"numbers and percentages" questions

Question 1

“numbers and percentages”
misconceptions

Answer 1

1. increasing percentages automatically lead to increasing numbers
2. decreasing percentages automatically lead to decreasing numbers
3. increasing numbers automatically lead to increasing percentages
4. decreasing numbers automatically lead to decreasing percentages
5. large numbers automatically mean large percentages; and small numbers automatically mean small percentages
6. large percentages automatically mean large numbers; and small percentages automatically mean small numbers

Question 2

“numbers and percentages”
three elements of numerical situations

Answer 2

1. overall total
2. number within that total
3. percentage within the total

need to know at least two of the above to have an accurate understanding of what’s going on

Question 3

“numbers and percentages”
words used to introduce numerical ideas

Answer 3

amount, quantity, sum, total, count, tally`

Question 4

“numbers and percentages”
words used to introduce percentage ideas

Answer 4

percent, proportion, fraction, ratio, incidence, likelihood, probability, segment, share

Question 5

“numbers and percentages”
general rules for “must be true” questions that involve numbers and percentages

Answer 5

1. if the stimulus contains only percentage or proportion information, avoid answers that contain hard numbers
2. if the stimulus contains only numerical information, avoid answers that contain percentage or proportion information
3. if the stimulus contains both percentage and numerical information, any answer that contains numbers, percentages, or both may be true

Question 6

“numbers and percentages”
operation of markets

Answer 6

supply and demand, production, pricing, profits

Question 7

“numbers and percentages”
market share

Answer 7

the portion of a company that a market controls, which must always add up to 100%.
it can change when market factors change, but losing market share doesn’t mean sales decreased, and gaining market share doesn’t mean sales increased (because the market could have either grown or shrunk, respectively)

Question 8

“numbers and percentages”
general rules for “weaken” and “strengthen” questions involving numbers and percentages

Answer 8

to weaken or strengthen an argument containing numbers and percentages, look for information about total amounts

does the argument make an assumption based on one of the six misconceptions?

six misconceptions:
1. increasing percentages automatically lead to increasing numbers
2. decreasing percentages automatically lead to decreasing numbers
3. increasing numbers automatically lead to increasing percentages
4. decreasing numbers automatically lead to decreasing percentages
5. large numbers automatically mean large percentages; and small numbers automatically mean small percentages
6. large percentages automatically mean large numbers; and small percentages automatically mean small numbers