GMAT Problem Solving Discussions

MBA
221
Critics of Country As trade policy with Country Z contend that Country As low tariffs are responsible for its large trade deficit with Country Z. Government officials, however, argue that there is a trade deficit with Country Z because low labor costs in Country Z allow its companies to manufacture goods cheaply. The officials also claim that economic competition from Country Z is responsible for better prices for Country As consumers. Therefore, they say, the most logical way to lower the trade deficit without hurting Country As consumers is to _________.

(A) raise the tariffs on goods imported from Country Z
(B) encourage businesses in Country A to reduce their labor costs
(C) increase taxes on all goods not manufactured in Country A
(D) improve the products manufactured by Country As companies
and market them heavily in Country A
(E) subsidize all of Country As companies that manage to
maintain their prices at the level of the goods produced by
Country Z


hey can someone tell me wat the correct answer for this one is???
i cudnt follow the logic in this one but mt gut feeling says its A....wat say???:
222
I found this one to be tricky...

1) Transnational cooperation among corporations is experiencing a model renaissance among United States firms, even though projects undertaken by two or more corporations under a collaborative agreement are less profitable than projects undertaken by a singly corporation . The advantage of transnational cooperation is that such joint international projects may allow United States firms to win foreign contracts that they would not
otherwise be able to win.
Which of the following statements by a United States corporate officer best fits the situation of United States firms as described in the passage above?
(A) We would rather make only a share of the profit and also risk only a share of a possible loss than run the full risk of a loss.
(B) We would rather make a share of a relatively modest profit than end up making none of a potentially much bigger profit.
(C) We would rather cooperate and build good will than poison the business climate by all-out competition.
(D) We would rather have foreign corporations join us in American projects than join them in projects in their home countries.
(E) We would rather win a contract with a truly competitive bid of our own than get involved in less profitable collaborative agreements.
Which of the following is information provided by the passage above?

(A) Transnational cooperation involves projects too big for a single corporation to handle.
(B) Transnational cooperation results in a pooling of resources leading to high-quality performance.
(C) Transnational cooperation has in the past been both more common and less common than it is now among United States firms.
(D) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporation are not profitable enough to be worth undertaking.
(E) Joint projects between United States and foreign corporations benefit only those who commission the projects.
=================
Another one---
2) Although migraine headaches are believed to be caused by food allergies, putting patients on diets that eliminate those foods to which the patients have been demonstrated to have allergic migraine reactions frequently does not stop headaches. Obviously, some other cause of migraine headaches besides food allergies much exist.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?
(A) Many common foods elicit an allergic response only after several days, making it very difficult to observe links between specific foods patients eat and headaches they develop.
(B) Food allergies affect many people who never develop the symptom of migraine headaches.
(C) Many patients report that the foods that cause them migraine headaches are among the foods that they most enjoy eating.
(D) Very few patients have allergic migraine reactions as children live migraine-free adult lives once they have eliminated from their diets foods to which they have been demonstrated to be allergic.
(E) Very rarely do food allergies cause patients to suffer a symptom more severe than that of migraine headaches.
Cheers & ATB!
Satish



IK guess the answers for the above mentioned quesrtions are as folows:

1) ans for the first ques (transnational) - B

2) ans for 2nd ques (trans) - A

3) A


wats the OA??
223
Hi satish

i think that the answer for the first one is B coz the companies will be able to make atleast some profit if they acquire the project rather than no profit at all.
and for the sencond question related to the same paragraph the answer acc to me is C.

Also for the migrane qs my i guess the ans is D coz the elimination of the food stuffs show delayed effect and hence the argument can b weakened.
Do let me know if i'm wrong!!

cheers
ridz


Answers are: 1st Transnational: B
2nd Transnational: C
Migrane problem: A
These are from OG10: Qs 98, 99 and 102. Please refer it for explanations. I found it useful...
Cheers!
Satish
224

Hey I got all three of them right!!

