Last visit was: 09 Jul 2025, 18:33 It is currently 09 Jul 2025, 18:33
Close
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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
avatar
pratikshr
Joined: 05 Nov 2013
Last visit: 17 Jan 2019
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
370
 [15]
Given Kudos: 69
Posts: 17
Kudos: 370
 [15]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
14
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
pratikshr
Joined: 05 Nov 2013
Last visit: 17 Jan 2019
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
370
 [2]
Given Kudos: 69
Posts: 17
Kudos: 370
 [2]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
pratikshr
Joined: 05 Nov 2013
Last visit: 17 Jan 2019
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 69
Posts: 17
Kudos: 370
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
vad3tha
Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Last visit: 15 Dec 2023
Posts: 106
Own Kudos:
569
 [2]
Given Kudos: 148
Posts: 106
Kudos: 569
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pratikshr
A rat in a maze starts walking 6 feet in a straight line, then immediately turns right and walks y feet more before pausing. The rat then walks in a straight line back to where it started, and then, without pausing, continues walking in this direction for another 2 feet before it stops. For how much time did the rat spend walking?

(1) y = 8
(2) The rat completed its walk 6 minutes after it started walking.


then immediately turns right and walks y feet more before pausing
.... the rat did pausing, but no one knows for how long

Answer E
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 09 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,101
Own Kudos:
74,229
 [3]
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,101
Kudos: 74,229
 [3]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pratikshr
In my view, the correct answer should be B because we're getting the Total Time. We know that the rate didn't spend any time pausing.. So the answer should be 6 mins.

Hence (b)

Can someone please explain what my error is?

Expert help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in adv.

You are not given that the rat walks at a uniform rate/speed. You can talk about the distance covered, but you can't say anything about time. We know that he covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins but did he walk at the same rate before? We don't know. Perhaps before he covered 3 feet in 6 mins or perhaps just 1 foot in 6 mins. The question needs to clearly mention that it walks at a uniform rate.
Also, the length of the pause, though usually assumed very small, is not given.
User avatar
b2bt
Joined: 25 Sep 2012
Last visit: 14 Apr 2024
Posts: 200
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 242
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V31
GMAT 2: 680 Q48 V34
Products:
GMAT 2: 680 Q48 V34
Posts: 200
Kudos: 615
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
VeritasPrepKarishma
pratikshr
In my view, the correct answer should be B because we're getting the Total Time. We know that the rate didn't spend any time pausing.. So the answer should be 6 mins.

Hence (b)

Can someone please explain what my error is?

Expert help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in adv.

You are not given that the rat walks at a uniform rate/speed. You can talk about the distance covered, but you can't say anything about time. We know that he covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins but did he walk at the same rate before? We don't know. Perhaps before he covered 3 feet in 6 mins or perhaps just 1 foot in 6 mins. The question needs to clearly mention that it walks at a uniform rate.
Also, the length of the pause, though usually assumed very small, is not given.
The question also mentions that the mice started walking 6 feet. It never mentions if he completed it. Is it implied?
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 09 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,101
Own Kudos:
74,229
 [1]
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,101
Kudos: 74,229
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
b2bt
VeritasPrepKarishma
pratikshr
In my view, the correct answer should be B because we're getting the Total Time. We know that the rate didn't spend any time pausing.. So the answer should be 6 mins.

Hence (b)

Can someone please explain what my error is?

Expert help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in adv.

You are not given that the rat walks at a uniform rate/speed. You can talk about the distance covered, but you can't say anything about time. We know that he covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins but did he walk at the same rate before? We don't know. Perhaps before he covered 3 feet in 6 mins or perhaps just 1 foot in 6 mins. The question needs to clearly mention that it walks at a uniform rate.
Also, the length of the pause, though usually assumed very small, is not given.
The question also mentions that the mice started walking 6 feet. It never mentions if he completed it. Is it implied?

"A rat in a maze starts walking 6 feet in a straight line, then immediately turns right..."

Since we are given what he does after walking 6 feet in a straight line, it is obvious that he completed the 6 feet.
User avatar
atom
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Last visit: 07 Nov 2017
Posts: 18
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 6
Location: United States
WE:Project Management (Computer Software)
Posts: 18
Kudos: 22
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi Karishma,

A ques for you, in your above post you mentioned that "We know that he covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins".

Statement 2 states that "rat completed its walk 6 minutes after it started walking." ; I think it means that the rat finished the entire walk, including the pause time, in 6 minutes.

Not sure how you derived that rat covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins??

Thanks
AT
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 09 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,101
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,101
Kudos: 74,229
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
atom
Hi Karishma,

A ques for you, in your above post you mentioned that "We know that he covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins".

Statement 2 states that "rat completed its walk 6 minutes after it started walking." ; I think it means that the rat finished the entire walk, including the pause time, in 6 minutes.

Not sure how you derived that rat covered the last 2 feet in 6 mins??

Thanks
AT

That's an error. He covered the entire distance in 6 mins including the pause. We don't have the rate of walking for the rat, neither do we have the duration of the pause so it is not possible to find the walking time.
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
It is pretty simple and straight forward as we cannot determine the rate of walking + the pause duration hence the answer has be E. How the rat walks or in which direction is all fluff.

hope it helps.
User avatar
jmaxr
Joined: 24 Nov 2023
Last visit: 08 Jul 2025
Posts: 11
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 251
Posts: 11
Kudos: 5
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
No information can be found or inference can be made on how long the rat paused after completing Y.
Answer Choice E.
Moderator:
Math Expert
102609 posts