GMAT Question of the Day - Daily to your Mailbox; hard ones only

 It is currently 23 Jan 2019, 05:58

### 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

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

## Events & Promotions

###### Events & Promotions in January
PrevNext
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
303112345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
Open Detailed Calendar
• ### Key Strategies to Master GMAT SC

January 26, 2019

January 26, 2019

07:00 AM PST

09:00 AM PST

Attend this webinar to learn how to leverage Meaning and Logic to solve the most challenging Sentence Correction Questions.
• ### Free GMAT Number Properties Webinar

January 27, 2019

January 27, 2019

07:00 AM PST

09:00 AM PST

Attend this webinar to learn a structured approach to solve 700+ Number Properties question in less than 2 minutes.

# A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12

Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 52430
A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

11 Apr 2018, 20:25
00:00

Difficulty:

25% (medium)

Question Stats:

74% (02:11) correct 26% (01:54) wrong based on 96 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12 and the range of the set is 15, what is the greatest possible value of a term in that set?

A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24

_________________
Senior PS Moderator
Joined: 26 Feb 2016
Posts: 3334
Location: India
GPA: 3.12
A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

11 Apr 2018, 23:51
1
2
Bunuel wrote:
A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12 and the range of the set is 15, what is the greatest possible value of a term in that set?

A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24

If the range is 15, the minimum value is x and the maximum value is x+15

We are also given that the average of the 5 element set is 12. Since we are
asked to find the greatest possible value of the set, the other 3 elements are
equal to the minimum value
$$x+x+15+3x = 5*12 = 60$$ -> $$5x + 15 = 60$$ -> $$x = \frac{45}{5} = 9$$

Therefore, the greatest possible value of a term in the set is x+15 = 24(Option E)
_________________

You've got what it takes, but it will take everything you've got

Manager
Joined: 03 Apr 2016
Posts: 93
Location: India
Schools: ISB '19, IIMB EPGP"20
GMAT 1: 580 Q43 V27
GMAT 2: 650 Q32 V48
GRE 1: Q160 V151
GPA: 3.99
WE: Design (Consulting)
Re: A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

12 Apr 2018, 08:59
Bunuel wrote:
A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12 and the range of the set is 15, what is the greatest possible value of a term in that set?

A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24

This question expects us to find out the greatest possible value of the term. The question also provides the average of the terms and range of terms. One of the ways of solving such questions is to assign all variables expect one with a lowest possible value 'x' for example. Now, the last variable can be called 'n'.
Since we know mean is 12, we get (x+x+x+x+n)/5 = 12 => 4x+n = 60. Now the range is given as 15 => n-x = 15.
upon solving these two linear equations, we can find out that x=9 and n=60-4*9 = 24. So greatest term in the set is 24, option D
Target Test Prep Representative
Status: Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Posts: 4612
Location: United States (CA)
Re: A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

16 Apr 2018, 15:12
Bunuel wrote:
A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12 and the range of the set is 15, what is the greatest possible value of a term in that set?

A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 21
E. 24

Using the average formula: average = sum/number, we see that the sum of the 5 terms is 60.

We can let a = the smallest term and b = the largest term. Since range = largest - smallest, we see that the range is (b - a) = 15. We want to determine the greatest possible value for b, so we should minimize the sum of the remaining terms. To do that, we let each of the remaining three terms be equal to a, Thus, we have:

a + a + a + a + b = 60

and

b - a = 15

If we subtract the second equation from the first, we have:

5a = 45

a = 9

Thus, b = 9 + 15 = 24.

_________________

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO

GMAT Quant Self-Study Course
500+ lessons 3000+ practice problems 800+ HD solutions

Director
Joined: 02 Oct 2017
Posts: 735
Re: A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

23 Apr 2018, 19:51
I go via options..
Largest value in options is 24
So if 24 is largest then for difference of 15, 9 should be minimum.
And remaining 27 out of 60(which is sum) can be easily compensated by 3 9s

Posted from my mobile device
_________________

Give kudos if you like the post

Re: A set of data contains five terms. If the average of those terms is 12 &nbs [#permalink] 23 Apr 2018, 19:51
Display posts from previous: Sort by