A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half

[Gmat_mission]

A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce, the ball was caught when it reached a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?

(A) 21
(B) 19
(C) 17
(D) 15
(E) 13

[spoiler]OA=A[/spoiler]

Source: GMAT Paper Tests

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce, it rose straight up exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce, the ball was caught when it reached a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?

(A) 21
(B) 19
(C) 17
(D) 15
(E) 13

[spoiler]OA=A[/spoiler]

Source: GMAT Paper Tests

Drop 8 meters
Rise 4 meters
Drop 4 meters
Rise 2 meters
Drop 2 meters
Rise 1 meters (DONE!)

8 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 21 meters

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent