Official Guide Explanation:
Problem Solving #201

 

 

Background

This is just one of hundreds of free explanations I've created to the quantitative questions in The Official Guide for GMAT Review (12th ed.). Click the links on the question number, difficulty level, and categories to find explanations for other problems.

These are the same explanations that are featured in my "Guides to the Official Guide" PDF booklets. However, because of the limitations of HTML and cross-browser compatibility, some mathematical concepts, such as fractions and roots, do not display as clearly online.

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Solution and Metadata

Question: 201
Page: 181
Difficulty: 6 (Moderately Difficult)
Category 1: Arithmetic > Properties of Integers > Factors and Multiples
Category 2: Arithmetic > Descriptive Statistics > Average

Explanation: Any time you are working with a series of consecutive integers or consecutive multiples of an integer--basically, any set of numbers that are equally spaced--recognize that the median and mean of that group is the same. If that isn't intuitive, try it with a few small groups to see it work. In this case, M is the median of a set, and m is the mean of that same set. Since the set consists of consecutive multiples of 5, the median and mean are equal, so M - m = 0, choice (B).

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