BTGModeratorVI wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 2:12 pm
A telephone station has x processors, each of which can process a maximum of y calls at any particular time, where x and y are positive integers. If 500 calls are sent to the station at a particular time, can the station process all of the calls?
(1) x = 600
(2) 100 < y < 200
Answer;
A
Source: Official guide
Kudos for a correct solution.[/quote]
Target question: Can the station process 500 calls?
This is a good candidate for
rephrasing the target question.
Each INDIVIDUAL processor can process y calls.
So, 2 processors can process 2y calls.
3 processors can process 3y calls....
And x processors can process xy calls.
We can write...
REPHRASED target question: Is xy ≥ 500?
Aside: Here’s a video with tips on rephrasing the target question: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... cy?id=1100
Statement 1: x = 600
Since we're told that x and y are POSITIVE INTEGERS, the smallest possible value of y is 1
Even when y = 1, xy =(600)(1) = 600. So, the value of xy is AT LEAST 600.
In other words,
xy ≥ 500
Since we can answer the
REPHRASED target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: 100 < y < 200
There are several values of x and y that satisfy statement 2. Here are two:
Case a: x = 1 and y = 101. in this case, xy = (1)(101) = 101. In other words,
xy < 500
Case b: x = 10 and y = 101. in this case, xy = (10)(101) = 1010. In other words,
xy ≥ 500
Since we cannot answer the
REPHRASED target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: A
Cheers,
Brent
