GMAT Practice Question: Of the following, which is least?
Question
Of the following, which is least?
- \frac{0.03}{0.00071}
- \frac{0.03}{0.0071}
- \frac{0.03}{0.071}
- \frac{0.03}{0.71}
- \frac{0.03}{7.1}
Topics: calculations, decimals, comparisons
Solution
Step 1
We apply \textbf{\text("Chain Rule for Inequalities")} to note that the denominators increase in the following order
0.00071<0.0071<0.071<0.71<7.1
Step 2
We observe that with the same positive numerator, a larger denominator gives a smaller fraction
\frac{0.03}{0.00071}>\frac{0.03}{0.0071}>\frac{0.03}{0.071}>\frac{0.03}{0.71}>\frac{0.03}{7.1}
Step 3
We see that the fraction with the largest denominator is the smallest
\frac{0.03}{7.1}\,\text{(Option E)}
Answer
The least value is \frac{0.03}{7.1}, which is option E
