A city's planning committee is allocating infrastructure development funds among four geographical areas. The committee evaluated each area with respe...
GMAT Multi Source Reasoning : (MSR) Questions
A city's planning committee is allocating infrastructure development funds among four geographical areas. The committee evaluated each area with respect to each of the following aspects:
- the state of existing infrastructure
- capacity for economic development
- readiness for economic development
- projected 25-year level of economic growth
- likely percentage return on investment (ROI) in infrastructure
Each area received a rating from A+ to E for each aspect evaluated. Letters earlier in the alphabet represent higher ratings. A plus following a letter indicates a slightly higher rating than the letter alone, while a minus indicates a slightly lower rating.
For each of the following areas, select Yes if the information provided indicates that the area's projected 25-year economic growth received a higher rating than that of Area 1. Otherwise, select No.
OWNING THE DATASET
Understanding Source A: Text - Planning Committee Description
| Information from Dataset | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A city's planning committee is allocating infrastructure development funds among four geographical areas" |
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"The committee evaluated each area with respect to each of the following aspects:
|
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| "Each area received a rating from A+ to E for each aspect evaluated. Letters earlier in the alphabet represent higher ratings. A plus following a letter indicates a slightly higher rating than the letter alone, while a minus indicates a slightly lower rating" |
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Summary: A planning committee has evaluated four geographical areas across five different criteria using an A+ to E rating scale to guide infrastructure funding allocation decisions.
Understanding Source B: Text - Committee Members' Funding Arguments
| Information from Dataset | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Mr. Hernandez argued for prioritizing allocation of funding to the areas that received higher overall ratings from the committee" |
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| "Mr. Li argued for prioritizing allocation of funding based on need, determined as follows: the lower the rating for the state of existing infrastructure and the higher the rating for projected 25-year economic growth, the greater the need" |
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| "Ms. Tansey argued for prioritizing allocation of funding to areas that have been given higher ratings for both capacity and readiness for economic development" |
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| "Ms. Wahid argued that areas that are expected to yield a larger percentage return on infrastructure investment should have a higher priority for funding, since this would generate more funding for future infrastructure development" |
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Summary: Four committee members present distinct funding approaches using different combinations of the evaluation criteria from Source A - ranging from using all criteria (Hernandez) to focusing on just one (Wahid).
Understanding Source C: Table with Ratings Data
Table Analysis:
Detailed Rating Data:
- Area 1: A (capacity), C (readiness), B (infrastructure), C (ROI), C+ (growth), C+ (overall)
- Area 2: A (capacity), C (readiness), B (infrastructure), C (ROI), B (growth), B (overall)
- Area 3: C+ (capacity), D (readiness), D (infrastructure), A (ROI), A+ (growth), B- (overall)
- Area 4: A (capacity), E (readiness), D (infrastructure), A+ (ROI), E (growth), C+ (overall)
Key patterns observed:
- Areas 1, 2, and 4 all have A ratings for capacity
- Area 3 shows extreme contrasts: poor current state (C+/D/D) but exceptional future potential (A/A+)
- Area 4 also shows extremes: excellent capacity/ROI (A/A+) but terrible readiness/growth (E/E)
- Inference: No single area excels across all criteria - each has significant weaknesses
- Linkage to Source A: The table implements the exact 5-criteria evaluation system and A+ to E rating scale described
- Linkage to Source B:
- Hernandez's approach (overall ratings) would favor Area 2 (only B rating)
- Li's approach (poor infrastructure + high growth) would favor Area 3 (D infrastructure, A+ growth)
- Tansey's approach (capacity + readiness) would eliminate Area 4 despite its A capacity due to E readiness
- Wahid's approach (ROI focus) would favor Area 4 (A+ ROI)
Summary: The evaluation data reveals diverse area profiles with no clear winner, showing why the committee members' different prioritization approaches would lead to completely different funding allocations.
