GMAT Statistics!

! Learning Objectives!
• Calculate values in average problems.!

• Determine median and range in groups of numbers containing variables.!

• Compare standard deviation among groups of values.!

• Calculate unknown values in overlapping sets.!

Best viewed after you have covered Statistics in your Core sessions.!

GMAT Statistics!
Calculating Averages!
Example: 3, 6, 4, 8, 7, 6, 13, 9

Arithmetic mean! Mode!

(the simple “average” of numbers)! (the number that occurs most frequently)!

3 + 6 + 4 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 13 + 9 3, 6, 4, 8, 7, 6, 13, 9

Median! Range!
(the number that is “in the middle”)! (the distance between the smallest and largest values)!
3, 6, 4, 8, 7, 6, 13, 9 3, 6, 4, 8, 7, 6, 13, 9

GMAT Statistics!
Balance Approach for Mixtures!
Balance rule: The total above the average must equal the total below the average.!

3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13

Difference from
Data Values!
Average!
3! -4!
4! -3!
6! -1!
6! -1!
7! 0!
8! +1!
9! +2!
13! +6!
Average: 7! Total: 0!

GMAT Statistics!
Balancing Averages!
1. Alphonso loves to play golf. This year he has scored 75, 78, 78, 80, 82, and
84. What score does he need to attain in his next round of golf if he wants to
average 79?

(A) 73

(B) 74

(C) 75

(D) 76

(E) 77

GMAT Statistics!
Balancing Averages!
2. A group of nurses and orderlies volunteered to clean up trash scattered along
a local highway. 6 nurses and 10 orderlies participated. As a group they collected
800 pounds of trash. If the orderlies collected an average of 53 pounds of trash
each, what was the average weight of trash collected per nurse?

(A) 45

(B) 50

(C) 53

(D) 55

(E) 58

GMAT Statistics!
Weighted Average!
Weighted averages are averages that take into account that some values contribute !
more to the average than others.!

Formula: Weighted Average = (Value1)(Weight of Value1) + (Value2)(Weight of Value2) + … + (Final Value)(Weight) !

A telecommunications company conducted a survey to determine the average number

of landline phones per residence in a certain region. Here is what they found:

Number of Phones! % of Houses in Region!

None! 40%!
1! 20%!
2! 25%!
3! 15%!

GMAT Statistics!
 Paid commercials per hour
Weighted Average!
7 1
2
10% 5% 8%
3. Over the course of a month, a consumer agency tracked
the number of paid commercials per hour on a local television
3
station and plotted their results on the pie chart to the right. 6 12%
During this period, what was the average number of commercials 25%
per hour?
4
(A) 1 15%

5
(B) 3.42 25%

(C) 4

(D) 4.62

(E) 5.5

GMAT Statistics!
Average!
4. Each of the 8 numbers s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z is a positive integer. Is the
average of s, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z > 46?

(1) The average of s, t, u, v, and w is > 74

(2) The average of x, y, and z is > 120

GMAT Statistics!
Average!
5. The average of {2, 4, 6, 7, x, y} is 4. Both x and y are positive integers,
and x = y + 1. What is the value of y?

(A) 1

(B) 2

(C) 3

(D) 4

(E) 5

GMAT Statistics!
Average!
6. What is the median value of the following set of integers: {8, -1, 5, 2, 9, x, 3}?

(1) x > 5

(2) x < 8

GMAT Statistics!
Average!
7. If x2 + 6x = -9 and y2 – 2 = y, what is the range of the set {x2, -3, 0, y2, 4, 8, -1}?

(A) x2 + y2

(B) 8

(C) 9

(D) 11

(E) 12

GMAT Statistics!
Representations of Overlapping Sets!
There are 120 students in the fifth grade. 60 of them are taking music electives, 50
are on sports teams, and 25 are involved in neither of those pursuits. How many
students participate in both sports and music?

Formula: Group A + Group B + neither group – both groups = Total !

Sports! No sports! Total!

Music!
No Music!
Total!

GMAT Statistics!
Overlapping Sets!
8. In a particular school district some mathematics and science teachers receive additional
compensation when they become certified to teach high school math and science. The
district high school has 30 math and science teachers. Of these, 10 are certified in math, 12
are certified in science, and 4 are certified to teach both. How many of the math and science
teachers in this school are not yet certified to teach either subject?

(A) 4
Science! No science! Total!
(B) 8 Math!
No Math!
(C) 10
Total!
(D) 12

(E) 18

GMAT Statistics!
Standard Deviation!
• Standard deviation measures dispersion of a group of values.!
!
• The formula to calculate standard deviation contains the squares of the differences
between each individual value and the mean.!
!
• You should have a basic understanding of how changes to groups of numbers affect
the magnitude of standard deviation.!

GMAT Statistics!
Standard Deviation!

