Last visit was: 21 Apr 2026, 05:15 It is currently 21 Apr 2026, 05:15
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.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,720
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 105,796
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,720
Kudos: 810,375
 [17]
Kudos
Add Kudos
17
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
HarshaBujji
Joined: 29 Jun 2020
Last visit: 05 Apr 2026
Posts: 723
Own Kudos:
906
 [10]
Given Kudos: 247
Location: India
Products:
Posts: 723
Kudos: 906
 [10]
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
4
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,720
Own Kudos:
810,375
 [6]
Given Kudos: 105,796
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,720
Kudos: 810,375
 [6]
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
avatar
avijitsrivastava
Joined: 04 Jul 2021
Last visit: 18 Nov 2021
Posts: 3
Own Kudos:
24
 [5]
GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38
GMAT 2: 750 Q51 V40
WE:Management Consulting (Consulting)
GMAT 2: 750 Q51 V40
Posts: 3
Kudos: 24
 [5]
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Assume the square to be of side L and the light blue rectangle to be of horizontal length X. Then, as per the directions of the question,

LX = (L^2)/5 (Area of blue rectangle is one-fifth of the total area of the square)

Hence,

X = L/5

Now comparing the purple rectangle with the blue one

5*(L-X) = LX
=> 4L = (L^2)/5
=> L = 20

Therefore, area of the square will be:

L^2 = 400

Answer: (D) 400
User avatar
Kinshook
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Jun 2019
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 5,985
Own Kudos:
5,855
 [2]
Given Kudos: 163
Location: India
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
WE:Engineering (Transportation)
Products:
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
Posts: 5,985
Kudos: 5,855
 [2]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post

Given: A square shown above is divided into 5 rectangles, each having the same area.
Asked: If the upper left rectangle has a width of 5 units, then what is the area of the square?

Attachment:
Screenshot 2021-08-16 at 8.57.45 PM.png
Screenshot 2021-08-16 at 8.57.45 PM.png [ 16.61 KiB | Viewed 9373 times ]

Since the area of all rectangles is same.
5(x + y) = ty = 2tx = (2t+5)z
y = 2x
15x = 2tx
t = 7.5
15x = 20z
3x = 4z

Since all rectangles combined form a square
2t+5 = x+ y+z
20 = x + 2x + 3x/4 = 15x/4
x = 80/15 = 16/3
y = 32/3
z = 4

Area of the square = (2t+5)^2 = 20^2 = 400

IMO D
avatar
soudipsengupta
Joined: 17 Sep 2020
Last visit: 15 Nov 2022
Posts: 60
Own Kudos:
134
 [2]
Given Kudos: 222
Posts: 60
Kudos: 134
 [2]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I would go backward from the answer choices:

Option A is 100 as area of square:

Area Square (S): 100
Side of Square : 10
Long Side of Red (R): 5
Area of Purple(P): 100/5=20
Long Side of P: 20/5=4
Area of Red + Yellow + Green= R * P = 5*4=20 ....(1)
But since Red + Yellow + Green must be equal area as 3 * Area of Purple (i.e. 3*20=60) ... (2)
From 1 and 2 A option is not correct.


On similar terms and since 100 led to a small combined area of the 3 rectangles next chose a bigger option like. Like D is 400 and more likely to the answer.

Area Square (S): 400
Side of Square : 20
Long Side of Red (R): 15
Area of Purple(P): 400/5=80
Long Side of P: 80/5=16
Area of Red + Yellow + Green= R * P = 15*16=240 ....(3)
But since Red + Yellow + Green must be equal area as 3 * Area of Purple (i.e. 3*80=240) ... (4)

From 3 and 4 we see these matches hence D is the right answer.
avatar
bish4l
Joined: 14 Aug 2021
Last visit: 14 Dec 2021
Posts: 2
Own Kudos:
2
 [2]
Given Kudos: 15
Location: India
Posts: 2
Kudos: 2
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The area of the square is given as l^2.
Let the area of the rectangle be considered as 5x such that say, x is the length of the rectangle.
Also, since the area of the rectangles is same. So, all the areas would be 5x.
Now let us consider only red, yellow and green rectangles. The sum of their areas would be 15x.
Also, the area can be written as x*y(where y is the vertical length of the three rectangles(r, y & g combined).)
So,
15x=x*y
thus the vertical length would be 15
Hence, the side of square would be (15+5) and
area of square would be 20^2=400
User avatar
chetan2u
User avatar
GMAT Expert
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Last visit: 18 Apr 2026
Posts: 11,230
Own Kudos:
44,981
 [8]
Given Kudos: 335
Status:Math and DI Expert
Location: India
Concentration: Human Resources, General Management
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Posts: 11,230
Kudos: 44,981
 [8]
8
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel

A square shown above is divided into 5 rectangles, each having the same area. If the upper left rectangle has a width of 5 units, then what is the area of the square?

A. 100
B. 169
C. 225
D. 400
E. 625




Let the area of the rectangles be to A to E as shown. => \(A=B=C=D=E\)

Given that \(B+C+D=3*A\)

A=5*b
B+C+D=x*b
=> x*b=3*5*b
x=15

So, each side of the square = 5+15

Area = 20*20=400
Attachments

squares cloured.png
squares cloured.png [ 7.83 KiB | Viewed 7952 times ]

User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,944
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,944
Kudos: 1,116
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:
Math Expert
109720 posts
Tuck School Moderator
853 posts