Last visit was: 24 Apr 2026, 12:03 It is currently 24 Apr 2026, 12:03
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: 811,051
 [18]
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
12
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
yashikaaggarwal
User avatar
Senior Moderator - Masters Forum
Joined: 19 Jan 2020
Last visit: 29 Mar 2026
Posts: 3,089
Own Kudos:
3,158
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1,510
Location: India
GPA: 4
WE:Analyst (Internet and New Media)
Posts: 3,089
Kudos: 3,158
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
Akp880
Joined: 24 Mar 2019
Last visit: 08 Nov 2021
Posts: 192
Own Kudos:
151
 [1]
Given Kudos: 196
Location: India
Concentration: Marketing, Operations
Schools: IIMA PGPX'23 IIM
WE:Operations (Aerospace and Defense)
Schools: IIMA PGPX'23 IIM
Posts: 192
Kudos: 151
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
IanStewart
User avatar
GMAT Tutor
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 4,143
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 99
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,143
Kudos: 11,278
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The carpenter needs to build, on average, more than 10 boxes per day. So on at least one day, he must build 11 or more boxes, because you can't have an average greater than 10 unless your set contains values greater than 10. So the carpenter needs to build at least 7 boxes on his least productive day. We can then confirm 7 is possible -- the remaining six days need to sum to 64, which is possible within the constraints if he builds 11 boxes on four days, and 10 boxes on two.
User avatar
sambitspm
Joined: 05 Aug 2019
Last visit: 13 Jan 2022
Posts: 317
Own Kudos:
311
 [1]
Given Kudos: 130
Location: India
Concentration: Leadership, Technology
GMAT 1: 600 Q50 V22
GMAT 2: 670 Q50 V28 (Online)
GPA: 4
GMAT 2: 670 Q50 V28 (Online)
Posts: 317
Kudos: 311
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Let's assume that on Saturday the carpenter builds x boxes.
On any day the maximum boxes he can build is x+4

So Let's say on every other day the number of boxes is x+4 so as to minimize x

Hence 6*(x+4) + x = 71
7x = 47
Now definitely x has to be numeric, which means that if x = 6 then the equation will not hold.

He needs to make 7 boxes on Saturday, so that equation holds.

D
User avatar
adstudy
Joined: 11 Mar 2018
Last visit: 15 Dec 2023
Posts: 248
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 270
Location: India
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V37 (Online)
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V37 (Online)
Posts: 248
Kudos: 438
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A carpenter has to build 71 wooden boxes in one week (7 days). He can build as many per day as he wants but he has decided that the number of boxes he builds on any one day should be within 4 off the number he builds on any other day. What is the least number of boxes that he could have build on Saturday?

A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 7
E. 8

As we have 7 days, then if we try to divide 71 by 7 we get remainder as 1 and quotient as 10. This implies any one day, except Saturday, to have count as 11 and other days as 10. So

Mon = 10 boxes
Tue = 10 boxes
Wed = 10 boxes
Thu = 10 boxes
Fri = 10 boxes
Sat = 10 boxes
Sun = 11 boxes


Now as it is given we can have maximum difference between any two days as less than or equal to 4, it would be best to reduce boxes from Saturday one-by-one and then distribute among maximum possible days to maximize our case.

So we notice, at max, we can reduce the count of Saturday to 7 and increasing three boxes by 1 each. (As below)

Mon = 10 boxes
Tue = 10 boxes
Wed = 11 boxes
Thu = 11 boxes
Fri = 11 boxes
Sat = 7 boxes
Sun = 11 boxes


Note that we cannot make it 6 or below, as then difference between 6 and 11 would be 5 and would break the condition of difference being less than or equal to 4

Hence Answer is D
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 22,286
Own Kudos:
26,534
 [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: 22,286
Kudos: 26,534
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A carpenter has to build 71 wooden boxes in one week (7 days). He can build as many per day as he wants but he has decided that the number of boxes he builds on any one day should be within 4 off the number he builds on any other day. What is the least number of boxes that he could have build on Saturday?

A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 7
E. 8


Solution:

We can check the answer choices starting from choice A since we want the least number of boxes for Saturday.

A. If the number of boxes built on Saturday is 4, then he will have 71 - 4 = 67 boxes to be built for the other 6 days. The average for those 6 days would be 67/6 = 11 ⅙. We see that 11 (or 12) boxes exceeds the daily limit of 4 + 4 = 8 boxes. Eliminate Choice A.

B. If the number of boxes built on Saturday is 5, then he will have 71 - 5 = 66 boxes to be built for the other 6 days. The average for those 6 days would be 66/6 = 11. We see that 11 boxes exceeds the daily limit of 5 + 4 = 9 boxes. Eliminate Choice B.

