To be considered for inclusion in the Barbizon Film Festival, a film m

Question

To be considered for inclusion in the Barbizon Film Festival, a film must belong either to the category of drama or of comedy. Drama always receives more submissions but has a lower acceptance rate than comedy. All of the films are either foreign or domestic. This year, the overall acceptance rate for domestic films was significantly higher than that for foreign films. Within each category, drama and comedy, however, the acceptance rate for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films.

From the cited facts it can be properly concluded that

A. significantly fewer foreign films than domestic films were accepted

B. a higher proportion of the foreign than of the domestic films submitted were submitted as dramas

C. the rate of acceptance of foreign films submitted was the same for dramas as it was for comedies

D. the majority of the domestic films submitted were submitted as comedies

E. the majority of the foreign films submitted were submitted as dramas

This question has been deemed as controversial by GMAC and is to be pulled from future tests. This is a VERY rare situation
-bb

chetan2u · Accepted Answer

Hi,

lets break down the argument.. 
 Two types of films - Drama (D) and Comedy(C).......
Two regions- Foreign(F) and Domestic/Local(L)............... 
More movies compete in D, but D has a lower acceptance rate - \frac{accepted}{Total} ....
L had a higher acceptance rate than F..
and Both L and F had same Acceptance Rate(AR) across the D and C that is AR of  L_D = AR of  F_D  and AR of L_C  = AR of  F_C ...
 
MAIN point - We are talking of RATE and NOT numbers.. 
Our conclusion has to be talking of RATIO. We cannot comment on Numbers

We have to find the conclusion?

Lets see the statements-

A. significantly fewer foreign films than domestic films were accepted
  We are discussing on acceptance rate and NOT numbers

B. a higher proportion of the foreign than of the domestic films submitted were submitted as dramas
  Yes, here the conclusion is talking of ratio ..
lets work on the statement: Since the acceptance ratio is same for both across D and C, If both had equal numbers in both, the acceptance rate would be the SAME for both.
AR of  L_D = AR of  F_D  and AR of L_C  = AR of  F_C ......But AR of C>AR of D...
so the proportion of F in D has to be more to have a lesser AR

C. the rate of acceptance of foreign films submitted was the same for dramas as it was for comedies
  We require to compare between L and F and NOT just  F_D  and  F_C

D. the majority of the domestic films submitted were submitted as comedies
  Again we are talking of numbers and not ratio

E. the majority of the foreign films submitted were submitted as dramas
  Again we are talking of numbers and not ratio

B

Mahmud6 · Answer

Really tough question. 
It is B. The calculation is done in the attached file.
Am I correct?

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Mo2men , I'm happy to respond. :-)

First of all, there are so many stipulations in this question, this is one of the exceedingly few questions on which I might recommend taking a blind guess and moving on, in the interest of time. There are many moving parts to this question, and this complexity makes it confusing and time-consuming. This set-up is similar to an idea in statistics known as Simpson's Paradox . The basic gist in this situation is 1) Within each category, drama and comedy, the acceptance rate for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films . Thus, the acceptance rate in each group is the same. We know, though, that it still be a low acceptance rate in dramas and a higher acceptance rate in comedies. 2) ... the overall acceptance rate for domestic films was significantly higher than that for foreign films . The overall rate is different from in-category rate (as in Simpson's paradox). This happens because a larger proportion of the domestic films were comedies, where the acceptance rate was much higher, and a larger proportion of the foreign films were drama, where the acceptance rate is smaller. Thus, a higher proportion of comedies would be accepted and a higher proportion of the dramas would be rejected. For example, I just whipped up these numbers (fractions show "accepted" over "submitted"): Barbizon Film Festival ratios.png Notice that the number of submission for drama is higher overall. I made the acceptance rate for dramas only 1%, and the acceptance rate for comedies 100%. Many more of the domestic films are in comedy, with the big acceptance rate. Many more the foreign films are in drama, with the tiny acceptance rate. This does the trick. Does this logic make sense? Mike :-)

plaverbach · Answer

"Hello David,

Upon a careful review of the question by our question writers, we agree with you: both B and E are viable responses and the question is confusing. We are in the process of making upgrades to the GMATPrep software and we will remove it from the new version.

