Lexical Similarities

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The table above shows the lexical similarities, measured as a percentage of words that are similar, between any two of the four languages A, B, C, and D. For example, the lexical similarity between Language A and Language D is 70. What is the value of ? 

(1) The lexical similarity between B and C is 10 percent greater than that between B and A.

(2) The lexical similarity between C and D is 105% that of the lexical similarity between A and C.

Review: Lexical Similarities




Explanation

This question might appear technical at first, but really it's saying that there is a "similarity" between A and B, and since the similarity is not a one-way thing, it appears in the table twice under the label . So, we need to find , the similarity between A and C. On to the statements, separately first.

Statement (1) relates the B-C similarity to the A-B similarity. But we are looking for the A-C similarity, and we have no known way to get there from the B-C or A-B similarity. So Statement (1) is insufficient.

Statement (2) gives a similar comparison, but one that includes the similarity that we are looking for, the A-C similarity. The C-D similarity is 105% of the A-C similarity. And the C-D similarity is 90, so 90 is 105% of the A-C similarity, or . We have sufficient information to solve for . So Statement (2) is sufficient.

The correct answer is (B).


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