The cost of 5 pendants and 8 chains is ₹ 1,45,785. What would be the cost of 15 pendants and 24 chains?

### Concept & Strategy Similar to other simultaneous expression variants, we look for a linear transformation scalar. If the desired item mix is a direct multiple of the baseline set, we multiply the total cost by that factor. ### Step-by-Step Solution * **Given:** * Let a pendant be $p$ and a chain be $c$. * $5p + 8c = 1,45,785$ * **Calculation:** * We need to determine the cost of $15p + 24c$. * Factor out the shared scale factor from the target equation: $$ 15p + 24c = 3 \times (5p + 8c) $$ * Substitute the known value into the expression: $$ \text{Cost} = 3 \times 1,45,785 $$ $$ \text{Cost} = 4,37,355 $$ ### Exam Strategy & Shortcut * Detect that $5 \times 3 = 15$ and $8 \times 3 = 24$. * The price must be multiplied by exactly 3. * Estimate through unit digit multiplication or rounding: $3 \times 5 = 15 \implies$ ending digit must be 5. * $3 \times 1,45,000 \approx 4,35,000$. This instantly points towards option (b). ### Common Pitfall Do not fall for the distractor trap "Cannot be determined". While you cannot find the individual cost of a single pendant or a single chain, the collective group price is completely determinable. ### Final Answer **Therefore, the correct answer is ₹ 4,37,355.**