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Source: Official Guide for GMAT Review 2016 Critical Reasoning; #9

1

Which of the following would it be

Which of the following would it be most useful to know in determining whether switching to LED arrays would be likely to help minimize Traverton's yearly maintenance costs?

1 Explanation

1

John Robertson

Question: What do you need to know IOT determine if switching to LEDs would minimize yearly (important to note, recurring) maintenance costs the town has

A: CORRECT. I wasn't 100% sure on this one at first, because it seemed like just straight comparison of LED service life to bulb service life didn't fully encapsulate all the maintenance concerns, but I realized I was probably overthinking it. And, after looking at the other questions, plus reviewing this one one final time, it's right. Service life of one vs. service life of the other is a good, simple maintenance comparison, keeps it in the realm of "this vs. that" which is what the prompt is strictly introducing (no other bulbs, no traffic plans, etc., only LED vs. bulb), and "expected life" implies the long term care of the LEDs, which fits in with the yearly
timeframe of the question.

B: WRONG. I think the GMAT is trying to make you jump to the thought of "well it makes sense that Taverton should ask other cities for their experience/maintenance of other light types before settling on one," but this is outside the strict realm of LED vs. Bulb and minimizing maintenance using one of the other that you're being asked to solve.

C: WRONG. GMAT is probably trying to make you think "well maybe they'll get a special maintenance deal if the town sticks with the old company" (at least that's what briefly went through my mind), but that is definitely jumping too far, and the source of the bulbs doesn't have bearing here, strictly considering the info in the prompt.

D: WRONG. this would definitely raise maintenance costs, but would do so regardless of what type of light was used. Doesn't address the specific question of what LEDs will do to Taverton's maintenance program.

E: WRONG. The question is asking about yearly/long term cost. The replacement of bulbs with LEDs is a one time fixed cost- train the crews once, probably won't do it again.

Jan 3, 2017 • Comment

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Section 8.4 Critical Reasoning

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