Shown below is an image of multiple footwear items. How many complete pairs are there? 
The image shows a scattered pile of footwear: several pairs of flip-flops in different colors and patterns, a couple of buckled sandals, two sneakers, and a few clogs. To count complete pairs, it helps to sort the items by category first, since a "pair" only forms between two items of the same type, color, and pattern, one meant for the left foot and one for the right.
Group the items by pattern first: match striped flip-flops of the same color combination, polka dot flip-flops of the same color combination, and plain flip-flops of the same solid color.
Do the same for the buckled sandals, matching them by color and buckle style, and for the sneakers, matching them by their exact shoe design.
Set aside any single item that has no matching partner in color, pattern, and type; these are unpaired singles rather than pairs.
Going through every group this way and counting only the groups where both a left and a right item are present, the complete groups add up to 11 pairs.
So there are 11 complete pairs of footwear in the image.








