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07 Jul 2026, 08:00
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
72% (02:02) correct
28%
(01:58)
wrong
based on 371
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The number of public works projects commissioned by the Soviet Union government dropped from 95,000 in 1970 to 70,000 in 1980. Spending on infrastructure in Soviet Union peaked at 24 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), in 1958, and was only 15 percent of the GDP in 1980. During this period, when Soviet Union’s percentage was steadily declining, India and Argentina increased the percentage of their GDP’s spent on infrastructure to 20 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?
A. How big a nation’s GDP is directly related to the number of public works projects the nation commissions.
B. Argentina and India spent more money on infrastructure in 1980 than did Soviet Union.
C. How much money a nation spends on infrastructure is directly related to the number of public works projects commissioned in that nation.
D. Both India and Argentina will soon surpass Soviet Union in the number of public works projects commissioned.
E. Between 1958 and 1980, Soviet Union consistently spent a larger percentage of its GDP on infrastructure than did Argentina.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?
A. How big a nation’s GDP is directly related to the number of public works projects the nation commissions.
B. Argentina and India spent more money on infrastructure in 1980 than did Soviet Union.
C. How much money a nation spends on infrastructure is directly related to the number of public works projects commissioned in that nation.
D. Both India and Argentina will soon surpass Soviet Union in the number of public works projects commissioned.
E. Between 1958 and 1980, Soviet Union consistently spent a larger percentage of its GDP on infrastructure than did Argentina.
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07 Jul 2026, 09:00
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Bunuel
Experts' Global Official Explanation
Mind-map: Number of infrastructure projects in Soviet Union declined between 1970 and 1980 à infrastructure spending as a percentage of GDP consistently went down between 1958 and 1980 à during the same time, that percentage increased in India and Argentina
Missing-link: Not needed
Expectation from the correct answer choice: To be duly deducible from the information in the passage, without any assumption or extrapolation
Note: Please be extra careful when you see numbers/percentages/proportions in CR questions; often, the key lies in the numbers.
A. The argument provides no information about the “absolute size” of GDP of any nation; so, no comparison among the sizes of the GDP of the three nations can be made; as a result, it cannot be established that the bigger the size of a nation’s GDP, the more public works projects the nation commissions, as mentioned in the argument. Because this answer choice is not deducible from the information in the passage without any assumption or extrapolation, this answer choice is incorrect.
B. This answer choice commits the classic GMAT error of confusing “percentage" with "absolute numbers”; the argument provides no information about the “absolute size” of GDP or infrastructure spending of any nation; so, no comparison among the sizes of the GDP or infrastructure spending as a percentage of GDP of the three nations can be made; hence, this answer choice cannot be established. Because this answer choice is not deducible from the information in the passage without any assumption or extrapolation, this answer choice is incorrect.
C. Trap. This answer choice commits the classic GMAT error of confusing “percentage" with "absolute numbers”; the argument is concerned with infrastructure spending as a “percentage” of GDP whereas this answer choice relates to the absolute amount of money. Further, the same amount of money spent on infrastructure can be used to fund a greater number of smaller projects or a smaller number of bigger projects; so, no general correlation between the amount of money spent on infrastructure and the number of public works projects can be drawn; so, this answer choice cannot be established. Because this answer choice is not deducible from the information in the passage without any assumption or extrapolation, this answer choice is incorrect.
D. The argument mentions facts about a specific time period in the past and makes no suggestion about the future; so, it cannot be established that both India and Argentina “will soon surpass” Soviet Union in the number of public works projects commissioned, as the answer choice mentions. Because this answer choice is not deducible from the information in the passage without any assumption or extrapolation, this answer choice is incorrect.
E. Correct. The argument mentions that between 1958 and 1980, Soviet Union’s infrastructure spending as a percentage of its GDP “consistently decreased” from 24 percent to 15 percent, suggesting that at no point in the period, Soviet Union’s infrastructure spending was lower than 15 percent; the argument also mentions that, in the same period, Argentina’s percentage of GDP spent on infrastructure increased to 12 percent, suggesting that at no point in the period, Argentina’s infrastructure spending was higher than 12 percent; overall, it can be inferred that, at all points in the period, Soviet Union spent a larger percentage of its GDP on infrastructure than did Argentina, as the answer choice mentions. Because this answer choice is deducible from the information in the passage without any assumption or extrapolation, this answer choice is correct.
E is the best choice.
General Discussion
07 Jul 2026, 08:08
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Answer: E)
A) INCORRECT because we have no info in the paragraph concerning this supposed relationship, and we can't just make an assumption.
B) INCORRECT because we only have the % of their GDP. Without the actual GDP figures, we don't know how much they spent and whether they spent more or less than the Soviet Union.
C) INCORRECT because we don't know whether the relationship between commissioned projects and GDP (only the data for the Soviet Union is given, which is not sufficient and would require an assumption).
D) INCORRECT because we have no indication of the future trends of commissioned projects, and we can't just make the assumption
E) CORRECT because if the highest percentage of GDP that Argentina spent on infrastructure was 12%, but the lowest percentage of GDP that the Soviet Union spent was 15%, then they consistently spent a higher percentage of their GDP on infrastructure.
A) INCORRECT because we have no info in the paragraph concerning this supposed relationship, and we can't just make an assumption.
B) INCORRECT because we only have the % of their GDP. Without the actual GDP figures, we don't know how much they spent and whether they spent more or less than the Soviet Union.
C) INCORRECT because we don't know whether the relationship between commissioned projects and GDP (only the data for the Soviet Union is given, which is not sufficient and would require an assumption).
D) INCORRECT because we have no indication of the future trends of commissioned projects, and we can't just make the assumption
E) CORRECT because if the highest percentage of GDP that Argentina spent on infrastructure was 12%, but the lowest percentage of GDP that the Soviet Union spent was 15%, then they consistently spent a higher percentage of their GDP on infrastructure.
