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

 It is currently 24 Sep 2018, 12:29

### 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

# If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered

 new topic post reply Question banks Downloads My Bookmarks Reviews Important topics
Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 49430
If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

19 Jan 2014, 23:50
1
5
00:00

Difficulty:

25% (medium)

Question Stats:

74% (01:44) correct 26% (01:45) wrong based on 915 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

Problem Solving
Question: 48
Category: Arithmetic Operations on rational numbers
Page: 68
Difficulty: 550

GMAT Club is introducing a new project: The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition - Quantitative Questions Project

Each week we'll be posting several questions from The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition and then after couple of days we'll provide Official Answer (OA) to them along with a slution.

We'll be glad if you participate in development of this project:
1. Please provide your solutions to the questions;
2. Please vote for the best solutions by pressing Kudos button;
3. Please vote for the questions themselves by pressing Kudos button;
4. Please share your views on difficulty level of the questions, so that we have most precise evaluation.

Thank you!

_________________
##### Most Helpful Expert Reply
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 49430
Re: If the numbers 17/24. 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

19 Jan 2014, 23:50
3
7
SOLUTION

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

The least common denominator for all the fractions above is 48:

$$\frac{17}{24}=\frac{34}{48}$$, $$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{24}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{8}=\frac{18}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{4}=\frac{36}{48}$$, $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

The numerators in descending order are: 36, 34, 27, 24, 18. The middle number is 27, which corresponds to $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

Answer: E.
_________________
##### General Discussion
Director
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Posts: 522
Location: India
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jan 2014, 00:36
[quote="Bunuel"]The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 - Multiply all the fractions by 48 we get: 34, 24, 18, 36, 27

So 36 is the greatest which is 3/4
_________________

For more info on GMAT and MBA, follow us on @AskCrackVerbal

Intern
Joined: 17 Oct 2013
Posts: 41
Schools: HEC Dec"18
GMAT Date: 02-04-2014
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jan 2014, 02:00
2
Bunuel wrote:
The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

Problem Solving
Question: 48
Category: Arithmetic Operations on rational numbers
Page: 68
Difficulty: 550

GMAT Club is introducing a new project: The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition - Quantitative Questions Project

Each week we'll be posting several questions from The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition and then after couple of days we'll provide Official Answer (OA) to them along with a slution.

We'll be glad if you participate in development of this project:
1. Please provide your solutions to the questions;
2. Please vote for the best solutions by pressing Kudos button;
3. Please vote for the questions themselves by pressing Kudos button;
4. Please share your views on difficulty level of the questions, so that we have most precise evaluation.

Thank you!

Take LCM of denominators and get common denominator to all fractions so that you can compare the numerators and arrange in the increasing or decreasing order

LCM of denominators is 48

fractions can be rewritten as
34/48,24/48,18/48,36/48,27/48.
now arrange them
18/48,24/48,27/48,34/48,36/48
hence the middle element is 27/48=9/16
Intern
Joined: 13 Feb 2013
Posts: 19
Location: United States
Concentration: Finance, General Management
Schools: HBS '16
GMAT Date: 07-28-2014
GPA: 3.75
WE: Consulting (Computer Software)
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jan 2014, 20:27
1
Easiest way to solve this type of question is to find a common multiplier for denominators of all the given number.
As we can see that the Common Factor for all the denominators- 24,2,4,8,16 is 48 .
Multiply each number by 48-
(17/24)*48 = 34
(1/2)*48 = 24
(3/8)*48 = 18
(3/4)*48 = 36
(9/16)*48 =27

So the given number becomes - 34,24,18,36,27

In descending order - 36,34,27,24,18

So mid-number is 27 .
Now again to get the required answer divide it by 48 -> 27/48 = 9/16

So answer is (E)

Note: Although the explanation may look lengthy but when we do it pen-paper it will not take more that 15 sec.
Manager
Status: GMATting
Joined: 21 Mar 2011
Posts: 106
Concentration: Strategy, Technology
GMAT 1: 590 Q45 V27
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jan 2014, 21:34
2
Approach 1:
Here, taking LCM for all the denominators, as others suggested, would be a good idea.

Approach 2:
Alternatively, if we are little good at approximation, looking at the numbers, we can say that 3/8 is the least and 3/4 is the greatest. Comparing 17/24 and 9/16 will be the slightly trickiest thing in this problem.

9/16 will be a little more than half(1/2).
17/24 will be a little less than 3/4 as 18/24 will give 3/4.

So, if we arrange from greatest to least, the order will be 3/4, 17/24, 9/16, 1/2, 3/8. Since we are asked for the middle element, 9/16 will be the answer.

