Data Sufficiency

Three business partners owned 100% of a certain company. When they sold the company, one partner received exactly 5/8 of the proceeds of the sale and the other partners shared the remainder of the proceeds. How much money did the partner who received the smallest amount of the proceeds receive from the sale?


(1) The partner who received the smallest amount from the sale received exactly 1/5 the amount received by the partner who received the second largest amount.


(2) The partner who received the second largest amount from the sale received half of the two million dollars received by the partner who received the largest amount.

gmatnmein2010 wrote:Three business partners owned 100% of a certain company. When they sold the company, one partner received exactly 5/8 of the proceeds of the sale and the other partners shared the remainder of the proceeds. How much money did the partner who received the smallest amount of the proceeds receive from the sale?


(1) The partner who received the smallest amount from the sale received exactly 1/5 the amount received by the partner who received the second largest amount.


(2) The partner who received the second largest amount from the sale received half of the two million dollars received by the partner who received the largest amount.

IMO B.

A. Total not known, not sufficient
B.
5/8x=2mm highest share partner (mm=million)
x=16/5mm total
remaining share=3/8x=6/5mm
second largest share, given, 1mm
smallest share=6/5mm-1mm=1/5mm
Sufficient

From the question, you know that the largest (L) received 5/8 of proceeds of sale and Second-largest(SL) and smallest (S) received 3/8 of proceeds of sale.

You are asked to find the amount that smallest (S) received.

A. From looking at this statement, we get no amount as such. We are still playing with fractions. Without an amount, we cannot calculate the money received by smallest.

Insufficient.

B. 2 * 10^6 = L = 5/8 * X (Let X be the total amount)

X = 3.2 * 10^6 OR 3.2 million

L already received 5/8 (3.2 million) OR 2 million.

SL = 1/2 * L = 1/2 * 2 = 1 million.

So, S = X - L - SL

S = 3.2 million - 2 million - 1 million = 0.2 million.

Sufficient.

gmatnmein2010 wrote:Three business partners owned 100% of a certain company. When they sold the company, one partner received exactly 5/8 of the proceeds of the sale and the other partners shared the remainder of the proceeds. How much money did the partner who received the smallest amount of the proceeds receive from the sale?


(1) The partner who received the smallest amount from the sale received exactly 1/5 the amount received by the partner who received the second largest amount.


(2) The partner who received the second largest amount from the sale received half of the two million dollars received by the partner who received the largest amount.

Let the partner's share be X,Y,Z
X= 5/8 T
Y+Z= 3/8 T

St.1) z=1/5 Y we don't know total amt. ===insuff..
St.2) X= 2 so T = 8/5 x 2 =3.2 million
we don't know relation bet Y and Z

combined: Y+Z = 3/8 x 3.2 =1.2 also z=1/5 Y ==> 6/5 Y = 1.2 --> Y = 1 so z= 0.2 suff...Ans C

I don't really like the way the second statement is worded. The second statement reads "received half OF the two million dollars RECEIVED BY the partner who received the largest amount". This made it sound to me as though the partner who has received the largest sum has given 1/2 of what he received to the 2nd recipient, messing the whole meaning; and being a data sufficiency question, the statement made me think that to think that the 2nd recipient received 1 million not from the largest recipient would be a trap.
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