Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Dec 1511:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease.
Dec 1608:00 AM PST
-11:59 PM PST
GMAT Club 12 Days of Christmas is a 4th Annual GMAT Club Winter Competition based on solving questions. This is the Winter GMAT competition on GMAT Club with an amazing opportunity to win over $40,000 worth of prizes!- Dec 17
09:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
Join Manhattan Prep instructor Whitney Garner for a fun—and thorough—review of logic-based (non-math) problems, with a particular emphasis on Data Sufficiency and Two-Parts. - Dec 18
10:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
Here is the essential guide to securing scholarships as an MBA student! In this video, we explore the various types of scholarships available, including need-based and merit-based options. - Dec 21
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment
16 Nov 2019, 00:48
Kudos
Bookmarks
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
35%
(medium)
Question Stats:
68% (01:39) correct
32%
(02:01)
wrong
based on 840
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated when the massive influx of capital that took place under Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
(A) The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was
(B) Properly characterized, the economic problem Puerto Rico has is a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was
(C) The economic problem of Puerto Rico is properly characterized not as overpopulation but as a surplus of labor, which was only
(D) The economic problem of Puerto Rico is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, which only was
(E) Puerto Rico has, properly characterized, the economic problem of a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it was only
16 Nov 2019, 00:50
Kudos
Bookmarks
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
• MEANING
The economic problem of Puerto Rico is properly characterized as a surplus of labor, not as overpopulation.
Operation B made the surplus of labor worse. The operation decreased demand for labor. Operation B simply made a problem worse.
THE PROMPT, shortened a little
The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated whenthe massive influx of capital that took place under Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
We'll work with this shortened version of the prompt:
THE OPTIONS
Example: The problem ABC has . . . IS?
• does “it” create pronoun ambiguity? I don’t think so.
• IT must have only one logical antecedent.
-- If we can tell from context that “it” logically refers to only one noun, we probably do not have pronoun ambiguity.
-- The first part of the sentence identifies the problem: a surplus of labor
-- the second part of the sentence describes something that would aggravate a surplus of labor. That is:
(1) Operation B aggravated “it” by decreasing demand for labor. A surplus of labor would definitely be aggravated if demand for labor declined.
(2) How could a decreased demand for labor affect overpopulation, never mind aggravate overpopulation (which is not the problem)?
• I would not eliminate A based on pronoun ambiguity unless it were the last of two options. But I would look for an option without ambiguity.
• the placement of properly characterized is jarring
• “only” is wrongly placed.
-- Meaning-wise, “only” should be placed after "was" so that "only" means “simply,” as in:
The labor surplus problem was already bad, and Operation B simply made that problem worse.
KEEP A, but look for better options
KEEP, but now I am 99% sure that neither A nor B is the answer because A and B are so similar
-- X = overpopulation and Y = a surplus of labor
-- X and Y are parallel nouns
• This phrasing is much clearer than that in A and B
• modification? which correctly modifies surplus of labor
-- Correct.: that surplus of labor "was only aggravated" [was simply/just made worse] when Operation B led to decreased demand for labor.
KEEP
-- eliminate A and B (inferior to C)
-- compare D and E to (C).
-- the awkward verb “has” is gone
-- “and it” is replaced by “which.”
-- ignore pronoun ambiguity. It’s not worth your time because (C) is a better answer.
• D is similar to A and B. “only” is still a problem, as is properly characterized
Most importantly, D is inferior to C.
Eliminate D.
• the placement of properly characterized is jarring
• when placed after the verb, “the” economic problem is strange and rhetorically weird.
-- Not idiomatic: The boy has the fear of spiders, not heights.
-- Better: The boy has a fear of spiders, not heights.
• E is not as good as C
Eliminate E
The answer is C
• NOTES
Keep your eyes on the prize. In other words, eliminate the four worst answers.
That process may come in "out of order." I couldn't eliminate A and B until I had read C.
I had to "double back" and strike through (A) and (B) on my paper.
If I cannot decide quickly that an option contains a fatal error, I do not keep looking for an error.
I keep the option. The other answers will give me more information than will staring at a bad sentence whose errors are slippery.
Eventually I saw that A, B, D, and E were similar, and that each was inferior to C.
COMMENTS
Tushrgupta , welcome to SC Butler.
A few of these explanations are really good, and a couple are outstanding.
All newcomers get kudos for their first post.
After that, in order to earn kudos, your post must explain things.
Assertion is not explanation.
I think it is hard to write explanations for questions in which options are not glaringly horrible in one or two clear ways, but just sort of all-around low-level bad.
