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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 29 Oct 2015, 19:28
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E
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5% (low)

Question Stats:

87% (01:20) correct 13% (01:28) wrong based on 163 sessions

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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?

A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16

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QUANT 4-PACK SERIES Problem Solving Pack 2 Question 4 Three men sit at a table...

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E
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 29 Oct 2015, 21:19
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Quote:
Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?
A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16
Show more
The Optimized senario
After 1st Round - $1. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 2nd Round - $2. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 3rd Round - $4. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 4th Round - $8. Let Man A touches it and get $8
After 5th Round - $8. Let the same Man A touches it and get another $8.

So, after 5th round, the maximum amount a man receives is $16.
Answer (E)
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 30 Oct 2015, 04:07
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
QUANT 4-PACK SERIES Problem Solving Pack 2 Question 4 Three men sit at a table...

Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?

A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16


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OA, and explanation will be posted after the 48 hour window closes.

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The maximum amount of money collected at the end of the 5 turns will be when the first 4 turns end up in no one touching it.

After 1st: 1$ becomes 2$
After 2nd: 2$ becomes 4$
After 3rd: 4$ becomes 8$
After 4th: 8$ becomes 16$


Thus the maximum amount of money = 16 $. E is the correct answer.
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 30 Oct 2015, 05:22
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Answer is 16.
after each round money doubles, so after round $1 is $2, $2 is $4 and so on. So at the end of fifth round, maximum money would be $16.
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 01 Nov 2015, 17:11
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musunna
Quote:
Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?
A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16
The Optimized senario
After 1st Round - $1. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 2nd Round - $2. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 3rd Round - $4. Let nobody touches & the amount will double in next round.
After 4th Round - $8. Let Man A touches it and get $8
After 5th Round - $8. Let the same Man A touches it and get another $8.

So, after 5th round, the maximum amount a man receives is $16.
Answer (E)
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Hi musunna,

You have the correct answer (and you understood the underlying logic of the question perfectly), but your answer has a typo in it. The 'max winner' can't grab for the money until the 5th round to maximize the total money won.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 01 Nov 2015, 17:18
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
QUANT 4-PACK SERIES Problem Solving Pack 2 Question 4 Three men sit at a table...

Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?

A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16


48 Hour Window Answer & Explanation Window
Earn KUDOS! Post your answer and explanation.
OA, and explanation will be posted after the 48 hour window closes.

This question is part of the Quant 4-Pack series

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Hi All,

While you will come across a number of 'word problems' in the Quant section of the GMAT, many of them are not that difficult to solve. You just have to note the details that are given, take the necessary notes and put your work on the pad.

Here, we're given a set of rules about a particular game:
1) To start, 1 dollar is placed in front of each of 3 players.
2) Each round, the first person to grab the money in front of him gets to keep the money (and the other 2 get nothing).
3) Each round, if NO ONE grabs the money, then the money doubles for the next round.

We're asked for the maximum amount of money that one player can win after 5 rounds.

The 'doubler' that can occur each round has the potential to quickly increase the total amount of money in front of each player, so to maximize the 5-round win, we have to maximize the number of 'doublers.'

Start 1st Round:: $1 - if none grab it, then...
2nd Round: $2 - if none grab it, then...
3rd Round: $4 - if none grab it, then...
4th Round: $8 - if none grab it, then...
5th Round: $16 - at this point, the maximum has been reached

Final Answer:
Show Spoiler
E

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 05 Dec 2018, 16:34
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EMPOWERgmatRichC

Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of them. When a buzzer sounds, the first man to touch the money in front of him keeps the money that is in front of him, while the other two receive nothing. If none of the three men touches the money in front of them, then the amount of money doubles for the next round. After five rounds of this activity, what is the maximum amount of money that any one man could receive?

A) $4
B) $5
C) $10
D) $15
E) $16
Show more

Let's see what happens if a man waits until the last (5th) round to take the money.

Round #1: $1 placed in front of the man (but he doesn't take it)
Round #2: Now, $2 placed in front of the man (but he doesn't take it)
Round #3: Now, $4 placed in front of the man (but he doesn't take it)
Round #4: Now, $8 placed in front of the man (but he doesn't take it)
Round #5: Now, $16 placed in front of the man, and this time he takes it

So, it's POSSIBLE for 1 man to receive $16, but is is possible to receive MORE THAN $16?
Fortunately, we need not concern ourselves with this question, since $16 is the biggest possible answer choice.

So, the correct answer must be E

Cheers,
Brent
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Three men sit at a table. One dollar is placed in front of each of the 26 May 2025, 01:03
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