Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997, and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare. However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true about United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997?
Passage Visualization
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
|---|---|
| Transportation expenses accounted for a large portion of the total dollar amount spent on trips for pleasure by residents of the United States in 1997 | Establishes: Transportation is a major expense category Example: If total pleasure trip spending = \(\$100\text{ billion}\), then transportation might = \(\$60\text{ billion}\) (large portion) Key Insight: Transportation dominates the cost structure of pleasure trips |
| and about half of the total dollar amount spent on the transportation was airfare | Establishes: Airfare represents ~50% of transportation spending Example: If transportation spending = \(\$60\text{ billion}\), then airfare = \(\$30\text{ billion}\) Pattern Recognition: Airfare is the single largest transportation expense category |
| However, the large majority of United States residents who took trips for pleasure in 1997 did not travel by airplane but used other means of transportation | Establishes: Most travelers (by count) avoid air travel Example: If 100 million people took pleasure trips, then maybe 20 million flew and 80 million used other transport Apparent Contradiction: Airfare dominates spending but serves minority of travelers |
| Overall Implication | Key Paradox Revealed: The minority of travelers who fly account for a disproportionately large share of total transportation spending Mathematical Pattern: \(\text{Few air travelers} \times \text{High airfare cost per person} = \text{Large total airfare spending}\) Core Insight: Air travel is significantly more expensive per person than other transportation modes |
Valid Inferences
Inference: The average amount spent on airfare per person who flew must have been significantly higher than the average amount spent on transportation per person who used other means.
Supporting Logic: Since airfare represented about half of all transportation spending but was used by only a minority of travelers, while other transportation modes were used by the large majority but accounted for only the remaining half of spending, the per-person cost of air travel must be substantially higher than other transportation options. This mathematical relationship is the only way to reconcile high airfare spending with low airfare usage.
Clarification Note: This inference addresses the cost per person, not the absolute number of people or total spending amounts, which are not specified in the passage.
Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because the airfare to their destination was lower than the cost of other available means of transportation.
This choice makes a claim about WHY people chose to travel by airplane (because airfare was lower than other options). However, the passage gives us no information about the decision-making process or cost comparisons that influenced travelers' choices. We cannot determine from the given facts whether people flew because it was cheaper - this is not something that must be true based on the passage.
Most of those who traveled by airplane did so because other means of transportation to their destinations were unavailable.
Similar to choice A, this suggests people flew because other transportation options were unavailable to their destinations. Again, the passage provides no information about availability of different transportation modes or the reasons behind travelers' choices. We cannot conclude this must be true from the given information.
Per mile traveled, those who traveled by airplane tended to spend more on transportation to their destination than did those who used other means of transportation.
This choice discusses per-mile costs, but the passage doesn't provide any information about distances traveled or cost per mile comparisons. While we can infer that airplane travelers spent more on average, we cannot determine anything about per-mile expenses since mileage data is not provided in the passage.
Overall, people who did not travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses than people who did.
This must be true based on our mathematical analysis. Since airfare represents about half of all transportation spending but serves only a minority of travelers, while other transportation modes serve the large majority but account for only the remaining half of spending, the average cost per airplane traveler must be significantly higher than the average cost per non-airplane traveler. This directly means people who didn't travel by airplane had lower average transportation expenses.
Those who traveled by airplane spent about as much, on average, on other means of transportation as they did on airfare.
This choice suggests airplane travelers spent similar amounts on airfare as on other transportation methods. However, the passage tells us that about half of transportation spending was on airfare, and we have no information suggesting that airplane travelers used multiple transportation modes or spent additional money on non-airplane transportation. This cannot be concluded from the given information.