To provide you with a bit more background: as you probably know, we conduct analyses for all questions that appear on the test, and the analysis for this question showed that it was performing as expected - with high ability candidates either selecting answer choice B to get it right or selecting answer choices other than E in getting the question wrong. Answer choice E was actually the least selected amongst all options. Based on the results of the analysis, it was included on the GMAT exam and, subsequently, in GMATPrep.

As a result of your query, we will remove it from GMATPrep when the new version launches. Thank you for raising this issue."

WOW, four years and they have not done so...

Kurtosis · Answer

Film belongs to drama or comedy. Films can be subdivided into domestic and foreign.

Drama (Submissions) > Comedy(Submissions)
Drama (Acceptance Rate) < Comedy(Acceptance Rate)

This year:

Domestic films (Acceptance Rate) > Foreign films (Acceptance Rate) --> If foreign films had submitted more drama movies than domestic films, foreign films would have lower acceptance rate.

A. significantly fewer foreign films than domestic films were accepted - Incorrect - The passage provides information only about acceptance rate. So we do not have the exact numbers to infer this option.

B. a higher proportion of the foreign than of the domestic films submitted were submitted as dramas - Correct - More foreign drama films than domestic drama films were submitted. Hence foreign films had a lower acceptance rate than domestic films.

C. the rate of acceptance of foreign films submitted was the same for dramas as it was for comedies - Incorrect - Cannot be inferred. We only know that the category wise rate of acceptance was same for domestic and foreign films was same.

D. the majority of the domestic films submitted were submitted as comedies - Incorrect - This need not be true. Even if comedy domestic films submitted were very low and all were accepted, the acceptance rate for comedy films will be 100%.

E. the majority of the foreign films submitted were submitted as dramas - Incorrect - Majority were dramas. Minority were comedies. All comedies will be accepted. Overall acceptance rate can still be high.

Answer: B

nayanparikh · Answer

This is one of the trickiest question. I got wrong in the exam though. I am trying to answer as per below.
This year collection.
  Domestic Foreign 
  Drama Comedy Drama Comedy 
 Submission   100 100 200 200 
 Acceptance Rate   10 50 10 50

Total Acceptance Rate for Domestic Films : 60/100*100 = 60%
Total Acceptance Rate for Foreign Films : 60/200*100 = 30%

Hence Answer is B.

Cez005 · Answer

Hi Mike, can you help clear up the reasoning for eliminating D and E? This was one of 6 I got wrong and it's bugging the hell out of me!

As an aside, do you think the actual verbal is a notch tougher than the GMATPrep verbal?

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Cez005 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

The prompt presents paradoxical conditions: 1) Drama always receives more submissions but has a lower acceptance rate than comedy. 2) This year, the overall acceptance rate for domestic films was significantly higher than that for foreign films. 3) Within each category, drama and comedy, however, the acceptance rate for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films. Again, it helps to understand Simpson's Paradox to sort through this. Here's the funny thing about (D) and (E): one or the other of them has to be true in order to make the paradox work, but individually, neither one has to be true. Look at my chart above: For a counterexample for (D), multiply both fractions in the "drama" column by 5/5--or 10/10. (This requires that (E) be true.) For a counterexample for (E), multiply both fractions in the "comedy" column by 10/10--or 20/20. (This requires that (D) be true.) By forcing either one to be false, we force the other one to be true. That's very tricky: one of the two absolutely must be true, but neither one by itself has to be true! This is a very very hard GMAT Prep question. I think this would be on par with a very very hard questions on the real GMAT. I think statistically, there's no difference in difficulty: it's just that real live test conditions produce all kinds of stress than don't exist when you are in your living room doing GMAT Prep. See: Lower on the Real GMAT than on Practice Tests Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

SVaidyaraman · Answer

In this type of questions, all one has to mainly do is, coherently put together the pieces of information in one place

Three pieces of information given:

1. Drama gets more submissions but has lower acceptance rate
2. Overall acceptance rate for domestic films is significantly higher than that for foreign films
3. Within each category the acceptance rate for domestic and foreign films is the same

The best way to proceed is to draw a matrix and try to accommodate values consistent with all of the info. It is ok even if you get decimals as the math is only important.

