Maly, Simon, and Yemmy have just arrived at the Ocean Cliff Park

Question

ᅠᅠMaly, Simon, and Yemmy have just arrived at the Ocean Cliff Park picnic area. They each plan to spend the day hiking, only on trails, and then return to the picnic area. Each may hike separately from the others. They will make their determinations about hiking time, trail difficulty, and level of scenery according to the information in the park's brochure. Their individual plans are as follows:

Maly's Plan
• To hike 1 or more trail or trail section with a difficulty rating of high
• Not to hike any trail or trail section twice

Simon's Plan
• To take at least 2 hikes of no more than 4 hours each
• To begin and end each hike at the picnic area

Yemmy's Plan
• To avoid the trail with the lowest scenery rating and each trail or trail section with a high difficulty rating

ᅠᅠInasmuch as doing so is compatible with each person's plan, each wants to hike to as many of these 4 scenic features today as possible: Heath Hill, Shrub Hill, Surf Beach, and Whale Point.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Suppose a sign at the picnic area informs the hikers that park officials have closed the section of Trail B through Red Gorge. Given this and based on the information provided, which one of the following statements is correct?

• Maly will be unable to hike to Surf Beach and back to the picnic area without hiking the same trail or trail section twice.

If the path through Red Gorge is closed, then to get to Surf Beach, Maly must travel along Trail D to Surf Beach and must return also along Trail D. There is no alternative route. Therefore, the statement is correct.

Since we got the correct answer right away, there's no need to check the other statements, but for practice, let's go through them anyway.

• Simon will be unable to take 2 hikes of no more than 4 hours each.

This is obviously wrong. Simon can easily complete two hikes under 4 hours. One hike could be a short route on Trail A, which takes exactly 15 minutes. Another hike could be a round trip on Trail D, which takes 30 minutes (15 minutes forth and 15 minutes back). Therefore, the statement is incorrect.

• Yemmy will be unable to hike without taking the trail with the lowest scenery rating.

If Yemmy goes through Trail D and back, she will avoid Trail A, which has the lowest scenery rating. Therefore, the statement is incorrect.

• Maly will be unable to hike on any difficult trails or trail sections.

Even with the Red Gorge section closed, there is still Trail F, which is difficult. Maly can hike through that. Therefore, the statement is incorrect.

• Yemmy will be unable to hike without taking at least one trail or trail section with a high difficulty rating.

Yemmy can go through Trail D and back, which avoids any high-difficulty trails. Therefore, the statement is false. Therefore, the statement is incorrect.

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Bunuel · Answer

Based on the information provided, for each of the following scenic features, select Yes if starting at the picnic area and hiking along only main trails to that feature would be compatible with Yemmy’s plan as it is described. Otherwise, select No.

So, the question basically asks which scenic features Yemmy can reach by hiking only on the main trails (the connector trails, shown as red dotted lines, are excluded). Yemmy wants to avoid trails with the lowest scenery rating and trails with high difficulty. Therefore, she must avoid Trail A, Trail F, and the section of Trail B that passes through the Red Gorge area.

• Crown Cliff

From the picnic area, Yemmy can perfectly reach Crown Cliff by hiking along Trail D and then returning the same way. This route stays entirely on Trail D, which is neither high in difficulty nor the lowest in scenery, so it fits all her constraints while allowing her to reach Crown Cliff.

Answer: Yes.

• Spring Grove

To reach Spring Grove, Yemmy must either travel along Trail A, which she cannot use because it has the lowest scenery rating, or use a connector trail, which is also prohibited. Therefore, she cannot reach Spring Grove while following her plan.

Answer: No.

• Stormy Bay Beach

The only way to get there is either via Trail F, which is prohibited due to its high difficulty, or via Trail G, which connects to other trails through the connector trails, also prohibited. Therefore, reaching Stormy Bay is not possible for Yemmy.

Answer: No.

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Bunuel · Answer

Suppose that each of the following statements describes Information that is included in the brochure. Based on the given information, for each of the following, select Needs to consider if it describes information that Simon likely needs to consider in determining whether he could use the connector trail between Heath Hill and Trail B to hike from the picnic area to Heath Hill and back without conflicting with his plan as described. Otherwise, select Does not need to consider.

The question asks whether Simon can use the connector between Heath Hill and Trail B to go from the picnic area to Heath Hill and back without conflicting with his plan. His only constraint is time, meaning each hike must be completed within 4 hours. He does not need to worry about difficulty, scenery, or distance. The only factor to check is if the total time for the round-trip hike is within the 4-hour limit.

• The hiking time from the picnic area along Trail B to the intersection with the connector trail to Heath Hill is 1.5 hours.

Since Simon wants to go from the picnic area to Heath Hill and back, the time from the picnic area to the intersection with the connector trail (green dot on the map) is crucial. This 1.5-hour segment must be considered as part of his total hiking time.

Answer: Needs to consider.

• The connector trail from Heath Hill to Trail B has a scenery rating of one asterisk.

As discussed above, Simon’s only constraint is time, so the scenery rating is irrelevant to his plan.

Answer: Does not need to consider.

• The connector trail from Heath Hill to Trail B has a hiking time of 0.75 hours.

Similar to the first statement, this is a time parameter, and since Simon is only interested in times, this should be considered. The time he would spend between the green dot and the blue dot on the map is important for his total hiking time and needs to be factored into his planning.

Answer: Needs to consider.

