Which of the following represents the greatest value? a)3/1

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alanforde800Maximus: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 187; Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:46 am

Which of the following represents the greatest value? a)3/1

by alanforde800Maximus » Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:44 am

Which of the following represents the greatest value?

a)3/11
b)1/4
c)8/33
d)7/25
e)2/15

Looking for quicker method to solve such problems.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:44 am

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by [email protected] » Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:14 pm

Hi alanforde800Maximus,

These types of questions are usually more about a 'comparison' of numbers than a long-winded series of difficult calculations. However, you should expect to see fractions in the 1/2 to 1/11 'range' on Test Day - so knowing the decimal equivalents of 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5....1/11 will save you some time on the Exam.

In this prompt, 3 of the fractions are relatively easy to calculate. The other two can be compared to 'nicer' fractions that are relatively close on the number line (for example, 8/33 is really close to 8/32. Is it bigger or smaller though? How do you know?)

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Rich

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Re: Which of the following represents the greatest value? a)3/1

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:11 am

alanforde800Maximus wrote: ↑
Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:44 am
Which of the following represents the greatest value?

a)3/11
b)1/4
c)8/33
d)7/25
e)2/15

Looking for quicker method to solve such problems.

Since 3/11 = 9/33, we see that choice C is not the correct answer. Since 7/25 = 21/75 and 2/15 = 10/75, we see that choice E is not the correct answer. Since 3/11 = 12/44 and 1/4 = 11/44, we see that choice B is not the correct answer. So we are left with 3/11 and 7/25, which we can turn into decimals for comparison:

Since 1/11 = 0.090909…, 3/11 = 0.272727…

Since 1/25 = 0.04, 7/25 = 0.28

We see that 7/25 has the largest value.

Answer: D

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