GMAT Statistics!
Standard Deviation!
9. The variables a, b, c, d, and e are all different positive integers. Which of
the following sets of numbers has the least standard deviation:

(A) {a, b, c, d, e}

(B) {a2, b2, c2, d2, e2}

(C) {.7a, .7b, .7c, .7d, .7e}

(D) {2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e}

(E) {a + 5, b + 5, c + 5, d+ 5, e + 5}

GMAT Statistics!
Takeaways!
• Averages can be calculated using a formula, the balance approach, or weighting
percentages of the components.!

• Missing values in statistics problems can be solved through algebra.!

• Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion.!

• There is a formula for calculating the values of overlapping sets, but Venn diagrams
and tables can be helpful for complex problems.!

GMAT Statistics!
Homework!
10. The Sharks bowling team averaged a score of 170 for each game that they
bowled. One member of the Jets team couldn’t be there at the same time as the
others so he posted his score of 150 in advance. Each team had five bowlers. Which
team had the higher average?

(1) The other four members of the Jets averaged > 175.

(2) The other four members of the Jets averaged < 180.

GMAT Statistics!
Homework!
11. Given the set of numbers {x, -3, 0, 7, 9}, what is the value of x?

(1) The range of the set is 14.

(2) x is the smallest number in the set

GMAT Statistics!
Homework!
12. A survey of consumers showed that 60% liked to eat apples, 35% liked apples
but not peaches, and 20% liked peaches but not apples. What percentage liked neither
apples nor peaches?

(A) 20%

(B) 25%

(C) 30%

(D) 35%

(E) 40%

GMAT Statistics!
 Statistics A&E

1. Correct Answer: (D) 76 Because the question states the final desired average, use the
balance approach to simplify the calculations. Alphonso's scores balance out relative to 79 as
follows: 75 is 4 less, 78 is 1 less, 78 is 1 less, 80 is 1 more, 82 is 3 more, and 84 is 5 more. The
total of Alphonso's existing scores below 79 is –4 –1 –1 = –6. The total of his scores above 79
is 1 + 3 + 5 = 9. Therefore, his scores will balance out to an average of 79 if the next score is 3
below 79, or 76.

2. Correct Answer: (A) 45 If a total of 16 people collected 800 pounds of trash, the average
!""
amount collected per person was = 50 lbs. each. The 10 orderlies collected an average of
!"
53 lbs. each, which was 3 lbs. more than the average. Since 10 × 3 = 30, the orderlies
collectively collected 30 lbs more than the average, so the nurses must have collected 30
pounds less. There were 6 nurses, so they collected 30 ÷ 6 = 5 lbs. less than the average or 50 –
5 = 45 lbs. each.
A shortcut to answering this question could have been to take a peek at the answer choices
after determining that the orderlies had collected more than the overall average of 50 lbs per
person. That fact means that the nurses collected less than that average. The only answer
choice less than 50 lbs is (A) 45 lbs.

3. Correct Answer: (D) 4.62 Because the circle graph (pie chart) shows the percentage
occurrences of different values, this should be approached as a weighted average question.
Multiply the values times their respective percentages and sum these products to get the
weighted average: 1(5) + 2(8) + 3(12) + 4(15) + 5(25) + 6(25) + 7(10)
5 + 16 + 36 + 60 + 125 + 150 + 70 = 462
Since percentages rather than decimals were used to simplify the calculations, the end result
must be divided by 100, so the weighted average is 462 ÷ 100 = 4.62. Because some values
contribute more to the weighted average than others, a quick glance at the weighted values for
4, 5, 6, and 7 paid commercials per hour shows that their total is about 400, so the correct
answer must be greater than 4. Since the weighted values for 1, 2, and 3 will be small, 4.62
would be the most likely total weighted average.

4. Correct Answer: 1 This is a Yes/No question so all you have to determine is whether the
average of those 8 variables is greater than 46. If the average of 8 numbers is 46, then their
total value is 8 × 46 = 368 so the question could also be stated as "Is the total of s, t, u, v, w, x, y,
and z greater than 368?"
Statement (1) states that the average of s, t, u, v, and w is >74, so their total must be greater
than 5 × 74 = 370. What about the other values? If they were negative numbers they could drag
the total down, but the question states that all the variables are positive, so Statement (1)
provides sufficient information to determine that the answer is Yes, for sure. Eliminate 2, T, and
E.
Statement (2) states that the average of x, y, and z is > 120, so their total is >360. What about
the other 5 variables? Their total could be as small as 5 if they were all 1's, in which case the
answer to the question would be No, or they could be much larger and the answer would be
Yes. Statement (2) is insufficient so the correct answer is 1.
Note that had the question specified that all the variables were different positive integers, the
minimum value of the missing variables for Statement (2) would have been 15 and that
statement would have been sufficient.

5. Correct Answer: (C) 2 The question provides an average of 4 numbers and 2 variables, so the
total of those numbers is the average times the number of values, 4 × 6 = 24. The total of the
known values is 2 + 4 + 6 + 7 = 19, so x + y = 24 – 19 = 5. The question states that x=y+1, so
substitute y + 1 for x to get (y +1) + y = 5. Solve this to get y = 2.

