Beware of typographic errors in the GRE

[finknottle]

I wrote the GRE today, and (at least) one of the questions that I got had a typographic error. It was something like this: "In a set of 15 measurements, 8 numbers are less than x and 8 numbers are more than y " where x and y were some numbers. It was a comparison question where A was 'median of the set' and B was some number. This was a very flagrant typo, and there is no way to deduce what the actual question might've been. Either 15 should've been 16, or one of the 8's should've been a 7. Based on that, 3 out of the 4 alternatives are possible candidates for the right answer.(Only the equality is not possible). I assumed that they meant 16 numbers in the set, and I selected 'Can't say' since that seemed like something that they might want to test. I'll mail and call ETS on Monday. Has anyone else faced something like this? I got another question too which I'm pretty sure was incorrect, but it was too long to remember. The score ranges I got were 750-800 in quant and 700-800 in verbal.

[harpyemma]

I don't see the problem.

if x>y then there's no problem, surely? And nowhere does the question (as you've relayed it...) state that x<y; that's just an assumption you appear to have made by yourself.

If, for ease of visualisation, we let the set be the numbers 1-15, 8 numbers are less than 9 and 8 numbers are more than 7. So x=9, y=7. That's fine. And the median of the set is 8. What's the problem?

[finknottle]

Yeah i forgot to mention that x<y.

Edit: It wasn't x and y in the question. As I said they were some numbers. I remember that x was less than y. Besides, the obvious typographic error is about 15, 8 and 8. Even if there were a way to find the answer in spite of the error, which in this case there isn't, it doesn't mitigate the problem. An error is still an error.

Edited September 10, 2011 by prasun