The document discusses data sufficiency questions. It defines data sufficiency as determining if sufficient data is available to solve a given question. It provides examples of data sufficiency questions and explanations of the types of questions, instructions, and rules for answering them. Key rules include only accepting a unique answer from a single statement, and that "no" is a valid answer if the data is insufficient to determine the question.
The document discusses data sufficiency questions. It defines data sufficiency as determining if sufficient data is available to solve a given question. It provides examples of data sufficiency questions and explanations of the types of questions, instructions, and rules for answering them. Key rules include only accepting a unique answer from a single statement, and that "no" is a valid answer if the data is insufficient to determine the question.
The document discusses data sufficiency questions. It defines data sufficiency as determining if sufficient data is available to solve a given question. It provides examples of data sufficiency questions and explanations of the types of questions, instructions, and rules for answering them. Key rules include only accepting a unique answer from a single statement, and that "no" is a valid answer if the data is insufficient to determine the question.
file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 1/69
Contents I. INTRODUCTION II. TYPES OF DS QUESTIONS III. RULES FOR DS QUESTIONS A. ONLY A UNIQUE ANSWER FROM A SINGLE STATEMENT IS ACCEPTABLE. B. TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM TWO DIFFERENT STATEMENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE. C. NO IS AS GOOD AN ANSWER AS YES. IV. HOW TO APPROACH DS QUESTIONS V. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE VI. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON REASONING VII. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON DATA INTERPRETATION VIII. DS EXAMPLES WITH OTHER VARIETIES OF INSTRUCTION SETS Data Sufficiency I. INTRODUCTION As the name suggests, Data Sufficiency (DS) is related to finding out if we have sufficient data available with us to solve a question. Let us have a look at this question. What is the value of 12x + 17? We cannot solve the question without knowing the value of x. So, we will say that the given data is insufficient to answer the question. DS questions generally consist of the following: A set of instructions which needs to be carefully read before answering the question. A question with or without data. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 2/69 Two statements which give us some data related to the question. This data may or may not be sufficient to answer the question. Let us try and understand this by using an example. Example 1: A question is given below, followed by two statements A and B. Check if, 1. The question can be answered using statement A alone. 2. The question can be answered using statement B alone. 3. The question can be answered using both the statements A and B together. 4. The question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. Question: What is the value of 2x + 7, where x is an integer? Statements: A. x > 3 B. x < 5 Solution: We need to find the value of 2x + 7. Clearly, to find this value we need x. The question only states that x is an integer. Step I: Take only statement A and try to solve the question. Here, x > 3 So x can take the values 4, 5, 6, 7 2x + 7 can be 15, 17, 19, 21 Thus, we cannot find a unique value of 2x + 7 using statement A alone. Step II: Take only statement B and try to solve the question. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 3/69 Here, x < 5 So x can take values 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2 2x + 7 can be 15, 13, 11, 9 Thus, we cannot find a unique value of 2x + 7 using statement B alone. Step III: Since step I and step II have failed to give an answer, lets consider statements A and B together. Now, we have x > 3 and x < 5 i.e. 3 < x < 5. This gives x = 4 2x + 7 = 15 We get a unique value of 2x + 7 by considering both the statements together. Hence, the correct answer is option 3. If we were unable to get the answer even after using both the statements A and B together, then the data would have been insufficient to solve the question. II. TYPES OF DS QUESTIONS DS questions can be based on concepts from Quantitative Ability, Reasoning or Data Interpretation. We can classify the DS questions based on the instructions given before the set of questions as a 5 option DS or a 4 option DS. A typical set of questions based on 5 option DS would be preceded by the following set of instructions: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 4/69 Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (5) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. A typical set of questions based on 4 option DS would be preceded by the following set of instructions: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. IMPORTANT The instructions given above for a 5 option DS and for a 4 option DS are similar to those which appear normally in different competitive examinations. But these instructions can be different from those discussed here. Hence, students should read and understand the directions very carefully before solving questions. Example 2: Question: What is the value of x + y? Statements: A. x + 2y = 7 B. 3x 4y = 2 Solution: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 5/69 It is very obvious that, using statement A alone or using statement B alone, we cannot find the value of x + y. But when we use both the statements A and B together, we get two linear equations which are independent & consistent. Thus, we can find out the values of x and y and thus, the value of (x + y). So, the