q: A certain league has three divisions. The respective divisions had 10, 12 and 15 teams qualify for the playoffs. Each division held its own double-elimination tournament -- where a team is eliminated from the tournament upon losing two games -- in order to determine its champion. The four division champions then played in a single-elimination tournament -- where a team is eliminated upon losing one game -- in order to determine the overall league champion. Assuming that there were no ties and no forfeits, what is the maximum number of games that could have been played in order to determine the overall league champion?
Options:
(A)  70
(B)  72
(C)  73
(D)  78
(E)  80
a: Stream of consciousness: Overall, there can be 73 minuses. Tus, it is The answer is (C).


question: A and B can do a work in 10 days and 15 days respectively. A starts the work and B joins him after 3 days. In how many days can they complete the remaining work?
Options:
(A) 6 days
(B) 2 days
(C) 8 days
(D) 4 1/5 days
(E) 9 days
answer: Stream of consciousness: Work done by A in 3 days = 3/10
Remaining work = 7/10
Work done by both A and B in one day = 1/10 + 1/15 = 5/30 = 1/6
Remaining work = 7/10 * 6/1 = 21/5 = 4 1/5 days. The answer is (D).


q: Which one of the following is not a prime number?
Options:
(A) 31
(B) 61
(C) 71
(D) 91
(E) 101
a: Stream of consciousness: 91 is divisible by 7. So, it is not a prime number. The answer is (D).


question: A can do a piece of work in 4 hours; B and C together can do it in 3 hours, which A and C together can do it in 2 hours. How long will B alone take to do it?
Options:
(A) 1/19
(B) 1/11
(C) 1/12
(D) 1/17
(E) 1/14
answer: Stream of consciousness: A's 1 hour work = 1/4;
(B + C)'s 1 hour work = 1/3;
(A + C)'s 1 hour work = 1/2
(A + B + C)'s 1 hour work = (1/4 + 1/3) = 7/12
B's 1 hour work = (7/12 + 1/2) = 1/12
B alone will take 12 hours to do the work. The answer is (C).


q: Which of the options is a two-digit number, which has a unit's digit that exceeds its ten's digit by 4 and the product of the given number and the sum of its digits is equal to 208.
Options:
(A) 15
(B) 37
(C) 55
(D) 26
(E) 73
a: Stream of consciousness: Using the elimination method the option that fits this description is 26
6-2 = 4 (unit's digit that exceeds its ten's digit by 3)
26*8 = 208 (the product of the given number and the sum of its digits is equal to 175) The answer is (D).


q: 252 can be expressed as a product of primes as:
Options:
(A) 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 7
(B) 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 8
(C) 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 6
(D) 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 1
(E) 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 2
a:

Show your work and conclude with the exact phrasing "Therefore, the final answer is [answer]." where [answer] is just the final number or expression that solves the problem.
user
Stream of consciousness: Clearly, 252 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 7. The answer is (A).