Is 5 the median of Set X?
(1) Set X has 6 elements, which are odd positive integers.
(2) The smallest member of Set X is 1.
The OA is the option E.
Is it not sufficient to use both statements together to get an answer? Why not? Experts, I ask for your help.
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Is 5 the median of Set X? (1) Set X has . . . . .
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Target question: Is 5 the median of Set X?VJesus12 wrote:Is 5 the median of Set X?
(1) Set X has 6 elements, which are odd positive integers.
(2) The smallest member of Set X is 1.
Statement 1: Set X has 6 elements, which are odd positive integers.
There are several sets that satisfy statement 1. Here are two:
Case a: Set X = {1, 5, 5, 5, 5, 9} . In this case, 5 IS the median of set X
Case b: Set X = {1, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9} . In this case, 5 is NOT the median of set X
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: The smallest member of Set X is 1
Obviously statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined
There are several possible sets that satisfy BOTH statements. Here are two:
Case a: Set X = {1, 5, 5, 5, 5, 9} . In this case, 5 IS the median of set X
Case b: Set X = {1, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9} . In this case, 5 is NOT the median of set X
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
