Here’s and example of a SMART MATH problem for ARITHMETIC.
Problem
In one of the following sets of fractions, the values increase progressively. Which is the one?
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
The Usual Method
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Equate the denominators using the LCM of the denominators as follows:
LCM of 7, 11, 15, 17, and 9 = 7 x 11 x 9 x 5 x 17 = 58905
Hence, can be written as
=
can be written as
=
can be written as
=
can be written as
=
can be written as
=
As can be seen,
<
<
<
<
Hence, <
<
<
<
Since, option ‘1’ gives this arrangement, it is the correct answer.
(Ans: 1)
Estimated Time to arrive at the answer = 200 seconds.
Using Technique
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We already know the value of the reciprocals of 7, 11, 15, 17 and 9 as:
= 0.1482…
= 0.09090…
= 0.0666…
= 0.0588…
= 0.1111…
From above it is clear that,
<
<
<
<
(Ans: 1)
Estimated Time to arrive at the answer = 60 seconds.
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