alanforde800Maximus wrote:In a class of 28 students, one student is to be elected as class representative. Three of the 28 students are running for the position. The three candidates may not vote, but all the other students must vote. What is the smallest percent of votes with which a candidate could win, if winning is defined as receiving a plurality of votes(more votes than any other candidate)?

a)25%
b)33.34%
c)34%
d)36%
e)50.1%

Please assist with above problem.

3 candidates (A, B, C)
25 students voting

1/3 of 25 = 8 1/3
So, the fewest votes a candidate can receive AND still win is 9 votes (e.g., A: 9 votes, B: 8 votes, C: 8 votes)

9/25 = 36/100 = 36%

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent

Hi alanforde800Maximus,

What is the source of this question?

Based on how the answer choices are written, and the 'design' of the prompt, there's a big logic 'shortcut' that you can use to avoid most of the 'math work.' Since there are only 25 voters who must vote, each voter represents 4% of the total. The answer to the given question will be based on the number of voters who vote for a particular student, but the percentage equivalent MUST be a multiple of 4%.

There's only one answer that fits that restriction (the correct one): D

It's unlikely that you would come across this exact shortcut on Test Day though (the GMAT question writers wouldn't make it this easy for you to bypass all of the wrong answers).

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