Whatever the case, I am glad to have your posts. Happy kudos to those who explained.
Project SC Butler: Day 192: Sentence Correction (SC1)
• MEANING
The economic problem of Puerto Rico is properly characterized as a surplus of labor, not as overpopulation.
Operation B made the surplus of labor worse. The operation decreased demand for labor. Operation B simply made a problem worse.
THE PROMPT, shortened a little
The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated when
We'll work with this shortened version of the prompt:
Quote:
The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
THE OPTIONS
Quote:
A) The economic problem Puerto Rico has is, properly characterized,[/color] a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
• This sentence is a disaster. it is convoluted, choppy, and indirect.Example: The problem ABC has . . . IS?
• does “it” create pronoun ambiguity? I don’t think so.
• IT must have only one logical antecedent.
-- If we can tell from context that “it” logically refers to only one noun, we probably do not have pronoun ambiguity.
-- The first part of the sentence identifies the problem: a surplus of labor
-- the second part of the sentence describes something that would aggravate a surplus of labor. That is:
(1) Operation B aggravated “it” by decreasing demand for labor. A surplus of labor would definitely be aggravated if demand for labor declined.
(2) How could a decreased demand for labor affect overpopulation, never mind aggravate overpopulation (which is not the problem)?
• I would not eliminate A based on pronoun ambiguity unless it were the last of two options. But I would look for an option without ambiguity.
• the placement of properly characterized is jarring
• “only” is wrongly placed.
-- Meaning-wise, “only” should be placed after "was" so that "only" means “simply,” as in:
The labor surplus problem was already bad, and Operation B simply made that problem worse.
KEEP A, but look for better options
Quote:
B) Properly characterized, the economic problem Puerto Rico has is a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it only was aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
• same problems as those in A: has is and placement of onlyKEEP, but now I am 99% sure that neither A nor B is the answer because A and B are so similar
Quote:
C) The economic problem of Puerto Rico is properly characterized not as overpopulation but as a surplus of labor, which was only aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
• I see a common idiom: The problem is properly characterized Not as X but as Y-- X = overpopulation and Y = a surplus of labor
-- X and Y are parallel nouns
• This phrasing is much clearer than that in A and B
• modification? which correctly modifies surplus of labor
-- Correct.: that surplus of labor "was only aggravated" [was simply/just made worse] when Operation B led to decreased demand for labor.
KEEP
-- eliminate A and B (inferior to C)
-- compare D and E to (C).
Quote:
D) The economic problem of Puerto Rico is, properly characterized, a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, which only was aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
• (D) improves upon (A) in two meager ways-- the awkward verb “has” is gone
-- “and it” is replaced by “which.”
-- ignore pronoun ambiguity. It’s not worth your time because (C) is a better answer.
• D is similar to A and B. “only” is still a problem, as is properly characterized
Most importantly, D is inferior to C.
Eliminate D.
Quote:
E) Puerto Rico has, properly characterized, the economic problem of a surplus of labor, not overpopulation, and it was only aggravated when Operation Bootstrap resulted in a notable decline in the demand for labor.
• very similar to A, B, and D. • the placement of properly characterized is jarring
• when placed after the verb, “the” economic problem is strange and rhetorically weird.
-- Not idiomatic: The boy has the fear of spiders, not heights.
-- Better: The boy has a fear of spiders, not heights.
• E is not as good as C
Eliminate E
The answer is C
• NOTES
Keep your eyes on the prize. In other words, eliminate the four worst answers.
That process may come in "out of order." I couldn't eliminate A and B until I had read C.
I had to "double back" and strike through (A) and (B) on my paper.
If I cannot decide quickly that an option contains a fatal error, I do not keep looking for an error.
I keep the option. The other answers will give me more information than will staring at a bad sentence whose errors are slippery.
Eventually I saw that A, B, D, and E were similar, and that each was inferior to C.
COMMENTS
Tushrgupta , welcome to SC Butler.
A few of these explanations are really good, and a couple are outstanding.
All newcomers get kudos for their first post.
After that, in order to earn kudos, your post must explain things.
Assertion is not explanation.
I think it is hard to write explanations for questions in which options are not glaringly horrible in one or two clear ways, but just sort of all-around low-level bad.
Whatever the case, I am glad to have your posts. Happy kudos to those who explained.
16 Nov 2019, 01:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
I think the only correct choice is (C), in which the correct idiom "be characterized as" is used to to show the typical feature of "the economic problem Puerto Rico".
