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Sofa dimensions

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Sofa dimensions

by gmattesttaker2 » Sat Feb 15, 2014 5:16 pm
Hello,

Can you please tell me if the values that I am testing are correct to show that 2 is in-sufficient:

A sofa is shipped in a rectangular box shaped package. If the length, width, and
height of the package are l, w, and h, respectively, will the box fit through a
door which is 4 feet wide and 8 feet tall?

(1) l + w + h < 12
(2) l^2 + w^2 + h^2 < 256

OA: A



1) w = 3.5, h = 7.5, l = 1 - Suff.

2) w = 4.1, h = 8.1, l = 4 [spoiler]In-suff.


Hence, A


Thanks a lot,
Sri
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat Feb 15, 2014 5:27 pm
My rephrase was: is the smallest side < 4, and the next smallest side < 8? That's what is required to fit through the door.

Your plugins are good Sri. They show that (2) is not sufficient.
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by haiuday » Mon Feb 24, 2014 7:33 am
Hi,
Can somebody please explain the answer in detail?

why l+w+h<12 is sufficient?

If I take l=1, w = 4.5 and h=6.5, box will not go through the door.
If I take l=1, w = 3.5 and h=7.5, box will go through.
So, it should be insufficient.

How can the answer be A? Please clarify.
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by theCodeToGMAT » Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:08 am
haiuday wrote:Hi,
Can somebody please explain the answer in detail?

why l+w+h<12 is sufficient?

If I take l=1, w = 4.5 and h=6.5, box will not go through the door.
If I take l=1, w = 3.5 and h=7.5, box will go through.
So, it should be insufficient.

How can the answer be A? Please clarify.
haiuday, you have neglected the third dimension..

Dimension of the Door = 4(w) x 8(h)

Dimensions of Case 1 = 1 (L) x 4.5(w) x 6.5 (H)

If we rotate the box to make ..

1 (w) x 6.5 (h) x 4.5 (L)

Then we can make the box pass through..

Hence, SUFFICIENT

{A}
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by [email protected] » Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:31 pm
Hi Sri,

Your solution is correct, but you could have dealt with Fact 2 without using decimals. Here's how:

The prompt tells us that the box has 3 dimensions (L, W and H), but the door has only 2 dimensions (4 feet by 8 feet). To fit through the door, ANY TWO of the dimensions would need to be less than 4 and 8 (and the third dimension wouldn't matter).

Fact 2: L^2 + W^2 + H^2 < 245

If L=1, W=1 and H=1, then the box clearly fits through the door (and the answer is YES)
If L=5, W=5 and L=5, then the box CAN'T fit through the door; none of the dimensions would get past the 4 feet dimension (and the answer is NO)
Fact 2 is INSUFFICIENT

This question serves as a great example for why knowing your "perfect squares" can help on Test Day.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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