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100 points for $49 worth of Veritas practice GMATs FREE VERITAS PRACTICE GMAT EXAMS Earn 10 Points Per Post Earn 10 Points Per Thanks Earn 10 Points Per Upvote ## GMATPrep Apples ##### This topic has 12 member replies ## GMATPrep Apples Pat bought 5 lbs. of apples. How many pounds of pears could Pat have bought for the same amount of money? (1) One pound of pears costs$0.50 more than one pound of apples.

(2) One pound of pears costs 1 1/2 times as much as one pound of apples.

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Joined
11 Jul 2008
Posted:
58 messages
4
Test Date:
8/16/2008
Target GMAT Score:
730+
A = spending on apples
Qa = quantity of apples
Pa = price of apples

Z = spending on pears
Qz = quantity of pears
Pz = price of pears

so...

A = Qa * Pa <--- this is the amount of money he will have to spend on pears

Z=A <--- given in the stem

Qz = (5 * Pa ) / Pz <--- we are given Qa=5 in stem.

1) Pz = Pa + .50 <-- Insufficient because we can't solve for Pz or Pa

2) Pz = (3/2)Pa <-- Insufficient because we can't solve for Pz or Pa

Together we have the system of equations and can plug in Pa and Pz to find Qz

Ans C

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Joined
05 May 2008
Posted:
131 messages
1
Test Date:
september '08
Target GMAT Score:
710
My choice is D both are sufficient

A. we know that pears are fifty cents more a pound. If she bought 5 pounds of apples then lets says apples are $2 a pound, so she spent 10 dollars. That means pears are 2.50 and she can buy 4 pounds worth. SUFFICIENT B. we know basically the same thing, but this time it's 1.5 times as much per pound, so we can still figure out how many pounds she can buy with the amount she spent on apples, whatever that amount is. SUFFICIENT What is the OA? Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 01 Jun 2008 Posted: 118 messages Followed by: 1 members Upvotes: 5 Target GMAT Score: 700+ IMO C... Wots OA? Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts Joined 11 Jul 2008 Posted: 58 messages Upvotes: 4 Test Date: 8/16/2008 Target GMAT Score: 730+ Good catch... I'm not so sure about C now 1) I still think this is insufficient. If you plug in some more values for price of apples you will get different quantities of pears. Mathematically you can see how this is the case Going back to my earlier post: Qz = (5 * Pa) / Pz Qz = (5 * Pa) / (Pa + .50) 2) I see how this can be sufficient: You want to solve Qz = (5 * Pa) / Pz and statement 2 tells you that Pz = (3/2) * Pa so... Qz = (5 * Pa) / (3/2) * Pa which can be simplified to find Qz Looks like B may be the answer after all. Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 13 Jan 2008 Posted: 320 messages Upvotes: 10 Answer is B. Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 13 Jan 2008 Posted: 320 messages Upvotes: 10 Mclaughlin wrote: My choice is D both are sufficient A. we know that pears are fifty cents more a pound. If she bought 5 pounds of apples then lets says apples are$2 a pound, so she spent 10 dollars. That means pears are 2.50 and she can buy 4 pounds worth. SUFFICIENT

B. we know basically the same thing, but this time it's 1.5 times as much per pound, so we can still figure out how many pounds she can buy with the amount she spent on apples, whatever that amount is. SUFFICIENT

What is the OA?
I would say A is insufficient becoz the number of pears that can be bought differs with the dollar amount . With the same example you had, if the apples were $4 a pound, then the number of pounds of pears that can be bought will be different. Without knowing exactly how much amount, it will be INSUFF. At least, that's my understanding. Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 05 May 2008 Posted: 131 messages Upvotes: 1 Test Date: september '08 Target GMAT Score: 710 Hmm then how does #2 work since I did the same rationale? Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 13 Jan 2008 Posted: 320 messages Upvotes: 10 from statement 1, we get that pears cost 0.50 more than the what 1lb of apples cost. If X$ was the cost of 5lbs of apple, then x/5 is 1lb of apples.

Pears cost of 1 lb = x/5 + 0.5. The total numbers of lbs that can be bought for X$is, X/(x/5 + 0.5) = 5x/(x+ 2.5); without knowing X, its insuffcient. With statement b, 1lb of pears cost 3/2 * (x/5) = 3x/10. Total num of lbs is, x / (3x/10) = 10/3 ~ 3 lbs. That's the math I used to solve it. Not sure if I missed something. Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 17 Jun 2007 Posted: 200 messages Upvotes: 9 Hahahahahaha! Schrute Beets! I couldn't even look at the question before bursting out laughing. "QUESTION: Did my shoes come off in the plane crash?" Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts Joined 04 Apr 2008 Posted: 58 messages Upvotes: 4 Target GMAT Score: 720 GMAT Score: 680 beeparoo wrote: Hahahahahaha! Schrute Beets! I couldn't even look at the question before bursting out laughing. "QUESTION: Did my shoes come off in the plane crash?" Hilarious. I think it's B. We're only looking for a ratio/relationship between the price of apples/lb and the price of pears/lb. We get that in B. Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts Joined 29 Jun 2008 Posted: 228 messages Followed by: 1 members Upvotes: 15 Canman wrote: A = spending on apples Qa = quantity of apples Pa = price of apples Z = spending on pears Qz = quantity of pears Pz = price of pears so... A = Qa * Pa <--- this is the amount of money he will have to spend on pears Z=A <--- given in the stem Qz = (5 * Pa ) / Pz <--- we are given Qa=5 in stem. 1) Pz = Pa + .50 <-- Insufficient because we can't solve for Pz or Pa 2) Pz = (3/2)Pa <-- Insufficient because we can't solve for Pz or Pa Together we have the system of equations and can plug in Pa and Pz to find Qz Ans C Qz = (5 * Pa ) / Pz or Qz = 5 * (Pa / Pz) From one we cant find Pa/Pz value from 2 we have Pa/Pz value as 2/3 .... Therefore 2 alone is sufficient Answer is B _________________ Please visit my blog Gmat Tips and Strategies Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts Joined 15 Jul 2008 Posted: 87 messages Followed by: 1 members Upvotes: 4 Test Date: October Target GMAT Score: 700 I would go with B. A is insufficient cause the ammount of peers will change depending of te cost of apples. B establishes a relationship: 5 pounds of apples -----> x$
y pounds of peers -------> 1.5x $Solving we have: 5x/1/3x/2---->10/3---> 3 1/3 pounds of peers • 5 Day FREE Trial Study Smarter, Not Harder Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Get 300+ Practice Questions 25 Video lessons and 6 Webinars for FREE Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Free Practice Test & Review How would you score if you took the GMAT Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Free Veritas GMAT Class Experience Lesson 1 Live Free Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Free Trial & Practice Exam BEAT THE GMAT EXCLUSIVE Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Magoosh Study with Magoosh GMAT prep Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • 5-Day Free Trial 5-day free, full-access trial TTP Quant Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • 1 Hour Free BEAT THE GMAT EXCLUSIVE Available with Beat the GMAT members only code • Award-winning private GMAT tutoring Register now and save up to$200

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