See which of the choices can be falsified. What cannot be quickly falsified is best left alone for the moment . Proceed to the other choices. You will get to the right choice or to two choices in the worst case, the latter needing a change in the values.

RonPurewal · Answer

So this problem is weird — because   both B and E must be correct  .

__

B can be proved by just a couple of observations:

• The   overall   acceptance rate is a  WEIGHTED AVERAGE  of the acceptance rates for the   individual categories  .

• Like other weighted averages, this one will depend on the   proportions/fractions/percentages   of films in each of the two categories.
  HIGHER % of films in DRAMA = LOWER weighted-average acceptance rate  .

• The weighted average is lower for foreign films, so, accordingly, a higher % of foreign films must have been accepted into the drama category. Choice B is thus proved.

__

This is where it gets innnnnnnteresting.

Once we've proved the result above  ... we can now go on to show that   choice E must be true, too!

Let's imagine, hypothetically, that choice E is FALSE. I.e., 50% or fewer of the foreign films were dramas.

Remember (choice B) that an even LOWER percentage of   domestic   films are dramas.
Therefore,   in this hypothetical case  ...
... ≤ 50% of foreign films are dramas;
... < 50% of domestic films are dramas.
Together, that's definitely a MINORITY of ALL the films submitted.
This is a problem, because we're told that the drama category   ALWAYS   receives more submissions than does the comedy category.
"Always" is not a figure of speech, nor is it inexact — it means exactly what it says. So,   this hypothetical is impossible  , because it violates the "ALWAYS" statement.

Since it's impossible for 50% or fewer of the foreign films to be dramas, then,   it is thus PROVED that MORE than 50% of the foreign films are dramas  .
That's choice E.

__

Oh well ahah. I just hope this problem wasn't ever a non-experimental problem on the real exam.

(There are only 2 other GMAC quant problems I've ever seen for which the OA was actually incorrect — so, you shouldn't let this one shake your confidence in the validity of the test overall.)

ardenjorata · Answer

GMATNinja , I would LOOOVE to see how you would attack this question. And what’s your reco if we see such question in the exam. Thank you.

GMATNinja · Answer

This is definitely a tricky one! Your first job, as always, is to determine whether you can answer this question in a reasonable amount of time.

While there are some truly admirable charts and equations on this thread, creating those during the test without using up a ton of precious time might not be practical. In reality, if you are struggling to understand the logic of the passage, you might just have to go with the answer choice that seems to make the most sense and then get the heck out. Wasting time on questions that are over your head is a recipe for disaster! Part of your test prep is to get used to moving on when you are stumped rather than letting a handful of tough questions take up a huge chunk of your time and brain power.

That said, I think the easiest way to explain this question is using a  weighted averages  concept. Let's break down the given facts:

"Within each category, drama and comedy,... the acceptance rate for domestic films was the same as that for foreign films":

If X% of domestic dramas were accepted, then X% of foreign dramas must have been accepted as well. 
 If Y% of domestic comedies were accepted, then Y% of foreign comedies must also have been accepted. 
 Since drama "has a lower acceptance rate than comedy," we know that X% < Y%.

For each geographic group (foreign and domestic), how do we determine the overall acceptance rate? This is where we can apply a weighted averages mentality:

If the number of foreign dramas submitted is equal to the number of foreign comedies submitted, then the overall acceptance rate for foreign films would simply be the average of X and Y. 
 If the number of foreign dramas submitted is greater than the number of foreign comedies submitted, then the overall acceptance rate for foreign films would be  closer  to X% than to Y%. 
 If the number of foreign dramas submitted is less than the number of foreign comedies submitted, then the overall acceptance rate for foreign films would be closer to Y% than to X%. 
 We can make similar statements about domestic comedies/dramas.

"This year, the overall acceptance rate for domestic films was significantly higher than that for foreign films."