question can be answered using neither statement A alone nor statement B alone but can be answered using both the statements together. Thus, in case of a 5 option DS, having instructions as stated earlier, the correct option choice would be (4) and in case of a 4 option DS the correct option choice would be (3). REMEMBER: We need not solve the above question and find out the actual value of x + y. All we need to find out is whether the given data is sufficient to solve the question or not. However, sometimes it is not possible to figure whether data is sufficient unless we completely solve the question. IMPORTANT In the above example, we have not solved the two linear equations. But, it does not mean that whenever we see a Two equation - Two variable case, we conclude that the data is sufficient. We have to at least make sure that the two given equations are independent and consistent. Let us take another example. Example 3: Question: What is the LCM of 3 and x? Statements: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 6/69 A. HCF of 3 and x is 1. B. x is a positive composite number less than 5. Solution: Using statement A alone: HCF of 3 and x is 1. This means that 3 and x do not have any common divisors other than 1 and hence, 3 and x are relatively prime numbers. But, this does not give us a unique value of x. So, we cannot find the LCM of 3 and x. Statement A alone is not sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: The only composite number less than 5 is 4. So we get the unique value of x as 4. LCM of 3 and 4 is 12. Statement B alone is sufficient to answer the question. Thus, if the instructions for the question are as above, then the correct option choice would be (2), regardless of whether the question is 5 option DS or 4 option DS. REMEMBER: In the above example, since we are able to solve the question using one of the statements alone, we will not test the sufficiency of both the statements together to solve the question. III. RULES FOR DS QUESTIONS DS questions are different from typical quantitative ability questions or reasoning questions. Hence, the rules for DS questions are also different. Following are a few rules that are applicable to DS. A. ONLY A UNIQUE ANSWER FROM A SINGLE STATEMENT IS 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 7/69 ACCEPTABLE. Let us take an example. Example 4: Question: What is the value of x? Statements: A. x 2 5x + 6 = 0 B. x + 2y = 6 Solution: Using statement A alone, we will get two answers x = 2 and x = 3. For a mathematics question, both these answers are acceptable. But, in DS, this data is not sufficient to answer the question because we are not able to get a unique answer. IMPORTANT The above example does not mean that whenever we come across a quadratic equation, we should conclude that the data is insufficient. Sometimes both the roots of the quadratic equation can be the same or one out of the two distinct roots of the equation can be discarded. In such conditions, the data will become sufficient to solve the question. For example, if one of the roots of a quadratic equation is x = 2, and the question was What is the number of students x? then this root should be discarded as the number of students cannot be negative. B. TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM TWO DIFFERENT STATEMENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE. Let us take another example. Example 5: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 8/69 Question: What is the value of x? Statements: A. x+ 2 = 5 B. x + 2 = 6 Solution: These two statements will give two different answers. Using statement A alone we get x = 3, but using statement B alone we get x = 4. The two answers are different, but we are not concerned about the answers. What is important is whether the data is sufficient to solve the question or not. In this case both the statements A and B are individually sufficient to solve the question, and hence we will mark option (3) as our correct choice in a typical 5 option DS variety. C. NO IS AS GOOD AN ANSWER AS YES. Let us take one more example. Example 6: Question: Is x a prime number? Statements: A. x + y = 5 B. x+ 12 = 18 Solution: Using statement A alone, we do not get any unique answer as y is not given. Using statement B alone, we get x = 6 which is not a prime number, hence the answer to the question Is x a prime number? is No. Although, the answer is No, we still have an answer and the data is sufficient to solve the question. So the correct option is 2. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 9/69 Hence, option 2. IV. HOW TO APPROACH DS QUESTIONS Refer to the following self-explanatory flow charts. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 10/69 V. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE Directions for examples 7 and 8: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 11/69 Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (5) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. Example 7: Question: By how much time does Jack beat Joe in the race? Statements: A. The race track is of 100 meters. B. Jack and Joe start off from the same point at the same time and Jack is 2 m/s faster than Joe. Solution: Using statement A alone: We cannot find out the time by knowing the distance only. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: We cannot find out the time as the distance is not known. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: Let speed of Joe be x m/s. Then the speed of Jack will be (x + 2) m/s. