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• ### $450 Tuition Credit & Official CAT Packs FREE December 15, 2018 December 15, 2018 10:00 PM PST 11:00 PM PST Get the complete Official GMAT Exam Pack collection worth$100 with the 3 Month Pack ($299) • ### FREE Quant Workshop by e-GMAT! December 16, 2018 December 16, 2018 07:00 AM PST 09:00 AM PST Get personalized insights on how to achieve your Target Quant Score. # If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  new topic post reply Question banks Downloads My Bookmarks Reviews Important topics Author Message TAGS: ### Hide Tags Math Revolution GMAT Instructor Joined: 16 Aug 2015 Posts: 6639 GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42 GPA: 3.82 If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard [#permalink] ### Show Tags 08 Aug 2018, 01:10 00:00 Difficulty: 35% (medium) Question Stats: 63% (01:06) correct 37% (01:01) wrong based on 67 sessions ### HideShow timer Statistics [Math Revolution GMAT math practice question] If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1? 1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c. 2) m = 2 _________________ MathRevolution: Finish GMAT Quant Section with 10 minutes to spare The one-and-only World’s First Variable Approach for DS and IVY Approach for PS with ease, speed and accuracy. "Only$99 for 3 month Online Course"
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Posts: 252
Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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08 Aug 2018, 02:02
2
2
MathRevolution wrote:
[Math Revolution GMAT math practice question]

If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1?

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
2) m = 2

OA:A

Given : $$\frac{a+b+c}{3}= m$$
is standard deviation of a,b and c less than 1?

Statement 1 : $$a, b$$ and $$c$$ are consecutive integers with $$a < b < c$$.
It means $$b$$ is mean,
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(a-b)^2+(b-b)^2+(c-b)^2}{3}}$$

$$a-b=-1,c-b=1$$ as $$a,b,c$$ are consecutive number.

Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+(0)^2+(1)^2}{3}} =\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}<1$$

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

2) $$m = 2$$

Now Plugging in number,taking $$a=1,b=2$$ and $$c=3$$
$$S.D<1$$ as already seen in statement 1 that 3 consecutive number have S.D less than 1.
or We could have taken $$a=2,b=2,c=2$$, then also m would have been $$2$$. In that case $$S.D=0$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : Yes

Now taking $$a=-4, b =2, c = 8$$, mean would be 2 as required by Statement 2.
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-4-2)^2+(2-2)^2+(8-2)^2}{3}}= \sqrt{\frac{72}{3}}=2\sqrt{6}>1$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : No

Statement 2 alone is not sufficient.
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If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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08 Aug 2018, 05:06
Bismarck wrote:
MathRevolution wrote:
[Math Revolution GMAT math practice question]

If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1?

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
2) m = 2

OA:A

Given : $$\frac{a+b+c}{3}= m$$
is standard deviation of a,b and c less than 1?

Statement 1 : $$a, b$$ and $$c$$ are consecutive integers with $$a < b < c$$.
It means $$b$$ is mean,
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(a-b)^2+(b-b)^2+(c-b)^2}{3}}$$

$$a-b=-1,c-b=1$$ as $$a,b,c$$ are consecutive number.

Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+(0)^2+(1)^2}{3}} =\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}<1$$

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

2) $$m = 2$$

Now Plugging in number,taking $$a=1,b=2$$ and $$c=3$$
$$S.D<1$$ as already seen in statement 1 that 3 consecutive number have S.D less than 1.
or We could have taken $$a=2,b=2,c=2$$, then also m would have been $$2$$. In that case $$S.D=0$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : Yes

Now taking $$a=-4, b =2, c = 8$$, mean would be 2 as required by Statement 2.
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-4-2)^2+(2-2)^2+(8-2)^2}{3}}= \sqrt{\frac{72}{3}}=2\sqrt{6}>1$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : No

Statement 2 alone is not sufficient.
'

Bismarck what if you took 20, 21, 22 for statement one
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Joined: 18 Jun 2018
Posts: 252
Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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08 Aug 2018, 05:18
1
dave13 wrote:
Bismarck wrote:
MathRevolution wrote:
[Math Revolution GMAT math practice question]

If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1?

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
2) m = 2

OA:A

Given : $$\frac{a+b+c}{3}= m$$
is standard deviation of a,b and c less than 1?

Statement 1 : $$a, b$$ and $$c$$ are consecutive integers with $$a < b < c$$.
It means $$b$$ is mean,
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(a-b)^2+(b-b)^2+(c-b)^2}{3}}$$

$$a-b=-1,c-b=1$$ as $$a,b,c$$ are consecutive number.

Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+(0)^2+(1)^2}{3}} =\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}<1$$

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

2) $$m = 2$$

Now Plugging in number,taking $$a=1,b=2$$ and $$c=3$$
$$S.D<1$$ as already seen in statement 1 that 3 consecutive number have S.D less than 1.
or We could have taken $$a=2,b=2,c=2$$, then also m would have been $$2$$. In that case $$S.D=0$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : Yes

Now taking $$a=-4, b =2, c = 8$$, mean would be 2 as required by Statement 2.
Standard Deviation, $$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(-4-2)^2+(2-2)^2+(8-2)^2}{3}}= \sqrt{\frac{72}{3}}=2\sqrt{6}>1$$
Is S.D<1 for a,b,c : No

Statement 2 alone is not sufficient.
'

Bismarck what if you took 20, 21, 22 for statement one

dave13

taking $$a=20, b= 21$$ and $$c =22$$
Mean,$$m$$ $$= \frac{20+21+22}{3} =\frac{63}{3}=21$$, which is equal to $$b$$
$$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(a-m)^2+(b-m)^2+(c-m)^2}{3}}$$
$$S.D =\sqrt{\frac{(20-21)^2+(21-21)^2+(22-21)^2}{3}}=\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+(0)^2+(1)^2}{3}}=\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}<1$$
$$S.D<1$$
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Joined: 11 Sep 2015
Posts: 3238
Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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08 Aug 2018, 14:03
Top Contributor
MathRevolution wrote:
[Math Revolution GMAT math practice question]

If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1?

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
2) m = 2

Target question: Is the standard deviation of a, b and c less than 1?

Statement 1: a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
It's important to know that standard deviation is a measure of dispersion (how spread apart the values are).
So, ANY 3 consecutive integers will have the same standard deviation.
For example, the standard deviation of {1,2,3} = the standard deviation of {6,7,8} = the standard deviation of {23,24,25} etc
So, IF we calculate the standard deviation of {1,2,3} then THAT value will provide sufficient info to the answer to the target question
Since we COULD answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: m = 2
There are several values a, b and c that satisfy statement 2. Here are two:
Case a: a = 2, b = 2 and c = 2 (mean = 2 and standard deviation = 0). In this case, the answer to the target question is YES, the standard deviation IS less than 1
Case b: a = -100, b = 0 and c = 106 (mean = 2 and standard deviation = some number much greater than 1. In this case, the answer to the target question is NO, the standard deviation is NOT less than 1
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

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Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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08 Aug 2018, 18:48
MathRevolution wrote:
[Math Revolution GMAT math practice question]

If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard deviation less than 1?

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c.
2) m = 2

Is their standard deviation less than 1?

Here standard deviation is a measure of how spread out numbers are. or distance or spread from mean

we need not to calculate the actual SD

1) a, b and c are consecutive integers with a < b < c. For Consecutive integers b=mean

So we can find out the answer

Hence A is Suff

2) m = 2

a,b,c are not given

For ex: a=2 b=2 c=2

SD = 0

If a=1, b=2, c=3

SD varies

Hence A
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Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard  [#permalink]

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10 Aug 2018, 01:31
=>

Forget conventional ways of solving math questions. For DS problems, the VA (Variable Approach) method is the quickest and easiest way to find the answer without actually solving the problem. Remember that equal numbers of variables and independent equations ensure a solution.

We have $$m = \frac{( a + b + c )}{3}$$ from the original condition.
Since we have 4 variables and 1 equation, E is most likely to be the answer. So, we should consider conditions 1) & 2) together first. After comparing the number of variables and the number of equations, we can save time by considering conditions 1) & 2) together first.

Conditions 1) & 2)
Since $$a, b$$ and $$c$$ are consecutive integers, we can assume $$a = b – 1$$ and $$c = b + 1$$ and $$b = m$$. Since $$m = 2$$ by condition 2, we have $$a = 1, b = 2, c = 3.$$
The standard deviation is

$$\sqrt{\frac{a-b^2+(b-b)^2+(c-b)^2}{3}}$$

=$$\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+0^2+1^2}{3}}$$ = $$\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}$$
which is less than 1.
Thus, both conditions are sufficient, when considered together.

Since this question is a statistics question (one of the key question areas), CMT (Common Mistake Type) 4(A) of the VA (Variable Approach) method tells us that we should also check answers A and B.

Condition 1)
Since $$a, b$$ and $$c$$ are consecutive integers, we can assume that $$a = b – 1$$ and $$c = b + 1$$ and $$b = m$$. Then $$a – b = -1$$ and $$c – b = 1$$, and the standard deviation is
$$\sqrt{\frac{a-b^2+(b-b)^2+(c-b)^2}{3}}$$

=$$\sqrt{\frac{(-1)^2+0^2+1^2}{3}}$$ = $$\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}$$
which is less than 1.
Thus, condition 1) is sufficient on its own.

Condition 2)
Condition 2) is not sufficient since it gives us no information about $$a, b$$ and $$c$$.

In cases where 3 or more additional equations are required, such as for original conditions with “3 variables”, or “4 variables and 1 equation”, or “5 variables and 2 equations”, conditions 1) and 2) usually supply only one additional equation. Therefore, there is an 80% chance that E is the answer, a 15% chance that C is the answer, and a 5% chance that the answer is A, B or D. Since E (i.e. conditions 1) & 2) are NOT sufficient, when taken together) is most likely to be the answer, it is generally most efficient to begin by checking the sufficiency of conditions 1) and 2), when taken together. Obviously, there may be occasions on which the answer is A, B, C or D.
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Re: If the average (arithmetic mean) of a, b and c is m, is their standard &nbs [#permalink] 10 Aug 2018, 01:31
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