Set P has n integers. What is the standard deviation of Set

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:20 am
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Set P has n integers. What is the standard deviation of Set P?

1) The range of Set P is equal to zero.
2) The mean of Set P is equal to the median of Set P.

OA A
Given: Set P has n integers.

Target question: What is the standard deviation of Set P?

Statement 1: The range of Set P is equal to zero
If the range is ZERO then every element in set P must be the SAME.
If all of the values are the same then there is NO DEVIATION, which means the standard deviation of Set P is zero
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: The mean of Set P is equal to the median of Set P
There are several scenarios that satisfy statement 2. Here are two:
Case a: Set P = {1,1,1}. Since all the values are the SAME , the standard deviation is 0
Case b: Set P = {1,2,3}. Since the values are DIFFERENT, the standard deviation is NOT 0
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer: A

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Brent
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