Salesman probability

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Salesman probability

by satsriakal » Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:53 am
A TV Salesman sells TVs on Sat and Sunday. The probability of selling TVs on Sunday is dependent on the probability of selling TVs on Sat. There is a 2/3 chance that the 500 TVs are sold on Sat. There is a 1/3 chance that 3000 TVs are sold on Sat. If 500 TVs are sold on Sat, then the salesman will sell 500 or 2,000 TVs on Sunday with probabilities 3/4 and 1/4 respectively. On the other hand, if 3000 TVs are sold on Sat, then either 500 or 3000 TVs will be sold on Sunday with probabilities 1/4 and 3/4 respectively.

What is the probability the salesman will sell exactly 4,000 over both Saturday and Sunday sales combined?

a) 0
b) 1/4
c) 1/2
d) 3/4
e) None of the above


OA after some discussion
Last edited by satsriakal on Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Ian Stewart » Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:42 am
You will never see a GMAT question even remotely like this one, for one thing. For another, there's no way to answer the question, since the question doesn't tell you the probability he sells some number of TVs other than 500 or 3000 on Saturday. So the question doesn't make any sense.
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by kevincanspain » Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:30 am
The third line, which currently reads 'There is a 1/3 chance that 3000 TVs are sold on Sun' should read on Sat , I imagine
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by ceilidh.erickson » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:43 pm
PLEASE do not post questions on this forum that are unlike real GMAT questions! It can certainly be fun to challenge yourself with other hard questions, but this isn't the place for it. For one, it can scare or mislead other students who aren't able to solve it. For another, it doesn't help you to build skills that will be applicable to the GMAT.

When you're posting, LIST YOUR SOURCE, so the rest of us can gage how reliable it is as a GMAT source. Please don't intentionally post anything that wasn't meant to be a GMAT question. If you're writing your own questions to challenge other people, kudos to you. But this is not the venue for it.
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by satsriakal » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:12 pm
Hello Experts - I don't think my intention was to challenge anyone by making my own questions. This is a question from the Indian CAT exam. I felt that the problem is very close to the GMAT because we have to use the 'decision trees' to solve this. I believe that the answer is '0.' (I don't have the answer) :(

Thoughts?

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by satsriakal » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:50 am
any thoughts? still awaiting an answer....

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by shenoydevika » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:06 am
Hey Satsriakal!

The Indian CAT exam is extremely difficult compared to the GMAT. I don't think this question is comparable to a GMAT quant question even if the method of solving is similar.

Don't try solving CAT questions while preparing for the GMAT. Solve only GMAT questions.