225
guys check this one out. Its a bold faced question. I invaiably get these kinda ques wrong.

Modern navigation systems, which are found in most of today?s commercial aircraft, are made with low-power circuitry, which is more susceptible to interference than the vacuum-tube circuitry found in older planes. During landing, navigation systems receive radio signals from the airport to guide the plane to the runway. Recently, one plane with low-power circuitry veered off course during landing, its dials dimming, when a passenger turned on a laptop computer. Clearly, modern aircraft navigation systems are being put at risk by the electronic devices that passengers carry on board, such as cassette players and laptop computers.
The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
(A) The first is a principle that the argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that can be drawn from the first.
(B) The first is a fact that argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that must be drawn from this argument.
(C) The first acknowledges a consideration that supports that main position; the second is that conclusion.
(D) The first is an evidence that supports the conclusion, the second is that conclusion.
(E) The first is a principle that is necessary for this argument, the second is a conclusion that could be drawn from this argument.

Hey guys, sorry, I was drowned in work :(:(

I would go with 'B'. Sandy please psot the answer for the same.
226
The price the government pays for standard weapons purchased from military contractors is determined by a
pricing method called "historical costing." Historical costing allows contractors to protect their profits by adding a
percentage increase, based on the current rate of inflation, to the previous year's contractual price.
Which of the following statements, if true, is the best basis for a criticism of historical costing as an economically
sound pricing method for military contracts?
A. The government might continue to pay for past inefficient use of funds.
B. The rate of inflation has varied considerably over the past twenty years.
C. The contractual price will be greatly affected by the cost of materials used for the products.
D. Many taxpayers question the amount of money the government spends on military contracts.
E. The pricing method based on historical costing might not encourage the development of innovative
weapons.
227
The price the government pays for standard weapons purchased from military contractors is determined by a



pricing method called "historical costing." Historical costing allows contractors to protect their profits by adding a
percentage increase, based on the current rate of inflation, to the previous year's contractual price.
Which of the following statements, if true, is the best basis for a criticism of historical costing as an economically
sound pricing method for military contracts?
A. The government might continue to pay for past inefficient use of funds.
B. The rate of inflation has varied considerably over the past twenty years.
C. The contractual price will be greatly affected by the cost of materials used for the products.
D. Many taxpayers question the amount of money the government spends on military contracts.
E. The pricing method based on historical costing might not encourage the development of innovative
weapons.



I think it's A, because B, C (Inflation accounts for change in cost of materials), D ,E can be eliminated,

pls confirm
228
The price the government pays for standard weapons purchased from military contractors is determined by a

pricing method called historical costing. Historical costing allows contractors to protect their profits by adding a
percentage increase, based on the current rate of inflation, to the previous years contractual price.
Which of the following statements, if true, is the best basis for a criticism of historical costing as an economically
sound pricing method for military contracts?
A. The government might continue to pay for past inefficient use of funds.
B. The rate of inflation has varied considerably over the past twenty years.
C. The contractual price will be greatly affected by the cost of materials used for the products.
D. Many taxpayers question the amount of money the government spends on military contracts.
E. The pricing method based on historical costing might not encourage the development of innovative
weapons.

hey i think the ans is A...wats the correct answer??
229

Smart guys... That is the correct answer... Because historical costing responds to inflation, all other options are their way out! Good one.. Keep more coming!!

Cheers,
Abhi.

230

Can someone please help me with these questions :

1.
How many odd numbers are there from the integers 700 to 999(inclusive)? If every digit of such an odd number must be non-zero and different.
a. 88
b. 89
c. 90
d. 91
e. 92

----------------------
2. What is the range of (1/101 + 1/102 + 1/103 + ii +1/150)?
a. 0 to 1/2
b. 1/2 to 1/3
c. 1/3 to 2/3
d. 2/3 to 1
e. 1 to 4/3

----------------------
3. If n is an integer from 1 to 96, what is the probability for n*(n+1)*(n+2) being divisible by 8?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 62.5%
d. 72.5%
e. 75%


---------------------
4. Data sufficiency:
How many different prime factors does N have?
(1) 2N has 4 different prime factors.
(2) N ^2 has 4 different prime factors.
And how ? Please explain....