Ans is (E).
Manager
Joined: 04 Jun 2013
Posts: 70
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

21 Jan 2014, 04:58
1
Ans should be (e)..9/16
We can see the other nos relative to 1/2 i.e. 50%.
Just by seeing numerator and denominator 3/4 and 3/8 can be placed on either side of 1/2. 17/24 and 9/16 are definitely greater than 1/2.
So, to check which no comes in 3rd place, we can individually compute their values and see that 9/16 is smaller than 17/24.
So 9/16 must be at the 3rd spot and thus, the middle no.
Director
Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 578
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

23 Jan 2014, 06:23
1
Correct Sequence in descending order should be
3/4 ,17/24,9/16,1/2,3/8
hence middle term is 9/16

answer E
Find the common denominator then compare.
_________________

- Stne

Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 49430
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

25 Jan 2014, 11:50
SOLUTION

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

The least common denominator for all the fractions above is 48:

$$\frac{17}{24}=\frac{34}{48}$$, $$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{24}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{8}=\frac{18}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{4}=\frac{36}{48}$$, $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

The numerators in descending order are: 36, 34, 27, 24, 18. The middle number is 27, which corresponds to $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

Answer: E.
_________________
Manager
Joined: 28 Jan 2015
Posts: 127
Concentration: General Management, Entrepreneurship
GMAT 1: 670 Q44 V38
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

26 Apr 2015, 23:06
1
Answer is E, I spent a little bit too much time on this though.

I made a number line and put in the obvious ones. The "problem" was deciding between 9/16 and 17 24 -> I realized I could reach a common denominator and it became clear which was bigger.
Current Student
Status: DONE!
Joined: 05 Sep 2016
Posts: 389
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

27 Oct 2016, 11:16
Finding a common denominator is the easiest way to solve this problem:

All we need to do is get to the third number of the sequence and we have our answer (because the third is the median of the set)

18/48, 24/48, 27/48...

So the middle of the set is 27/48 = 9/16
Intern
Joined: 12 Mar 2017
Posts: 45
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jul 2017, 20:31
Bunuel wrote:
SOLUTION

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

The least common denominator for all the fractions above is 48:

$$\frac{17}{24}=\frac{34}{48}$$, $$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{24}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{8}=\frac{18}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{4}=\frac{36}{48}$$, $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

The numerators in descending order are: 36, 34, 27, 24, 18. The middle number is 27, which corresponds to $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

Answer: E.

My least common denominator is coming out to be 96. How did we arrive at 48?

Thank You!
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 49430
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jul 2017, 20:45
nandetapuri wrote:
Bunuel wrote:
SOLUTION

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

The least common denominator for all the fractions above is 48:

$$\frac{17}{24}=\frac{34}{48}$$, $$\frac{1}{2}=\frac{24}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{8}=\frac{18}{48}$$, $$\frac{3}{4}=\frac{36}{48}$$, $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

The numerators in descending order are: 36, 34, 27, 24, 18. The middle number is 27, which corresponds to $$\frac{9}{16}=\frac{27}{47}$$.

Answer: E.

My least common denominator is coming out to be 96. How did we arrive at 48?

Thank You!

Isn't 48 divisible by 24, 2, 8, 4, and 16?

Basically we need to find the LCM of 24 = 2^3*3 and 16 = 2^4, which is 3*2^4 = 48.
_________________
Target Test Prep Representative
Status: Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Posts: 3528
Location: United States (CA)
Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

03 Sep 2018, 18:55
Bunuel wrote:
The Official Guide For GMAT® Quantitative Review, 2ND Edition

If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the resulting sequence would be

(A) 17/24
(B) 1/2
(C) 3/8
(D) 3/4
(E) 9/16

We can express each fraction using a common denominator. The LCD here is 48, so we have:

17/24 = 34/48, 1/2 = 24/48, 3/8 = 18/48, 3/4 = 36/48 and 9/16 = 27/48

In ascending order, we have:

18/48, 24/48, 27/48, 34/48, 36/48

So the middle number is 27/48, or 9/16.

Answer: E
_________________

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO

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

Re: If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered &nbs [#permalink] 03 Sep 2018, 18:55
Display posts from previous: Sort by

# If the numbers 17/24, 1/2, 3/8, 3/4, and 9/16 were ordered

 new topic post reply Question banks Downloads My Bookmarks Reviews Important topics

## Events & Promotions

 Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne Kindly note that the GMAT® test is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council®, and this site has neither been reviewed nor endorsed by GMAC®.