Last visit was: 03 Jun 2026, 10:38

It is currently 03 Jun 2026, 10:38

Toolkit

Practice Tests

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.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

Jun 04
Solving 7 Hardest Data Insights Questions (with a GMAT 100th %ile scorer)
08:30 AM PDT
-
09:30 AM PDT
For most test takers, Data Insights is the most challenging section on the GMAT, with test takers scoring several points lower on average on DI than on Quant or Verbal and completing the section with less time to spare.
May 29
$320 Off on GMAT Focus - Limited Period Offer
10:00 AM IST
-
11:00 PM IST
Start your journey with a fully customized action plan and work with a dedicated mentor to achieve a 735+ score.
Jun 03
EXCEPT, Fill-In-The-Blanks, & Unusual Questions: GMAT Critical Reasoning #7 | GMAT Ninja
08:30 AM PDT
-
09:30 AM PDT
In Episode 7 of our GMAT Ninja CR series, we are rounding up the oddballs, the misfits, and the format-benders: EXCEPT, Fill-In-The-Blanks, and other unusual Critical Reasoning question types. When you see a question that ends with a literal blank line
Jun 10
MBA Spotlight Fair
06:00 AM PDT
-
06:15 PM PDT
Register for the GMAT Club Virtual MBA Spotlight Fair – the world’s premier event for serious MBA candidates. This is your chance to hear directly from Admissions Directors at nearly every Top 30 MBA program..

Back to Forum

Create Topic

M05-14

1 2 3

abhudayaharp

Joined: 27 Aug 2024

Last visit: 05 May 2026

Posts: 5

Kudos: 0

13 Jul 2025, 22:01

Kudos

Bookmarks

This is a great question that’s helpful for learning and I like the solution - it’s helpful.

xyz12345678

Joined: 12 Apr 2025

Last visit: 07 Dec 2025

Posts: 25

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 20

Posts: 25

Kudos: 6

28 Jul 2025, 11:27

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

adarsh2209

Joined: 28 Mar 2024

Last visit: 24 May 2026

Posts: 33

Given Kudos: 361

Location: India

GMAT Focus 1: 655 Q88 V82 DI77 Verified score

Posts: 33

Kudos: 0

18 Aug 2025, 08:40

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

kiranreddyp

Joined: 17 Jan 2025

Last visit: 28 Nov 2025

Posts: 12

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 12

Kudos: 0

24 Aug 2025, 06:49

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

BinodBhai

Joined: 19 Feb 2025

Last visit: 15 Oct 2025

Posts: 106

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 252

Posts: 106

Kudos: 31

03 Sep 2025, 11:13

Kudos

Bookmarks

The question is so simple.. the language is bit convoluted to be honest and I feel the question isn't great! I spent so much time solving this only to see how simple of a solution this is!

Bunuel

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 111,042

Own Kudos:

818,653

Given Kudos: 106,621

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 111,042

Kudos: 818,653

03 Sep 2025, 11:17

Kudos

Bookmarks

BinodBhai

The question is so simple.. the language is bit convoluted to be honest and I feel the question isn't great! I spent so much time solving this only to see how simple of a solution this is!

Uh, the wording in the question is actually very precise and 100% in line with GMAT style, it’s exactly the kind of phrasing you’d see on the exam.

agrasan

Joined: 18 Jan 2024

Last visit: 01 Jun 2026

Posts: 691

Own Kudos:

180

Given Kudos: 6,706

Location: India

Products:

Posts: 691

Kudos: 180

07 Sep 2025, 01:42

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

MegB07

Joined: 15 Sep 2022

Last visit: 20 Dec 2025

Posts: 55

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 42

Location: India

Posts: 55

Kudos: 4

12 Sep 2025, 20:21

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Bunuel,

I was taking the distance flown by the fly one way as 30 km. and adding to that the tmeet of both the hikers as 15. Making it as 30+15 = 45.

I understood the solution, but just want to understand what went wrong with my approach?

