A magazine tested different microwave ovens and rated them on their ease of use, energy efficiency, quietness, and ability to...

OWNING THE DATASET

Let's start by understanding what we're working with in this table of microwave models. We have a consumer who chose the Heatwave 380 model, which costs €220, has a quietness rating of 3, and an ease of use rating of 5.

Rather than analyzing every detail in the table, let's immediately identify what makes this specific choice stand out:

• Price point: €220 (mid-range)
• Quietness: Rating of 3 (not the highest)
• Ease of use: Rating of 5 (potentially the highest)

Key insight: When analyzing consumer choices, we want to quickly identify which factors might explain their decision. Since the quietness rating isn't exceptional, but the ease of use is high, this gives us an initial hypothesis about what mattered to this consumer.

ANALYZING STATEMENT 1

Statement 1 Translation:

Original: "The Heatwave 380 was chosen because it had the highest quietness rating among all models costing less than €250."

What we're looking for:

• Models that cost less than €250
• Whether Heatwave 380 has the highest quietness rating among these affordable models

In other words: Does Heatwave 380 have the best quietness rating in its price bracket?

Let's approach this efficiently by sorting the data. Since we need to compare quietness ratings among models under €250, let's first filter for price, then check quietness.

Step 1: Identify all models costing less than €250
Step 2: Compare their quietness ratings to Heatwave 380's rating of 3

When we sort by price \(≤ €250\), we see models including Heatwave 380 (€220) and Micro TXi (€230). Checking their quietness ratings:

• Heatwave 380: Quietness = 3
• Micro TXi: Quietness = 4

Teaching callout: Notice how sorting immediately reveals a counterexample! The Micro TXi has a better quietness rating (4) than the Heatwave 380 (3), while still being under €250. We only needed to find one model to disprove the statement.

Statement 1 Conclusion: DOES NOT HELP EXPLAIN. Heatwave 380 does not have the highest quietness rating among models under €250.

ANALYZING STATEMENT 2

Statement 2 Translation:

Original: "Any model with a higher quietness rating than the Heatwave 380 would have cost at least €150 more."

What we're looking for:

• Models with quietness rating \(> 3\) (better than Heatwave 380)
• Whether ALL of these models cost at least \(€370\) \((€220 + €150)\)

In other words: Do all quieter models come with a substantial price premium?

We already identified a counterexample in our analysis of Statement 1! The Micro TXi has:

• Quietness rating of 4 (higher than Heatwave 380's 3)
• Price of €230 (only €10 more than Heatwave 380's €220)

Teaching callout: Here's where strategic analysis saves time. We don't need to check every model with a higher quietness rating - just one counterexample that costs less than €150 more is enough to disprove the statement.

Statement 2 Conclusion: DOES NOT HELP EXPLAIN. The Micro TXi has a higher quietness rating but costs only €10 more, not €150 more.

ANALYZING STATEMENT 3

Statement 3 Translation:

Original: "The consumer chose the Heatwave 380 because it had the highest ease of use rating among all models costing less than €250."

What we're looking for:

• Models that cost less than €250
• Whether Heatwave 380 has the highest ease of use rating among these affordable models

In other words: Did the consumer prioritize ease of use within their budget?

Let's sort the affordable models (under €250) by ease of use rating:

When we sort by price \((≤€250)\) and then by ease of use, we see that:

• Heatwave 380: Ease of use = 5
• Other affordable models (including Micro TXi): Lower ease of use ratings

Teaching callout: This visual pattern reveals that the Heatwave 380 stands out for having the highest ease of use rating in its price bracket. The consumer appears to have prioritized ease of use over quietness (since they didn't choose the quieter Micro TXi).

Statement 3 Conclusion: HELPS EXPLAIN. The Heatwave 380 does have the highest ease of use rating among models under €250.

FINAL ANSWER COMPILATION

Based on our analysis:

• Statement 1: DOES NOT HELP EXPLAIN (Micro TXi has higher quietness rating in the same price bracket)
• Statement 2: DOES NOT HELP EXPLAIN (Micro TXi has higher quietness but costs only €10 more)
• Statement 3: HELPS EXPLAIN (Heatwave 380 has highest ease of use rating among affordable models)

LEARNING SUMMARY

Skills We Used

• Sorting to Reveal Patterns: By sorting the table, we transformed calculations into visual pattern recognition.
• The Counter-Example Strategy: We disproved statements by finding just one exception, avoiding unnecessary checks.
• Strategic Analysis Order: Finding that Micro TXi disproved Statement 1 helped us immediately address Statement 2.

Strategic Insights

• Sort First, Calculate Later: Sorting the table immediately reveals patterns that would take much longer to find manually.
• Look for Distinguishing Factors: We quickly identified that ease of use was the Heatwave 380's standout feature.
• Use Process of Elimination: Finding one counterexample lets you confidently eliminate a statement.

Common Mistakes We Avoided

• Checking Every Model: We didn't waste time examining models over €250 since they weren't relevant.
• Detailed Price Calculations: For Statement 2, we didn't need to calculate exact price differences for all models.
• Ignoring Prior Findings: We leveraged the Micro TXi counterexample across multiple statements.

Remember, on GMAT table problems, sorting transforms calculation challenges into visual pattern recognition tasks. This approach works across nearly all table analysis questions because it uses your brain's natural pattern recognition abilities rather than relying on sequential calculations.