Ambigious Wording in "Nuts" from 750 Qs Bank

[Saurabh Malpani]

If the cost per ounce of pistachios is 5 times greater than that of peanuts, what is the cost for a mixture containing 5 ounces of cashews and 3 ounces of peanuts?

(1) A mixture containing 6 ounces of cashews and 36 ounces of pistachios costs $18.18.

(2) A mixture containing 1/3 ounce of cashews and 10 ounces of peanuts costs $1.01.

In the above Question don't you 5 times greater means Price of Pistachios = 5*(Price of peanuts) + (Price of peanuts) =6 ((Price of peanuts))

Where as the solutions Gives is:

Let c = cost per ounce of cashews, p = cost per ounce of peanuts, and t = cost per ounce of pistachios. We are told that the cost per ounce of pistachios is 5 times greater than the cost per ounce of peanuts, so t = 5p. To determine the cost of a mixture of cashews and peanuts, we need to determine c and either p or t (since we know t = 5p, knowing t will allow us to calculate p)

Which I think is Wrong Please recommend so that i can take care of such wordings in my exam!!!

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani.

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi - can you please elaborate on the source of this question? I don't recognize "750 Qs Bank."

I think this one really does mean 5x, not 6x. Translated into math, it basically says "X is 5 times greater than Y" which means x = 5y, not 6y. I think you're thinking of something like "500% more than" which does mean the original 100% + 500%.

[Saurabh Malpani]

Stacey,

The question is from the Manhattan GMAT'S Advanced 750 Question Bank to which one gets access after taking the advanced workshop session conducted by MGMAT.

Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

[esledge]

Hi Saurabh,

I too think this wording is ambiguous. Looking through the Official Guides, it seems that the GMAT writers use phrases such as "A is 5 times B" to indicate ratios: A = 5B. Alternatively, they use phrases such as "A is B greater than C" to indicate the difference between two quantities: A = C + B (or, A - C = B).

This problem combines the two types of phrasings, using both "5 times" and "greater than." I agree with Stacey that something like "500% more than" could be used to indicate that the difference between two quantities is some multiple of one of them. However, in cases where that is what is truly meant, I can only recall seeing the GMAT writers use the "500% more than" phrasing Stacey suggests, not the "5 times greater than" phrasing used in this problem. That is, they don't seem to use the word "times" with the phrases "greater than" or "less than."

I am going to suggest that we change this problem to read "the cost per ounce of pistacios is 5 times that of peanuts," since that seems more GMAT-like and can only be interpreted one way.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[christiancryan]

We have changed the wording of the question to make it unambiguous ("5 times" without the "greater than"). Thanks for the suggested edits, and good discussion, everyone!

[tomslawsky]

so, are both statements sufficient as they give the same information, or is that too obvious?

[StaceyKoprince]

Do you really want to know the answer without trying to work through it?

Okay, here it is: E (highlight with cursor to see).
:)

[tomslawsky]

O sheesh, you introduced a new nut in the answer. Apparently, my reading comprehension skills need sharpening. Or, dam, is it need to be sharpened, now I need to go look at the sentence correction book!

[StaceyKoprince]

lol
:)