A room is 480 centimeters wide and 520 centimeters long. If n identica

Question

A room is 480 centimeters wide and 520 centimeters long. If n identical square tiles are arranged in a grid pattern so as to cover the entire floor of the room, what is the value of n?

(1) A whole number of tiles fit exactly along the length and width of the room, and no tiles had to be cut in order to cover the entire floor.
(2) 12 tiles placed adjacent to one another span the width of the room

Kudos for a correct  solution .

GMATinsight · Answer

Hint: We need the size of one Square tile to find the number of tiles needed to cover the entire floor. Also we need to know whether any tile needs to be broken or not to cover the entire floor

Statement 1: A whole number of tiles fit exactly along the length and width of the room, and no tiles had to be cut in order to cover the entire floor.

But the size of tile can be 1 cm each side or 2 cm each side or any common factor of 480 and 520

Tiles of different sizes are possible hence different number of tiles will be obtained

Hence,   NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: 12 tiles placed adjacent to one another span the width of the room

i.e. Width 480 cm is covered by 12 tiles i.e. Each dimension of each tile = 480/12 = 40

i.e. Total No. of tiles = (480 x 520) / (40 x 40) = 12 x 13 = 156

Hence,   SUFFICIENT

Answer: Option  B

tjerkrintjema · Answer

I would say answer B, as statement 1 does not reveal anything about the dimensions of the tiles, the tiles could be 1^2 cm (1 by 1 cm) or 4^2cm (2 by 2 cm) and both would be able to fit in the room, since the width and height are multiples of two and 1 obviously.
Statement 2 says 12  square  tiles adjacent to each other cover the width of the room. As it so happens 12 is a factor of 480 and 480 / 12 = 40cm wide tiles. Since there is no restriction on the n number being an integer or something, this would be sufficient!

peachfuzz · Answer

How many square tiles?

(1) A whole number of tiles fit exactly along the length and width of the room, and no tiles had to be cut in order to cover the entire floor.
480 and 520 are divisible by many numbers
insufficient

(2) 12 tiles placed adjacent to one another span the width of the room
480/12= 40cm^2 tiles
we can use proportions to find the total number
Sufficient

Answer: B

bluesquare · Answer

1: The size of each square tile can be 1 or 2 or anything that is a common divisor of 480 and 520. Not sufficient.
2: This means the size of each square tile is 40 centimeters. Therefore, there will be 13 tiles length wise, which is enough to calculate the number of tiles. Sufficient.
Answer is B.

Bunuel · Answer

MANHATTAN GMAT OFFICIAL SOLUTION: (1) INSUFFICIENT: There are several square tile sizes that can be placed as described. Consider these example values for S, the length of a side of the square tile: 2015-06-15_1624.png (2) SUFFICIENT: The width of the room is 480 centimeters, so the side of the square tile must be 480/12 = 40 centimeters. Therefore, n = xy = (12)(13) = 156. The correct answer is B.

SavageBrother · Answer

A room is 480cm by 520cm

480x520 = 249600

n  square, identical tiles, what is the value of  n ?

1) 40x40 would work
4x4 would work

I.

2) 12 tiles in 480cm, is 40cm a tile. Tile is square, 40x40.

S.

B.

GMATinsight · Answer

One common mistake which many people make is they find the area like calculated here 480x520 = 249600 Here I wish to suggest reader that it is not a good practice because it may lead to wrong answer in a smart question. Here are the examples If the dimensions of floor are 16 ft. and 23 ft. then Area = 16x23 = 368 This area 368 sq.ft. is divisible by 4x4 i.e. a Square tile with Area 16 but square tiles of dimensions 4x4 can't cover such a floor without breaking and using the parts of tiles thereafter. So to judge whether the Dimensions of square tiles are acceptable we must make sure that each dimension of the floor must be divisible by each dimension of the square tile and result in an integer number which will communicate the number of tiles needed on that dimension i.e. Number of tiles of Dimensions 4x4 needed to cover a floor of area of 360 X 480 should IDEALLY be calculated like this On the Dimension 360, the Number of Tiled needed = 360/4 = 90 On the Dimension 480, the Number of Tiled needed = 480/4 = 120 i.e. Total Such tiles = 120*90 = 10800 I hope it makes sense to other reader and they don't make any mistake of this type in a smart question

SavageBrother · Answer

Thanks for the reply. I didn't really use the 480x520=249600 calculation in answering the question, but I always do these kind of calculations in case I need them anyways.

But, thanks again, because it indeed is a very important detail.

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A room is 480 centimeters wide and 520 centimeters long. If n identica

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