A tricky PS

Expert replies

itzmyzone911: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:27 pm

by itzmyzone911 » Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:05 am

A merchandise feedback online portal accords 'ratings' to a product by recording the percentage of customers who have reported their views as either 'satisfied' or 'unsatisfied' only. The portal rounds off the exact percentage value calculated to the closest integral value. Given the fact that the exact percentage of people reported as 'unsatisfied' is closest to 57%, what is the LEAST possible number of people that could have reported their views as 'satisfied' ?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 12
4. 43
5. 57

[spoiler]OA:B[/spoiler]

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:05 am

Matt@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2630; Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pmFollowed by: 119 members; Location: East Bay all the way; Thanked: 625 times; GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:19 am

We know that 56.5% â‰¤ Unsatisfied% < 57.5%. From here, let's look at a few familiar fractions that are close to this range:

5/9 = .555... nope!
4/7 = .571428... success!
3/5 = .6 nope!
2/3 = .6666... nope!

So the smallest possibility is 4/7. This gives us 4 unsatisfied people and 7 total, so the number of satisfied people is 7 - 4, or 3.

Save $100 on any VP online course!

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:48 am

Hi itzmyzone911,

This prompt is rather wordy, but it's really just asking us to estimate the value of the fraction. The quirky part is that it does not give us the fraction to work with - it tells us what the fraction should be rounded to.

Since the answer choices are numbers, we have a great opportunity to TEST THE ANSWERS. Instead of randomly pulling numbers off the top of your head, you can use the answers to your advantage. Here's how:

We're told that the percentage of Unsatisfied customers is close to 57%, so the percentage of Satisfied customers is close to 43%. We're asked for the LEAST possible number of people who could be Satisfied AND fit this percentage data.

Let's start with Answer A: 2 people

2 Satisfied and 2 Unsatisfied = 2/4 = 50%
2 Satisfied and 3 Unsatisfied = 2/5 = 40%
Neither of these percents would round off to 43%, so Answer A is not correct.

Answer B: 3 people

3 Satisfied and 3 Unsatisfied = 3/6 = 50%
3 Satisfied and 4 Unsatisfied = 3/7 = over 42.6%
This has to be the answer. The percent rounds to 43%.

Since the question asked for the LEAST number of people, there's no need to check the other answers.

Final Answer: B

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review