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Question

Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997, and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare. However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997?

A) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because the airfare to their destination was lower than the cost of other available means of transportation.
B) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because other means of transportation to their destinations were unavailable.
C) Per mile traveled, those who traveled by airplane tended to spend more on transportation to their destination than did those who used other means of transportation.
D) Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.
E) Those who traveled by airplane spent about as much, on average, on other means of transportation as they did on airfare
Any expert why d is correct answer ,although i agree rest all answers can be eliminated but d is not at all best.for ex-even if people travel by other means ,what guarantees they travel by cheap transportation may be most who drop the idea by plane travel by five star cruise,this will inflate the average.I find this inference very subjective and below standard.Kindly help

DavidG@VeritasPrep · Answer

sagarock wrote:Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997, and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare. However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997?

A) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because the airfare to their destination was lower than the cost of other available means of transportation.
B) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because other means of transportation to their destinations were unavailable.
C) Per mile traveled, those who traveled by airplane tended to spend more on transportation to their destination than did those who used other means of transportation.
D) Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.
E) Those who traveled by airplane spent about as much, on average, on other means of transportation as they did on airfare
Any expert why d is correct answer ,although i agree rest all answers can be eliminated but d is not at all best.for ex-even if people travel by other means ,what guarantees they travel by cheap transportation may be most who drop the idea by plane travel by five star cruise,this will inflate the average.I find this inference very subjective and below standard.Kindly help

The large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.
Let the number traveling by other means = 50 and the number traveling by plane = 10.

About half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare.
Let the total amount spent on transportation = $100.
Since the 50 people traveling by other means spent in total a bit more than $50, the average cost per person traveling by other means = (a bit more 50 dollars)/(50 people) = a bit more than $1 per person.
Since the 10 people traveling by plane spent in total about $50, the average cost per person traveling by plane = (about 50 dollars)/(10 people) = about $5 per person.

The results above support answer choice D:
Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.

The correct answer is D.

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GMATGuruNY · Answer

sagarock wrote:Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997, and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare. However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997?

A) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because the airfare to their destination was lower than the cost of other available means of transportation.
B) Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because other means of transportation to their destinations were unavailable.
C) Per mile traveled, those who traveled by airplane tended to spend more on transportation to their destination than did those who used other means of transportation.
D) Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.
E) Those who traveled by airplane spent about as much, on average, on other means of transportation as they did on airfare
Any expert why d is correct answer ,although i agree rest all answers can be eliminated but d is not at all best.for ex-even if people travel by other means ,what guarantees they travel by cheap transportation may be most who drop the idea by plane travel by five star cruise,this will inflate the average.I find this inference very subjective and below standard.Kindly help

The large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.
Let the number traveling by other means = 50 and the number traveling by plane = 10.

About half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare.
Let the total amount spent on transportation = $100.
Since the 50 people traveling by other means spent in total a bit more than $50, the average cost per person traveling by other means = (a bit more 50 dollars)/(50 people) = a bit more than $1 per person.
Since the 10 people traveling by plane spent in total about $50, the average cost per person traveling by plane = (about 50 dollars)/(10 people) = about $5 per person.

The results above support answer choice D:
Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.

The correct answer is D.

Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
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sagarock · Answer

David sir and Mitch sir, but i have a silly doubt.say for example out of total 100 50 travelled by airplane and other 50 by other means .but when they choose others what guarantees it will bring average down.for instance out of 50 air flyers 40 used 5 star cruise and other 50 non flyers used normal means and 10 as you say of airplanes.so a.m will infact increase because of 5 star cruise expense instead of declining.why we need to assume they will switch to cheaper transportation .kindly clear this doubt

MartyMurray · Answer

sagarock wrote:David sir and Mitch sir, but i have a silly doubt.say for example out of total 100 50 travelled by airplane and other 50 by other means .but when they choose others what guarantees it will bring average down.for instance out of 50 air flyers 40 used 5 star cruise and other 50 non flyers used normal means and 10 as you say of airplanes.so a.m will infact increase because of 5 star cruise expense instead of declining.why we need to assume they will switch to cheaper transportation .kindly clear this doubt

To get CR questions right, you have to see key details.

What you have to see to get this question right is that the cost of other transportation has already been constrained by the following statements in the prompt.

about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare.

This statement indicates that half of the money spent was spent on airfare, and the so the other half, AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT SPENT ON AIRFARE, was spent on other forms of transportation.

the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.

This statement indicates that more people used other forms of transportation than used air travel.

Those statements guarantee that the average cost of other forms of transportation was lower.

The same amount of money was spent on both forms, but more used other forms than used airplanes.

So whatever people chose, those who chose other forms must have spent less, on average, per person.

Here it is mathematically.

Amount of Money Spent On Each Type: M

Number of People Using Air Transport: A

Number of People Using Other Means: O

Average Spent On Air Transport: M/A

Average Spent On Other Transport: M/O

A < O

M/A > M/O

Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.

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