Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 09:11 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 09:11
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
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
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
avatar
TheUltimateWinner
avatar
Schools: Harvard '24 Judge '23 LBS '24 McCombs '24 Mendoza Tepper '24 Ross '24 Cox Marshall '24 Fisher Kelley '24 Jones McDonough '24 Owen '24 Terry BU Simon '24 Katz GWU Mason Babson Gabelli Foster '24 Goizueta '24 Scheller Stern '23 CBS '23 Booth '23 Haas '25 Wharton '25 Stanford '26 Johnson'23 Fuqua '23 Kellogg '23 Kenan-Flagler'23 INSEAD Aug 22 intake Olin '23 Said '23 Sloan '23 Carey Arizona "22 Yale '23 UC Davis Madison '23 Anderson '23 Carroll Carlson '23 Darden '23
Posts: 2,489
Kudos: 2,387
 [115]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Mar 2017, 04:05
9
Kudos
Add Kudos
105
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

95% (hard)

Question Stats:

30% (02:41) correct 70% (02:15) wrong based on 634 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps

Source: Manhattan GMAT Challenge question
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
E
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
devarshi9283
User avatar
Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Last visit: 06 Oct 2025
Posts: 54
Own Kudos:
107
 [116]
Given Kudos: 1,059
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Operations
Schools: NUS '20 (D) Jones '20 (A$) Mays '20 (A$) Jindal '20 (A$) Cox '20 (A$) Kenan-Flagler '20 (WL)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V41
GPA: 3.5
WE:Engineering (Energy)
Schools: NUS '20 (D) Jones '20 (A$) Mays '20 (A$) Jindal '20 (A$) Cox '20 (A$) Kenan-Flagler '20 (WL)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V41
Posts: 54
Kudos: 107
 [116]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 17 Aug 2017, 10:15
102
Kudos
Add Kudos
14
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sarugiri
Is there a easy way to solve this question.?
Show more

When the person is not aided by Escalator movement..he takes 70 steps...so total distance in terms of steps is 70
When his movement is aided by escalator ..he has to take only 36 steps, i.e., rest of the 34 steps are taken care by escalator movement.
Or we can say that for every 36 steps taken by person..escalator is helping him with 34 steps..

Now..when he tries to move up in a downward escalator..his same movement will now be opposed by escalator,
So...for each of his 36 steps, escalator will oppose him with 34 steps..so resultant will be 2 steps only..
As the total distance in terms of steps is 70...and for each of his 36 steps..person is able to cover only 2 steps
due to downward motion of escalator..so total no. of steps required by person will be (36*70/2)=1260 steps...Hence option E

Give kudos plz if you find above solution useful..
User avatar
sarathgopinath
User avatar
Joined: 22 Aug 2016
Last visit: 04 Feb 2025
Posts: 68
Own Kudos:
102
 [32]
Given Kudos: 77
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Finance
GMAT 1: 650 Q49 V29
GMAT 2: 710 Q49 V37
GPA: 3.5
WE:Other (Education)
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 2: 710 Q49 V37
Posts: 68
Kudos: 102
 [32]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Aug 2017, 05:55
25
Kudos
Add Kudos
7
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
iMyself
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps

Source: Manhattan GMAT Challenge question
Show more

This is how I usually go with questions that involve rate. Whether it is Time, Speed, and distance or time and work.
I don't know my total distance. So I assume it to be the LCM(70,36)=1260.

Let us just give a unit for distance, 1260 miles.
Wesley covers 1260 miles in 70 steps. His speed is \(\frac{1260}{70}\)=18miles/step.
Wesley and the escalator together cover 1260 miles in 36 steps. So the combined speed is \(\frac{1260}{36}\) = 35miles/step
This means the speed of escalator is 35-18 = 17 miles/step.

