A soccer team played 25% more matches year-on-year in the second year of its formation. It won 84% of the matches it played in the second year, which was an improvement of 5% over the percentage of matches won in the first year. In the third year, the team played 4% fewer matches year-on-year but lost only 12.5% of the matches it played, which was one less than the number of matches lost by the team in the second year. Which of the following statements must be correct? I. The team lost the same number of matches in the first yea and the second year II. The team won the same number of matches in the second year and the third year III. The team played five more matches in the third year than the first year A. I only B. II only C. III only D. I, II and III E. None of the above Are You Up For the Challenge: 700 Level Questions

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A soccer team played 25% more matches year-on-year in the second year

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Adit_

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14 Feb 2026, 01:58

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No mention of a draw anywhere in question stem..that is our assumption and it "might" be correct not "must" be correct. I think this is what almost everybody missed.

nisen20

looks like this old stuff, tagged as OG 10, has provoked so many debates mainly concerning how to inteprete that horrible "improvment/percentage" prompt.

do we have an official explanation to illustrate what exactly was in test makers's mind when creating this monster?

i'm standing with guys who support (B) as the answer.

the team played \(X\) games in the first year, \(1.25X\) games in the second year, and \(0.96 × 1.25X\) games in the third year.
the team won \(0.84 × 1.25X\) games in the second year, and won another \(0.875 × 0.96 × 1.25X = 0.84 × 1.25X\) games in the third year.
it's crystal clear. the team won the same number of games in the seceond and third years respectively.