The northern and southern branches of the liberal coalition have been

Question

The northern and southern branches of the liberal coalition have been remarkably consistent in their performance over the last four election cycles. In each cycle, the northern branch accounted for thirty percent of dollars raised in funding and fifty percent of parliamentary seats won, and the southern branch has accounted for the difference.

Regarding the past four election cycles, which of the following can properly be inferred from the statement above?

A. The southern branch has won fewer parliamentary victories per dollar raised in funding than has the northern branch.
B. The northern branch has faced stronger competition among its electorate than has the southern branch.
C. Dollars raised in funding for each of the coalition’s branches have remained approximately consistent.
D. The policies espoused by each branch have not changed.
E. Highly popular policies accounted for a higher proportion of the southern branch’s parliamentary victories than of the northern branch’s.

This is a  CR Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects:
 
  Data Sufficiency Butler  
  Problem Solving Butler  
  Reading Comprehension Butler

ankushsambare · Answer

Main point
We are told:
 
 Northern branch: 30% funding, 50% seats 
 Southern branch: remaining 70% funding, 50% seats
We compare efficiency (seats per funding).  
 Prethinking 
If southern gets same seats (50%) with more funding (70%), then northern is more efficient. 
So southern must have fewer seats per dollar.
Check options:
A. Southern wins fewer parliamentary victories per dollar than northern
Northern: 50/30 (high efficiency)
Southern: 50/70 (low efficiency)
So southern is less efficient → matches statement, valid inference.
B. Talks about competition → not mentioned.
C. Says funding stayed consistent → not stated.
D. Policy changes → not mentioned.
E. Policy popularity → not given.
Elimination
 Only A directly follows from given ratios. 
 Answer: A

vasu1104 · Answer

northern and southern branches of liberals have been consistent in their performances in last 4 election. 
 northern branches accounted for 30% of money raised and won 50% of parliament seats. 
 southern branch has accounted for difference.

A. The southern branch has won fewer parliamentary victories per dollar raised in funding than has the northern branch. 
 northern branch- 30$, seats won=50- 50/30 = 1.66 
 southern branch - 70$, seats won= 50, 50/70= 0.70 
 this math does enough to infer this choice. keep. 
 
B. The northern branch has faced stronger competition among its electorate than has the southern branch. 
 we cant say this with certainty as both parties have somewhat won same seats. so we dont what was the reason for winning only these much of seats and whats reason for lost seats. out.

C. Dollars raised in funding for each of the coalition’s branches have remained approximately consistent. 
 nothing about dollars being consistent in funding. reject.

D. The policies espoused by each branch have not changed. 
 nothing about policies. out.

E. Highly popular policies accounted for a higher proportion of the southern branch’s parliamentary victories than of the northern branch’s. 
 we dont knwo the reason for southern branchs victories. reject.

Adit_ · Answer

Only  option A  clearly states the direct inference from the argument itself. All remaining points are either distractors or are irrelevant to the argument.

BongBideshini · Answer

Given: 
 
 Northern branch => 30% funding, 50% seats 
 Southern branch => 70% funding, 50% seats  
 A. The southern branch has won fewer parliamentary victories per dollar raised in funding than has the northern branch. 
Northern gets 50% of the  seats from 30% funding , while southern gets 50% of the  seats from 70% funding .
50/30 > 50/70

True

B. The northern branch has faced stronger competition among its electorate than has the southern branch. 
No information is given about  competition , voter difficulty, or opponents.

Cannot be inferred.

C. Dollars raised in funding for each of the coalition’s branches have remained approximately consistent. 
We are told the  percentages  are consistent, not the  actual amounts .

Cannot be inferred.

D. The policies espoused by each branch have not changed. 
No mention of  policies  or whether they changed.
Cannot be inferred.

E. Highly popular policies accounted for a higher proportion of the southern branch’s parliamentary victories than of the northern branch’s. 
No information about  policy popularity  or causes of victories.
Cannot be inferred

Ans (A)

The northern and southern branches of the liberal coalition have been

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

The northern and southern branches of the liberal coalition have been

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards