IMAT 2015 Q13 [Number Plates]

Past Papers Solutions Archives
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Looking in his rear-­view mirror, Graham sensed that there was something wrong with the number plate of the car behind him. When the car overtook him and he saw its rear plate he realised that the front plate had been upside down.

image

What had Graham seen in his rear­-view mirror?

image

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Simple steps to solve word problems:

  • Underline key information
  • Determine what they are trying to ask, and what you will need to solve it
    • Eliminate any non-essential information
  • Draw a picture, graph, or equation
    • In moments of high stress like exam taking, always work with the paper they give you to avoid careless mistakes.
  • Solve.

This can be solved easily by flipping the page upside down. Or…

What is important to look for?

The relationship between the orientation of the non-symmetrical letters and numbers. Look at the directions of ‘S, 3, N, C’.

The opening of the ‘C’ should be facing towards the ‘N’. This will eliminate A, B, E.

The smaller opening on the ‘S’ should be facing the ‘ 3 ’. This eliminates A, C, E.

The opening of the ‘ 3 ’ should be facing towards ‘S’. This eliminates A and C.

After just these steps we already have solved the question as D is the only option left. (And we could have only used 2/3 of these steps).

\fcolorbox{red}{grey!30}{Therefore D is the correct answer.}
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in addition to the plate being upside down, shouldn’t the image he saw in his mirror also be reversed?