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805+ (Hard)|   Geometry|   Word Problems|      
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siddyj94
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A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of whi 17 Oct 2017, 04:17
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Bunuel Please can you explain how (X pickets) mean (X-1 fences).

Later why the distance between 2 pickets :6: has been multiple with X-1?

Appreciate your help.
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Bunuel
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A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of whi 17 Oct 2017, 04:39
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siddyj94
Bunuel Please can you explain how (X pickets) mean (X-1 fences).

Later why the distance between 2 pickets :6: has been multiple with X-1?

Appreciate your help.
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Hope that image will help:
Attachment:
Untitled.png
Untitled.png [ 866.37 KiB | Viewed 1894 times ]


Next, each space is 6 inches wide, so if there are x-1 spaces then the width of the spaces is 6(x-1).
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RusskiyLev
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A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of whi 20 Jul 2019, 08:27
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Bunuel
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Can someone please explain why the answer is not D

I did it algebraically.

Basically since the 'space between pickets' is 6 inches and the pickets are 1/2 inch

why can't we just use 6 1/2 x + 1/2
Because each picket will have 6 inches of space and then you just add 1/2 inch for the extra picket. Doing this algebraically I get D

(6.5 x + .5) / 12 --> (13x + 1) / 24

A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of which is 1/2 inch wide. If there are 6 inches of space between each pair of pickets, which of the following represents the length of fence in feet?
A. 13x/2
B. 13x/2 - 6
C. 13x/24
D. (13x+1)/24
E. (13x-12)/24

x pickets mean x-1 fences, each of which is 6 inches wide.

So, the length = \(6(x-1)+\frac{1}{2}*x=\frac{13x-12}{2}\) inches, or \(\frac{13x-12}{24}\) feet.

Answer: E.

Hope it's clear.
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Hi, Bunuel,

I was writing the equation down in the same way as laserglare did.
I still cannot understand why we need to take number of pickets as X, and not number of gaps between them?

Please could you help me to understand it?

Thanks!
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A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of whi 02 Aug 2019, 01:53
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VeritasKarishma
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i started it with making an equation just like you did but what i did is:

\(6(x-1)+\frac{1}{2}*x=.5(x-1)+\frac{1}{24}*x\)

but by solving this equation i couldn't come to the final equation which is in the options list.

can you help me out with it...i want to understand when to convert it before hand and when to wait for it . :/

HELP

Note that all options have a single x. So this should give you a hint that you have to further simplify your expression to bring the x's together. Once you do, it will match one option.
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BUT why question didn't mention the conversion rate of inch to feet?
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A straight picket fence is composed of x pickets each of whi 17 Sep 2020, 23:40
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Caught way off guard (usually given the Unit Relationships such as 12 in = 1 foot on the GMAT).

Like a lot of people, I picked the answer in inches, rather than in feet.


If there are X Pickets in the Fence, there will be (X - 1) Gaps in between each Pair of Pickets.

for instance, say there were 4 pickets

I------gap 1--------I-------gap 2--------I--------gap 3----------I

There would be 3 Gaps.

Thus, the Length of the Picket Fence, IN INCHES =

L = X * 1/2 + (X - 1) * 6

L = X/2 + 6X - 6

L = X/2 + 12X/2 - 12/2

L = (13X - 12)/2 ---- inches

to convert to Feet: 12 inches = 1 foot

(13X - 12)/2 * (1 foot / 12 inches) = (13X - 12) / (2 * 12)


(13X - 12) / 24

-D-
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