Carcass wrote:
If 1/2 of the air in a tank is removed with each stroke of a vacuum pump, what fraction of the original amount of air has been removed after 4 strokes ?
A. 15/16
B. 7/8
C. 1/4
D. 1/8
E. 1/16
Strategy: Since the question is asking us to find a certain fraction (and not the actual volume of air that has been removed), let's assign a nice, easy-to-work-with value for the original volume of air in the tank. Since we keep halving the volume of air, let's say there are 64 liters of are in the tank at the beginning, and will keep track of the volume after each stroke.
Initial volume:
64 liters
Volume of air remaining after 1 stroke: 32 liters
Volume of air remaining after 2 strokes: 16 liters
Volume of air remaining after 3 strokes: 8 liters
Volume of air remaining after 4 strokes:
4 liters
If
4 liters of air remain in the tank, then the volume of air that was removed =
64 -
4 =
60 liters
So, the fraction of the original amount of air has been removed after 4 strokes =
60/
64 = 30/32 = 15/16
Answer: A