Joan spent $10 to buy at least one piece each of apples and

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Joan spent $10 to buy at least one piece each of apples and oranges at a store where each apple cost $2 and each orange cost $1. How many apples did she buy?

(1) She spent more than $6 on buying oranges

(2) She spent less than $10 on buying oranges

A. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
B. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
C. BOTH statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question asked, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked.
D. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked.
E. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question asked, and additional data specific to the problem are needed.

What's the best way to determine which statement is sufficient?

OA: A
Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Sep 26, 2017 6:12 pm
Joan spent $10 to buy at least one piece each of apples and oranges at a store where each apple cost $2 and each orange cost $1. How many apples did she buy?

(1) She spent more than $6 on buying oranges
(2) She spent less than $10 on buying oranges
Target question: How many apples did Joan buy?

Given: Joan spent $10 to buy at least one piece each of apples and oranges at a store where each apple cost $2 and each orange cost $1.
Since there are only a handful of possible outcomes, we might benefit from quickly listing them:
i) Joan buys 1 apple (for $2) and 8 oranges (for $8)
ii) Joan buys 2 apples (for $4) and 6 oranges (for $6)
iii) Joan buys 3 apples (for $6) and 4 oranges (for $4)
iv) Joan buys 4 apple (for $8) and 2 oranges (for $2)


Statement 1: She spent more than $6 on buying oranges
When we check our list of possible outcomes, we see that only one outcome (case iv) satisfies statement 1.
So, it MUST be the case that Joan bought 4 apples
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: She spent less than $10 on buying oranges
When we check our list of possible outcomes, we see that ALL 4 outcomes satisfy statement 2.
So, it's possible that Joan bought 1 apple, 2 apples, 3 apples OR 4 apples
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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