The weights of four packages are 1, 3, 5, and 7 pounds, respectively.

Hi All,

We're told that the weights of four packages are 1, 3, 5, and 7 pounds, respectively. We're asked which of the following CANNOT be the total weight, in pounds, of ANY combination of the packages. This question comes down to basic Arithmetic - and you might find that it's easiest to just 'brute force' the solution (meaning that you should try to add together various combinations of those 4 numbers to get the 4 totals that ARE possible).

Answer A: 9 pounds --> 1 + 3 + 5
Answer B: 10 pounds --> 3 + 7
Answer C: 12 pounds --> 5 + 7
Answer D: 13 pounds --> 1 + 5 + 7

There's only one answer remaining...

Final Answer:

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Let’s examine each answer choice:

A) 9

1 + 3 + 5 = 9

B) 10

3 + 7 = 10

C) 12

5 + 7 = 12

D) 13

1 + 5 + 7 = 13

Since we eliminated every other choice, we know at this point that the answer is E. However, let’s evaluate answer choice E for practice:

E) 14

We can see that 1 + 5 + 7 = 13 and 3 + 5 + 7 = 15, so it can’t be 14.

Answer: E

 

­(A) \(9 = 1 + 3 + 5\)
(B) \(10 = 3 + 7\)
(C) \(12 = 5 + 7\)
(D) \(13 = 1 + 5 + 7\)

(E) \(14\) is not at all possible given the numbers \(1, 3, 5,\) and \(7\), Hence Correct Answer must be (E)