sara86
Which of the following cannot be the median of five positive integers a, b, c, d, and e?
(A) a
(B) d + e
(C) b + c + d
(D) (b + c + d) / 3
(E) (a + b + c + d + e) / 5
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Hi,
lets see the choices one by one..
(A) a
if the numbers in ascending order are d,e,a,b,c... a is the median
(B) d + e
if d and e are the two smallest numbers and say c =d+e, rest a and b are the largest two numbers or equal to c..
ascending order will be.. d,e,c,a,b.. or d,e,d+e,a,b.... d+e is the median
(C) b + c + d..
since there are 5 numbers, third number will be the median, so an integer equal to sum of three integers cannot be the median..
b+c+d will be bigger than atleast three positive integers b,c, and d.. so b+c+d cannot be the median
(D) (b + c + d) / 3
alet a be the smallest, e be the largest and b,c,d be same positive int.. (b + c + d) / 3 will be the median
(E) (a + b + c + d + e) / 5
let all numbers be same or the average of numbers be same as the median.. (a + b + c + d + e) / 5 will be the median
ans C