Spokesperson: In the 2006 election of the city mayor, 55% of the voters were female. All the voters were between ages 18 and 70 and 2/3 of them supported the incumbent mayor. The incumbent mayor won the election with a substantially greater number of votes than any other candidate.
If the statements made by the Spokesperson are true, then which of the following must be true?
A) At least 1/2 of the female voters supported the incumbent mayor.
B) The incumbent mayor received stronger support from the female voters than from the male voters.
C)There were no other candidates in the election who received more than 30% of all the votes.
D) 45% of the voters in the election were male and none of them were 75 years old.
E) If the proportion of male and female voters in the city remains the same, the incumbent mayor is also likely to win the next election
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Election
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David@GMATPrepNow
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Hi RiyaR,
We're looking for the single answer that MUST be true. The correct answer is D. Let's look at why the other answers can be eliminated.
Answer A is not necessarily true. We are told that 2/3 (66%) of the voters supported the mayor, and 55% of the voters were female, therefore 45% of the supporters of the mayor were male. It is possible that all 45% of the male voters supported the mayor, leaving 21% of female voters who also supported the mayor (33% of voters who did not support the mayor X 55% female voters). This 21% is less than half of the female voters who supported the mayor (21 is less than half of 55).
Answer B is not necessarily true for the same reasons as A (above). It is possible that the mayor received much stronger support from male voters.
Answer C is not true because the passage does not state how many candidates ran in the election - there could have been any number of candidates. The passage just says that the mayor won the election with a "substantially greater number" of votes, but no percentages are mentioned.
Answer D is the one we are after - it MUST be true. The passage states that 55% of the votes were female, so 45% were male. The passage also states that all the voters were 18-70 (i.e. no voter was 75). Therefore 45% of the voters in the election were male, and none of them were 75.
Answer E is not correct. It is completely out of scope of the passage.
We're looking for the single answer that MUST be true. The correct answer is D. Let's look at why the other answers can be eliminated.
Answer A is not necessarily true. We are told that 2/3 (66%) of the voters supported the mayor, and 55% of the voters were female, therefore 45% of the supporters of the mayor were male. It is possible that all 45% of the male voters supported the mayor, leaving 21% of female voters who also supported the mayor (33% of voters who did not support the mayor X 55% female voters). This 21% is less than half of the female voters who supported the mayor (21 is less than half of 55).
Answer B is not necessarily true for the same reasons as A (above). It is possible that the mayor received much stronger support from male voters.
Answer C is not true because the passage does not state how many candidates ran in the election - there could have been any number of candidates. The passage just says that the mayor won the election with a "substantially greater number" of votes, but no percentages are mentioned.
Answer D is the one we are after - it MUST be true. The passage states that 55% of the votes were female, so 45% were male. The passage also states that all the voters were 18-70 (i.e. no voter was 75). Therefore 45% of the voters in the election were male, and none of them were 75.
Answer E is not correct. It is completely out of scope of the passage.
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j_shreyans
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Hi David ,
I am still confused in option D only only no. is given but we also have to find in the answer that some women supported the incumbent mayor that's why incumbent mayor won the election.
Pls correct me if i am wrong
I am still confused in option D only only no. is given but we also have to find in the answer that some women supported the incumbent mayor that's why incumbent mayor won the election.
Pls correct me if i am wrong
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David@GMATPrepNow
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Hi j_shreyans,
For answer D to be true (remember, we're looking for the answer that must be true, meaning that everything in the answer has to be true), two things must be true:
D) 45% of the voters in the election were male and none of them were 75 years old.
One of the things is the percentage of voters who were male, and the other is that none of them were 75 years old.
The passage does not directly tell us what percentage of voters were male, but it does indirectly tell us, because it says that 55% of the voters are male. Since you can only be either female or male, not both or something else, 55% of the voters being female necessitates that 45% are male.
Likewise the passage does not directly tell us that no one was 75 years old, but it does indirectly tell us, because it says that the voters were 18-70. Since you cannot be within the age range of 18-70 AND 75 years old, we know that no one was 75.
I hope this helps.
For answer D to be true (remember, we're looking for the answer that must be true, meaning that everything in the answer has to be true), two things must be true:
D) 45% of the voters in the election were male and none of them were 75 years old.
One of the things is the percentage of voters who were male, and the other is that none of them were 75 years old.
The passage does not directly tell us what percentage of voters were male, but it does indirectly tell us, because it says that 55% of the voters are male. Since you can only be either female or male, not both or something else, 55% of the voters being female necessitates that 45% are male.
Likewise the passage does not directly tell us that no one was 75 years old, but it does indirectly tell us, because it says that the voters were 18-70. Since you cannot be within the age range of 18-70 AND 75 years old, we know that no one was 75.
I hope this helps.
I would have selected answer as D, but I was not sure about the possible gender for voting, I couldn't conclude
with answer as D.
Do we always have to consider only Female or Male in election scenario? because other genders are also part of voter's list in a few countries.
Also, in what type of questions we have to go beyond male and female gender count?
with answer as D.
Do we always have to consider only Female or Male in election scenario? because other genders are also part of voter's list in a few countries.
Also, in what type of questions we have to go beyond male and female gender count?
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MartyMurray
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So far the GMAT includes only two genders in any question, male and female.piyushom wrote:I would have selected answer as D, but I was not sure about the possible gender for voting, I couldn't conclude
with answer as D.
Do we always have to consider only Female or Male in election scenario? because other genders are also part of voter's list in a few countries.
Also, in what type of questions we have to go beyond male and female gender count?
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
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gmatistics
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Hi,
Just for clarification:
As I understand assumption must be true for the conclusion to make sense.
Then, how this OA contributes to the conclusion?
Assumption should be a link between Premises and Conclusion and it must be true for the conclusion to make sense. Am I right?
Just for clarification:
As I understand assumption must be true for the conclusion to make sense.
Then, how this OA contributes to the conclusion?
Assumption should be a link between Premises and Conclusion and it must be true for the conclusion to make sense. Am I right?
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MartyMurray
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You have that right.gmatistics wrote:Hi,
Just for clarification:
As I understand assumption must be true for the conclusion to make sense.
Then, how this OA contributes to the conclusion?
Assumption should be a link between Premises and Conclusion and it must be true for the conclusion to make sense. Am I right?
However this particular question is not about an assumption that fills a gap in the argument. Rather, this question is about a logical inference supported by the prompt.
When doing CR questions, you have to be careful to notice key details, such as what the question is actually asking.
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
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gmatistics
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Thank you.
Marty Murray wrote:You have that right.gmatistics wrote:Hi,
Just for clarification:
As I understand assumption must be true for the conclusion to make sense.
Then, how this OA contributes to the conclusion?
Assumption should be a link between Premises and Conclusion and it must be true for the conclusion to make sense. Am I right?
However this particular question is not about an assumption that fills a gap in the argument. Rather, this question is about a logical inference supported by the prompt.
When doing CR questions, you have to be careful to notice key details, such as what the question is actually asking.
