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das
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WIRE 22 Feb 2008, 17:29
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Hey I have recently started preparing for GMAT...though I solve most of the question but it tale too much time. For example in this question -
A wire is cut into three parts.The resulting segments are then cut into 4,6,8 equal parts respectively. If each of the resulting segment has an integer length, what is the minimum length of the wire-
a-24
b-36
c-48
d-54
e-72

can anybody provide the shorter way to solve this ques. Also I would really appreciate if anyone can give me links for some good maths material and questions



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bmwhype2
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WIRE 22 Feb 2008, 17:52
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is it 72?

take the LCM of the parts 3*4*6*8
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bluegiant
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WIRE 22 Feb 2008, 19:37
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According to the passages, the length of each segments are equal.
Therefore, this question must be the greatest common divisor as follow.
4X = 6Y = 8Z = ?
The minimum number is 24
X=6, Y=4, Z=3
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das
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 00:10
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OA is 72.. Can anyone give further explanation to this
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incognito1
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 01:14
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das
OA is 72.. Can anyone give further explanation to this
Show more

I'm not sure if the OA is correct. The OA should be (B)

Question => divide a wire into three parts in the ratio 4:6:8

Solution => Let wire's total length be x
Then individual lengths of the three pieces are: (4/18)*x, (6/18)*x and (8/18)*x
(since 4 + 6 + 8 = 18)

Substitute each of the answer choices in the ratio above. 36 is the smallest value that gives integer results for all 3.
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[email protected]
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 05:42
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incognito1
das
OA is 72.. Can anyone give further explanation to this

I'm not sure if the OA is correct. The OA should be (B)

Question => divide a wire into three parts in the ratio 4:6:8

Solution => Let wire's total length be x
Then individual lengths of the three pieces are: (4/18)*x, (6/18)*x and (8/18)*x
(since 4 + 6 + 8 = 18)

Substitute each of the answer choices in the ratio above. 36 is the smallest value that gives integer results for all 3.
Show more


OA is correct.
Lets go by your answer - 36.
36 is divided in 3 equal parts. Each part will be 12 units long.
How will you divide 12 among 8 equal parts, keeping the length of each part as integer.
I hope it helps.
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incognito1
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 11:22
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[email protected]
incognito1
das
OA is 72.. Can anyone give further explanation to this

I'm not sure if the OA is correct. The OA should be (B)

Question => divide a wire into three parts in the ratio 4:6:8

Solution => Let wire's total length be x
Then individual lengths of the three pieces are: (4/18)*x, (6/18)*x and (8/18)*x
(since 4 + 6 + 8 = 18)

Substitute each of the answer choices in the ratio above. 36 is the smallest value that gives integer results for all 3.


OA is correct.
Lets go by your answer - 36.
36 is divided in 3 equal parts. Each part will be 12 units long.
How will you divide 12 among 8 equal parts, keeping the length of each part as integer.
I hope it helps.
Show more

The question doesn't state that the wire is cut into 3 equal parts. I understood the question to mean that each of the sub-parts is equal. That is, any one of the 4 sub-parts from the first cut is equal to any one of the 6 sub-parts from the second cut.

By your explanation, the OA is right, but I think the question is not worded correctly, and relies on a big assumption. Does anyone know the source to this problem?
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suntaurian
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 12:28
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You are right. Very confusingly worded.
When I saw someone doing the ratio of 4:6:8, I was like, the problem does not say anything about the ratio anywhere.
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neeraj.kaushal
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 19:05
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SHORTER WAY OF DOING THIS IS LCM OF 3, 4, 6 AND 8 WHICH IS 72 AND LONGER WAY IS CHECKING EACH OPTION BY CUTTING INTO DESIRED PARTS TO GET INTEGER LENGTH. ONLY 72 IS POSSIBLE AS FIRST THREE PARTS OF 24 LENGTH EACH AND THEN EACH 24 LENGTH PART CAN BE SUBDIVIDED INTO 4 , 6 AND 8 EQUAL PARTS.
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[email protected]
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WIRE 23 Feb 2008, 21:37
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Vehmently agree with incognito1.
The question is not worded properly.
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das
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WIRE 24 Feb 2008, 09:00
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ya thats wat I thought ... I found it on some site ...



Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Quantitative Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!