IR: confusing question

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Stills Typical product
Distillery Officially founded in In continuous operation since Annual capacity (thousand liters) Wash Spirit Lomond Style Peating level (ppm)
Ardbeg 1,815 1,997 1,000 1 1 0 Peated 54.0
Bowmore 1,779 1,779 1,700 2 2 0 Peated 23.0
Bruichladdich 1,881 2,001 1,500 2 2 1 Unpeated 3.5
Bunnahabhain 1,880 1,883 2,500 2 2 0 Unpeated 1.5
Caol Ila 1,846 1,974 5,800 3 3 0 Peated 35.0
Kilchoman 2,005 2,005 115 1 1 0 Peated 25.0
Lagavulin 1,816 1,816 2,200 2 2 0 Peated 35.0
Laphroaig 1,815 1,815 2,200 2 2 0 Peated 40.0

As of January, 2012, eight single-malt whisky distilleries were operating on the island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland. Some have been in continuous operation since they were officially founded; others have experienced significant interruptions. Each distillery's annual capacity, in thousands of liters, is listed, together with the number of stills of each type (wash, spirit, and Lomond) in operation. The typical product of Islay distilleries can be roughly classified as peated or unpeated. The peating level can be quantified in parts per million (ppm) of phenol absorbed from peat smoke during the drying of barley malt, an ingredient of the whisky.

For each of the following statements, select Yes if the statement can be shown to be true using the information provided. Otherwise, select No.

Yes No
The 4 breweries that have been in continuous operation the longest have a higher average (arithmetic mean) annual capacity than the other breweries.
The median peating level of peated Islay whiskies exceeds that of unpeated Islay whiskies by more than 35 ppm.
As of 2012, the distillery with the greatest ratio of years since founding to years of continuous operation to the present is Bruichladdich.

Statement 1: Yes. Sort by the “In continuous operation since” column. The 4 breweries that have been in continuous operation the longest have annual capacities of 1,700, 2,200, 2,200, and 2,700 liters. The average (arithmetic mean) is the sum of these numbers divided by 4.

1,700 + 2,200 + 2,200 + 2,500 = 8,800

8,800 / 4 = 2,200

The average annual capacity of the other four breweries is the sum of their capacities divided by 4.

(5,800 + 1,000 + 1,500 + 115) / 4 = 2,103.75

The statement is true.

Statement 2: No. Sort by Peating level. The two unpeated whiskies are at the top, with peating levels of 1.5 and 3.5, leading to a median of 2.5. Meanwhile, the other 6 whiskies, which are all peated, are sorted nicely below. Since the two middle peating levels among those whiskies are both 35, the median is 35. 35 – 2.5 = 32.5, which is NOT more than 35 ppm. The statement is false.

Statement 3: No. The trick to this question is to only pay attention to breweries that have been in continuous operation for a short time. Ardbeg, Bruichladdich and Kilchoman have been in continuous operation for the least amount of time. Kilchoman, however, was founded in 2005, so the ratio is 1:1. That’s out.

Ardbeg was founded 197 years before 2012 (2012 – 1815 = 197), and was in continuous operation for 15 years (2012 – 1997 = 15).

197/15 = 13.13.

Bruichladdich was founded 131 years before 2012 (2012 – 1881 = 131), and was in continuous operation for 11 years (2012 – 2001 = 11).

131/11 = 11.9.

Ardbeg has a higher ratio, so the statement is false.

(Even if you “add 1 before you’re done” to count the full year of founding and the full year of 2012, you end up with Ardbeg having a higher ratio.)


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SORRY for the long and akward post but haven´t found this question on the site. I hope you are able to read the most important parts. If i read the answer, i have the feeling they want me to calculate it explicity. So the question is something like "Tick Yes if the statement is true and wrong it is false" ???