LUANDATO wrote:A hiker in a national forest stopped at a ranger station to add to her canteen. How many ounces of water were in the canteen when she arrived at the ranger station?

1) The hiker added 24 ounces to the canteen at the ranger station.
2) After the hiker added water to the canteen, the canteen was 75 percent full.

Target question: How many ounces of water were in the canteen when she arrived at the ranger station?

Statement 1: The hiker added 24 ounces to the canteen at the ranger station.
This information doesn't help us determine the volume of water in the canteen when the hiker arrived.
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: After the hiker added water to the canteen, the canteen was 75 percent full
This information doesn't help us determine the volume of water in the canteen when the hiker arrived.
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
There are several possible scenarios that satisfy BOTH statements. Here are two:
Case a: The hiker had 0 ounces of water when she arrived, and the canteen has a capacity of 32 ounces. So, after adding 24 ounces of water to the canteen, it now holds 24 ounces of water. 24/32 = 75%, so all of the conditions are satisfied in this scenario. In this case the hiker had 0 ounces of water when she arrived
Case b: The hiker had 6 ounces of water when she arrived, and the canteen has a capacity of 40 ounces. So, after adding 24 ounces of water to the canteen, it now holds 30 ounces of water. 30/40 = 75%, so all of the conditions are satisfied in this scenario. In this case the hiker had 6 ounces of water when she arrived
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer: E

Cheers,
Brent