6.28.2006

GRE question of the day

Jane must select three different items for each dinner she will serve. The items are to be chosen from among 5 different vegetarian and 4 different meat selections. If at least one of the selections must be vegetarian, how many different dinners could Jane create?

a) 30
b) 40
c) 60
d) 70
e) 80

If anyone, ANYONE, can explain this question to me, I would be eternally grateful. I even read the explanation in the back of the book and I still don't get it.

I'm not getting a degree in math for pete's sake!!

posted by Kelly @ 3:59:00 PM 

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Take the MAT! I found it to be far more practical than GRE. Many grad programs will accept the MAT in lieu of GRE.

I studied my butt off for GRE and did average. I familiarized myself with MAT and scored in the 75 percentile the first time I took it. I'm no wiz. The MAT just makes better sense. You can take a few MAT's on line free.

ck

11:06 PM  
Blogger Fairy Tales and Fireflies said...

The answer I got wasn't an option.

9:22 AM  
Blogger BrownEyedGirl said...

I would love to have lunch..unfortunatly I leave today..Thursday..back to NJ. I am back in the area the end of August...maybe then? I would love to meet you. Mhairi says your our kind of people!;)
Funny..on the ride from the airport in Atlanta we passed the THQ and I told my parents...hey, I know people in there now because of blogger! LOL!

9:44 AM  
Blogger BrownEyedGirl said...

I would love to have lunch sometime! Unfortunatly I leave today. ( thurs.)
I am back at the end of August...let me know.I would love to meet you. Mhairi says your our kind of people! :)
Funny thing is when we past THQ on the way from the airport, I told my parents...I know peole in there from blogging! LOL!
BTW- I waved. ;)

9:46 AM  
Blogger Kelly said...

i've already registered and paid ($180) for the GRE. everyone says, 'if you fail, you can take it again.'

anybody got some spare change?

11:45 AM  
Blogger RC said...

actually by my calculations and the wording of the question there should be 280 different meal selections.

If one has to be vegetarian then you must always use one of the 5...then there are 8 dishes left to choose from for your 2nd option (that 9 dishes, but you already chose one of the veg options)...

then you have 7 dishes to choose from for your last choice (one was veg, and one was from the 8 remaining).

5 x 8 x 7 = 280.

are you sure you've written the question down write, or did i misunderstand the perameters.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

2:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This has been driving me crazy, as well. I think the given answer must be a misprint. For each possible required vegetable (5) there should be 2 other courses, composed of combination of groups of 2 out of a set of 8 remaining meal choices. All together, the total number of possible meals should equal:

(5)(8! / (6!2!))

This comes out to 140. Hmmmmmm.

6:16 PM  

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I am on a journey, searching for God and what that means in my daily life. It's not about constraints, it's not about limitations, but freedom. I know something exists beyond the visible. I live thinking about possibilities and what could be and the necessary steps to make things happen. I like long talks with a good friend, drinking tea, eating breakfast with my husband, going to a bookstore (they are the new libraries), cool mornings, windy days in the fall, learning about love and life from those who seem to have found their way, teenagers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, long baths, and connecting with another heart. I am learning how to love, how to live, when to speak and when not to, when it's time to gather the stones, when it's time to let go, surrender, forgiveness, and discipline.

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