Last visit was: 22 Apr 2026, 15:08 It is currently 22 Apr 2026, 15:08
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
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
655-705 (Hard)|   Exponents|      
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 22 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,754
Own Kudos:
810,663
 [15]
Given Kudos: 105,823
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,754
Kudos: 810,663
 [15]
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 12 Jul 2017, 00:46
Kudos
Add Kudos
15
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

55% (hard)

Question Stats:

66% (02:27) correct 34% (02:28) wrong based on 520 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond doubles for every 0.5 carats, which of the following is worth the most?

(A) One 4-carat diamond
(B) Fourteen 1-carat diamonds
(C) Four 2-carat diamonds and eight 1-carat diamonds
(D) One 1-carat diamond, two 2-carat diamonds, and three 3-carat diamonds
(E) Three 1.5-carat diamonds and three 2.5-carat diamonds
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
jinxd123
User avatar
Joined: 26 Oct 2016
Last visit: 23 Jul 2019
Posts: 43
Own Kudos:
24
 [5]
Given Kudos: 19
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Strategy
Schools: Haas '21 Ross '21 LBS '21 Anderson '21 Stern '21 Jones '21 (I) Foster '21 (I) Kelley '21 (WA$)
GMAT 1: 640 Q47 V30
GMAT 2: 720 Q49 V39
GPA: 3.35
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
Schools: Haas '21 Ross '21 LBS '21 Anderson '21 Stern '21 Jones '21 (I) Foster '21 (I) Kelley '21 (WA$)
GMAT 2: 720 Q49 V39
Posts: 43
Kudos: 24
 [5]
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 12 Jul 2017, 01:03
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond doubles for every 0.5 carats, which of the following is worth the most?

(A) One 4-carat diamond
(B) Fourteen 1-carat diamonds
(C) Four 2-carat diamonds and eight 1-carat diamonds
(D) One 1-carat diamond, two 2-carat diamonds, and three 3-carat diamonds
(E) Three 1.5-carat diamonds and three 2.5-carat diamonds



Let Price of 1 1carat diamond be x ..
according to the question, the price of a diamond doubles for every 0.5 carats

So,

Price of 1 1.5 carat diamond = 2x
Price of 1 2 carat diamond = 4x
Price of 1 2.5 carat diamond = 8x
Price of 1 3 carat diamond = 16x
Price of 1 4 carat diamond = 64x


So,

(A) One 4-carat diamond = 64x
(B) Fourteen 1-carat diamonds = 14x
(C) Four 2-carat diamonds and eight 1-carat diamonds = 4[2x] + 8x = 24x
(D) One 1-carat diamond, two 2-carat diamonds, and three 3-carat diamonds = x + 2[4x] + 3[16x] = x + 8x + 48x = 57x
(E) Three 1.5-carat diamonds and three 2.5-carat diamonds = 3[2x] + 3[8x] = 30x

So.
A is the Answer since it is the greatest...


Thanks for the Kudos I will receive.... :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
General Discussion
User avatar
pushpitkc
User avatar
Joined: 26 Feb 2016
Last visit: 19 Feb 2025
Posts: 2,800
Own Kudos:
6,235
Given Kudos: 47
Location: India
GPA: 3.12
Posts: 2,800
Kudos: 6,235
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 12 Jul 2017, 00:53
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Let the cost of a 0.5 carat diamond be x$
So, 1 carat will cost 2x$ and this repeats till 4 carat diamond which will cost 128x$

If x = 1, the cost of the 0.5 carat diamond is 1$ and the cost of a 4 carat diamond is 128$

So, Option A(One 4 carat diamond) is definitely costlier than the combination of the other diamond's costs.
User avatar
GyMrAT
User avatar
Joined: 14 Dec 2017
Last visit: 03 Nov 2020
Posts: 412
Own Kudos:
524
 [1]
Given Kudos: 173
Location: India
Posts: 412
Kudos: 524
 [1]
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 06 Jun 2018, 15:05
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond doubles for every 0.5 carats, which of the following is worth the most?

(A) One 4-carat diamond
(B) Fourteen 1-carat diamonds
(C) Four 2-carat diamonds and eight 1-carat diamonds
(D) One 1-carat diamond, two 2-carat diamonds, and three 3-carat diamonds
(E) Three 1.5-carat diamonds and three 2.5-carat diamonds
Show more


Let x be the price of a 0.5 carats diamond

Therefore, since the price doubles for every 0.5 carats, we have
2x as the price of a 1 carat diamond
4x as the price of a 1.5 carat diamond
8x as the price of a 2 carat diamond
16x as the price of a 2.5 carat diamond
32x as the price of a 3 carat diamond
64x as the price of a 3.5 carat diamond
128x as the price of a 4 carat diamond

based on the above chart we can calculate the price for the answer choices.

We can then see that Answer choice A has the highest price.


Thanks,
GyM
avatar
Varane
avatar
Joined: 24 Mar 2022
Last visit: 16 Dec 2022
Posts: 64
Own Kudos:
6
Given Kudos: 470
Posts: 64
Kudos: 6
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 13 Jun 2022, 03:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Can an expert help here.

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
GmatPoint
User avatar
Joined: 02 Jan 2022
Last visit: 13 Oct 2022
Posts: 246
Own Kudos:
140
Given Kudos: 3
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
Posts: 246
Kudos: 140
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 13 Jun 2022, 05:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Let the price of a diamond of 0.5 carats be x. Since the diamond doubles for every 0.5 carats, for 1 carat, it will be 2x.
For 2 carats, it will be 2^3x.
For 2.5 carats, it will be 2^4x.
For 3 carats, it will be 2^5x.
For 4 carats, it will be 2^7x.

Consider the option A:
The price = 2^7x = 128x

Option B:
Price = 14*2x = 28x

Option C:
Price = 4*8x + 8*2x = 32x + 16x = 68x

Option D:
Price = 2x + 2*8x + 3*32 = 18x + 96x = 114x

Option E:
Price = 3*4x + 3*16x = 60x

Thus, the highest price is for option A
User avatar
ThatDudeKnows
User avatar
Joined: 11 May 2022
Last visit: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 1,070
Own Kudos:
1,030
 [1]
Given Kudos: 79
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,070
Kudos: 1,030
 [1]
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 13 Jun 2022, 07:59
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Varane
Can an expert help here.

Posted from my mobile device
Show more

Varane

There is no variable in the question, but the instinct is to introduce one to use for the price of a 1-carat or a 0.5-carat diamond. Any time your instinct is to introduce a variable that isn't there, see if it makes sense to just use a number. Let's make a 1-carat diamond $1.

1-carat = $1
1.5-carat = $2
2 = $4
2.5 = $8
3 = $16
3.5 = $32
4 = $64

Let's look at the answer choices.
(A) One 4-carat diamond = $64
(B) Fourteen 1-carat diamonds = $14 Less than A.
(C) Four 2-carat diamonds and eight 1-carat diamonds = 4($4)+8($1) = $16+$8 Less than A.
(D) One 1-carat diamond, two 2-carat diamonds, and three 3-carat diamonds = $1+2($4)+3($16) = $1+$8+$48 Less than A.
(E) Three 1.5-carat diamonds and three 2.5-carat diamonds = 3($2)+3($8) = $6+$24 Less than A.

Answer choice A.
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,966
Own Kudos:
1,117
Posts: 38,966
Kudos: 1,117
The size of diamonds is measured in carats. If the price of a diamond 22 Sep 2025, 06:37
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club BumpBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
Moderators:
Bunuel
Math Expert
109754 posts
Krunaal
Tuck School Moderator
853 posts