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Ambiguity in a Cat question

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saiindukuri87
 Post subject: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:48 am 
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Posts: 18
Hi,
I came across the following ambiguous question in Manhattan CAT.

If the standard deviation of Set Y is 4, what are the greatest and least values that are within one standard deviation of the mean?

(1) The median of Set Y is 5.

(2) The mean of Set Y is 6.

When you say the greatest and least possible values, what should one infer. I inferred it as greatest and least values in the Set Y and I chose E(as we dont know any values in the set). But the answer is B. It could have been good if the sentence is framed as greatest and least'possible' values . The word 'Possible' would make the sentence more clear. Request you to look in to this and if possible change the question.

Thanks and Regards,
Sashikanth.
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:19 pm 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 1857
saiindukuri87 wrote:
Hi,
I came across the following ambiguous question in Manhattan CAT.

If the standard deviation of Set Y is 4, what are the greatest and least values that are within one standard deviation of the mean?

(1) The median of Set Y is 5.

(2) The mean of Set Y is 6.

When you say the greatest and least possible values, what should one infer. I inferred it as greatest and least values in the Set Y and I chose E(as we dont know any values in the set). But the answer is B. It could have been good if the sentence is framed as greatest and least'possible' values . The word 'Possible' would make the sentence more clear. Request you to look in to this and if possible change the question.

Thanks and Regards,
Sashikanth.


Hi Sashikanth,
Thanks for your question. While I understand your point, I think that the question is acceptable as written. There are actually some good takeaways from this question and your comments. First, try to answer the question as it is literally written. Don't insert your own words into the question; the question is asking you what the greatest and least values are within one standard deviation of the mean. It says nothing about those values having to be in set Y. Go with what is exactly written if there is any confusion.

Second, under your interpretation you can't do any work and have to immediately choose E. The GMAT is highly unlikely to provide such a problem. The GMAT test writers want you to have to think and reason out a problem before you pick E (or any other answer). So if you would reach an answer within two seconds you are probably missing something.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

_________________
Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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saiindukuri87
 Post subject: Re: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:26 pm 
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Students


Posts: 18
Thank You , jnelson. It was helpful. After making few silly mistakes in Data sufficiency past few days, I started being skeptical at every question. I request your suggestion at this point. I have taken two cats up to now. I am always falling apart in managing the time. In my first CAT I have finished my quant with 5 minutes to spare but fell apart on accuracy, I had more mistakes( Around 10). In my second CAT i consciously worked for accuracy, reading each question and analyzing it carefully from every angle before jumping in to conclusion. But, I could not finish the quant section on time. How can one strike a perfect balance between accuracy and time.
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:08 pm 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 1857
saiindukuri87 wrote:
Thank You , jnelson. It was helpful. After making few silly mistakes in Data sufficiency past few days, I started being skeptical at every question. I request your suggestion at this point. I have taken two cats up to now. I am always falling apart in managing the time. In my first CAT I have finished my quant with 5 minutes to spare but fell apart on accuracy, I had more mistakes( Around 10). In my second CAT i consciously worked for accuracy, reading each question and analyzing it carefully from every angle before jumping in to conclusion. But, I could not finish the quant section on time. How can one strike a perfect balance between accuracy and time.


That's a great question and unfortunately it's outside the scope of this particular forum, which is devoted to answering questions about specific problems on the CAT questions. May I suggest that you copy and paste your question into our general forum, which is here: general-questions-f9.html

You should receive a lot of good replies from other students as well as one of our top instructors and trainers, Stacey Koprince, who moderates the forum.

Best wishes with your GMAT preparations!

_________________
Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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saiindukuri87
 Post subject: Re: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:54 am 
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Students


Posts: 18
Thank You Nelson I have posted it in general folder.
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: Ambiguity in a Cat question
 Post Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:49 am 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 1857
Excellent, thank you.

_________________
Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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