CAT 2003 Slot 1QA Question 46

Geometric ProgressionEasy
Passage / Data

Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions

Choose 1 if the question can be answered by using one of the statements alone but not by using the other statement alone.
Choose 2 if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone.
Choose 3 if the question can be answered by using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
Choose 4 if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements.

In a certain examination paper, there are n questions. For j = 1, 2, ..., n, there are 2(n − j) students who answered j or more questions wrongly. If the total number of wrong answers is 4095, then the value of n is

Answer & solution

  • 12

  • B

    11

  • C

    10

  • D

    9

Solution

For j = n, 2(n - n) = 1 student has answered wrongly

j = n - 1, 2[n - (n - 1)] = 2 students have answered wrongly

.

.

j = 1, 2(n - 1) students have answered wrongly

∴ 1 + 2 + ... + 2(n – 1) = 4095

The series is in G.P. with common ratio r = 2

∴ 1 × (2n − 1)/(2 − 1) = 4095

∴ 2n − 1 = 4095

∴ 2n = 4096

∴ n = 12

Hence, option (a).

CAT 2003 Slot 1 QA Q46: In a certain examination paper, there are n questions. For j = 1, 2, ..., n, there are 2 (n − j) student — Solution | TheCATExam