Now when he is going up, the escalator's motion is against his motion. So the net effect of rates will be Wesley's speed - Escalator speed = 18-17=1mile/step.
Distance=1260 miles.
Speed = 1 mile/step.
So number of steps = \(\frac{1260}{1}\) = 1260.
General Discussion
avatar
Shubhranil88
avatar
Joined: 05 Dec 2016
Last visit: 21 Oct 2024
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
31
 [8]
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 7
Kudos: 31
 [8]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Mar 2017, 05:10
7
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
iMyself
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps

Source: Manhattan GMAT Challenge question
Show more

SOLUTION:

Let the level distance between street to Subway = D

Let the speed at which Wesley moves when escalator is still= u

Let the speed at which escalator moves up or down = v

When escalator is stand still he needs 70 steps

Therefore D/u = 70 => u = D/70 ............. (I)

Also when both escalator and Wesley moves in same direction he needs 36 steps

Therefore D/(u +v) = 36 => u + v = D/36 ........... (Ii)

Solving both (i) & (ii) we get----

v= 17D/(35x36) ..........(iii)

Hence u - v = D/(35x36)

Therefore Number of steps required when escalator and Wesley are moving in opposite directions-----

= D/(u-v)

= D/ (D/(35x36))

= 35x36

= 1,260 (which is greater than 1000 steps). Hence E
avatar
warrenlee206
avatar
Joined: 28 Jul 2016
Last visit: 20 Jul 2018
Posts: 1
Own Kudos:
2
 [2]
Given Kudos: 6
Location: United States (CA)
Schools: LBS '19 (D) INSEAD Jan '17 Anderson '20 Anderson FEMBA '21 (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q42 V44
GPA: 3.01
Schools: LBS '19 (D) INSEAD Jan '17 Anderson '20 Anderson FEMBA '21 (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q42 V44
Posts: 1
Kudos: 2
 [2]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 27 Mar 2017, 23:33
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Shubhranil88
iMyself
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps

Source: Manhattan GMAT Challenge question

SOLUTION:

Let the level distance between street to Subway = D

Let the speed at which Wesley moves when escalator is still= u

Let the speed at which escalator moves up or down = v

When escalator is stand still he needs 70 steps

Therefore D/u = 70 => u = D/70 ............. (I)

Also when both escalator and Wesley moves in same direction he needs 36 steps

Therefore D/(u +v) = 36 => u + v = D/36 ........... (Ii)

Solving both (i) & (ii) we get----

v= 17D/(35x36) ..........(iii)

Hence u - v = D/(35x36)

Therefore Number of steps required when escalator and Wesley are moving in opposite directions-----

= D/(u-v)

= D/ (D/(35x36))

= 35x36

= 1,260 (which is greater than 1000 steps). Hence E
Show more

Can you elaborate more on step iii?
avatar
sarugiri
avatar
Joined: 22 Oct 2016
Last visit: 30 Oct 2017
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
20
Given Kudos: 23
Posts: 17
Kudos: 20
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 04 Apr 2017, 06:56
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Is there a easy way to solve this question.?
avatar
NamVu1990
avatar
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 10 Sep 2017
Posts: 24
Own Kudos:
60
Given Kudos: 17
GMAT 1: 670 Q49 V33
GMAT 1: 670 Q49 V33
Posts: 24
Kudos: 60
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Aug 2017, 03:40
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
devarshi9283
sarugiri
Is there a easy way to solve this question.?

When the person is not aided by Escalator movement..he takes 70 steps...so total distance in terms of steps is 70
When his movement is aided by escalator ..he has to take only 36 steps, i.e., rest of the 34 steps are taken care by escalator movement.
Or we can say that for every 36 steps taken by person..escalator is helping him with 34 steps..