As per the last set of bullets, the overall acceptance rate will go DOWN (towards X%) as the proportion of films submitted as dramas goes UP. 
 That means that a higher proportion of the foreign than of the domestic films submitted were submitted as dramas.

I hope that helps!

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja

Thanks for your great explanation. I just want to draw you attention to GMAC reply to this question.

It is the same analysis by Ron in page 1.

GMATNinja · Answer

Great catch,  Mo2men ! (Hm,  the guy who wrote that BTG response looks vaguely familiar , somehow. I have reason to believe that the guy has upgraded to a better GMAT forum.) And @RonPurewal's explanation is spot-on. Looks like (E) is a valid answer as well as (B).

A note to anyone joining this thread: as of August 2019, this question still appears in the GMATPrep online practice tests despite this fairly significant error. Don't be too concerned if you run into difficulties with this question!

Lionila · Answer

GMATNinja

Hi,

When I first read through this question I translated the rates differently. How does the wording of the prompt make it clear that "overall acceptance rate" means e.g. accepted domestic films/submitted domestic films and not accepted domestic films/all submitted films? Similarly is there something in the language that makes it clear that within each category, the acceptance rates of drama and comedy are country specific and not e.g. accepted foreign dramas/all dramas submitted? Is this an inference task or is this in the language e.g. the expression "rate for ..."?

Because when I considered the rates in the described "wrong" way I got stuck since these definitions don't fit all of the conditions given in the question and lost valuable time.

I hope this is somewhat clear. Thanks!

GMATNinja · Answer

This is one of the very few official questions that has a  pretty serious error  in it, so don't waste too many brain cells on it.

To be clear: this almost never happens. Please don't get into the habit of thinking that it's a good idea to second-guess official questions. But this is an interesting exception. Again, don't lose any sleep over it.

I hope that helps a bit!

gamebredfighter · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep 
 VeritasPrepBrandon 
 avigutman 
 VeritasKarishma 
 Could u provide a simple answer to this question?

KarishmaB · Answer

I did this question using weighted average on extreme values in double set matrices for acceptance rates. Here, we have included all given information. Comedy has higher acceptance rate than Drama. For a higher average, you would need more comedies and fewer drama submissions.

.............................Drama............Comedy..........Avg1.....Avg2....Avg3 
Domestic..................1%..................100%........... 90%.......90%......30% (Domestic)
Foreign....................1%..................100%.............10%.......60%.......10% (Foreign)
Total Submission ....More.................Less

We know that acceptance rate of Domestic is higher. It means that the fraction of comedies in domestic submissions is higher than the fraction of comedies in foreign submissions (to get higher acceptance rate than foreign). We can flip it to say that fraction of drama submissions in domestic is lower than the fraction of drama submission in foreign i.e. fraction of drama submissions in foreign is higher than drama submission fraction in domestic.
This is option (B) so it has to be true.

(D) the majority of the domestic films submitted were submitted as comedies
Say comedies were not in majority in domestic submissions. Say both were 10 and 10 in domestic submissions. Then acceptance rate fo domestic submissions is about 50%. Then foreign acceptance rate would be less than 50% which means they have more drama and fewer comedies. Say 20 drama and 10 comedies. Overall number of dramas is higher and everything works. So it is NOT necessary that majority of domestic films were comedies. Not correct.

(E) the majority of the foreign films submitted were submitted as dramas
 
Say in foreign films, equal number were drama and comedy, say 10 each. Then avg. acceptance rate of foreign is about 50%. 
Then domestic needs higher than 50% acceptance rate i.e. must have more comedy than drama. Say if there is 1 drama, then comedy must be 2 etc
But this will make the overall submissions of comedy (10 + 2) more the overall submissions of drama (10 + 1). But this is not possible. We know that overall drama submissions were higher. 
So equal number of drama and comedy are not possible for foreign submissions. Drama submissions must be higher. Then (E) must be correct too.

KarishmaB · Answer

Responding to a pm:

Here is why option (D) is not necessarily true.  The given figures satisfy all given constraints but still (D) is not true.

To be considered for inclusion in the Barbizon Film Festival, a film m

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