6. Correct Answer: 1 The question provides a set of 6 numbers and a variable and asks for is the
median value. Given that the value of x is unknown, the median could depend upon that value.
Order the known numbers: {–1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9}. If x ≤ 3, then the fourth number (which is the
median) will be 3. If x is between 3 and 5 (not inclusive), then x will be the median. If x ≥ 5, then
5 will be the median. The question boils down to being able to determine into which of those
ranges x falls.
Statement (1) states that x > 5. The analysis above shows that this is sufficient. Eliminate 2, T,
and N.
Statement (2) states that x < 8. Thus x could fall into any one of the 3 categories identified in
the analysis and this statement is insufficient. So 1 is correct.

7. Correct Answer: (E) 12 Arrange the known values in ascending order: {–3, –1, 0, 4, 8}. The
range will be 8 –(–3) = 11 unless one of the variables is less than –3 or greater than 8. Evaluate
the quadratic equations to determine the possible values of the variables. Rearrange the first
equation to be x2 + 6x +9 = 0. This is a pattern quadratic equation, (x +3) (x +3) = 0, so the only
value for x is –3 and the only value for x2 is 9. Since 9 > 8, this will affect the range. Rearrange
the second equation so that y2 –y –2 = 0. Factor this to get (y –2)(y +1) = 0. Therefore, y could
be either –1 or 2 and y2 could be either 1 or 4. Since both of those are within the existing range
of the set, neither will affect the range. The largest value in the set is x2 , which is 9, so the
range is 9 –(–3) = 12.

8. Correct Answer: (D) 12 In this case, rearrange the formula to solve for neither = 30 – 12 – 10
+ 4 = 12, which is choice (D). Alternatively, you could use a matrix as shown below with the
order of the entries in the cells shown in parentheses:
Science Cert Science Not Cert Total
Math Cert 4 (4) 10 (2)
Math Not Cert 8 (7) ? (5) 12 (8) 20 (6)
Total 12 (3) 30 (1)

9. Correct Answer C: {0.7a, 0.7b,0.7 c, 0.7d, 0.7e} Since actual values can't be calculated for any
of the answer choices but the correct answer will be the set with the least standard deviation,
select one of the answer choices and begin comparing that to the other choices. Recall that
standard deviation is a measure of dispersion. Because (A) {a, b, c, d, e} is first and simplest,
start by comparing the other answers to that. Given that all the variables are different positive
integers only one of them could have a value of 1, so the squares will be greater than the bases
and, therefore more widely dispersed. Eliminate choice (B). Choice (C), since each variable is
multiplied by 0.7, will be more "squished together" than choice (A), so the standard deviation is
less and choice (C) becomes the new basis of comparison. A quick glance at choice (D) shows
that it will be more dispersed because the values are doubled, so choice (D) is incorrect. In
choice (E), the values are increased by 5; although each value is greater, the dispersion among
the values is the same as {a, b, c, d, e}. Answer choice (C) is correct.

10. Correct Answer: 1 This question can be converted to Yes/No: Did the Sharks average more
than the Jets? The Sharks had a total score of 5 × 170 = 850. One Jet had 150, so the question
boils down to did the other Jets have more than 850 –150 = 700?
Statement (1): if the other four Jets averaged 175, they scored 4 × 175 = 700. But statement (1)
says they averaged more than 175, so the Jets had the higher average and the answer is "No."
Statement (1) is sufficient. Eliminate answer choices 2 and N.
Statement (2): you already know that if the remaining Jets averaged more than 175, that team
had the higher average. However, there is no lower limit to their score in Statement (2), so it is
also possible that the Sharks had the better average. Statement (2) is insufficient, so the correct
answer is 1.
11. Correct Answer: T This is a value question. There is no analysis of the stem that will provide
further information, so look to the statements.
Statement (1) specifies that the range of the set is 14. Since the range of the set without x is 9 –
(–3) = 12, x must be either the largest (11) or smallest (-5) number in the set in order to
increase the range to 14. Since you don't know which, this statement is insufficient. Eliminate
answer choices 1 and E.
Statement (2) says that x is the smallest number in the set. This merely means that x ≤ –3, so
this statement is insufficient. Eliminate choice 2.
Combining both statements, the first gave a choice of two numbers that could have been
calculated, but was insufficient because you did not know whether x was the smallest or
largest. Statement (2) specifies that x is the smallest so the two statements together are
sufficient and the correct answer is T.

12. Correct Answer: (A) 20% Notice that the percentage for peaches is not all the consumers
who liked peaches, just those who like peaches but not apples. Construct a matrix to display the
data and calculate the answer. Fill in the given information in the order shown in parentheses.
Note that the "total-total" for percentage problems such as this is 100%. Looking at the last
column, if 60% out of the total 100% like apples, then 40% don't like apples. Now you know 2 of
the 3 values in the second row. To find what percentage don't like either fruit merely subtract:
40% – 20% = 20%, which is choice (A).

Like Peaches Don't Like Peaches Total

Like Apples 35% (2) 60% (1)
Don't Like Apples 20% (3) ? (5) 20% (7) 40% (6)
Total 100% (4)

GM1017