Now..when he tries to move up in a downward escalator..his same movement will now be opposed by escalator,
So...for each of his 36 steps, escalator will oppose him with 34 steps..so resultant will be 2 steps only..
As the total distance in terms of steps is 70...and for each of his 36 steps..person is able to cover only 2 steps
due to downward motion of escalator..so total no. of steps required by person will be (36*70/2)=1260 steps...Hence option E

Give kudos plz if you find above solution useful..
Show more

Amzing solution. How did you come up with this?
User avatar
Sebastian Shoaib
User avatar
Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Last visit: 27 Nov 2017
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 18
Posts: 7
Kudos: 1
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 16 Sep 2017, 06:47
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Intuitively speaking, it seems that the speed of the escalator and the speed of Wesley are equal (while descending he covers 2 steps when the escalator is on). So, if the speed of the escalator and Wesley are unchanged when he ascends, every upward step Wesley takes will be cancelled by the downward movement of the escalator. In that case (E) looks like the best answer.
User avatar
bkpolymers1617
User avatar
Joined: 01 Sep 2016
Last visit: 11 Dec 2017
Posts: 125
Own Kudos:
1,200
 [4]
Given Kudos: 33
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
Posts: 125
Kudos: 1,200
 [4]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 19 Sep 2017, 04:07
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
3
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Answer
Assume that the escalator is 70 steps long, since it takes Wesley 70 steps to descend when the escalator isn’t moving.
 
When the escalator is turned on, Wesley takes only 36 steps to descend, which means the escalator is doing the work of 70 – 36 = 34 steps in the time that it takes Wesley to descend.
 
For every 36 steps Wesley takes, then, the escalator “takes” 34 steps. If Wesley reverses his trip and walks upward, against the escalator, then Wesley “gains” 2 steps on the escalator in the period of time it would normally take to descend to the platform. That is, for every 36 steps that Wesley takes, he actually moves 2 steps up the escalator.
 
Since he has to “gain” a total of 70 steps in order to make it to the top of the escalator, he must gain a total of 2 steps 35 times. In total, then, he takes (36)(35) steps. That number is greater than 1,000. (The exact number is 1,260 steps, but don’t do math that you don’t have to do!)
 
The correct answer is (E).
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 21,715
Own Kudos:
26,996
 [6]
Given Kudos: 300
Status:Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Location: United States (CA)
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 21,715
Kudos: 26,996
 [6]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 14 May 2018, 16:55
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
iMyself
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps
Show more

Since Westley takes 70 steps to descend on the escalator when it’s turned off, we see that the escalators has 70 steps.

We also see that the escalator provides an extra 70 - 36 = 34 steps when it’s turned on. However, this really means for every 36 steps Wesley is moving (upward or downward), the escalator is moving downward 34 steps. Therefore, when he is moving upward 36 steps, the escalator is working against him 34 steps. So he only has a net rate of 36 - 44 = +2 steps for every 36 steps he is moving upward on the escalator.

Since the escalator has 70 steps and 70/2 = 35, he needs to walk 36 x 35 = 1,260 steps upward on the escalator in order to reach street level from the platform.

Answer: E
avatar
naturalimproviser
avatar
Joined: 16 May 2018
Last visit: 02 Feb 2021
Posts: 26
Own Kudos:
12
Given Kudos: 192
Location: India
Schools: Queen's MBA'20
GMAT 1: 610 Q44 V30
GMAT 2: 650 Q44 V35
GRE 1: Q160 V150
GPA: 3
WE:Advertising (Advertising and PR)
Schools: Queen's MBA'20
GMAT 2: 650 Q44 V35
GRE 1: Q160 V150
Posts: 26
Kudos: 12
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 06 Jun 2018, 06:33
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AsadAbu
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps

Source: Manhattan GMAT Challenge question
Show more


I did it this way.

Let us assume that Wesley takes 1 step per second.

That means it takes Wesley 70 seconds to reach the subway level, and also the fact that there are 70 steps between the street level and the subway.


When the escalator is on, It takes Wesley 36 seconds to reach the subway level, that means he covered 36 steps at his usual pace, and the speed of the escalator helped him reach the cover the rest of the distance which would be 34 steps.

That means in 36 seconds Wesley covers 36 steps of distance and the escalator covers 34 steps of distance.
Now we can conclude that the escalator is a bit slower than Wesley.

When Wesley tries to reach up from the subway level to the street level while the escalator is on, the escalator would work in the reverse direction hence impeding his pace. So for every 36 steps the escalator would effectively cancel out 34 steps of distance as it is moving in the opposite direction.
Progress made by Wesley in 36 seconds/steps would be - 36-34 = 2

if he covers a distance of just 2 steps in 36 street level.seconds it would take him
(70/2)*36 seconds/steps to reach the street level.
which is 1260 steps.

Hence, E.

Kudos Please!
User avatar
GMATGuruNY
User avatar
Joined: 04 Aug 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 1,344
Own Kudos:
3,796
 [2]
Given Kudos: 9
Schools:Dartmouth College
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,344
Kudos: 3,796
 [2]
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 31 May 2020, 03:59
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Asad
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform. If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)
(A) Between 50 and 100 steps
(B) Between 100 and 200 steps
(C) Between 200 and 500 steps
(D) Between 500 and 1000 steps
(E) Over 1000 steps
Show more

DOWNWARD:
When the escalator is turned OFF, the number of steps taken by Wesley to travel downward = 70.
When the escalator is turned ON, the number of steps taken by Wesley to travel downward = 36, implying that the number of downward steps attributed to the escalator = 70-36 = 34.
Implication:
For every 36 steps taken by Wesley, the escalator moves downward 34 steps.

UPWARD:
For every 36 steps Wesley takes UPWARD, the escalator will move him DOWNWARD 34 steps, with the result that the net movement upward = 36-34 = 2 steps.
In other words, 36 upward steps taken by Wesley = a net upward movement of 2 steps.
Since Wesley must travel upward a total of 70 steps, we can set up the following proportion:

\(\frac{36-upward-steps-taken-by-Wesley}{net-gain-of-2-steps} = \frac{x-upward-steps-taken-by-Wesley}{70-steps}\)
\(\frac{36}{2} = \frac{x}{70}\)
\(18 = \frac{x}{70}\)
\(x = 18*70 = 1260\)

Show Spoiler
E
User avatar
Kinshook
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Jun 2019
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,794
Own Kudos:
5,509
Given Kudos: 161
Location: India
Schools: HBS '26 CBS '26 Wharton '26
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
WE:Engineering (Transportation)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: HBS '26 CBS '26 Wharton '26
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
Posts: 5,794
Kudos: 5,509
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 14 Jun 2022, 06:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Given: An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at a constant rate. When the escalator is turned off, Wesley takes 70 steps to descend from street level to the platform. When the escalator is turned on, Wesley needs only 36 steps to descend from street level to the platform.

Asked: If Wesley begins at the platform and walks upward, against the escalator’s downward movement, how many steps will he need to take to reach street level? (Assume that Wesley walks at a constant rate in all scenarios.)

For every 36 steps taken by Wesley, escalator moves 70-36=34 steps.
For every 36 steps taken by Wesley, escalator opposes 34 steps, resulting in 36-34= 2 effective steps

For climbing 70 steps, steps required by Wesley = 70*36/2 = 1260 > 1000 steps

IMO E
avatar
kungfupanda2393
avatar
Joined: 07 Jun 2022
Last visit: 29 Sep 2022
Posts: 2
Own Kudos:
1
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 2
Kudos: 1
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Jun 2022, 01:12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
This is an excellent problem; can someone share the source please?
Excellent because it tricked me into thinking if steps reduce by ~1/2x, they should increase by 2x but a trained mind would know % increase/decreases or upstream/downstream logic doesn't work that way
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,587
Own Kudos:
1,079
Posts: 38,587
Kudos: 1,079
An escalator moves downward from street level to a subway platform at 26 Jul 2025, 22:25
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
Bunuel
Math Expert
105389 posts
Krunaal
Tuck School Moderator
805 posts