Vincen wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 6:14 am
Beth's bank charges a service fee on a regular checking account for each month in which the balance on the account falls below $100 at any time during the month. Did the bank charge a service fee on Beth's regular checking account last month?
(1) During last month, a total of $1,000 was withdrawn from Beth's regular checking account.
(2) At the beginning of last month, Beth's regular checking account balance was $500.
[spoiler]OA=E[/spoiler]
Source: GMAT Prep
Target question: Did the bank charge a service fee on Beth's regular checking account last month?
REPHRASED target question: Did Beth's balance ever go below $100?
Statement 1: During last month, a total of $1,000 was withdrawn from Beth's regular checking account.
Were given no information about her starting balance, so we can't say whether or not Beth's balance went below $100
INSUFFICIENT
Statement 2: At the beginning of last month, Beth's regular checking account balance was $500.
Were given no information about how much money Beth withdrew over the month, so we can't say whether or not Beth's balance went below $100
INSUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined
Here are two CONTRADICTORY scenarios that could have occurred:
Case a: Beth begins the month with $500. On Day 2, she deposits $500 more. On Day 3, she withdraws $1000. In this case,
Beth's balance went below $100.
Case b: Beth begins the month with $500. On Day 2, she deposits $10,000 more. On Day 3, she withdraws $1000. No other deposits or withdrawals are made for the rest of the month. In this case,
Beth's balance NEVER went below $100.
Since we cannot answer the
REPHRASED target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer = E
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
