Which of the following fractions is greater than 1/4?

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AAPL: Moderator; Posts: 2685; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:08 pmFollowed by: 2 members

by AAPL » Wed Mar 07, 2018 4:59 am

Which of the following fractions is greater than 1/4?

A. 12/50
B. 3/11
C. 2/9
D. 4/17
E. 6/24

The OA is B.

Is there a quick and strategic approach to solve this question? Can any experts help, please?

I try to solve as follows:
A. 12/50
12.5/50 = 1/4 thus 12/50 < 1/4

B. 3/11
3/12 = 1/4 thus 3/11 > 1/4

C. 2/9
2/8 = 1/4 thus 2/9 < 1/4

D. 4/17
4/16 = 1/4 thus 4/17 < 1/4

E. 6/24
6/24 = 1/4

I think that it's a long way.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Wed Mar 07, 2018 4:59 am

mbawisdom: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 94; Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:50 amFollowed by: 4 members; Location: London, UK; Thanked: 2 times; GMAT Score:770

by mbawisdom » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:25 am

AAPL wrote:Which of the following fractions is greater than 1/4?

A. 12/50
B. 3/11
C. 2/9
D. 4/17
E. 6/24

The OA is B.

Is there a quick and strategic approach to solve this question? Can any experts help, please?

I try to solve as follows:
A. 12/50
12.5/50 = 1/4 thus 12/50 < 1/4

B. 3/11
3/12 = 1/4 thus 3/11 > 1/4

C. 2/9
2/8 = 1/4 thus 2/9 < 1/4

D. 4/17
4/16 = 1/4 thus 4/17 < 1/4

E. 6/24
6/24 = 1/4

I think that it's a long way.

Multiply each of the numerators by 4 and see if it is bigger than the denominator:

A. 12/50: 12*4 = 48, 48 > 50 NO
B. 3/11: 3*4 = 12, 12 > 11 YES
C. 2/9: 2*4 = 8, 8 > 9 NO
D. 4/17: 4*4 = 16, 16 > 17 NO
E. 6/24: 6*4 = 24, 24 > 24 NO

Once you get to B and find a YES you can stop.

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:06 am

AAPL wrote:Which of the following fractions is greater than 1/4?

A. 12/50
B. 3/11
C. 2/9
D. 4/17
E. 6/24

A. 12/50
Notice that 12/48 = 1/4
So, 12/50 will be LESS THAN 1/4
Eliminate A

B. 3/11
3/12 = 1/4
So, 3/11 will be GREATER THAN 1/4

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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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 Mar 08, 2018 4:24 pm

Hi AAPL,

We're asked to find the fractions that is GREATER than 1/4. The 'math' behind this question can be done in a number of different ways - and you can use a Number Property pattern to save some time. It's worth noting that once you find the answer that is greater than 1/4, you can STOP working.

For a fraction to equal 1/4, the denominator must be exactly 4 times the value of the numerator. For example 1/4, 2/8, 3/12, etc. are all exactly equal to 1/4. If you INCREASE the denominator, then the fraction becomes SMALLER. If you DECREASE the denominator, then the fraction becomes bigger. Thus, we're looking for a fraction in which the denominator is LESS than 4 times the value of the numerator.

Answer A: 12/50... (12)(4) = 48..... 50 is greater than 48, so this fraction is LESS than 1/4

Answer B: 3/11... (3)(4) = 12.... 11 is SMALLER than 12, so this fraction is GREATER than 1/4

Final Answer: B

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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Jeff@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1462; Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:34 amFollowed by: 22 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 39 times

by Jeff@TargetTestPrep » Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:07 pm

AAPL wrote:Which of the following fractions is greater than 1/4?

A. 12/50
B. 3/11
C. 2/9
D. 4/17
E. 6/24

We see that 1/4 is equivalent to 12/48, 3/12, 2/8, 4/16, and 6/24.

We use the property that when we compare two fractions whose numerators are equal, the larger fraction has the smaller denominator. Thus, we see that 3/11 is greater than 3/12, and thus, 3/11 is greater than 1/4.

Answer: B

Jeffrey Miller
Head of GMAT Instruction
[email protected]

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

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rkukg: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:28 pm

TTT

by rkukg » Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:35 pm

I think more economical way is to take reciprocal of all the ratio and find which ratio is less than 4.
advantage is we need not work out ...just intuition is enough
ie, 50/12 >4, 9/2>4, 17/4>4,24/6>4,so the answer is 11/3 -> three point some thing.
<i class="em em-grinning"></i> $$$$ $$$$

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