Last visit was: 24 Apr 2026, 23:00 It is currently 24 Apr 2026, 23:00
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: 109,818
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 105,873
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,818
Kudos: 811,094
 [16]
Kudos
Add Kudos
16
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Archit3110
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 8,629
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 243
Status:You learn more from failure than from success.
Location: India
Concentration: Sustainability, Marketing
GMAT Focus 1: 545 Q79 V79 DI73
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
GPA: 4
WE:Marketing (Energy)
Products:
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
Posts: 8,629
Kudos: 5,190
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
testcracker
Joined: 24 Mar 2015
Last visit: 02 Dec 2024
Posts: 199
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 541
Status:love the club...
Posts: 199
Kudos: 135
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Archit3110
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 8,629
Own Kudos:
5,190
 [1]
Given Kudos: 243
Status:You learn more from failure than from success.
Location: India
Concentration: Sustainability, Marketing
GMAT Focus 1: 545 Q79 V79 DI73
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
GPA: 4
WE:Marketing (Energy)
Products:
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
Posts: 8,629
Kudos: 5,190
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
testcracker
Archit3110
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

Triangle rule length : third side< 2nd and 1st side
in this case only 1 case is possible 5+3>7 so IMO E

hi

what about 7 + 1 > 3 ...?

thanks

Triangle rule states sum of two sides> third side ...

Could you please identify which is third side and other two side below as per ?
7 + 1 > 3

You have taken sum of largest and smallest side ... Which isn't correct... Hope this helps.

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
testcracker
Joined: 24 Mar 2015
Last visit: 02 Dec 2024
Posts: 199
Own Kudos:
135
 [1]
Given Kudos: 541
Status:love the club...
Posts: 199
Kudos: 135
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
testcracker
Archit3110
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

Triangle rule length : third side< 2nd and 1st side
in this case only 1 case is possible 5+3>7 so IMO E

hi

what about 7 + 1 > 3 ...?

thanks

Archit3110
hi

My bad, got it!
thanks a lot +1

actually I think you wanted to mean, the sum of ANY 2 sides of a triangle is greater than the third side

thanks again, take care
User avatar
BrentGMATPrepNow
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 12 Sep 2015
Last visit: 31 Oct 2025
Posts: 6,733
Own Kudos:
36,459
 [3]
Given Kudos: 799
Location: Canada
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 6,733
Kudos: 36,459
 [3]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

IMPORTANT RULE: If two sides of a triangle have lengths A and B, then . . .
DIFFERENCE between A and B < length of third side < SUM of A and B

Let's focus on this part: length of third side < SUM of A and B
We can also say that the length of LONGEST side must be less than the SUM of the other two sides

Let's systematically go through all possible combinations of 3 sides

case a) the LONGEST side has a length of 7 meters
So, 7 must be less than the SUM of the other two sides
This means the remaining 2 sides must have lengths 3 and 5 meters
So, a triangle with lengths 3-5-7 is POSSIBLE
This is the ONLY possible configuration in which the LONGEST side has a length of 7 meters

case b) the LONGEST side has a length of 5 meters
So, 5 must be less than the SUM of the other two (shorter) sides
If 5 is the longest side, then the other 2 sides must have lengths of 1 and 3 meters
HOWEVER, this breaks our rule that says the length of LONGEST side must be less than the SUM of the other two sides
So, we CANNOT have a triangle in which the LONGEST side has a length of 5 meters

case c) the LONGEST side has a length of 3 meters
This cannot work, since there's only one rod that has a length that's less than 1

case d) the LONGEST side has a length of 1 meters
This cannot work

So, there's only 1 possible triangle that can be created.

