How many states had the contestant visited?

• A. 60
• B. 45
• C. 30
• D. 50

Answer: (B)

The key idea is counting distinct states, not total trips. To determine how many states the contestant had visited, you would go through their travel log or map and list each state they set foot in, but only count each state once. That way duplicates from visiting the same state multiple times don’t inflate the total.

If the log shows 45 unique state names, that means the contestant has visited 45 different states. The remaining context often implies there are more states in the set you’re considering (for example, if you’re focusing on the 50 U.S. states, 5 would be unvisited). The other numbers would only fit if the data supported more or fewer distinct states—60 would require more than the total possible states, 30 would mean half or fewer of the states, and 50 would mean every state was visited. The important practice is to rely on unique-state counting to get to the correct total.