Bunuel

Official Solution:

Two hikers simultaneously start walking towards each other from Kensington, MD and Reston, VA, which are 30 km apart. Both hikers walk at a constant speed of 5 km/hour each. At the same time, a fly takes off from Kensington and flies towards the Reston hiker at a speed of 10 km/hour. When the fly reaches the Reston hiker, it immediately turns around and flies back to the Kensington hiker, and it continues to do so until the hikers meet. At the moment when the hikers meet, the fly lands on the shoulder of the Kensington hiker. How many kilometers has the fly flown in total?

A. 25
B. 30
C. 37.5
D. 45
E. 60

To calculate how long the fly was flying, we first determine the time it takes for the hikers to meet. Since the hikers are walking towards each other at a speed of 5 km/hour each, their combined speed is 10 km/hour. Therefore, they will meet after $\frac{30}{10}=3$ hours.

This means that the fly was flying for 3 hours at a speed of 10 km/hour, covering a distance of 30 km.

Answer: B

Bunuel

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 111,042

Own Kudos:

818,653

[1]

Given Kudos: 106,621

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 111,042

Kudos: 818,653

[1]

13 Sep 2025, 00:23

Kudos

Bookmarks

MegB07

One way is not 30 km, because as soon as the fly starts flying, the hikers also start walking and the distance between them begins shrinking. So the first leg is already less than 30 km, and that’s where your approach goes off track.

nestle

Joined: 16 Sep 2025

Last visit: 18 May 2026

Posts: 1

Given Kudos: 45

Schools: ISB '26 (S)

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

01 Oct 2025, 22:22

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

Kgmishra

Joined: 14 Nov 2024

Last visit: 16 May 2026

Posts: 41

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 39

Location: India

Schools: Anderson '26 (S) Kellogg '26 (D) Jones '26 (D) McCombs '26 (I) Goizueta '26 (D)

GPA: 2.86

Schools: Anderson '26 (S) Kellogg '26 (D) Jones '26 (D) McCombs '26 (I) Goizueta '26 (D)

Posts: 41

Kudos: 7

25 Oct 2025, 03:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful. This question just pushed my reasoning skills notches above - Common sense.

anushree01

Joined: 06 Apr 2024

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 205

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 164

Schools: HBS '26 ISB '26 INSEAD Jan '26

Products:

Schools: HBS '26 ISB '26 INSEAD Jan '26

Posts: 205

Kudos: 69

15 Jan 2026, 08:02

Kudos

Bookmarks

same meee too, indeed a very good question

Raunak_Bhatia

Damn!!! I feel so stupid seeing this solution, (I literally was calculating to and fro distance covered by the fly) Sometimes it just doesn't strike you in the test environment.

luisdicampo

Joined: 10 Feb 2025

Last visit: 25 May 2026

Posts: 479

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 328

Products:

Posts: 479

Kudos: 82

20 Jan 2026, 08:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

Deconstructing the Question
Initial Distance between hikers: 30 km.
Hiker 1 Speed: 5 km/h.
Hiker 2 Speed: 5 km/h.
Fly Speed: 10 km/h.
Scenario: The fly moves back and forth continuously until the hikers meet.

Target: Total distance flown by the fly.

Step 1: Calculate the Time until Hikers Meet
Instead of summing the infinite segments of the fly's path, we look at the time. The fly flies as long as the hikers are walking.
Since the hikers are moving towards each other, we add their speeds to find the relative speed.
$V_{relative} = V_1 + V_2 = 5 + 5 = 10 \text{ km/h}$.

Time to meet ($t$):
$t = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Relative Speed}}$
$t = \frac{30}{10} = 3 \text{ hours}$.

Step 2: Calculate the Fly's Distance
The fly flies constantly at 10 km/h for exactly 3 hours.
$D_{fly} = V_{fly} \times t$
$D_{fly} = 10 \times 3 = 30 \text{ km}$.