Overall Summary
- The infrastructure funding dataset reveals a complex allocation challenge where four geographical areas present fundamentally different value propositions.
- While the planning committee evaluated all areas across five criteria, no area excels in all dimensions - some have strong current positions but weak growth potential (Areas 1 & 2), while others show poor infrastructure but exceptional future prospects (Area 3).
- The committee members' debate reflects these genuine trade-offs, with each proposed approach favoring a different area based on which criteria they prioritize.
- Specifically, Li's approach would favor Area 3, Wahid's would favor Area 4, and Hernandez's would favor Area 2, while Tansey's dual requirement for both capacity and readiness would face challenges across all areas.
Question Analysis
The question requires comparing each area's growth projection rating to Area 1's growth projection rating (C+). If another area has a higher rating, select Yes. Otherwise, select No.
Key constraints:
- Compare specifically the 'projected 25-year economic growth' ratings
- Compare against Area 1's rating as the baseline
- Higher ratings are letters earlier in the alphabet (A+ is highest, E is lowest)
Answer type needed: Comparative evaluation
Connecting to Our Analysis
The Cross-Source Pattern Analysis contains the growth ratings from Source C's table. The analysis shows Area 1 has C+, Area 2 has B, Area 3 has A+, and Area 4 has E for projected 25-year economic growth. All growth ratings are clearly documented in the analysis, allowing for complete evaluation.
Extracting Relevant Findings
From the collated analysis and Source C data, we extract the projected 25-year economic growth ratings for comparison:
Baseline: Area 1's projected 25-year economic growth rating: C+
Hypothesis: Any area with a rating better than C+ (meaning A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, or C++) should receive 'Yes'
Area 2 Evaluation
- Question: Is Area 2's growth rating (B) higher than Area 1's growth rating (C+)?
- Area 2 rating: B
- Area 1 rating: C+
- Analysis: B comes before C in the alphabet, making it a higher rating
- Conclusion: YES - Area 2's B rating is higher than Area 1's C+ rating
Area 3 Evaluation
- Question: Is Area 3's growth rating (A+) higher than Area 1's growth rating (C+)?
- Area 3 rating: A+
- Area 1 rating: C+
- Analysis: A+ is significantly higher than C+ (A comes before C, and + indicates even higher)
- Conclusion: YES - Area 3's A+ rating is higher than Area 1's C+ rating
Area 4 Evaluation
- Question: Is Area 4's growth rating (E) higher than Area 1's growth rating (C+)?
- Area 4 rating: E
- Area 1 rating: C+
- Analysis: E comes after C in the alphabet, making it a lower rating
- Conclusion: NO - Area 4's E rating is lower than Area 1's C+ rating
Individual Statement/Option Evaluations
Statement 1 Evaluation
Evaluating "Yes" as an answer option:
- Criteria: Whether any areas have higher growth ratings than Area 1's C+
- Evidence: Area 2 has B rating, Area 3 has A+ rating - both higher than C+
- Application: Yes is the correct answer for Area 2 and Area 3
- Conclusion: "Yes" is appropriate for areas with ratings better than C+
Statement 2 Evaluation
Evaluating "No" as an answer option:
- Criteria: Whether any areas have equal or lower growth ratings than Area 1's C+
- Evidence: Area 4 has E rating, which is lower than C+
- Application: No is the correct answer for Area 4
- Conclusion: "No" is appropriate for areas with ratings equal to or worse than C+
Systematic Checking
Verification against the rating system:
- Source A confirms 'Letters earlier in the alphabet represent higher ratings'
- The analysis shows focus on 'projected 25-year economic growth' as a key criterion
- The ratings from Source C's table are: Area 1 (C+), Area 2 (B), Area 3 (A+), Area 4 (E)
- Alphabetical order confirms: A+ > B > C+ > E
Final Answer
Based on the comparative analysis:
- Area 2: Yes
- Area 3: Yes
- Area 4: No
Area 2
Area 3
Area 4