Answer: E

RELATED VIDEO
avatar
hannan4644
Joined: 25 Nov 2018
Last visit: 27 Nov 2022
Posts: 2
Given Kudos: 18
Posts: 2
Kudos: 0
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Archit3110
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

Triangle rule length : third side< 2nd and 1st side
in this case only 1 case is possible 5+3>7 so IMO E


We can have two triangles in the configuration 5-3-7.
1) 5-3-7
2) 3-5-7
So, I think the answer should be D
Correct me if I am wrong
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: 36,459
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hannan4644


We can have two triangles in the configuration 5-3-7.
1) 5-3-7
2) 3-5-7
So, I think the answer should be D
Correct me if I am wrong

Those 2 triangles are considered the same. So, we can only counted them once.

Cheers,
Brent
User avatar
Archit3110
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 8,629
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 243
Status:You learn more from failure than from success.
Location: India
Concentration: Sustainability, Marketing
GMAT Focus 1: 545 Q79 V79 DI73
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
GPA: 4
WE:Marketing (Energy)
Products:
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
Posts: 8,629
Kudos: 5,190
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
hannan4644
Archit3110
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

Triangle rule length : third side< 2nd and 1st side
in this case only 1 case is possible 5+3>7 so IMO E


We can have two triangles in the configuration 5-3-7.
1) 5-3-7
2) 3-5-7
So, I think the answer should be D
Correct me if I am wrong

hannan4644

Writing the triangle as either way doesnt make the triangle different in anyway... it would be same triangle only.
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 22,286
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 302
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: 22,286
Kudos: 26,534
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

Since the sum of 2 sides of a triangle must be greater than the 3rd, the only option for the three sides is {3, 5, 7}. We cannot use the rod of length 1 meter in forming any triangles; we can verify that in any choice of three sides including the rod of length 1, there are two sides where the sum of the lengths is less than the length of the third side.

Answer: E
User avatar
AlN
Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Last visit: 19 Dec 2023
Posts: 53
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 23
Location: India
Schools: Oxford "21
Schools: Oxford "21
Posts: 53
Kudos: 7
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATPrepNow
Bunuel
Given four rods of length 1 meter, 3 meters, 5 meters, and 7 meters, how many different triangles can be made using one rod for each side?

A. 6
B. 4
C. 3
D. 2
E. 1

IMPORTANT RULE: If two sides of a triangle have lengths A and B, then . . .
DIFFERENCE between A and B < length of third side < SUM of A and B

Let's focus on this part: length of third side < SUM of A and B
We can also say that the length of LONGEST side must be less than the SUM of the other two sides





Hi Brent,

Just a quick question . Is it sum of any two sides should be greater than third side. or is it the longest side only that needs to be considered?
Let's systematically go through all possible combinations of 3 sides

case a) the LONGEST side has a length of 7 meters
So, 7 must be less than the SUM of the other two sides
This means the remaining 2 sides must have lengths 3 and 5 meters
So, a triangle with lengths 3-5-7 is POSSIBLE
This is the ONLY possible configuration in which the LONGEST side has a length of 7 meters

case b) the LONGEST side has a length of 5 meters
So, 5 must be less than the SUM of the other two (shorter) sides
If 5 is the longest side, then the other 2 sides must have lengths of 1 and 3 meters
HOWEVER, this breaks our rule that says the length of LONGEST side must be less than the SUM of the other two sides
So, we CANNOT have a triangle in which the LONGEST side has a length of 5 meters

case c) the LONGEST side has a length of 3 meters
This cannot work, since there's only one rod that has a length that's less than 1

case d) the LONGEST side has a length of 1 meters
This cannot work

So, there's only 1 possible triangle that can be created.

Answer: E

RELATED VIDEO FROM OUR COURSE
User avatar
sach24x7
Joined: 15 Aug 2014
Last visit: 15 Mar 2020
Posts: 73
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 124
Status:Don't Give Up!
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, General Management
GMAT Date: 04-25-2015
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
1 3 5 — not following property of sum of two sides should be greater than third

1 3 7 — same issue as above

1 5 7 — same issue as above

3 5 7 — follows the property

One triangle possible

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,978
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,978
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
109818 posts
Tuck School Moderator
853 posts