Answer: B

Advait01

Joined: 09 Nov 2024

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 111

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 99

GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q81 V86 DI80 Verified score

Products:

GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q81 V86 DI80 Verified score

Posts: 111

Kudos: 2

16 Feb 2026, 03:37

Kudos

Bookmarks

I like the solution - it’s helpful.

HeytorBB

Joined: 12 Feb 2025

Last visit: 14 May 2026

Posts: 10

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 328

Location: Brazil

Posts: 10

Kudos: 1

16 Mar 2026, 10:27

Kudos

Bookmarks

This question is poorly worded because it says, "At the moment of the encounter, the fly lands on the shoulder of the Kensington walker." For it to land on walker 1's shoulder, it has to return. I can't simply ignore this argument; either it returns, or I must assume it keeps returning in other directions. But if it can fly in different directions, I can also assume the walker can do that. This part about landing on the shoulder breaks the logical line of the question because I have to take into account that the fly can keep flying aimlessly until they meet. The point is, should I calculate as if it were a straight line? If so, I must take into account all the members of the question; if not, I can assume that the walkers don't walk in a straight line either

Bunuel

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 111,042

Own Kudos:

818,653

Given Kudos: 106,621

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 111,042

Kudos: 818,653

16 Mar 2026, 10:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

HeytorBB

The question is fine. “Continues to do so until the hikers meet” already fixes the fly’s path: it keeps going back and forth between them. The shoulder part only tells you where its final trip ends. No extra flying is implied.

axeofflane

Joined: 18 Nov 2023

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 45

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 15

Location: India

Schools: Tuck '27 INSEAD Aug '27 Kellogg '27

GMAT Focus 1: 655 Q82 V84 DI82 Verified score

GPA: 9.28

Schools: Tuck '27 INSEAD Aug '27 Kellogg '27

GMAT Focus 1: 655 Q82 V84 DI82 Verified score

Posts: 45

Kudos: 5

11 Apr 2026, 10:16

Kudos

Bookmarks

Whew, what an amazing question

dignissimosminima

Joined: 27 Nov 2025

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 25

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 21

Location: India

Concentration: Sustainability, Entrepreneurship

Schools: Stanford '27 HBS '27 Booth '27

GPA: 9.1

Products:

Schools: Stanford '27 HBS '27 Booth '27

Posts: 25

Kudos: 1

08 May 2026, 02:43

Kudos

Bookmarks

Would have never seen this lol thanks!

mbadude2017

Bunuel, that is an amazing shortcut. For those who didn't see the shortcut (like me), this is also the sum of a geometric series, with the first term a = 20, and the common ratio r= 1/3. 20*(1/(1-1/3)) = 30.

shubhisrivas

Joined: 27 Apr 2022

Last visit: 02 Jun 2026

Posts: 1

Given Kudos: 5

Products:

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

18 May 2026, 03:56

Kudos

Bookmarks

when hikers will meet at midpoint at 15 km in 3 hrs, fly would have reached Reston in 3 hrs covering a total distance of 30 kms in 3 hrs at a speed to 10kmph. To and on hikers shoulders, fly has cover extra 15 kms.
it this case fly would not land on kensington hiker's shoulder.
Pls explain the logic for 30 kms and how it would satisfy this condition

Bunuel

Bunuel

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Last visit: 03 Jun 2026

Posts: 111,042

Own Kudos:

818,653

Given Kudos: 106,621

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 111,042

Kudos: 818,653

18 May 2026, 04:38

Kudos

Bookmarks

shubhisrivas

The mistake is assuming the fly flies to Reston, the place.

It flies to the Reston hiker, who is moving toward Kensington. So the fly reaches that hiker before 3 hours, turns back, and keeps flying back and forth.

The fly is flying the whole time until the hikers meet. Since the hikers meet after 3 hours, the fly flies:

10 * 3 = 30 km

The shoulder condition only tells us where the fly is at the end. It does not add extra distance.

For more, please check the entire discussion. Hope it helps.