Nation X is a democratic country with three major political parties. Researchers conducted a study that compared the popular approval...
GMAT Graphics Interpretation : (GI) Questions
Nation X is a democratic country with three major political parties. Researchers conducted a study that compared the popular approval ratings of Nation X's first 10 leaders among people who identify themselves as being members of one of the three parties. The researchers found that each leader had the highest approval rating from people who identified themselves as being members of the same party as that leader. The results of the researchers' study are shown in the graph.
Select the option from each drop-down menu that creates the most accurate statement on the basis of the information provided.
Owning the Dataset
Table 1: Text Analysis
| Text Segment | Literal Content | Simple Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Study Subject | Nation X is a democratic country with three major political parties. | The country being studied has a democracy and exactly three main political parties. |
| Study Focus | Compared popular approval ratings of Nation X's first 10 leaders among members of the three parties. | Researchers asked members of all three parties how much they approved of each of the first 10 national leaders. |
| Source of Responses | People who identify as members of one of the three parties. | Survey respondents self-identified as belonging to Party A, B, or C. |
| Main Finding | Each leader had the highest approval rating from people in the same party as that leader. | Every leader was most liked by people from their own party. |
| Data Display | Results are shown in the graph. | There's a chart showing all the approval ratings. |
Table 2: Chart Analysis
| Chart Segment | What's Shown | What It Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| Chart Type | Grouped bar chart with 10 groups (1 per leader) and 3 bars per group (for each party). | Displays how each party's members rated all 10 leaders. |
| X-axis | 1st leader to 10th leader. | Leaders are ordered chronologically. |
| Y-axis | 0% to 100% approval ratings, marked in 10% increments. | Quantifies party member approval for each leader. |
| Bar Patterns | Party A: diagonal lines; Party B: solid blue; Party C: solid black. | Visual markers make it easy to see which bar is from which party. |
| Highest Bars Pattern | Each leader's tallest bar comes from their own party. | Leaders received the most support from within their own party. |
| Party Leadership Distribution | Leaders 1,4,6,8,10 (Party A); 2,3,7,9 (Party B); 5 (Party C). | Party A had 5 leaders, Party B had 4, Party C had 1 among the first 10 leaders. |
| Cross-party Ratings | Party A leaders never received over 50% approval from other parties. | No Party A leader was a majority favorite outside their own party. |
Key Insights
- Of Nation X's first 10 leaders, Party A held the most leadership positions (5 out of 10), followed by Party B (4) and Party C (1).
- Every leader's highest approval came from their own party's members, often by a wide margin, showing clear partisan alignment in leader approval.
- No leader from Party A achieved majority (over 50%) approval among members of the other two parties. This indicates strong party loyalty and little cross-party consensus on leadership.
Step-by-Step Solution
Question 1: Counting Party A Leaders
Complete Statement:
According to the information provided, ______ of the first 10 leaders were members of Party A.
Breaking Down the Statement
- Statement Breakdown 1:
- Key Phrase: According to the information provided
- Meaning: We have to use only the information presented in the chart or passage.
- Relation to Chart: The chart supplies approval ratings for Nation X's first 10 leaders from all three parties.
- Important Implications: No information outside the chart should be used.
- Statement Breakdown 2:
- Key Phrase: of the first 10 leaders
- Meaning: We must consider each of the first 10 leaders shown in the chart.
- Relation to Chart: These leaders correspond to the 10 positions or bars on the x-axis.
- Important Implications: Each leader must be checked individually.
What is needed: The number of leaders, among the first 10, whose highest approval rating came from Party A members. This tells us how many of those leaders were from Party A.
Solution:
- Condensed Solution Implementation:
For each leader, identify the party that gave the highest approval rating by checking which colored bar is tallest. Count each time Party A is the tallest bar. - Necessary Data points:
Heights of the three colored bars (Party A, B, and C) for each leader from position 1 to 10.- Calculations Estimations:
By examining the chart, Party A's bar is tallest for these leaders: 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th, totaling 5. - Comparison to Answer Choices:
The answer choices might be 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The correct count is 5, which matches the last answer choice.
- Calculations Estimations:
FINAL ANSWER Blank 1: 5
Question 2: Party A Leaders with High Cross-Party Approval
Complete Statement:
According to the information provided, 5 of the first 10 leaders were members of Party A, and ______ of those leaders had approval ratings higher than 50% from members of each of the three parties.
Breaking Down the Statement
- Statement Breakdown 1:
- Key Phrase: 5 of the first 10 leaders were members of Party A
- Meaning: We are narrowing our focus just to those 5 leaders identified in Blank 1.
- Relation to Chart: These are the leaders at the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th positions.
- Statement Breakdown 2:
- Key Phrase: approval ratings higher than 50% from members of each of the three parties
- Meaning: A qualifying leader needs to have more than 50% approval from Party A, Party B, and Party C.
- Relation to Chart: All three bars for a given leader must be above the 50% line on the Y-axis.
What is needed: How many of those 5 Party A leaders had approval ratings above 50% from all three (A, B, and C) parties.
Solution:
- Condensed Solution Implementation:
For each Party A leader, check if the approval ratings from Party A, B, and C all exceed 50%. Count only if all three do. - Necessary Data points:
Approval ratings from all three parties for the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th leaders. Example data: 1st (A: 82%, B: 40%, C: 16%), 4th (A: 85%, B: 44%, C: 5%), 6th (A: 88%, B: 17%, C: 10%), 8th (A: 79%, B: 48%, C: 7%), 10th (A: 88%, B: 32%, C: 19%).- Calculations Estimations:
For each, while Party A approval is above 50%, approvals from either or both of B and C are well below 50%. None meet the 50% threshold from all three parties. - Comparison to Answer Choices:
If choices include 2, 3, 4, 5, and 'none', then 'none' is correct because no Party A leader had above 50% approval from all three parties.
- Calculations Estimations:
FINAL ANSWER Blank 2: none
Summary
By checking which party gave each leader their highest approval, we determined that 5 of the first 10 leaders were from Party A. However, none of these Party A leaders gained over 50% approval from all three parties—highlighting pronounced party loyalty and limited cross-party support during this period.
Question Independence Analysis
The blanks are dependent. Blank 2 specifically refers to 'those leaders' identified in Blank 1, meaning you must have correctly answered Blank 1 to find the correct subset for Blank 2.