LR - Mathematical Reasoning - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions
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I have a total of Rs. 1,000. Item A costs Rs. 110, item B costs Rs. 90, item C costs Rs. 70, item D costs Rs. 40 and item E costs Rs. 45. For every item D that I purchase, I must also buy two of item B. For every item A, I must buy one of item C. For every item E, I must also buy two of item D and one of item B. For every item purchased I earn 1000 points and for every rupee not spent I earn a penalty of 1500 points. My objective is to maximise to points I earn. What is the number of items that I must purchase to maximise my points?
- (a)
13
- (b)
14
- (c)
15
- (d)
16
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
To maximise the points, I should spent the entire amount and should get as many items as possible.
∴ I can maximize my points by purchasing 13C’s and 1B as there is no condition on the purchase of C and B.
∴ Total cost = 13 × 70 + 90 = 910 + 90 =1000
∵ The entire amount has been spent, there is no penalty.
∴ Number of points earned = 14 × 1000 = 14000
Hence, option (b).
Workspace:
Four friends Ashok, Bashir, Chirag and Deepak are out shopping. Ashok has less money than three times the amount that Bashir has. Chirag has more money than Bashir. Deepak has an amount equal to the difference of amounts with Bashir and Chirag. Ashok has three times the money with Deepak. They each have to buy at least one shirt, or one shawl, or one sweater, or one jacket that are priced Rs. 200, Rs. 400, Rs. 600, and Rs. 1,000 a piece, respectively. Chirag borrows Rs. 300 from Ashok and buys a jacket. Bashir buys a sweater after borrowing Rs. 100 from Ashok and is left with no money. Ashok buys three shirts. What is the costliest item the Deepak could buy with his own money?
- (a)
A shirt
- (b)
A shawl
- (c)
A sweater
- (d)
A jacket
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
Let Ashok, Bashir, Chirag and Deepak have amounts Rs. A, Rs. B, Rs. C and Rs. D respectively. From the data given in the question, we have following equations.
A < 3B ... (i)
C > B ... (ii)
D = C − B ... (iii)
A = 3D ... (iv)
Chirag borrows Rs. 300 from Ashok and buys a jacket worth Rs. 1000.
∴ C ≥ 700 ... (v)
Bashir buys a sweater after borrowing Rs. 100 from Ashok and left with no money.
∴ B = 500 ... (vi)
Ashok buys 3 shirts (costing Rs. 600 in total) with Rs. A − 300 − 100
∴ A ≥ 1000
From (i) and (vi), we get,
A < 1500
∴ 1000 ≤ A < 1500 ... (vii)
From equation (iv) and (vii), we get,
333 < D < 500
∴ Deepak could buy a shawl worth Rs. 400.
Hence, option (b).
Workspace:
My bag can carry no more than ten books. I must carry at least one book each of management, mathematics, physics and fiction. Also, for every management book I carry I must carry two or more fiction books, and for every mathematics book I carry I must carry two or more physics books. I earn 4, 3, 2 and 1 points for each management, mathematics, physics and fiction book, respectively, I carry in my bag. I want to maximise the points I can earn by carrying the most appropriate combination of books in my bag. The maximum points that I can earn are
- (a)
20
- (b)
21
- (c)
22
- (d)
23
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
Points earned by carrying 1 management and 2 fiction books = 4 + 1 + 1 = 6
Points earned by carrying 1 mathematics and 2 physics books = 3 + 2 + 2 = 7
Taking these two combinations together, I am earning a total of 13 points and carrying at least one book of each category making a total of 6 books.
To maximise points, I should carry four more books which will include 1mathematics and 3 physics book.
∴ Total points earned = 13 + 3 + (2 × 3) = 22
Hence, option (c).
