For each of 10 consecutive years (Year 1 through Year 10), the graph

Question

https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=81701 For each of 10 consecutive years (Year 1 through Year 10), the graph shows a certain region's irrigated crop land in hectares (left scale), non irrigated crop plant area in hectares (left scale) and freshwater area in hectares (right scale). From each drop-down menu, select the option that creates the most accurate statement based on the information given. For the 10 years shown in the graph for this reason, the number of hectares of freshwater exceeded the number of hectares of irrigated crop land in GRAPH_1_PLACEHOLDER of the years. For the 10 years shown in the graph for this region, the number of hectares of irrigated crop land exceeded the number of hectares of non irrigated crop land in GRAPH_2_PLACEHOLDER of the years. GMAT-Club-Forum-lo12dsuf.png

Purnank · Answer

Both are all. for first just look at the minimum value of freshwater is somewhere around the middle of 20k-24k which is way higher than the scale of cropland hectors. and second is straight forward. GMAT-Club-Forum-x5wr7ixv.png

Bismuth83 · Answer

1. The question compares the area of the croplands and freshwater. It is key to note that the area for freshwater is shown on the right side of the graph instead of the left.

2. For the first part, across 10 years, freshwater was at least 20000 hectares and irrigated crop land was no more than 18000. This means that freshwater exceeded irrigated crop land for all 10 years.

3. For the second part, across 10 years, irrigated crop land was at least 6000 hectares and nonirrigated crop land was no more than 4000. This means that irrigated crop land exceeded nonirrigated crop land for all 10 years.

4. Our answer will be:   D1 - all and D2 - all  .

egmat · Answer

Step 1: Identify What Each Line Represents 
The graph has  THREE  lines and  TWO  different Y-axes:

LEFT Y-axis (0 to 18,000 hectares) : Used for cropland
- Irrigated cropland (dashed line with squares)
- Nonirrigated cropland (solid line with circles - lower line)

RIGHT Y-axis (0 to 36,000 hectares) : Used for freshwater
- Freshwater area (solid line with circles)

TRAP ALERT:  Many students make the mistake of reading ALL lines from the same axis.  You must match each variable to its correct scale!

Step 2: Answer Dropdown 1 - Freshwater vs Irrigated 
Let's compare values for each year:

Freshwater  (read from RIGHT scale): ranges from approximately  20,000 to 34,000  hectares
 Irrigated cropland  (read from LEFT scale): ranges from approximately  12,000 to 17,000  hectares

Key insight:  Even at its MINIMUM, freshwater (~20,000 hectares) is GREATER than irrigated cropland at its MAXIMUM (~17,000 hectares).

Therefore , freshwater > irrigated for  ALL 10 years .

Step 3: Answer Dropdown 2 - Irrigated vs Nonirrigated 
Both use the LEFT scale:

Irrigated : starts ~16,000, decreases to ~12,000 hectares
 Nonirrigated : starts ~4,000, increases to ~10,000 hectares

Key insight:  Throughout all 10 years, the irrigated line (dashed) stays ABOVE the nonirrigated line (solid lower). Even in Year 10 when they're closest:
- Irrigated: ~12,000 hectares
- Nonirrigated: ~10,000 hectares

Therefore , irrigated > nonirrigated for  ALL 10 years .

Quick Verification Method: 
1. For freshwater vs irrigated: Check if the lines ever cross when reading from their respective scales - they don't
2. For irrigated vs nonirrigated: Both on same scale, dashed line stays above solid lower line throughout

Answer: Dropdown 1 = all, Dropdown 2 = all

For each of 10 consecutive years (Year 1 through Year 10), the graph

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For each of 10 consecutive years (Year 1 through Year 10), the graph

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