Two (or more) lines of a poem are said to rhyme when the final word of

Question

Two (or more) lines of a poem are said to rhyme when the final word of each line rhymes with the final word of the other line (or lines). Letter sequences, starting with the letter A, are used to describe rhyme schemes in a poem. For example, the rhyme scheme ABAB indicates that the first and third lines rhyme, and that the second and fourth lines rhyme; the rhyme scheme ABAABB indicates that the first, third, and fourth lines rhyme, and that the second, fifth, and sixth lines rhyme. Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme *****, where each * is either A or B. If the five-line poem that Joe wrote is such that the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme, and the third and fourth lines rhyme, then did Joe's poem have rhyme scheme *****?

(1) The sequence ***** includes two consecutive A's and two consecutive B's.

(2) In the sequence *****, only the third and fourth letters are B.

A Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
B Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient.
C BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
D EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
E Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.

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Official Answer

B

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Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Two (or more) lines of a poem are said to rhyme when the final word of each line rhymes with the final word of the other line (or lines). Letter sequences, starting with the letter A, are used to describe rhyme schemes in a poem. For example, the rhyme scheme ABAB indicates that the first and third lines rhyme, and that the second and fourth lines rhyme; the rhyme scheme ABAABB indicates that the first, third, and fourth lines rhyme, and that the second, fifth, and sixth lines rhyme. Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme *****, where each * is either A or B. If the five-line poem that Joe wrote is such that the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme, and the third and fourth lines rhyme, then did Joe's poem have rhyme scheme *****?

Joe wrote a poem with the rhyme scheme AABBA (remember the letter sequences in rhyme schemes are given to start with the letter A). We need to determine whether this scheme matches the assignment of *****.

(1) The sequence ***** includes two consecutive A's and two consecutive B's.

This implies that ***** could represent either AABBA or ABBAA. Therefore, Joe's poem (AABBA) could match the sequence, but it may also not. Not sufficient.

(2) In the sequence *****, only the third and fourth letters are B.

This implies that the sequence can only be AABBA, which matches Joe's poem exactly. Sufficient.

Answer: B

Bunuel · Answer

Could you please provide a screenshot of the question? That would help. Is it from OG or the official mocks? Thank you!

dredwulf · Answer

official mocks! sure I can upload later tomorrow - question is worded exactly like this though, typed it out

Archit3110 · Answer

@ dredwulf 
could you re check and confirm wording in the question:
"the rhyme scheme ABAABB indicates that the first, third, and fourth lines rhyme, and that the third, fifth, and sixth lines rhyme. Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme *****, where each * is either A or B. If the five-line poem that Joe wrote is such that"

IMO it should be
"the rhyme scheme ABAABB indicates that the first, third, and fourth lines rhyme, and that the  second , fifth, and sixth lines rhyme. Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme *****, where each * is either A or B. If the five-line poem that Joe wrote is such that "

solving question:

given that 
Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme *****, where each * is either A or B

Target:
If the five-line poem that Joe wrote is such that the  first, second, and fifth lines rhyme , and the  third and fourth lines rhyme , then did Joe's poem have rhyme scheme *****?

#1
The sequence ***** includes two consecutive A's and two consecutive B's.

possible scenario
AABBA
BBAAB
insufficient
#2

In the sequence *****, only the third and fourth letters are B.
AABBA
sufficient
OPTION B is correct

dredwulf · Answer

you're right! edited

Bunuel · Answer

Thank you! That's why a screenshot it always useful.

Bunuel · Answer

The overall answer is correct, it’s B. However, when discussing the first statement, the sequence BBAAB is not possible because we are told the sequence must start with A. So for the first statement, only AABBA or ABBAA are possible.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Bunuel , can you please tag this GMAT prep focus? It will help to refrain us from attempting official mock questions.

Bunuel · Answer

_________________________
Done. Thank you!

Rosie55 · Answer

Bunuel   KarishmaB

I am super confused here and appreciate your help on this.
In this DS problem, the prompt says:
**“Joe was asked to write a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme ***, where each * is either A or B.”

My confusion is this:
I initially thought Joe could have used letters other than A and B—for example, “C”—because the question itself is asking whether the poem he actually wrote matched the given scheme. That implies he could have failed to follow the scheme, even including the letter choice. So I assumed he could write AACCA and chose E.

So why is it assumed that Joe must have used only A and B?
Isn’t “each * is either A or B” simply describing the given scheme, rather than a restriction that Joe is guaranteed to obey? If the instruction were written separately , I could see the distinction.
But since “where each * is either A or B” grammatically modifies the sequence itself, I interpreted it as part of the same instruction that Joe could potentially violate.

KarishmaB · Answer

Letters themselves do not mean anything. They only indicate rhyming lines.

So in 5 lines, the rhyming scheme could be AAABB or could be AAACC - they are the same scheme. They just mean that first 3 lines rhyme and last two lines rhyme. We could use any letter as long as each letter represents a unique rhyme.

So an 8 line poem could be

AABBAABB - means 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th lines rhyme with each other (e.g. say, day, hay, may) and 3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th rhyme (e.g. toe, mow, foe, slow)
AABBAACC - means 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th lines rhyme with each other (e.g. say, day, hay, may); 3rd and 4th rhyme (e.g. toe, foe) and 7th and 8th rhyme (e.g. slant, plant)

LittleKidLover96 · Answer

Hi, can someone please explain what is the question asking precisely? I figured that the rhyme scheme would be AABBA. Then the question of " then did Joe's poem have rhyme scheme *****?" did not make sense to me. Please let me know which wording did I miss to have this foolish gap in understanding?

Bunuel · Answer

The ***** is just a placeholder for the assigned rhyme scheme. It is intentionally hidden, like a blank you are supposed to identify using the statements.

So even if you figure out Joe’s actual scheme, the question “did Joe’s poem have rhyme scheme *****?” is asking whether his actual scheme matches that hidden assigned scheme.

uarmybakbak · Answer

Hi, I'm confused about the prompt "Letter sequences, starting with the letter A, are used to describe rhyme schemes in a poem.". So the sequence starts with A, and lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme while lines 3 and 4 rhyme. Doesn’t that already fix the pattern as AABBA?

If so, why do we still need the statements? I chose D because the pattern seemed fixed.

If so, why do we still need the statements? I chose D because the pattern seemed fixed.

Bunuel · Answer

Joe’s poem is indeed fixed as AABBA. But the question is not asking what rhyme scheme Joe wrote. It is asking whether the assigned pattern ***** was that same scheme. So the statements are needed to determine *****.

Adit_ · Answer

Statement 1:
Here we can have BAABB or AABBA.
But stem says we need to have same letters for 1st,2nd and 5th only.
INSUFFICIENT.

Statement 2:
Here we have AABBA as our only option. 
SUFFICIENT.

Answer:  Option B

Two (or more) lines of a poem are said to rhyme when the final word of

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Two (or more) lines of a poem are said to rhyme when the final word of

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