Piper bought three shirts. The three shirts cost $210 in total, not including sales tax. What was the cost of the most expensive shirt?
(1) One shirt was twice as expensive as exactly one of the other shirts.
(2) One shirt cost one-half as much as exactly one of the other shirts.
OA is E
What do we mean by "one of the other" ? Does it imply "one of the any" ? Can we also say - x + 2x + 2(2x) = 210 ?
Solve 700-Level Algebra Qs In 90 Secs!
Master 700-level Inequalities and Absolute Value Questions
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease.
Piper bought three shirts. The three shirts cost $210
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
- [email protected]
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 16201
- Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pm
- Location: Vancouver, BC
- Thanked: 5254 times
- Followed by:1268 members
- GMAT Score:770
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
IMPORTANT: Notice that statements 1 and 2 provide the EXACT SAME INFORMATION.vinni.k wrote:Piper bought three shirts. The three shirts cost $210 in total, not including sales tax. What was the cost of the most expensive shirt?
(1) One shirt was twice as expensive as exactly one of the other shirts.
(2) One shirt cost one-half as much as exactly one of the other shirts.
When this occurs, the correct answer is either D or E
Since the information is so sparse, I have a feeling that the correct answer is E. So, I'm going to try to find two possible cases that satisfy both statements, yet yield conflicting answers to the target question.
Target question: What was the cost of the most expensive shirt?
Given: The three shirts cost $210 in total
Statements 1 and 2 combined
There are several scenarios that satisfy BOTH statements. Here are two:
Case a: The prices of the three shirts are $10, $20, $180. In this case, the answer to the target question is the most expensive shirt costs $180
Case b: The prices of the three shirts are $20, $40, $150. In this case, the answer to the target question is the most expensive shirt costs $150
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
Cheers,
Brent