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A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood
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niheil
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A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  06 Oct 2010, 11:19
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A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6
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Bunuel
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Re: Problem Solving Question [#permalink] New post  06 Oct 2010, 11:29
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niheil wrote:
Please help me solve the following Problem Solving question. It was asked in one of the GMAT Paper Tests:

A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

Choices:
(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6

Answer
(E) 6


Hi, and welcome to Gmat Club. Below is a solution for your problem.

Given: \(area=length*width=x\), as \(width=3\) --> \(3l=x\).

"Wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges" and "the total length of the strip before it was attached was x" means that perimeter of a rectangular tabletop is also equal to \(x\): \(2(l+w)=2l+6=x\);

So we have: \(3l=2l+6\) --> \(l=6\).

Answer: E.

Hope it's clear.
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niheil
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Re: Problem Solving Question [#permalink] New post  06 Oct 2010, 11:49
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Thanks Bunuel! You are a genius.

Don't you think that this question can be misinterpreted? I imagined the thin metal strip as having a width that does not equal 0. Unless I am mistaken, that would change the answer. I guess the test-makers wanted me to interpret the word "thin" as meaning that the width of the metal strip was 0. Not fair!

Thanks a bunch for your help, Bunuel.
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milanrai78
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Re: Problem Solving Question [#permalink] New post  06 Oct 2010, 16:24
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Hello Guys,
My first post.
In case the metal width is non negligible , lets say its 2 feet.
then
Given: area=length*width=x, as width=3 3L=x

The length of metal strip would be the perimeter of the rectangle + 4 times the width of metal ie length of strip = x= 2(3+L) + (4*2)

Solving for L will give us 14 feet

Please Note the width of the metal strip is multiplied 4 times to get the actual length of metal strip.
Thanks,
Milan
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niheil
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Re: Problem Solving Question [#permalink] New post  06 Oct 2010, 16:56
Hey Milan,

Yeah, that's what I thought. If the width of the metal strip was non-negligible, then the answer would be different. I think this question can be misinterpreted.
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  31 Jan 2014, 19:42
Ambiguous Question. Nowhere explicitly stated that we shouldn't consider the thickness of the thin metal strip.
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  27 Mar 2015, 03:28
Bunuel wrote:
niheil wrote:
Please help me solve the following Problem Solving question. It was asked in one of the GMAT Paper Tests:

A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

Choices:
(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6

Answer
(E) 6


Hi, and welcome to Gmat Club. Below is a solution for your problem.

Given: \(area=length*width=x\), as \(width=3\) --> \(3l=x\).

"Wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges" and "the total length of the strip before it was attached was x" means that perimeter of a rectangular tabletop is also equal to \(x\): \(2(l+w)=2l+6=x\);

So we have: \(3l=2l+6\) --> \(l=6\).

Answer: E.

Hope it's clear.


The Highlighted part: I am unable to visualize/understand, how the length of a strip (given) becomes the perimeter of a table top. If it said, total length of the table top is x then maybe it would make sense.
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Bunuel
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  27 Mar 2015, 03:53
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earnit wrote:
Bunuel wrote:
niheil wrote:
Please help me solve the following Problem Solving question. It was asked in one of the GMAT Paper Tests:

A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

Choices:
(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6

Answer
(E) 6


Hi, and welcome to Gmat Club. Below is a solution for your problem.

Given: \(area=length*width=x\), as \(width=3\) --> \(3l=x\).

"Wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges" and "the total length of the strip before it was attached was x" means that perimeter of a rectangular tabletop is also equal to \(x\): \(2(l+w)=2l+6=x\);

So we have: \(3l=2l+6\) --> \(l=6\).

Answer: E.

Hope it's clear.


The Highlighted part: I am unable to visualize/understand, how the length of a strip (given) becomes the perimeter of a table top. If it said, total length of the table top is x then maybe it would make sense.


We are told that tabletop is surrounded by a thin metal strip along its four edges and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. So, the length of the strip equals to the perimeter of the tabletop.

Does this make sense?
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  27 Mar 2015, 06:35
[/quote]

The Highlighted part: I am unable to visualize/understand, how the length of a strip (given) becomes the perimeter of a table top. If it said, total length of the table top is x then maybe it would make sense.[/quote]

We are told that tabletop is surrounded by a thin metal strip along its four edges and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. So, the length of the strip equals to the perimeter of the tabletop.

Does this make sense?[/quote]

Yes it does.

Thank you!
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  17 Jan 2019, 00:50
Hello,

I am having some trouble understanding exactly what the author of the question is asking us to solve. Could someone provide insight into what is being asked? Thank you!


niheil wrote:
A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  24 Sep 2019, 14:41
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niheil wrote:
A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood bordered by a thin metal strip along its four edges. The surface area of the tabletop is x square feet, and the total length of the strip before it was attached was x feet. If the tabletop is 3 feet wide, what is its approximate length, in feet?

(A) 12
(B) 10
(C) 9
(D) 8
(E) 6


If we let L = the length of the table, we have:

3L = x

and

2L + 2(3) = x

Therefore, we have


3L = 2L + 2(3)

L = 6

Answer: E
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink] New post  15 May 2020, 07:27
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This question was highly misguiding to me. If it is written it is a metal strip, it automatically means that it has a separate thickness. If metal wire would have been mentioned instead of strip then the solution provided would suffice.
Because of "metal strip", I was unable to solve the question.

Will gmat give such ambigous terms in the question? If so, then what should my approach in solving them?
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Re: A rectangular tabletop consists of a piece of laminated wood [#permalink]
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