Thanks

Sonal

231
Can someone please help me with these questions :

1.
How many odd numbers are there from the integers 700 to 999(inclusive)? If every digit of such an odd number must be non-zero and different.
a. 88
b. 89
c. 90
d. 91
e. 92

----------------------
2. What is the range of (1/101 + 1/102 + 1/103 + ii +1/150)?
a. 0 to 1/2
b. 1/2 to 1/3
c. 1/3 to 2/3
d. 2/3 to 1
e. 1 to 4/3

----------------------
3. If n is an integer from 1 to 96, what is the probability for n*(n+1)*(n+2) being divisible by 8?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 62.5%
d. 72.5%
e. 75%


---------------------
4. Data sufficiency:
How many different prime factors does N have?
(1) 2N has 4 different prime factors.
(2) N ^2 has 4 different prime factors.
And how ? Please explain....

Thanks

Sonal



Okay here are the solns

1. Lets first tackle nos starting from 7 and 9

For 7:

a) 1*4*4=16 (Hundreds place occupied by only 7, Tens place by 2,4,6,8, Units place by 1,3,5,9)

b) 1*1*3=3 (Hundreds place occupied by only 7, Tens place by 1, Units place by 3,5,9)

similarly in b the tens place can be occupied by 3, 5, and 9 therefore total nos. in this arrangement= 4*3=12

Therefore total no.s starting from 7= 16+12=28

For 9:

Exactly same logic can be applied for no.s starting from 9 therefore total no.s starting from 7 and 9 = 28*2= 56


For 8:

a) 1*3*5 = 15 (Hundreds place occupied by only 8, Tens place by 2,4,6, Units place by 1,3,5,7,9)

b) 1*1*4=4 (Hundreds place occupied by only 8, Tens place by 1, Units place by 3,5,7,9)

In b in th tens place we can have 3,5,7 and 9 instead of one therefore total possibilitiesin b = 4*5=20

therefore total possibilities for nos starting from 8 = 15+20=35


Hence total odd no.s satisfying the cond = 56+35=91


2. 1/100= 0.01 if we add up 0.01 50 times (since ther are 50 no.s) we get 0.5 =1/2 which is the upper limit of the range

1/150=0.0067 approx so 50 times 0.0067= 1/3 which is the lower limit of the range

Hence the answer is between 1/2 and 1/3


3. Total products = 96 (i.e. 1*2*3, 2*3*4, ........., 96*97*98

The products that will be divisible by 8 will be when n is an even no i.e. 2*3*4, 4*5*6, 6*7*8 and so on , since from 1 to 96 there will be 48 even no.s

the probability that n*n+1*n+2 is divisble by 8 = 48/96=50%

4. I think the answer is e but not sure
232

Amazing expln shravan. keep it up.hey, could you also expln why the answer to that inflation CR ques cant be 'B'? what does A actually mean? I thought it would be B because, if inflation varied considerably, then the govt might end up paying more. hence it would not be such a cost effective mehtod.

233
guys check this one out. Its a bold faced question. I invaiably get these kinda ques wrong.

Modern navigation systems, which are found in most of today?s commercial aircraft, are made with low-power circuitry, which is more susceptible to interference than the vacuum-tube circuitry found in older planes. During landing, navigation systems receive radio signals from the airport to guide the plane to the runway. Recently, one plane with low-power circuitry veered off course during landing, its dials dimming, when a passenger turned on a laptop computer. Clearly, modern aircraft navigation systems are being put at risk by the electronic devices that passengers carry on board, such as cassette players and laptop computers.
The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
(A) The first is a principle that the argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that can be drawn from the first.
(B) The first is a fact that argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that must be drawn from this argument.
(C) The first acknowledges a consideration that supports that main position; the second is that conclusion.
(D) The first is an evidence that supports the conclusion, the second is that conclusion.
(E) The first is a principle that is necessary for this argument, the second is a conclusion that could be drawn from this argument.



