How about the case when A sits next to C but not to B. A does NOT refuse to sit beside C unless B sits next to him on the other side. We can have AC sitting together in 2 ways, one of the other 5 (except B) sitting next to A on the other side and the other 5 people arranged in 5! ways.

This can be done in 2*5*5! = 10*5! ways
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Given:
1. A car travels from town A to town B at constant speed.
2. If it increases speed by 20%, it will arrive 1 hour ahead of schedule.
2. If it increased by 25% after travelling the first 120 km at usual speed,it will arrive 36 minutes ahead.

Asked: Find the distance from A to B.

Let the distance from A to B be x km and normal speed of the car be v kmh

x/1.2v = x/v - 1 (1)
x/v = 6 => 1/v = x/6
x = 6v (1a)
\(\frac{x-120}{1.25v} = \frac{x-120}{v} - \frac{36}{60}\) (2)
(x-120)/v = 36*5/60 = 3
x -120 = 3v = x/2
x = 240

Distance from A to B = 240 km

None of the choices match the correct answer.
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When distance travelled is the same, ratio of speeds is inverse of ratio of time taken.

Case 1: When car increases its speed by 20% over the entire distance.
Ratio of speeds = 5:6 (20% increase in speed), ratio of time taken = 6:5
The actual difference in time taken is 1 hr so in usual case, the car takes 6 hrs but with increased speed, it will take 5 hrs.

Case 2: When car increases its speed by 25% over second part of the distance (ignore the first 120 kms for the time being)
Over the distance that the car increases its speed by 25%, ratio of speeds = 4:5 (increase of 25%)
Then ratio of time taken = 5:4 (a difference of 1 on ratio scale)
The actual difference in time taken is 36 mins = 36/60 hrs = 3/5 hrs. So normally, the car takes 5*(3/5) hrs = 3 hrs over this distance.

Now note that for the entire distance, the car usually takes 6 hrs. For the second part distance, the car usually takes 3 hrs. So this second part distance must be exactly 1/2 of total distance.
Hence total distance must be 2*120 km = 240 km
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Put 3^{-x} = a and then take it from there.

a^2 + a - 12 = 0
(a + 4)(a - 3) = 0
a = -4 or 3

3^{-x} cannot be negative because the base 3 is positive. So no matter what the exponent, it will not make a negative number.

3^{-x} = 3 = 3^1
-x = 1
x = -1

Also check the following posts on our blog:
https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2011/0 ... eparation/
https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2011/0 ... ration-ii/
https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2011/0 ... s-applied/
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VeritasKarishma thank you very much for both the detailed explanation and the tips for exercises. I really appreciate it. Thank you!

A bus stop is served by express buses, which run every hour at ten minutes past the hour, and local buses, which run every quarter of an hour, starting at five past the hour. What is the probability that a passenger arriving at the stop at random will have to wait more than six minutes for a bus?

A) 1/2
B) 31/60
C) 29/60
D) 1/15
E) 11/20
My confusion is that
Say , If he arrives at 6:14 , then he will have to wait for 6 minutes as the next bus is at 6:20.
Why is then 6:14 being included ? We need those time-instants for which wait-period is more than 6 minutes....right ?

Please help.

Hi VeritasKarishma,
That is what my question is.
Why are you considering the time-instant 6:14?
From 6:14 to 6:20 ,it is 6 minutes..right ? And at 6:20 , local bus is available. I am okay with 6:13 as from 6:13 to 6:20 it's more than 6 minutes (7 minutes actually).
Can you please explain a bit ? I apologise because of my inability to get your explanation.

Posted from my mobile device

Read again the highlighted part above.
6:10 to 6:14 gives us 4 mins - from exact 6:10 to a microsecond before 6:11 (imagine the face of a clock with the second hand. The second hand starts from 12 at 6:10 and completes a full circle and just before it touches 12 again, a minute is over)
from 6:11 to just before 6:12
from 6:12 to just before 6:13
from 6:13 to just before 6:14

This adds up to 4 mins. The moment of 6:14 is not included. 6:14 is a moment, not a minute.

I have explained this on the question link too on which you tagged me. Check that out too.[/quote]

VeritasKarishma maa'm, Why do you say "........from exact 6:10 ..." ?
Why are you considering the "6:10 " moment....? There is an express bus at 6:10 ...right ?
I apologize if I am over-analyzing.
VeritasKarishma

can u help me with this doubt:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/if-x-and-y-a ... l#p2377000

hi ,plz clear this doubt,

https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-many-peo ... l#p2379587

thanks a lot