BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Word problem

Expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:35 pmFollowed by: 3 members
Thanked: 39 times
by adthedaddy » Thu Sep 24, 2015 7:25 pm
Pam owns an inventory of unopened packages of corn and rice, which she has purchased for $17 and $13 per package, respectively. How many packages of corn does she have ?

1. She has $282 worth of packages
2. She has twice as many packages of corn as of rice

Standard DS options follow.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary" - Steve Jobs
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Data Sufficiency |
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pmFollowed by: 119 members
Location: East Bay all the way
Thanked: 625 times
GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:06 am
Let's say r = # of packages of rice and c = # of packages of corn.

S1::

17c + 13r = 282

Suppose we ONLY had packages of corn. Then we would have more than 16 packages, since 17*16 = 272.

Suppose we ONLY had packages of rice. Then we would have less than 22 packages, since 13*22 = 286.

So we (c + r) must be between 17 and 21, inclusive.

Now let's write 17c + 13r as 13c + 13r + 4c. This is really 13(c + r) + 4c, so we have

13(c + r) + 4c = 282

Notice that 4c is even. Since 282 is also even, we must be adding TWO EVEN TERMS. Hence 13(c + r) is even, which means (c + r) is even.

Since 17 ≤ c + r ≤ 21, this gives (c + r) = 18 or (c + r) = 20. (c + r) = 18 works, and gives c = 12. (c + r) = 20 does NOT work, as it gives c = 5.5, which is not an integer. So there is only ONE solution, c = 12 and r = 6; SUFFICIENT.

S2:: Obviously not sufficient alone.

Key takeaway here: if C is too easy in DS, be very suspicious!! You can certainly solve the system of two equations 17c + 13r = 282 and c = 2r, so that is TOO EASY. Since S2 doesn't work, the answer is very likely A, even if you can't say why on test day.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1