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Combinatorics

GATE CSE 2014 Set 1 · Q37

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There are 5 bags labeled 1 to 5. All the coins in a given bag have the same weight. Some bags have coins of weight 10 gm, others have coins of weight 11 gm. I pick 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 coins respectively from bags 1 to 5. Their total weight comes out to 323 gm. Then the product of the labels of the bags having 11 gm coins is _____.

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Official answer: 12

Combinatorics

Let the number of coins picked from bags 1,2,3,4,51, 2, 3, 4, 5 be c1=1,c2=2,c3=4,c4=8,c5=16c_1 = 1, c_2 = 2, c_3 = 4, c_4 = 8, c_5 = 16 respectively.

The total number of coins picked is:

1+2+4+8+16=311 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 = 31

If all coins had weighed 10 gm10\text{ gm}, the total weight would be:

31×10=310 gm31 \times 10 = 310\text{ gm}

The actual measured weight is 323 gm323\text{ gm}, so the excess weight is:

323−310=13 gm323 - 310 = 13\text{ gm}

Since each coin of weight 11 gm11\text{ gm} contributes (11−10)=1 gm(11 - 10) = 1\text{ gm} to the excess weight, the sum of coins taken from the bags containing 11 gm11\text{ gm} coins must equal 1313.

Expressing 1313 as a sum of powers of 22 (its binary representation 13=1101213 = 1101_2):

13=8+4+1=c4+c3+c113 = 8 + 4 + 1 = c_4 + c_3 + c_1

Thus, the bags containing 11 gm11\text{ gm} coins are Bag 1, Bag 3, and Bag 4.

The product of the labels of these bags is:

Product=1×3×4=12\text{Product} = 1 \times 3 \times 4 = 12

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This Combinatorics previous year question is Q37 of the GATE CSE 2014 Set 1 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Combinatorics in Engineering Mathematics, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.

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Combinatorics in GATE CSE

Combinatorics has 19 GATE CSE PYQs across 15 papers from 2012 to 2025. 7 of them are 2-mark NAT questions like this one, and GATE CSE 2014 Set 1 has 2.

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GateAI solution cardGATE CSE 2014 Set 1 · Q37 · NAT

There are 5 bags labeled 1 to 5. All the coins in a given bag have the same weight. Some bags have coins of weight 10 gm, others have coins of weight 11 gm. I pick 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 coins respectively from bags 1 to 5. Their total weight comes out to 323 gm. Then the product of the labels of the bags having 11 gm coins is …

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Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.