Transportation ModeAverage Speed (mph)Passenger Efficiency (passengers per gallon)City Bus12.538.2Personal Car35.825.1Commuter Train28.738.6Subway22.4...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
| Transportation Mode | Average Speed (mph) | Passenger Efficiency (passengers per gallon) |
|---|---|---|
| City Bus | 12.5 | 38.2 |
| Personal Car | 35.8 | 25.1 |
| Commuter Train | 28.7 | 38.6 |
| Subway | 22.4 | 42.3 |
| Bicycle | 8.2 | N/A (human-powered) |
Metropolitan transit systems demonstrate a surprising pattern: vehicles operating at vastly different speeds can achieve nearly identical passenger efficiency rates. This counterintuitive relationship emerged from comprehensive data analysis across multiple urban areas, where passenger efficiency was measured in passengers transported per gallon of fuel consumed. The data challenges conventional assumptions about speed-efficiency correlations in urban transportation, suggesting that optimal passenger transport effectiveness is achievable regardless of operational velocity.
Which choice best describes data from the table that support this conclusion?
City Bus and Commuter Train operate at significantly different speeds but achieve nearly identical passenger efficiency.
Among the transportation modes in the table, Subway has the slowest speed but the highest passenger efficiency.
Personal Car operates at the highest speed and also demonstrates the most effective passenger transport per gallon.
City Bus and Subway both operate below 25 mph, yet both modes show passenger efficiency above 35 passengers per gallon.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
The passage presents a data table showing different transportation modes with their speeds and passenger efficiency rates. The key data points are:
- City Bus: \(12.5\) mph, \(38.2\) passengers per gallon
- Personal Car: \(35.8\) mph, \(25.1\) passengers per gallon
- Commuter Train: \(28.7\) mph, \(38.6\) passengers per gallon
- Subway: \(22.4\) mph, \(42.3\) passengers per gallon
- Bicycle: \(8.2\) mph, N/A (human-powered)
The main conclusion states that vehicles operating at vastly different speeds can achieve nearly identical passenger efficiency rates, which is described as a surprising and counterintuitive pattern that challenges conventional assumptions about speed-efficiency correlations.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question asks which answer choice provides data from the table that supports the conclusion about vehicles with vastly different speeds achieving nearly identical efficiency.
What type of answer do we need? I need specific evidence from the numerical data that demonstrates this counterintuitive relationship.
Any limiting keywords? Command of Evidence question requiring systematic work through the data table and passage to find which choice best supports the stated conclusion.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- To support the conclusion, I need to find transportation modes that have significantly different speeds but very similar efficiency numbers
- Looking at the data, City Bus (\(12.5\) mph, \(38.2\) pass/gal) and Commuter Train (\(28.7\) mph, \(38.6\) pass/gal) show exactly this pattern
- More than double the speed difference but almost identical efficiency
City Bus and Commuter Train operate at significantly different speeds but achieve nearly identical passenger efficiency.
✓ Correct
- Correctly identifies City Bus and Commuter Train data showing vastly different speeds (\(12.5\) vs \(28.7\) mph) but nearly identical efficiency (\(38.2\) vs \(38.6\) passengers per gallon)
- This directly supports the conclusion
Among the transportation modes in the table, Subway has the slowest speed but the highest passenger efficiency.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrectly claims subway has the slowest speed, but bicycle operates at \(8.2\) mph versus subway's \(22.4\) mph
- Factually wrong about the data
Personal Car operates at the highest speed and also demonstrates the most effective passenger transport per gallon.
✗ Incorrect
- Incorrectly claims personal car has the most effective passenger transport per gallon, but personal car actually has the lowest efficiency at \(25.1\) passengers per gallon
City Bus and Subway both operate below 25 mph, yet both modes show passenger efficiency above 35 passengers per gallon.
✗ Incorrect
- While factually accurate about both modes being below \(25\) mph with efficiency above \(35\), this doesn't demonstrate vastly different speeds achieving nearly identical efficiency since both modes are relatively similar in speed