C. If the number of boxes built on Saturday is 6, then he will have 71 - 6 = 65 boxes to be built for the other 6 days. The average for those 6 days would be 65/6 = 10 5/6. We see that on more than one of the days he would have to build 11 boxes, and this would exceed the daily limit of 4 + 6 = 10 boxes. Eliminate Choice C.

D. If the number of boxes built on Saturday is 7, then he will have 71 - 7 = 64 boxes to be built for the other 6 days. The average for those 6 days would be 64/6 = 10 2/3. We see that on more than one of the days he would have to build 11 boxes, but this would be acceptable because 11 boxes does not exceed the daily limit of 4 + 7 = 11 boxes. Choice D is correct.

Alternate Solution:

Let x be the number of boxes built on Saturday. To minimize x, we should maximize the number of boxes built on every other day. According to the question, the number of boxes built in one day cannot exceed the number of boxes built in any other day by more than 4; therefore, let’s assume that x + 4 boxes were built on every day besides Saturday. Then, the number of boxes built in one week is:

(x + 4) + (x + 4) + (x + 4) + (x + 4) + (x + 4) + x + (x + 4)

7x + 24

We want this number to equal 71, so we get the following equation:

7x + 24 = 71

7x = 47

x ≈ 6.7

We see that if x is 6 or less, then the carpenter won’t be able to build 71 boxes in one week. Therefore, the minimum value of x is 7.


Answer: D
User avatar
Regor60
Joined: 21 Nov 2021
Last visit: 19 Apr 2026
Posts: 529
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 462
Posts: 529
Kudos: 420
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Call the least value X and the sum of the differences from X across the other 6 days Y.

So then:

7X+Y = 71

We're told that the maximum difference in any one day over the minimum is 4 and since there are 6 days at or above the minimum:

Y<= 24

So that means:

7X = 71-Y and

7X >= 47 or

X>=7

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
JuvenalUrbino
Joined: 05 Aug 2021
Last visit: 15 May 2025
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 33
Posts: 6
Kudos: 3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I was confused by the phrasing of this question. It says "the number of boxes he builds on any one day should be within 4 off the number he builds on any other day". Shouldn't we interpret this as not including 4? That is, if he made 6 boxes on one day, he can only make max. 9 boxes on any other day? If the question makers had intended that in this example he could have made 10 boxes on any other day, surely they would have written "within and including 4", or am I missing something here?
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,818
Own Kudos:
811,051
 [1]
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: 811,051
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
JuvenalUrbino
I was confused by the phrasing of this question. It says "the number of boxes he builds on any one day should be within 4 off the number he builds on any other day". Shouldn't we interpret this as not including 4? That is, if he made 6 boxes on one day, he can only make max. 9 boxes on any other day? If the question makers had intended that in this example he could have made 10 boxes on any other day, surely they would have written "within and including 4", or am I missing something here?

"Within 4 off" means the difference can be at most 4, including 4 itself. The phrase "within X" generally includes the boundary. For example, "within 10 miles" means up to and including 10 miles. Similarly, here, "within 4 off" means the difference can be up to and including 4. So if one day has 6 boxes, another day can have up to 10 boxes.
User avatar
Dereno
Joined: 22 May 2020
Last visit: 24 Apr 2026
Posts: 1,398
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 425
Products:
Posts: 1,398
Kudos: 1,374
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A carpenter has to build 71 wooden boxes in one week (7 days). He can build as many per day as he wants but he has decided that the number of boxes he builds on any one day should be within 4 off the number he builds on any other day. What is the least number of boxes that he could have build on Saturday?

A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 7
E. 8

Given that we need to build 71 wooden 📦 boxes within 7 days, which on average is 10.xx per day. Sufficiently greater than 10 boxes = approx 11 boxes per day .

Constraint : the difference between the number of boxes made between any two days should be within 4. So maximum difference can be 4.

Asked is LEAST NUMBER OF BOXES THAT CAN BE MADE WITHIN 7 days.

Suppose all days make 11 boxes = 77 > 71. Not possible
6 days make 11 boxes and the rest in the last day = 6*11+5=71 not possible. As the difference between
11 and 6 exceeds 4.

Case 2: all 6 days make 10 boxes = 60 boxes. On the 7th day, make 11 boxes to get 71. But, 11 is not the least number, even though the constraint is fulfilled.

Case 3: 11 boxes 📦 for 5 days , 10 📦 boxes on 1 day and on the last day we make 6 boxes. But, the constraint is not fulfilled.

Case 4: 11 boxes on 4 days, and 10 boxes on 2 days = 64 boxes on 6 days. The last day we make 7 boxes 📦. And the constraint of 4 📦 boxes is also fulfilled. Correct answer

Case 5: 11 boxes for 3 days, and 10 boxes for 3 days, will result in 63 boxes and we need 8 boxes on the last day to fulfill the contract of 71 boxes. But, 8 is not the LEAST number. So not correct .
Moderators:
Math Expert
109818 posts
Tuck School Moderator
853 posts