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“Chelsea – it’s time for a Kindle” Challenge Question

By on January 28, 2013 in Challenge Questions, Combinations and Permutations, Math Concepts

Try the question below. It is not as tough as some of the challenge questions on this blog. That said, see if you can solve in less than 1 minute. Good luck! :)

Chelsea has a bookshelf consisting of ten classics: four Russian novels, three British novels, two French novels, and a German novel. If she wants to make sure that the novels are always grouped according to country, how many ways can she arrange the novels?

(A)  24

(B)  24^2

(C)  288

(D) (24)(288)

(E)  144^2

The answer/explanation is in the comments below

About the Author

Chris Lele has been helping students excel on the GRE, GMAT, and SAT for the last 10 years. He is the Lead Content Developer and Tutor for Magoosh. His favorite food is wasabi-flavored almonds. Follow him on Google+!

6 Responses to “Chelsea – it’s time for a Kindle” Challenge Question

  1. Bhavika Jain January 28, 2013 at 10:03 am #

    The answer is D.

    Reply
    • jones January 28, 2013 at 11:26 am #

      nope, it will be C
      4!.3!.2!.1!=288

      Reply
      • jones January 28, 2013 at 11:28 am #

        sorry u r right….D

        Reply
        • Rasha January 28, 2013 at 1:15 pm #

          The answer is A. 24

          Reply
          • Rasha January 28, 2013 at 1:18 pm #

            although it is 10 books , but Chelsea wants to regroup them into four groups

            Reply
    • Chris January 28, 2013 at 2:20 pm #

      Yep, that’s it – the answer is (D). :) .

      Congrats to those who got it.

      Remember, once we’ve figured out how many ways the books can be arranged within groups (24 x 6 x 2) = 288, we have to factor in how many ways the groups can be arranged: 4!. Therefore, we get 24×288, or (D).

      Reply


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