Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Sep 0907:00 AM PDT
-10:00 AM PDT
Meet AdComs and explore top Master’s programs - MiM, MiF, MSc, MSBA and more. - Application Fee Waivers - Free 1-Week of GMAT Club Tests: - Master's Application Toolkit - Grand Prize Giveaway- Sep 09
10:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Three MBA applications. Three rejections. No interview invites. A year later, Aman was admitted to Cambridge Judge, SMU, and IMD. In this episode of MBA Admit Stories, Aman shares how he rebuilt his MBA application... 
Sep 0410:00 AM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
We’ve worked incredibly hard to build TTP into the best test prep experience possible, and it would mean a lot to us to win Newsweek’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Test Prep. If TTP has helped you, we’d be incredibly grateful for your vote.
07 Sep 2026, 19:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
N
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
100% (01:01) correct
0%
(00:00)
wrong
based on 22
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
2 men and 3 women are lined up in a row. How many arrangements exist where men and women stand alternately in the line?
A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24
The OA will be automatically revealed on Tuesday 8th of September 2026 07:00:13 PM Pacific Time Zone
A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24
The OA will be automatically revealed on Tuesday 8th of September 2026 07:00:13 PM Pacific Time Zone
07 Sep 2026, 21:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Only possible arrangement is
W-M-W-M-W
3 women can be arranged in 3 spots in 3! ways = 6
2 men can be arranged in 2 spots in 2! ways = 2
Total arrangements= 6*2= 12
A
W-M-W-M-W
3 women can be arranged in 3 spots in 3! ways = 6
2 men can be arranged in 2 spots in 2! ways = 2
Total arrangements= 6*2= 12
A
07 Sep 2026, 22:29
Kudos
Bookmarks
For combinations problems, it's useful to categorise the situation as one of a few generic types. Here we have a "people in a line" situation, for which the solution is [number of people]! (the ! means factorial, i.e. the product of all the positive integers up to that number).
Although we have 5 people in this situation, the solution is not 5x4x3x2x1, as that would be larger than any of the answers. We need to deal with the "twist", i.e. the condition that we have 2 men and 3 women. It often helps to take an example, just to get an idea of what a possible solution would look like. If the men are M1 and M2, and the women are W1, W2, and W3, then one solution would be W1 M1 W2 M2 W3. This might help us see that any possible solution will be in the form W M W M W, which is a useful insight as it restricts the situation.
The answers are too large to realistically list out all the possible scenarios under exam conditions (although this could be a useful task when studying problems in review). Instead, resort to the "decision tree" approach, which applies to just about any combinations problem: break the problem down into separate decision points, then draw (or imagine) a branching diagram. In this situation, we have 3 choices for the first woman. Each of these three branches will then split as we have a choice of 2 for the first man, then 2 choices for the second woman, 1 for the second man, and 1 for the third woman. The full tree will have 3x2x2x1x1 pathways, i.e. 12 possible realities, giving answer A.
If this explanation seems overly long, remember that effective study is not just about solving problems, but about studying problems in order develop your skills and insights to apply to other (perhaps harder) problems. For that, understanding the logic behind rules and strategies you apply is key.
Although we have 5 people in this situation, the solution is not 5x4x3x2x1, as that would be larger than any of the answers. We need to deal with the "twist", i.e. the condition that we have 2 men and 3 women. It often helps to take an example, just to get an idea of what a possible solution would look like. If the men are M1 and M2, and the women are W1, W2, and W3, then one solution would be W1 M1 W2 M2 W3. This might help us see that any possible solution will be in the form W M W M W, which is a useful insight as it restricts the situation.
The answers are too large to realistically list out all the possible scenarios under exam conditions (although this could be a useful task when studying problems in review). Instead, resort to the "decision tree" approach, which applies to just about any combinations problem: break the problem down into separate decision points, then draw (or imagine) a branching diagram. In this situation, we have 3 choices for the first woman. Each of these three branches will then split as we have a choice of 2 for the first man, then 2 choices for the second woman, 1 for the second man, and 1 for the third woman. The full tree will have 3x2x2x1x1 pathways, i.e. 12 possible realities, giving answer A.
If this explanation seems overly long, remember that effective study is not just about solving problems, but about studying problems in order develop your skills and insights to apply to other (perhaps harder) problems. For that, understanding the logic behind rules and strategies you apply is key.
