,
The question is asking about the least value of (i) |23-5y| and not the value of (ii) y. It's a quite confusing though. Therefore, based on the fact y is an integer, it comes out that the least value of |23-5y| is "2" which is reached when y=5. The answer is B. Hope this explanation is a bit helpful.
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by fatalityish » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:16 pm
ASKI@1st wrote:Morning,
The question is asking about the least value of (i) |23-5y| and not the value of (ii) y. It's a quite confusing though. Therefore, based on the fact y is an integer, it comes out that the least value of |23-5y| is "2" which is reached when y=5. The answer is B. Hope this explanation is a bit helpful.
hey thanks, now i realized... crap, so stupid of me... thanks for correcting me... i misread the question
Ishaan
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:32 am
Hey Ishaan,

Embrace that mistake! I've found that misreading the question - or, more simply, answering the wrong question (like solving for y instead of for the absolute value of the expression) is the most popular way to answer incorrectly. The most common incorrect answer on the GMAT is the right answer to the wrong question!

Just as a study tip for everyone, I think it's really easy to realize your mistake on a question like this and brush it off - "I knew it, but it was a dumb mistake" - and move on...make sure to learn how easy it is to make this mistake and pay attention to how commonly you do it. For me, I wrote a question mark (?) at the top of my noteboard to force myself to look up and consider whether I answered the right question. It's just too easy a mistake to make, so be aware of it!
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by fatalityish » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:11 am
Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Hey Ishaan,

Embrace that mistake! I've found that misreading the question - or, more simply, answering the wrong question (like solving for y instead of for the absolute value of the expression) is the most popular way to answer incorrectly. The most common incorrect answer on the GMAT is the right answer to the wrong question!

Just as a study tip for everyone, I think it's really easy to realize your mistake on a question like this and brush it off - "I knew it, but it was a dumb mistake" - and move on...make sure to learn how easy it is to make this mistake and pay attention to how commonly you do it. For me, I wrote a question mark (?) at the top of my noteboard to force myself to look up and consider whether I answered the right question. It's just too easy a mistake to make, so be aware of it!
Hey Brian,
Thanks for the tip, i totally agree with you. Not only is it important to learn from one's mistakes but also make sure they are not repeated again. Just the other day i was solving a question out of OG and got a wrong answer just because of nervousness and anxiety. I dunno what exactly it was but, I did learn that we should be calm while practicing for / giving GMAT exam. (The mistake was, I did 64-48 = 12 instead of 16 and my answer went all wrong.)
Dumb mistakes are the ones which is toughest to overcome but have to be done.

Thanks again.
Ishaan
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