Data Sufficiency

BTGmoderatorDC wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:45 pm

By how many dollars was the price of a certain portable tape recorder reduced during a sale?

(1) During the sale, the price of the tape recorder was reduced by 25 percent.
(2) The price of the tape recorder after the reduction was $36.


OA C

Source: Princeton Review

Target question: By how many dollars was the price of a certain portable tape recorder reduced during a sale?

Statement 1: During the sale, the price of the tape recorder was reduced by 25 percent.
Since we aren't told the ORIGINAL price, there's no way to determine the price reduction during the sale.

For example, if the original price is $100, then a 25% reduction is $25.
Similarly, if the original price is $1000, then a 25% reduction is $250
Statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: The price of the tape recorder after the reduction was $36
Once again we have no information about the original price.
Statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
Let x = the original price.
So, 0.75x = the reduced price

If the reduced price is $36, we can write: 0.75x = 36
Solve: x = 48

So the original price is $48, which means a 25% reduction = 25% of $48 = $12
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are SUFFICIENT

Answer: C