Each of four technical certifications (Certifications A, B, C, and D)

Question

Each of four technical certifications (Certifications A, B, C, and D) requires candidates to take a series of courses from among Courses 1 through 9. The candidate receives a certification upon finishing all the required courses for that certification. Once a course is completed for one certification, it does not need to be completed again for other certifications that also require it. The table shows the courses required for each certification. For example, Certification A requires candidates to take Courses 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9.

Marina has not taken any of the courses, but she plans to receive all four certifications. She will first take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of courses, then she will take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of additional courses, and so on.      Certification        Course    A    B    C    D     1  *  *  *  *    2  *  *        3      *      4    *        5  *    *      6    *    *    7  *      *    8      *       9  *           ( Sort ↕  the table by clicking on the headers)

For each of the following statements about these certifications, select  Yes  if the statement is accurate based on the information provided. Otherwise, select  No .

Catman · Answer

Marina will first complete the Certificate which will have most common courses.

So, she will complete course 1, course 6 and course 7 first and will complete Certificate D.

Now, she will complete the course 2 and course 4, so that she will complete Certificate B.

Afterwards she will complete the course 9 and complete the Certificate A.

Finally she will complete two individual courses 3 and 8 to complete the Certificate C.

Order of Completion from first to last is Certificate D, Certificate B, Certificate A and Certificate C.

Answer No, Yes, No.

pintukr · Answer

Sajjad1994

Sequence for Courses (based on the recommended sequence in the Stimulus)

D (Courses 1,6,7) --> least number of courses
B (Courses 2,4) ---> least number of additional courses
A (Courses 5,9) ---> least number of additional courses
A (Courses 3,8) ---> least number of additional courses

Based on the above sequence, we get the answers as 
  Q.1. Marina will receive Certification A first. ---> NO
 Q.2. Marina will receive Certification B second. ----> YES
 Q.3. Marina will receive Certification C third. ---> NO

AnuK2222 · Answer

NO
YES
NO
 "She will first take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of courses, then she will take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of additional courses, and so on."
D has min courses of all so D first (1,6,7), next she does B because she already did 1 and 6 and will do 2,4. 
third she does A because she will need to do only course 9 finally C
so order to ensure she follows her requirement in Question stem is DBAC

shwetakoshija · Answer

Given:  
 
 A table showing the required courses (from Courses 1–9) for four certifications (A, B, C, and D).  
 A candidate receives a certification after completing all its required courses. Example: Certification A requires candidates to take Courses 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9. 
 If a course is completed once, it does not need to be repeated for another certification.

Marina will:
 
 First take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of courses. 
 Then take all and only the courses required for the certification that requires the least number of additional courses, and so on.

To Find:  For each statement, determine whether it is accurate based on the table.

Solution:

Statement 1 : Marina will receive Certification A first
Since Marina prioritizes the certification(s) that need the least number of courses, we need to determine total courses required for each certification.
To count required courses for each, count the number of stars in each column.

Certification A: Total Number of courses required = 5 (Courses 1, 2, 5, 7, 9) 
 Certification B: Total Number of courses required = 4 (Courses 1, 2, 4, 6) 
 Certification C: Total Number of courses required = 4 (Courses 1, 3, 5, 8) 
 Certification D: Total Number of courses required = 3 (Courses 1, 6, 7)

Fewest total courses = 3 (for Certification D). So, Marina receives Certification D first (not A as statement 1 says). 
 We mark "No"

Statement 2 : Marina will receive Certification B second.
Again, we will calculate the number of additional courses needed for each certification other than D. 
First note that after Certification D, we have 3 completed courses: 1, 6, 7.

So, additional courses required for remaining certifications:
 
 Certification A: Total Number of additional courses required = 3 (Courses 2, 5, 9) 
 Certification B: Total Number of additional courses required= 2 (Courses 2, 4) 
 Certification C: Total Number of additional courses required = 3 (Courses 3, 5, 8)

Fewest number of additional courses required = 2 (for Certification B). So, Marina receives Certification B second, just as statement 2 says.
 We mark "Yes"

Statement 3 : Marina will receive Certification C third.
Once more, we will calculate the number of additional courses needed for each certification other than D and B. 
Note that after Certifications B and D, we have 5 completed courses: 1, 6, 7, 2, 4

So, additional courses required for remaining certifications:
 
 Certification A: Total Number of additional courses required = 2 (Courses 5, 9) 
 Certification C: Total Number of additional courses required = 3 (Courses 3, 5, 8)

Fewest number of additional courses required = 2 (for Certification A). So, Marina receives Certification A third (not C as statement 3 says).
 We mark "No"

Correct Answers: No, Yes, No

Shweta Koshija  
  GMAT, GRE, SAT Coach for 10+ years

pappal · Answer

for certain she will take course D requiring 3 courses(1,6,7)
next she will take B requiring 2 additional courses(2,4) 
now she will take A requiring 2 additional courses (5,9) rather than C that requires 3 courses(3,5,8)
so at last she takes C
so the correct choices are No,Yes,No

egmat · Answer

Hi there,

Great question! Let's walk through Marina's certification order step by step using her strategy: always pick the certification requiring the fewest additional courses.

First, let's count the total courses each certification needs: 
- Certification A: Courses  1 ,  2 ,  5 ,  7 ,  9  →  5  courses
- Certification B: Courses  1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  6  →  4  courses
- Certification C: Courses  1 ,  3 ,  5 ,  8  →  4  courses
- Certification D: Courses  1 ,  6 ,  7  →  3  courses

Step 1  – Fewest total courses: Certification D wins with only  3  courses. Marina takes Courses  1 ,  6 ,  7 . She now has: { 1 ,  6 ,  7 }.

Step 2  – Fewest additional courses (already has  1 ,  6 ,  7 ):
- A still needs:  2 ,  5 ,  9  →  3  additional
- B still needs:  2 ,  4  →  2  additional (already has  1  and  6 )
- C still needs:  3 ,  5 ,  8  →  3  additional (already has  1 )
Certification B wins with only  2  additional courses. Marina takes Courses  2 ,  4 . She now has: { 1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  6 ,  7 }.

Step 3  – Fewest additional courses (already has  1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  6 ,  7 ):
- A still needs:  5 ,  9  →  2  additional (already has  1 ,  2 ,  7 )
- C still needs:  3 ,  5 ,  8  →  3  additional (already has  1 )
Certification A wins with  2  additional courses. Marina takes Courses  5 ,  9 .

Step 4  – Certification C is last. Marina takes Courses  3 ,  8 .

Key Insight:  Final order: D → B → A → C

S1:  Marina receives A first →  No  (D is first)
 S2:  Marina receives B second →  Yes 
 S3:  Marina receives C third →  No  (A is third; C is fourth)

Answer: No, Yes, No

Adit_ · Answer

Might sound kind of stupid but only now did I realise that the stars can be arranged by using the sorting option and it makes it much more simpler to scan. I think sometimes it feels like just scanning should be enough but it could take slight bit more time since there are no numbers as such involved one might be tempted to scan without the use of the sorts. I think its habit building that way and will help in the long run!

Each of four technical certifications (Certifications A, B, C, and D)

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Yes	No
		Marina will receive Certification A first.
		Marina will receive Certification B second.
		Marina will receive Certification C third.

GMAT Graphs and Tables (G&T) Questions

Each of four technical certifications (Certifications A, B, C, and D)

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