Workspace:
Eighty kilograms (kg) of store material is to be transported to a location 10 km away. Any number of couriers can be used to transport the material can be packed in any number of units of 10, 20 or 40 kg. Courier charges are Rs. 10 per hour. Couriers travel at the speed of 10 km/hr if they are not carrying any load, at 5 km/hr if carrying 10 kg, at 2 km/hr if carrying 20 kg and at 1 km/hr if carrying 40 kg. A courier cannot carry more than 40 kg of load. The minimum cost at which 80 kg of store material can be transported will be
- (a)
Rs. 180
- (b)
Rs. 160
- (c)
Rs. 140
- (d)
Rs. 120
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
The table below shows the cost for various combinations.
∴ The minimum cost is Rs. 160 when 8 packets of 10 kg each are couriered.
Hence, option (b).
Workspace:
Use the following information:
Swetha, Swarna, Sneha and Soumya are four sisters who have an agreement that they share all snacks equally among themselves. One day, uncle Prem gave a box of cookies to Swetha. Since the other sisters were not around, Swetha divided the cookies into four parts, ate her share and put the rest into the box. As she was closing the box, Swarna came in, She took all the cookies from the box and divided them into four equal parts. Swetha and Swarna ate one part each and put the rest into the box. Just then Sneha walked in. She took all the cookies from the box, divided them into four equal parts. The three of them ate their respective shares and put the rest into the box. Later, when Soumya came, she divided all the cookies into four equal parts and all the four sisters ate their respective shares. In total, Soumya ate 3 cookies.
How many cookies, in total, did Sneha eat?
- (a)
30
- (b)
12
- (c)
15
- (d)
6
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
Since Soumya was the last one to eat the cookies and she ate 3 cookies, the total number of cookies left when she entered the room = (3 × 4) = 12. This should be Soumya’s share that was left in the box uneaten. Hence, just before Soumya entered, Swetha, Sneha and Swarna would have eaten their share of 12 cookies each. Total number of cookies left when Sneha entered = (12 × 4) = 48. This in turn should have been the combined share of Sneha and Soumya (24 × 2) that was left in the box uneaten. So just before Sneha entered, Swetha and Swarna should have eaten 24 cookies each. In other, words number of cookies left, just before Swarna entered = (24 × 4) = 96. Now this should have been the combined share of Swarna, Sneha and Soumya (3 × 32) that was kept in the box by Swetha . So just before Swarna entered, Swetha must have eaten her share of 32 cookies. Hence, total number of cookies given by Prem uncle = (32 × 4) = 128.
The situation is also shown in the following table:
Sneha ate 15 cookies, in total.
Workspace:
Use the following information:
Swetha, Swarna, Sneha and Soumya are four sisters who have an agreement that they share all snacks equally among themselves. One day, uncle Prem gave a box of cookies to Swetha. Since the other sisters were not around, Swetha divided the cookies into four parts, ate her share and put the rest into the box. As she was closing the box, Swarna came in, She took all the cookies from the box and divided them into four equal parts. Swetha and Swarna ate one part each and put the rest into the box. Just then Sneha walked in. She took all the cookies from the box, divided them into four equal parts. The three of them ate their respective shares and put the rest into the box. Later, when Soumya came, she divided all the cookies into four equal parts and all the four sisters ate their respective shares. In total, Soumya ate 3 cookies.
How many cookies did uncle Prem give to Swetha?
- (a)
128
- (b)
156
- (c)
256
- (d)
192
Answer: Option A
Text Explanation :
Since Soumya was the last one to eat the cookies and she ate 3 cookies, the total number of cookies left when she entered the room = (3 × 4) = 12. This should be Soumya’s share that was left in the box uneaten. Hence, just before Soumya entered, Swetha, Sneha and Swarna would have eaten their share of 12 cookies each. Total number of cookies left when Sneha entered = (12 × 4) = 48. This in turn should have been the combined share of Sneha and Soumya (24 × 2) that was left in the box uneaten. So just before Sneha entered, Swetha and Swarna should have eaten 24 cookies each. In other, words number of cookies left, just before Swarna entered = (24 × 4) = 96. Now this should have been the combined share of Swarna, Sneha and Soumya (3 × 32) that was kept in the box by Swetha . So just before Swarna entered, Swetha must have eaten her share of 32 cookies. Hence, total number of cookies given by Prem uncle = (32 × 4) = 128.