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sachi-in · Answer

Q2:

select Needs to consider if it describes information that Simon likely needs to consider in determining whether he could use the connector trail between Heath Hill and Trail B to hike from the picnic area to Heath Hill and back without conflicting with his plan as described

To reach Heath Hill Simon must know the time taken to reach there using Trail B and the Connecting Trail.

Since treking must be of 4 hrs max he needs to know the timings of two ,  but knowing the scenic rating isn't a concern for him .

Q3:

If Red Gorge is blocked then Trail B is unusable. Hence to reach the Beach trail D has to be used and this same must be used when returning.
Thus there is no way same section can be avoided .

vaishmahe · Answer

Can someone help with a quicker way to process the information given in the tabs in the above DI question? Please guide.
 KarishmaB   CrackverbalGMAT   GMATNinja

KarishmaB · Answer

Understand what is given in the tabs. Don't try to retain everything and link everything with the given map. That is, understand the given data, don't evaluate it fully. Give yourself 2 mins to read through the data of the tabs and know what it is where. After that, come to the questions and evaluate only that part which is relevant. I will show how in my next webinar. Will update here once done. Here is the YouTube link to this question discussion: https://youtu.be/xL631VXGjSg

GMATNinja · Answer

For general advice on tackling MSR sets, check out episodes 8 & 9 in our Data Insights video course on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiaK8zyGGndmqBwVwRLpRXwRkILd4puFb.

SmileAndSolve · Answer

Q1. Y has 2 conditions for avoidance:
1. lowest scenery rating (trail A)
2. highest difficulty rating (trail F + Red George)

Soln:Compatibility with trails provided:
1. Crown Cliff: trail D = compatible
2. Spring Grove: trail A = incompatible
3. Stormy Bay Beach:  trail F  or (trail B +  Red George  + connector + G): = incompatible

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Q2. According to question: Simon wants to trek picnic area --> Heath Hill ---> picnic area, using trail B. 
 S conditions:
1. >= 2 trek; <= 4 hours/trek
2. start & end at picnic area

Soln: (We are not asked exact answer but what he should CONSIDER in question:
1.On trail B: from picnic area to Red George = 1.5 hr. Time should be considered, so yes.
2.Scenic Rating: need not considered.
3. Connector time from Heath Hill to connector, should be considered.

Understand, we are not asked to answer only if it exceeds 4 hours, it's just asking things to consider which are relevant as per Simon.

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Q3. Situation: Trail B through Red George is closed.

1. Trails to Surf Beach = Trail D+E+ F (difficulty level also checked)
 OR
 = Trail B + Red George + One of the connectors.
 Overlap would occur, so A.

GMATslaughter100 · Answer

KarishmaB 
Hi Karishma, I have a question for Q3. ro4. I think it is also correct. Below is my reasoning. Where do I go wrong? Thanks. (Your video explanation did not talk too much about this)

'Maly will be unable to hike on any difficult trails or trail sections.'

if Maly has to obey his rule:
 Maly's Plan
 • To hike 1 or more trail or trail section with a difficulty rating of high
 • Not to hike any trail or trail section twice
he has to choose 1 high difficulty trail, since Red Gorge is closed, he can ONLY choose trail F.
then if he starts from picnic spot, how can he go on trail F and then return back to picnic spot, without hiking any trail or trail section twice(his rule) ?
Basically, my point is, if Red Gorge is closed, Maly cannot obey his original rule anymore.

KarishmaB · Answer

That would be correct if the statement said:
 Option 4. Maly will be unable to hike on any difficult trails or trail sections without hiking the same trail or trail section twice.
 (as clarified in the first option)

Then this is a true statement. But she can go to difficult trails by hiking the same trail or trail section twice. Look, both are part of Maly's plans. But with the closing of Red gorge, one of them certainly will not work. 
Either she won't be able to go to any difficult trails or she won't be able to walk on a trail only once. How can we take the call that she won't be able to go on any difficult trails?

i.e. Say plan is that I will do A and B.
But something happens because of which both simultaneously are not possible. Now?
Now either I will do A and not B
or
I will do B and not A.

Can you say that you cannot do A and that is true? No. You cannot.

Another point to consider - they say 'difficult' trails, not 'high difficulty' trails. So are medium difficulty trails included? I am not sure.

BongBideshini · Answer

For Stormy Bay Beach, can't Yemmy take D-E-connector trail-B-connector-G?

Bunuel · Answer

No. That route uses connector trails, but the question specifically says to hike along only main trails.

Based on the information provided, for each of the following scenic features, select  Yes  if starting at the picnic area and  hiking along only main trails  to that feature would be compatible with Yemmy’s plan as it is described. Otherwise, select  No .

Maly, Simon, and Yemmy have just arrived at the Ocean Cliff Park

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Needs to consider	Does not need to consider
		The hiking time from the picnic area along Trail B to the intersection with the connector trail to Heath Hill is 1.5 hours.
		The connector trail from Heath Hill to Trail B has a scenery rating of one asterisk.
		The connector trail from Heath Hill to Trail B has a hiking time of 0.75 hours.

	Maly will be unable to hike to Surf Beach and back to the picnic area without hiking the same trail or trail section twice.
	Simon will be unable to take 2 hikes of no more than 4 hours each.
	Yemmy will be unable to hike without taking the trail with the lowest scenery rating.
	Maly will be unable to hike on any difficult trails or trail sections.
	Yemmy will be unable to hike without taking at least one trail or trail section with a high difficulty rating.

GMAT Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR) Questions

Maly, Simon, and Yemmy have just arrived at the Ocean Cliff Park

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My Rewards