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+ 1 D.
though some mathematics also involved.
If the percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state, and the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City , it can clearly be inferred that Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees....
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>> it can clearly be inferred that Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees....

How?

"...with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City". Could this not mean that the smallest business has, say, 27 employees?

and "the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City" could this be one, and Grandview City have none?

Still can't see how D must be true.
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I only consider the 2 choices C & D. Choice C talks about the number while the argument talks about the percentage, so eliminate. On the other hand, choice D is more precise.
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So....are you guys saying, in not so many words, that while its possible for D not to be true as the question asks you are choosing it as the least wrong answer?
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Ans: D

"The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state..."

This means that at least some local businesses in Grandview city have at LEAST ten employees. This means that Answer D (which says that some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10-15 employees) is clearly true.
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>>"The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state..."
>>This means that at least some local businesses in Grandview city have at LEAST ten employees

Agreed.

>>This means that Answer D (which says that some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10-15 employees) is clearly true

How so?

"The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City..." could mean that the smallest business has 27 employees, no? And if this were true then D would not meet the criteria of 'must' be true.
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>>"The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state..."
>>This means that at least some local businesses in Grandview city have at LEAST ten employees

Agreed.

>>This means that Answer D (which says that some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10-15 employees) is clearly true

How so?

"The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City..." could mean that the smallest business has 27 employees, no? And if this were true then D would not meet the criteria of 'must' be true.

That cannot be true because then the statement "the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state" would not be possible.

Remember that:
Grandview City = highest % with 10+ employees

Lakeshore City = highest % with 15+ employees

If the smallest business in Grandview has 27 employees as you said, then there's no way that Lakeshore has the highest % with 15+ employees.
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a.The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state. Can't be said.
b.The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country. There is no discussion of comparison between states in the country.
c.The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city. May be, but can't be sure from the argument.
d.Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees. Correct
e.The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City. There is no discussion of average number of employees.
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I understand why D is right. But can someone help me understand why C is wrong?

I understand it's talking about numbers and not percentages. But given that we have comparable components, is it not right to evaluate them against numbers as well?

" the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state."

So, LS city has the highest percentage of businesses having 15 or more employees, in the state. Let's say x is the total number of businesses with 15 or more employees. Let LS have 15% share of x and GV have 10% share of x (some percentage lesser than 15, for if not, GV should've figured out to be having the highest percentage share). Then, we clearly see that 10% of x is smaller than 15% of x.

Doesn't that lead to "The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city."?
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D
As it should be between 10-15 to make the argument true
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we are talking with percentages, so any answer choice that contains values/numbers is not good.

b.The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country
bad, as it compares one state with another.

a.The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state.
we don't know.

c.The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city.
we don't know, we speak about percentages.

d.Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees
yes!!!

e.The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City.
we don't know!

D
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nickb99
First post, please go easy on me:)
Came across this test question doing my GMAT prep. See the bottom of this post for my issue with the answer.

The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state. However, the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state. If the statements above are true, then which of the following must also be true?

a.The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state.

b.The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country

c.The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city.

d.Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees

e.The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City.

/
/
/
My issue is that the question says "which of the following must also be true? ". I can see that the answer can be/is likely to be true, but must? Trying to get my head around how I should best come to this answer. Any help appreciated. Best, Nick

How I thought about Answer Choice D:

We know that Grandview City has Highest % of 10+ employees

Lakeshore City has Highest % of 15+ employees

When reading answer choice D, maybe you thought "Well what if all of Grandview City local businesses had 16+ employees. Or 17+ employees?"
Well, if that was the case, then Grandview would have highest % of 15+ employees and not Lakeshore.

Therefore, Grandview City MUST have at least one local business with between 10-15 employees.

Hope this helps someone out there.
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I am not able to grasp why C is not the correct answer here.
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shreytrivedi
I am not able to grasp why C is not the correct answer here.

C is incorrect because we are given percentage shares in the original statement.

Option C however is talking about absolute numbers.
Thats the trap ;)
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The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state. However, the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state. If the statements above are true, then which of the following must also be true?


A. The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state. Cannot be asserted

B. The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country The question stem only talks about a particular state and there is no comparison with other states in the country.

C. The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city. This statement incorrectly talks about the number, whereas the question stem talks about percentage.

D. Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees This is the correct answer choice.

E. The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City. Cannot be asserted


The highlighted portions above explains why option D is correct answer choice.

Consider giving a kudos, if you think my explanation is on point.
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nickb99
The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state. However, the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state. If the statements above are true, then which of the following must also be true?


A. The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state.

B. The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country

C. The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city.

D. Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees

E. The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City.[/i]


/
/
/
My issue is that the question says "which of the following must also be true? ". I can see that the answer can be/is likely to be true, but must? Trying to get my head around how I should best come to this answer. Any help appreciated. Best, Nick

Option C is also correct. Let's say that there are total 100 number of business in the state with 15 or 15+ employees.
If the latter restaurant has higher percentage, then definitely it has higher number of business than any other city in the state has.
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nickb99
The percentage of local businesses with more than ten employees is higher in Grandview City than in any another city in the state. However, the percentage of local businesses with 15 employees or more is higher in Lakeshore City, which is in the same state, than in any other city in the state. If the statements above are true, then which of the following must also be true?


A. The percentage of local business with more than 18 employees is higher in Lakeshore city than in any other city in the state.

B. The state has more local business with more than ten employees than any other state in the country

C. The number of local business with 15 or more employees is greater in Lakeshore city than in Grandview city.

D. Some local businesses in Grandview City have between 10 and 15 employees

E. The average number of employees per business is higher in Lakeshore city than in Grandview City.[/i]


/
/
/
My issue is that the question says "which of the following must also be true? ". I can see that the answer can be/is likely to be true, but must? Trying to get my head around how I should best come to this answer. Any help appreciated. Best, Nick

Official Explanation:



D

Step 1: Identify the Question Type

This question asks us to choose the answer that makes a valid deduction from the stimulus, so it is an Inference question.

Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus

Usually, the stimulus of an Inference question will not include an argument. We just need to read and understand the statements in the stimulus and take note of any connections between them. This stimulus really just provides two related pieces of information: Grandview has the highest percentage of businesses with 11+ employees, while Lakeshore has the highest percentage with 15+.

Step 3: Predict the Answer

Grandview has the highest percentage of businesses with 11+ employees, but not the highest percentage with 15+. The only way that’s possible is if Grandview has at least a few businesses with 11–14 employees. We might use Picking Numbers to make this deduction more obvious. For instance, let’s say that both Grandview and Lakeshore have 100 businesses. If Grandview has 25 businesses with 11+ employees, and Lakeshore has 20 businesses with 15+ employees, Lakeshore could still have the higher percentage of 15+ employee businesses if Grandview has more than 5 businesses with 11–14 employees. What “must be true” is that Grandview has at least a few businesses with 11–14 employees. We’ll be looking for an answer choice that says so.

Step 4: Evaluate the Choices

(D) matches our prediction perfectly and is the correct answer. (A) is incorrect because businesses with more than 18 employees are outside the scope of the stimulus. (B) introduces an irrelevant comparison between states. We’re only interested in two specific cities within one state, not in any other states. (C) is a bit tricky, but the actual number of businesses is outside the scope; we’re concerned only with percentages, not raw numbers. Finally, (E) introduces another irrelevant point. We care only about businesses with very specific numbers of employees, not about the average number of employees per business. Choice (D) is the correct answer
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