A car drives along a straight road from Smithville to Laredo, going through Ferristown along the way. What is the total distance by car from Smithville to Laredo?
(1) The distance from Smithville to Ferristown is 3/5 of the distance from Smithville to Laredo
(2) The distance from Ferristown to Laredo is 12 miles
The answer is C
- If you combine the statements, 12 miles must make up the remaining 2/5 of the entire trip -- what is the step to get to the number 2/5?
Data Sufficiency (parts and wholes)
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If the distance from Smithville to Laredo is "d". From statement 1, the distance from Smithville to Ferristown is (3/5)d. Since Ferristown is in between Smithville and Laredo, and because all the cities lie in a straight line, distance from Ferristown to Laredo is d - (3/5)d which is (2/5)d.