What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales

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What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988 ?

(1) In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
(2) The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.

OA E

Source: Official Guide

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by Jay@ManhattanReview » Wed Apr 10, 2019 10:02 pm

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BTGmoderatorDC wrote:What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988 ?

(1) In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
(2) The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.

OA E

Source: Official Guide
Let's take each statement one by one.

(1) In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.

Certainly insufficient.

(2) The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.

Certainly insufficient.

(1) and (2) together

Say Jean's sales in 1988 is $x and the amount of sales in the second half is $y; thus, the amount of sales in the first half is $(x - y).

=> y = 6*10,000 + (x - y); note that there are two 6-months halves in a year

x = 2y - 60,000

Commission on first half sale = 5% of $(x - y) = 5% of (y - 60,000). Since we do not have the value of y, we can't get the answer. Insufficient.

The correct answer: E

Hope this helps!

-Jay
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed May 08, 2019 5:48 am

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BTGmoderatorDC wrote:What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988 ?

(1) In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
(2) The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.

OA E

Source: Official Guide
Target question: What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales in the FIRST HALF of 1988 ?

Statement 1: In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
We don't know her total sales amount in 1988, AND we don't know what happened in the FIRST HALF of 1988
Statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.
We have no information regarding the COMMISSION she receives on sales.
Statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
There are several scenarios that satisfy BOTH statements. Here are two:
Case a: Jean's sales were $0 in the FIRST half of 1988, and $60,000 in the SECOND half of 1988. 5% of $0 = $0. So, the answer to the target question is Jean's commission was $0 in the FIRST half of 19888
Case b: Jean's sales were $60,000 in the FIRST half of 1988, and $120,000 in the SECOND half of 1988. 5% of $60,000 = $3,000. So, the answer to the target question is Jean's commission was $3000 in the FIRST half of 19888
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer: E

Cheers,
Brent
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BTGmoderatorDC wrote:
Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:22 pm
What amount did Jean earn from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988 ?

(1) In 1988 Jean's commission was 5 percent of the total amount of her sales.
(2) The amount of Jean's sales in the second half of 1988 averaged $10,000 per month more than in the first half.

OA E

Source: Official Guide
Solution:

We need to determine the amount Jean earned from the commission on her sales in the first half of 1988.

Statement One Alone:

Since we don’t know the total amount of Jean’s sales in the first half of 1988, knowing only her commission rate is not sufficient to determine the amount of her commission in the first half of 1988.

Statement Two Alone:

Since we know neither the total amount of Jean’s sales in the first half of 1988 nor the commission rate, statement two is not sufficient to determine the amount of her commission in the first half of 1988.

Statements One and Two Together:

With the two statements, we still don’t know the total amount of Jean’s sales in the first half of 1988; thus, we can’t determine the amount of her commission in the first half of 1988.

Answer: E

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