hutch27 wrote:If p1 and p2 are the populations and r1 and r2 are the numbers of representatives of district 1 and district 2, respectively, the ratio of the population to the number of representatives is greater for which of the two districts?
1) p1 > p2
2) r2>r1
Oa is c
Target question:
The ratio of the population to the number of representatives is greater for which of the two districts?
This is a great candidate for rephrasing the target question.
Rephrased target question:
Which is greater: p1/r1 or p2/r2 ?
Statement 1: p1 > p2
There are several sets of numbers that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: p1 = 3, r1 = 1, p2 = 2, r2 = 1, in which case
p1/r1 > p2/r2
Case b: p1 = 3, r1 = 3, p2 = 2, r2 = 1, in which case
p1/r1 < p2/r2
Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: r2 > r1
There are several sets of numbers that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: p1 = 12, r1 = 2, p2 = 3, r2 = 3, in which case
p1/r1 > p2/r2
Case b: p1 = 2, r1 = 2, p2 = 12, r2 = 3, in which case
p1/r1 < p2/r2
Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined:
Let's use
big font to show that one value is bigger than
another value.
So, from statement 1, we get
p1 and
p2
From statement 2, we get
r2 and
r1
Now which is bigger,
p1/
r1 or
p2/
r2?
We can see now that
p1/r1 is definitely greater than p2/r2
Since we
can answer the
target question with certainty, the combined statements are SUFFICIENT
Answer =
C
Cheers,
Brent
