A new cell phone plan is offering pricing based on average monthly use. Brandon and Jodie are comparing their average use to determine the best plan for them. Brandon's average monthly usage in 2001 was q minutes. Was this less than, greater than, or equal to Jodie's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes?
(1) From January to August 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
(2) From April to December 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
OA: B
Source: Manhattan
Can 'q' equal to zero?
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A new cell phone plan is offering pricing based on average
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GMATGuruNY
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The prompt should require that q>0, and the question stem should provide a crystal clear referent for this.
Also -- if we assume that this refers to Brandon's 2001 average monthly usage -- the question stem can be answered even without the two statements:
Was Brandon's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes, less than, greater than, or equal to Jodie's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes?
Since Brandon's average monthly usage must be less than, greater than or equal to Jodie's, the answer to this question stem is YES -- even without any additional information from the two statements.
I believe that the following rewrite reflects the intent of the problem:
For Jodie's average monthly usage to be greater than Brandon's, Jodie's total usage in 2001 must be greater than Brandon's total usage in 2001.
Questions stem, rephrased:
Was Jodie's total usage in 2001 > 12q?
Statement 1:
Jodie's total usage for the 8 months January though August = (8 months)(average monthly usage) = (8)(1.5)q = 12q.
If Jodie has no usage during the remaining 4 months, then her total usage = 12q, so answer to the question stem is NO.
If Jodie has some usage during the remaining 4 months, then her total usage > 12q, so the answer to the question stem is YES.
Since the answer is NO in the first case but YES in the second case, INSUFFICIENT.
Statement 2:
Jodie's total usage for the 9 months April though December = (9 months)(average monthly usage) = (9)(1.5)q = 13.5q.
Thus, the answer to the question stem is YES.
SUFFICIENT.
The correct answer is B.
Also -- if we assume that this refers to Brandon's 2001 average monthly usage -- the question stem can be answered even without the two statements:
Was Brandon's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes, less than, greater than, or equal to Jodie's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes?
Since Brandon's average monthly usage must be less than, greater than or equal to Jodie's, the answer to this question stem is YES -- even without any additional information from the two statements.
I believe that the following rewrite reflects the intent of the problem:
Brandon's total usage in 2001 = (12 months)(average monthly usage) = 12q.A new cell phone plan is offering pricing based on average monthly use. Brandon and Jodie are comparing their average use to determine the best plan for them. Brandon's average monthly usage in 2001 was q minutes, where q>0. In 2001, was Jodie's average monthly usage, in minutes, greater than Brandon's average monthly usage, in minutes?
(1) From January to August 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
(2) From April to December 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
For Jodie's average monthly usage to be greater than Brandon's, Jodie's total usage in 2001 must be greater than Brandon's total usage in 2001.
Questions stem, rephrased:
Was Jodie's total usage in 2001 > 12q?
Statement 1:
Jodie's total usage for the 8 months January though August = (8 months)(average monthly usage) = (8)(1.5)q = 12q.
If Jodie has no usage during the remaining 4 months, then her total usage = 12q, so answer to the question stem is NO.
If Jodie has some usage during the remaining 4 months, then her total usage > 12q, so the answer to the question stem is YES.
Since the answer is NO in the first case but YES in the second case, INSUFFICIENT.
Statement 2:
Jodie's total usage for the 9 months April though December = (9 months)(average monthly usage) = (9)(1.5)q = 13.5q.
Thus, the answer to the question stem is YES.
SUFFICIENT.
The correct answer is B.
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From January to August 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.Mo2men wrote:A new cell phone plan is offering pricing based on average monthly use. Brandon and Jodie are comparing their average use to determine the best plan for them. Brandon's average monthly usage in 2001 was q minutes. Was this less than, greater than, or equal to Jodie's 2001 average monthly usage, in minutes?
(1) From January to August 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
(2) From April to December 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
The total usage from January to August is 1.5q x 8 = 12q minutes, which means her average monthly average is at least 12q/12 = q minutes. If she used at least 1 minute on her cell phone from September to December, then her average monthly usage would be greater than that of Brandon. However, if she didn't use any minutes from September to December, then her average monthly usage would equal that of Brandon. Statement one alone is not sufficient.
Statement Two Alone:
From April to December 2001, Jodie's average monthly usage was 1.5q minutes.
The total usage from April to December is 1.5q x 9 = 13.5q minutes, which means her average monthly average is at least 13.5q/12 = 1.125q minutes. Even if she didn't use any minutes from January to March, her average monthly usage would still be greater than that of Brandon. Statement two alone is sufficient.
Answer: B
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