Last visit was: 24 Apr 2026, 07:56 It is currently 24 Apr 2026, 07:56
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: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,814
Own Kudos:
811,009
 [1]
Given Kudos: 105,871
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,814
Kudos: 811,009
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
abhinav770
Joined: 10 May 2018
Last visit: 21 Apr 2025
Posts: 98
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 209
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, General Management
Posts: 98
Kudos: 256
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Abhishek009
User avatar
Board of Directors
Joined: 11 Jun 2011
Last visit: 17 Dec 2025
Posts: 5,903
Own Kudos:
5,454
 [1]
Given Kudos: 463
Status:QA & VA Forum Moderator
Location: India
GPA: 3.5
WE:Business Development (Commercial Banking)
Posts: 5,903
Kudos: 5,454
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
EgmatQuantExpert
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 04 Jan 2015
Last visit: 02 Apr 2024
Posts: 3,657
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 165
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,657
Kudos: 20,879
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post

Solution


Given:
    • Cars leave a car factory in a repeating pattern : red, blue, black and grey
    • The first car to exit the factory was red

To find:
    • The color of the 463rd car that exits the factory

Approach and Working:
    • Since, the total number of cars is four and they follow a repeated pattern and the first car to exit is red.
      o The pattern will be red, blue, black, grey, red, blue and so on
      o So, again the 5th car, 9th car and so on will be red.
      o We can write the general form as, every number of the car, which is in the form, 4n + 1 will be red, where n is a non-negative integer.
      o Similarly, every number of the car, which is in the form,
         4n + 2 will be blue,
         4n + 3 will be black, and
         4n + 4 will be grey
    • 463 can be written as 4 * 115 + 3, which is of the form 4n + 3.

Therefore, the 463rd car to exit will be black in color

Hence, the correct answer is option C .

Answer: C

User avatar
JeffTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 04 Mar 2011
Last visit: 05 Jan 2024
Posts: 2,974
Own Kudos:
8,711
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,646
Status:Head GMAT Instructor
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 2,974
Kudos: 8,711
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
New cars leave a car factory in a repeating pattern of red, blue, black, and gray cars. If the first car to exit the factory was red, what color is the 463rd car to exit the factory?

(A) Red
(B) Blue
(C) Black
(D) Gray
(E) It cannot be determined from the information given.

We see we have a repeating pattern of 4, so for a nonnegative integer k, we have:

(4k + 1)st car is red, (4k + 2)nd car is blue, (4k + 3)rd car is black and (4k + 4)th car is gray

Since 460 is a multiple of 4, then the 461st car was red, 462nd was blue, and 463rd was black.

Alternate Solution:

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th car colors are red, blue, black, and gray, respectively. We note that the 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, … cars are all gray. We see, then, that all cars that are multiples of 4 will be gray. Thus, the 460th car will be gray, the 461st will be red, the 462nd will be blue, and the 463rd will be black.

Answer: C
User avatar
BrentGMATPrepNow
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 12 Sep 2015
Last visit: 31 Oct 2025
Posts: 6,733
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 799
Location: Canada
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 6,733
Kudos: 36,455
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
New cars leave a car factory in a repeating pattern of red, blue, black, and gray cars. If the first car to exit the factory was red, what color is the 463rd car to exit the factory?

(A) Red
(B) Blue
(C) Black
(D) Gray
(E) It cannot be determined from the information given.

Let's examine the pattern.

CAR # | color
1 | red
2 | blue
3 | black
4 | gray
5 | red
6 | blue
7 | black
8 | gray
9 | red
.
.
.
The pattern REPEATS EVERY 4 CARS. So, we say the pattern has CYCLE 4
Also, notice that every car # that's divisible by 4 is gray

So, let's find a car # that's close to 463 and that's divisible by 4, and we'll go from there.
460 is divisible by 4, so the 460th car will be gray
This means the 461st car will be red
The 462nd car will be blue
And the 463rd car will be black

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,972
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,972
Kudos: 1,117
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
109814 posts
Tuck School Moderator
853 posts