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 12/69 But, we do not know the speed of Joe (x), hence we cannot find a unique answer. Both the Statements A and B together are also not sufficient. Hence, option 5. Example 8: Question: Is (x y) greater than (x + y)? Statements: A. x and y are negative fractions. B. x and y are positive integers. Solution: Using statement A alone: Since y is negative, we have, y < 0 y > 0 (x y) > x and (x + y) < x Thus, (x y) is greater than (x + y). The answer to the question is Yes. Statement A alone is sufficient. Using statement B alone: Since y is a positive integer, we have, y > 0 y < 0 (x y) < x and (x + y) > x 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 13/69 Thus, (x y) is not greater than (x + y). The answer to the question is No. Statement B alone is also sufficient. Hence, option 3. Directions for examples 9 to 22: Choose 1 if the question can be answered by using one of the statements alone, but cannot be answered using the other statement alone. Choose 2 if the question can be answered by using either statement alone. Choose 3 if the question can be answered by using both statements together, but cannot be answered using either statement alone. Choose 4 if the question cannot be answered even by using both statements together. Example 9: Question: A shopkeeper marks an article at Rs. 150. What is the profit he makes? Statements: A. Selling price is 130% of cost price. B. 20% discount is offered by the shopkeeper. Solution: Using statement A alone: We know that the profit is 30% of cost price, but the absolute value of profit cannot be determined until we get the value of cost price or selling price. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Since marked price and discount percentage is known, we can find selling price. But, this also does not give us the profit, until we know the profit percentage or cost price. Statement B alone is not sufficient. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 14/69 Using statement A and B together: Since we know selling price from statement B and profit percentage from statement A, profit can be calculated. Both the statements A and B together are sufficient. Hence, option 3. Example 10: Question: P , Q, R, S and T are 5 people who appeared for an exam. What is the percentage scored by R if 40% is the passing percentage and R has passed the exam? Statements: A. Average of the marks scored by P, Q, and R is same as the average of marks scored by S and T. B. Out of P, Q and R, two have failed. Also, the average of the three is the maximum possible average under the given conditions. Solution: Using statement A alone: We cannot find the percentage of marks obtained by R. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Since R has passed, R must have scored 100% marks for maximum average of marks scored by P, Q and R. Statement B alone is sufficient. Hence, option 1. Example 11: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 15/69 Question: What is the value of X? Statements: A. X and Y are unequal even integers, less than 10, and X/Y is an odd integer. B. X and Y are even integers, each less than 10, and product of X and Y is 12. [CAT 2001] Solution: Using statement A alone: Both have to be even numbers, the only possibility is X = 6 and Y = 2 Statement A alone is sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: 1 2 = 1 12 = 2 6 = 3 4 Both are even integers and less than 10, the possible set of values of X and Y are (2, 6) and (6, 2). X is either 2 or 6. No unique solution can be found using statement B alone. Hence, option 1. Note: Negative integers are not considered as Even or Odd. Example 12: Question: O is the centre of two concentric circles. ae is a chord of the outer circle and it intersects the inner circle at points b and d. c is a point on the chord in between b and d. What is the value of ac/ce? Statements: A. bc/cd = 1 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 16/69 B. A third circle intersects the inner circle at b and d and the point c is on the line joining the centres of the third circle and the inner circle. [CAT 2000] Solution: Using statement A alone: bc = cd If c is the midpoint of bd it would also be midpoint of ae because circles are concentric. ac = ce The question can be answered using statement A alone. Using Statement B alone: If c is the point on the line joining the two centres, it has to bisect the chord bd. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 17/69 c will also bisect the chord ae as the circles are concentric. ac = ce The question can be answered using statement B alone also. Hence, option 2. Example 13: Question: Is Country X's GDP higher than country Y's GDP? Statements: A. GDPs of the countries X and Y have grown over the past five years at compounded annual rates of 5% and 6% respectively. B. Five years ago, GDP of country X was higher than that of country Y. [CAT 2001] Solution: Using statement A alone: Statement A does not give us the actual values of their GDPs 5 years ago. Statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: We know that GDP of country X is greater than that of Y but we do not know by how much it is greater. Even after combining both the statements the question cannot be answered. Hence, option 4. Example 14: Question: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 18/69 There are two straight lines in the x-y plane with equations ax + by = c, dx + ey = f. Do the two straight lines intersect? Statements: A. a, b, c, d, e and f are distinct real numbers. B. c and f are non-zero. [CAT 2001] Solution: Using statement A alone: Statement A implies that a, b, c, d, e, f are distinct real numbers. then the lines may be parallel and might not intersect at all. