State of Michigan book sales

[amazonviper]

In the state of Michigan, from 1980 to 1989, total spending on books purchased from all sources increased by 34%. But during the same period, spending on fiction books most of which from bookstores selling only new books, grew just 16%

Which of the following statements about the period from 1980 to 1989 is best supported by the statements above?

A. Spending on nonfiction books increased by more than 34%.

B. Shoppers were more likely to buy fiction books when they went to a bookstore than they were to buy nonfiction.

C. The priced of books purchased at bookstores are higher than those of books purchased elsewhere.

D. Individual spending has increased while institutional spending has decreased.

E. The number of people who bought books from secondhand bookstores increased during this period.


Please post your opinion and PLEASE explain your reasoning. OA will be provided later

[rohan_vus]

IMO A ... its states that % of non fnction is more than 34% becaue when overall % is 34% and for fiction books its 16% it makes it compelling to draw conclusion that more than 34% comprises for non fiction books ...

[vinayakdl]

IMO Answer : A

A: Since sales for Fiction has grown at 16%, it seems that sales of non-fiction are greater than 34%. Even though we cannot conclusively say this this seems most likely. No other option is supported as much as this.

E: This seems closer, but the stimuli talks about number of books sold and not about how many people purchased the books.

Please post the OA!

Vinayak

[mehravikas]

Is it C?

A should not be true because if total books sales increased by 34% and fiction books grew by just 16% from bookstores, then it cannot be possible that nonfiction book sales grew by more than 34%.

[vinaynp]

B), C), D) are OOS.
E) is ruled out as it focuses on number of people and we cannot support the same from passage.

IMO A) seems logical.

[madhur_ahuja]

A should be correct

[amazonviper]

OA is indeed A. Great job guys!

[Kenen750]

If total no of books purchased=400.

34% of 400=136.

16% of 400=64

so 400-64=336

x% of 336> 34?? Its almost..

[veenu08]

Why can't E be the answer

[[email protected]]

E is not the answer because there is no fact in the argument which supports if the sales of books from second hand bookstores increased. We have no way of knowing this.

If you look at it it is a simple weighted average question. If the total average for increase in books sold is 34% and only 16% increase is contributed by the fiction section. Then, Non fiction must contribute more than 34% to get 34 as the average!!