Last visit was: 27 Apr 2026, 23:12 It is currently 27 Apr 2026, 23:12
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: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,948
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 105,925
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,948
Kudos: 811,641
 [11]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
10
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
jimar
Joined: 08 Jul 2019
Last visit: 13 Nov 2019
Posts: 14
Own Kudos:
7
 [2]
Given Kudos: 9
Location: India
Schools:
Schools:
Posts: 14
Kudos: 7
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Archit3110
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 8,633
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: 8,633
Kudos: 5,191
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: 20,897
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post

Solution


Given:
    • A woman has 11 close friends

To find:
    • What is the number of ways she can invite 5 of them to dinner if two of the friends are not speaking with each other and will not attend together?

Approach and Working Out:
    • Total ways of selecting 5 out of 11 = \(^{11}C_5\)
    • Total ways in which 5 are selected, which includes both the friends who do not attend together = \(^2C_2 * ^9C_3\)

Therefore, the required answer = \(^{11}C_5 – ^2C_2 * ^9C_3 = 378\)

Hence, the correct answer is Option E.

Answer: E
User avatar
gvij2017
Joined: 09 Aug 2017
Last visit: 18 Jun 2024
Posts: 663
Own Kudos:
508
 [1]
Given Kudos: 778
Posts: 663
Kudos: 508
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunnel!

Is there something wrong with answer?
Even I am getting 378.

Probably, this problem needs a small correction.
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,948
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 105,925
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,948
Kudos: 811,641
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
gvij2017
Bunnel!

Is there something wrong with answer?
Even I am getting 378.

Probably, this problem needs a small correction.

The OA is E. Edited. C is the OA of the following question: https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-woman-has- ... 05760.html
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 27 Apr 2026
Posts: 22,289
Own Kudos:
26,543
 [1]
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: 22,289
Kudos: 26,543
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A woman has 11 close friends. What is the number of ways she can invite 5 of them to dinner if two of the friends are not speaking with each other and will not attend together?

A. 84
B. 126
C. 210
D. 252
E. 378

A woman has 11 close friends. Find the number of ways she can invite 5 of them to dinner where: Two of the friends are not speaking with each other and will not attend together


The number of ways to invite 5 of 11 friends, with no restrictions, is:

11C5 = (11 x 10 x 9 x 8 x 7)/5! = 11 x 3 x 2 x 7 = 462 ways

The number of ways to select the group when the two friends are together is:

2C2 x 9C3 = 1 x (9 x 8 x 7)/3! = 3 x 4 x 7 = 84 ways.

Thus, the number of ways to select the group when the two friends are not together is:

462 - 84 = 378

Answer: E
User avatar
ThatDudeKnows
Joined: 11 May 2022
Last visit: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 1,070
Own Kudos:
1,031
 [1]
Given Kudos: 79
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 1,070
Kudos: 1,031
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A woman has 11 close friends. What is the number of ways she can invite 5 of them to dinner if two of the friends are not speaking with each other and will not attend together?

A. 84
B. 126
C. 210
D. 252
E. 378

A woman has 11 close friends. Find the number of ways she can invite 5 of them to dinner where: Two of the friends are not speaking with each other and will not attend together

There are some great answers posted above! I just wanted to point out that we can likely save some time if we are comfortable with ballparking and deploying a little logic. There are 11C5 ways to choose the invitees with no restrictions. That's 11*10*9*8*7/5*4*3*2 = 77*2*3 = a little less than 6*80, or 480.

There are four possible scenarios:
both enemies are invited,
enemy A is invited but B is not,
enemy B is invited but A is not, or
neither enemy is invited.

We need to exclude "both enemies are invited." Is that going to be more than half or less than half of the total possibilities? Less than half. A, B, and C are wrong. D and E are pretty far apart. D would require us to exclude almost half. Is "both enemies are invited" in almost half of the arrangements or far fewer than that? Well, there are 6 people not invited to dinner, so it's more likely to have "neither enemy is invited" than it is to have "both enemies are invited." D is wrong.

Answer choice E.
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,985
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,985
Kudos: 1,119
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
109948 posts
Tuck School Moderator
852 posts