GPA

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MI3: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 83; Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 11:22 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 1 times

by MI3 » Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:44 am

Q. After his first semester in college, Thomas is applying for a scholarship that has a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) requirement of 3.5. The point values of pertinent college grades are given in the table below. If Thomas took 5 courses, each with an equal weight for GPA calculations, and received two grades of A-, one grade of B+, and one grade of B, what is the lowest grade that Thomas could receive for his fifth class to qualify for the scholarship? Point Values of Select Grades
Grade A A- B+ B B- C+ C C
Value 4 3.7 3.3 3 2.7 2.3 2 1.7
(A) A (B) B+ (C) B (D) B- (E) C+

IMO answer is A, am I correct?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:44 am

MBA.Aspirant: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 401; Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 1:14 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 37 times

by MBA.Aspirant » Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:52 am

yes

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amy266: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:42 pm

by amy266 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:49 pm

Can you post the solution for the same.

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Uva@90: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 490; Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:30 amFollowed by: 5 members; Location: Chennai, India; Thanked: 83 times

by Uva@90 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 7:16 pm

amy266 wrote:Can you post the solution for the same.

Hi Amy266,
We can understand from question that,
Minimum GPA required for applying scholarship is 3.5
There are 5 courses, out of which his four grades are,
A- A- B+ B, corresponding values are 3.7 3.7 3.3 3

We need to find the 5 grade so has to eligible for applying scholarship, let it be X

(2*3.7 + 3.3 + 3 + X) / 5 = 3.5 Solve for X

X = 3.8

Hence he need to Score Grade A to qualify for scholarship.

Answer is A

Regards,
Uva.

Known is a drop Unknown is an Ocean

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[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] » Thu Nov 28, 2013 12:30 am

Hi All,

Uva@90 has posted the straight-forward "average formula" solution, which is absolutely correct. As an alternative, here's a way to solve this problem without using the average formula:

The five "grades" are 3.7, 3.7, 3.3, 3.0 and X

To get an overall average of 3.5 or higher, we can "balance out" the values that we have to figure out what the 5th value must be:

3.7 (.2 above)
3.7 (.2 above)
3.3 (.2 below)
3.0 (.5 below)

With these 4 values, 3.7 and 3.3 are the same "distance" away from the 3.5; the other 3.7 doesn't offset the 3.0 "enough" (the net effect is still .3 below); the X value has to be high enough above 3.5 to "make up for" the .3 below. The X would have to be at least 3.8...

The only Grade that accomplishes that is an A Grade

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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Mathsbuddy: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 447; Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:25 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 25 times

by Mathsbuddy » Thu Nov 28, 2013 1:02 am

A-, A-, B+, B, x (minimum) = 3.7 + 3.7 + 3.3 + 3 + x >= 5 * 3.5

So 13.7 + x >= 17.5

x >= 3.8 = Grade A

Answer A

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