The OA is C.
234
sandy_venkat Says
Amazing expln shravan. keep it up.hey, could you also expln why the answer to that inflation CR ques cant be 'B'? what does A actually mean? I thought it would be B because, if inflation varied considerably, then the govt might end up paying more. hence it would not be such a cost effective mehtod.


The answer cannot be B because a method which adds a mark up for the Inflation which is the general price level increase seems to be economically wise but may not be so. Let the inflation level fluctuate the costing method will absorb all of that, but what if the original costing was economically unwise, since the method will only consider inflation mark-up a mistake once made will keep on getting repeated, hence B is wrong and A is right

Assume first time the costing was 50 Rs, Second Year since the price of materials and services used in making the product grew by 10%(inflation 10%), it is economically wise to increase the cost of the product also by 10% =55, third year inflation was only 2% so, price of RM and services increased by just 2%, the price should be 1.02*55= 56.1 and so on

But what if the original 50 Rs price was itself a loss making price and it should have been 60, so now you continue to repeat the inefficient use of funds,

Hence A and not B, this is what i thought i may be wrong also........

and hey thanks for the compliment
235

Hey Guys,

Taking cue from Govi's theads, from now on lets post the questions in the related threads only.

I know even i am guilty of providing explaination in the general thread but because it was pertaining to an already asked question, i posted it here.

Mods: will follow the respective threads from now on!!!!!

236

3. If n is an integer from 1 to 96, what is the probability for n*(n+1)*(n+2) being divisible by 8?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 62.5%
d. 72.5%
e. 75%


---------------------
4. Data sufficiency:
How many different prime factors does N have?
(1) 2N has 4 different prime factors.
(2) N ^2 has 4 different prime factors.



3. Total products = 96 (i.e. 1*2*3, 2*3*4, ........., 96*97*98

The products that will be divisible by 8 will be when n is an even no i.e. 2*3*4, 4*5*6, 6*7*8 and so on , since from 1 to 96 there will be 48 even no.s

the probability that n*n+1*n+2 is divisble by 8 = 48/96=50%

4. I think the answer is e but not sure


Thank you so much for these answers. When I checked the answers in the test, I saw that question 3 has answer C (62.5%) and question 4 has B.

any clues ?

Thanks

Sonal
237

Hi Sonal,

Thats correct the answer should be 62.5%

Reason:

I forgot to add up 12 more cases, how: apart from 48 products where the first no is an even number, products invovling 8 or it's multiples surrounded by odd no.s will also be divisible by 8, meaning 7*8*9, 15*16*17 etc. Since 8*12=96 there will 12 such products that need to be added to the exisiting list hence total favourable cases= 48+12=60, and the probability = 60/96=62.5%

Last question, will have to think, meanwhile guys can you help us solve the 4th question???

Cheers

238

Last question, will have to think, meanwhile guys can you help us solve the 4th question???

Cheers


For the 4th question refer this post
239
Please help me on the below question .( i donno know the answer for the same )
In order to improve the comprehensive ability of students. a school makes students to study English, French, German. 2students are exempt from three courses. 5students are exempt from learning E and F, 8 students are exempt from E and G, 3 are exempt from G and F. 36students are exempt from learning E,22 students are exempt from learning G, 15 are exempt from learning F, how many students are not exempt from learning if the total number of students is 100?
240

41!

Draw a 3-Circle Venn Diagram for Exempt from Learning and you'll get the total number of students exempt from learning. SUbtracting from 100 you'll get 41.