Learning how to study again.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:11 pm

For the few who know me well or even remotely well, I'm only 24. So, I'm not very old. But I sit around at home all day as I've diagnosed myself the guy from the Notredame disney flick. My fvcked up illnesses don't hold together very well but that isn't the point.

I'm trying to do something with my life for myself and my family. I"m going to take the GMAT and then hopefully get into a mpa program sometime in the next 50 years.

Again only 24. I was in college only 3 years ago. I've taken so many standardized tests that this shit should have been easy for me. but the pearson stuff just doesn't hold well in my head. hell, i can't even the x days between z-y months if i start today and end on nov 14. that shoulld be easy.

again digression.

---

so i ask for help on standardized tests or specifically GMAT help if anyone has taken it. the gmat seems like any regular standardized test. it's by pearson. if any of you people in college or ex-collegers know of them. but this question just stumped me for almost 25 minutes while increasing my migraine to crazy proportions at eacsh grain of the sand.

-

Code: Select all


Question

If a real estate agent received a commission of 6 percent of the selling price of a certain house, what was the selling price of the house?

&#40;1&#41; The selling price minus the real estate agent's commission was $84,600.
&#40;2&#41; The selling price was 250 percent of the original purchase price of $36,000.

&#40;A&#41; Statement &#40;1&#41; ALONE is sufficient, but statement &#40;2&#41; alone is not sufficient.

&#40;B&#41; Statement &#40;2&#41; ALONE is sufficient, but statement &#40;1&#41; alone is not sufficient.

&#40;C&#41; BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.

&#40;D&#41; EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.

&#40;E&#41; Statements &#40;1&#41; and &#40;2&#41; TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.
Answer

&#40;D&#41;

After working on it for 30 minutes i can see why in their method it is D but couldn't E also work?

- So help????? AAAAAAAAA sorry. I seem to be hyperventilating. time to lie down.

IGTN · Post by **IGTN** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:17 pm

D and E are opposites.

D says "you can tell with either one." E says "even with both, you can't tell."

The only way D and E could both be valid answers would be if the statements contradicted each other, and I haven't done the calculation to check that.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:56 pm

Start at the beginning:

Solve the problem with just the information in statement 1. Can you? Can you solve it with just the information in statement 2?

Report on your results.

Jacob_Orlove · Post by **Jacob_Orlove** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:21 am

Both results give the same answer, btw.

(1) 84600 / 0.94 = 90,000
(2) 36000 * 2.5 = 90,000

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:24 am

You're stressing too much. You have been told exam theory, whay to do in exams, how to relax and get back to a reasonable state of mind and so on during exams, right? If not, your teachers have failed you.

This may be simplistic since, as you say, you can normally do these things. Sorry if it seems condescending.

Try to work out the selling price for the first:

$84,600 is 94% of the price (100% - 6%)
84,600 / 0.94 = $90,000

The selling price is $90,000

Then, work out the selling price for the second:

The selling price is 2.5 times larger than $36,000
36,000 * 2.5 = $90,000

The selling price is $90,000

Then, compare the two selling prices if you could work them out.

If you could work them both out just from each individual statement then D is the answer.

However, if the two selling prices you calculated are different then the answer is E.

E is only the answer if the two selling prices differ.

In this case the two selling prices are the same and you could work them out from each statement individually.

Wait, no, the answer is bastardy and evil. Really evil and subtle. The answer is B

You can't work out the selling price from statement 1 because statement 1 doesn't include the estate agent's commission. That is nasty and I almost fell for it.

mean_liar · Post by **mean_liar** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:34 pm

I hate that kind of crap. I think the commission is supposed to be assumed as a known.

Overthinking like that on a multiple choice test came up all the damn time for me in high school. Then I never took a multiple choice test again.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:05 pm

A_Cynic wrote: After working on it for 30 minutes i can see why in their method it is D but couldn't E also work?

- So help????? AAAAAAAAA sorry. I seem to be hyperventilating. time to lie down.

The answer is D

(I can't believe I actually had t write this stuff down, but at least I solved it in 10 seconds.)

Basically if A is sufficient, and if B is sufficent than any combination of things that sufficient must still be sufficient. (If you need to pass only one of the five tests you are given and you pass them all, then you still pass.)

Manxome · Post by **Manxome** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:31 am

Parthenon wrote:Wait, no, the answer is bastardy and evil. Really evil and subtle. The answer is B

You can't work out the selling price from statement 1 because statement 1 doesn't include the estate agent's commission. That is nasty and I almost fell for it.

What are you talking about? You know from the initial problem statement that
commission = 0.06 * (selling price)

You know from statement 1 that
(selling price) - (commission) = $84,600

That's two equations and two unknowns, that's entirely solvable with basic algebra.

Similarly, you know from statement 2 that
selling price = 2.5 * $36,000

Since the selling price is what you need to know, statement 2 is sufficient even without the equation from the first part of the problem statement.

Some other example statements...

(1) The selling price was 250 percent of the original purchase price.
(2) The original purchase price was $36,000
Answer: C, you need both statements to find the selling price.

(1) When the house was originally purchased, the real estate agent received a commission of $2160
(2) The original purchase price of the house was $36,000
Answer: E, you can't calculate the selling price even using the information from both statements

If each statement is individually sufficient to find the answer, but they give inconsistent answers, then the question contains a false premise and the test writer needs to be shot. But it wouldn't be the worst standardized question I've seen.

The Gaming Den

Learning how to study again.

Learning how to study again.

Re: Learning how to study again.