The situation is also shown in the following table:
Prem uncle gave 128 cookies to Swetha.
Workspace:
Use the following information:
Swetha, Swarna, Sneha and Soumya are four sisters who have an agreement that they share all snacks equally among themselves. One day, uncle Prem gave a box of cookies to Swetha. Since the other sisters were not around, Swetha divided the cookies into four parts, ate her share and put the rest into the box. As she was closing the box, Swarna came in, She took all the cookies from the box and divided them into four equal parts. Swetha and Swarna ate one part each and put the rest into the box. Just then Sneha walked in. She took all the cookies from the box, divided them into four equal parts. The three of them ate their respective shares and put the rest into the box. Later, when Soumya came, she divided all the cookies into four equal parts and all the four sisters ate their respective shares. In total, Soumya ate 3 cookies.
How many cookies, in total, did Swetha eat?
- (a)
32
- (b)
142
- (c)
72
- (d)
71
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
Since Soumya was the last one to eat the cookies and she ate 3 cookies, the total number of cookies left when she entered the room = (3 × 4) = 12. This should be Soumya’s share that was left in the box uneaten. Hence, just before Soumya entered, Swetha, Sneha and Swarna would have eaten their share of 12 cookies each. Total number of cookies left when Sneha entered = (12 × 4) = 48. This in turn should have been the combined share of Sneha and Soumya (24 × 2) that was left in the box uneaten. So just before Sneha entered, Swetha and Swarna should have eaten 24 cookies each. In other, words number of cookies left, just before Swarna entered = (24 × 4) = 96. Now this should have been the combined share of Swarna, Sneha and Soumya (3 × 32) that was kept in the box by Swetha . So just before Swarna entered, Swetha must have eaten her share of 32 cookies. Hence, total number of cookies given by Prem uncle = (32 × 4) = 128.
The situation is also shown in the following table:
Swetha ate 71 cookies, in total.
Workspace:
Use the following information:
Swetha, Swarna, Sneha and Soumya are four sisters who have an agreement that they share all snacks equally among themselves. One day, uncle Prem gave a box of cookies to Swetha. Since the other sisters were not around, Swetha divided the cookies into four parts, ate her share and put the rest into the box. As she was closing the box, Swarna came in, She took all the cookies from the box and divided them into four equal parts. Swetha and Swarna ate one part each and put the rest into the box. Just then Sneha walked in. She took all the cookies from the box, divided them into four equal parts. The three of them ate their respective shares and put the rest into the box. Later, when Soumya came, she divided all the cookies into four equal parts and all the four sisters ate their respective shares. In total, Soumya ate 3 cookies.
How many cookies, in total, did Swarna eat?
- (a)
9
- (b)
30
- (c)
39
- (d)
78
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
Since Soumya was the last one to eat the cookies and she ate 3 cookies, the total number of cookies left when she entered the room = (3 × 4) = 12. This should be Soumya’s share that was left in the box uneaten. Hence, just before Soumya entered, Swetha, Sneha and Swarna would have eaten their share of 12 cookies each. Total number of cookies left when Sneha entered = (12 × 4) = 48. This in turn should have been the combined share of Sneha and Soumya (24 × 2) that was left in the box uneaten. So just before Sneha entered, Swetha and Swarna should have eaten 24 cookies each. In other, words number of cookies left, just before Swarna entered = (24 × 4) = 96. Now this should have been the combined share of Swarna, Sneha and Soumya (3 × 32) that was kept in the box by Swetha . So just before Swarna entered, Swetha must have eaten her share of 32 cookies. Hence, total number of cookies given by Prem uncle = (32 × 4) = 128.
The situation is also shown in the following table:
Swarna ate 39 cookies, in total.
Workspace:
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