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Statement B implies that the lines do not pass through the origin. Statement B is also not sufficient. Even after combining both the statements the above condition is not clear. We cannot be sure whether the lines intersect or are parallel. Hence, option 4. Example 15: Question: Triangle PQR has angle PRQ equal to 90 degrees. What is the value of PR + RQ? Statements: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 19/69 A. Diameter of the inscribed circle of the triangle PQR is equal to 10 cm. B. Diameter of the circumscribed circle of the triangle PQR is equal to 18 cm. [CAT 2000] Solution: Using statement A alone: PF = PR FR = PR OD = PR 5 QD = QR DR = QR OF = QR 5 PE = PF and QE = QD PE = PR 5 and QE = QR 5 PQ = PE + QE = PR 5 + QR 5 PR + QR = PQ + 10 This statement alone is not sufficient to find PR + RQ. Using statement B alone: Diameter of the circumscribing circle = hypotenuse of the triangle PQ = 18 PR 2 + RQ 2 = PQ 2 But this does not give the value of PR + RQ. This statement alone is not sufficient. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 20/69 Considering both the statements together, PR + QR = PQ + 10 = 18 + 10 = 28 Hence, option 3. Example 16: Question: Statements: A. 3 a 3 B. One of the roots of the equation 4x 2 4x + 1 = 0 is a [CAT 2003 Leaked Test] Solution: R.H.S. and L.H.S. are infinite GPs We need to find whether This statement (i) is always true for a < 1. Using statement A alone: 3 a 3 But a may or may not be less than 2. So, statement A alone is not sufficient to answer the question. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 21/69 Using statement B alone: 4a 2 4a + 1 = 0 (ii) a = 1/2 < 1 So, statement B alone is sufficient to answer the question. Hence, option 1. Example 17: Question: A game consists of tossing a coin successively. There is an entry fee of Rs. 10 and an additional fee of Re. 1 for each toss of the coin. The game is considered to have ended normally when the coin turns heads on two consecutive throws.In this case the player is paid Rs. 100. Alternatively, the player can choose to terminate the game prematurely after any of the tosses. Ram has incurred a loss of Rs. 50 by playing this game. How many times did he toss the coin? Statements: A. The game ended normally. B. The total number of tails obtained in the game was 138. [CAT 2003 Leaked Test] Solution: Let the number of tosses be x. Total amount spent by Ram after x tosses = (10 + x 1) = Rs. (10 + x) We know that Ram incurs a loss of Rs. 50. We have two cases to evaluate: If the game ends normally then Ram's net loss 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 22/69 = Rs. (10 + x) Rs. 100 If he quits prematurely his loss = Rs. (10 + x) Using statement A alone: Ram's net loss = (10 + x) 100 50 = (10 + x) 100 x = 140 Statement A is alone sufficient. Using statement B alone: The number of tails = 138 If the game ends prematurely, 10 + x = 50 x = 40 But x 138 The game cannot have ended prematurely. The game ended normally. 50 = (10 + x) 100 x = 140 Statement B alone is also sufficient. Hence, option 2. Example 18: Question: Each packet of SOAP costs Rs. 10. Inside each packet is a gift coupon labelled with one of the letters S, O, A, and P. If a customer submits four such coupons that make up the word SOAP, the customer gets a free SOAP packet.Ms. X kept buying packet after packet of SOAP till she could get one set of coupons that formed the word 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 23/69 SOAP. How many coupons with label P did she get in the above process? Statements: A. The last label obtained by her was S and the total amount spent was Rs. 210. B. The total number of vowels obtained was 18. [CAT 2003 Leaked Test] Solution: Using Statement A alone: Also the last label obtained by her is S. But this is not sufficient to get the number of Ps. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using Statement B alone: The number of Os and As is 18. But this is also not individually sufficient to arrive at the required answer. Statement B alone is not sufficient. After combining both the statements A and B, we can conclude that 18 out of 21 coupons are Os and As and that the 21 st is an S. This means that the remaining two are Ps. Hence, option 4. Example 19: Question: Is 500 the average (arithmetic mean) score of the GMAT? 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 24/69 Statements: A. Half of the people who take GMAT score above 500 and half of the people score below 500. B. The highest GMAT score is 800 and the lowest score is 200. [CAT 2002] Solution: Using statement A alone: This statement alone does not give sufficient information as we do not know how much above/below 500 these students scored. For example, if scores are 800, 750, 450 and 200, then, average = (800 + 750 + 450 + 200)/4 = 550 500 If scores are 400, 300, 600 and 700, average = 500 Statement A alone is not sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: Using this statement alone, we cannot say whether 500 is the average score of GMAT. Considering both statements together: Even now, we cannot determine the average. (Again, the above example can be used.) Hence, option 4. Example 20: Question: A dress was initially listed at a price that would have fetched the store a profit of 20% on the wholesale cost. What was the wholesale cost of the dress? Statements: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 25/69 A. After reducing the listed price by 10% the dress was sold for a net profit of 10 dollars. B. The dress was sold for 50 dollars. [CAT 2002] Solution: Let 100x be the wholesale cost of the dress. List price of the dress = 120x Using statement A alone: Selling Price = 0.9 List Price = 0.9 120x = 108x Now, Selling Price Cost Price = Profit (108x) (100x) = 10 x = 10/8 Wholesale Cost = 100x = Rs. 125 Statement A alone is sufficient. Using statement B alone: This gives the selling price of the dress but it is not mentioned whether any discount is provided on the list price or not. Statement B alone is not sufficient. Hence, option 1. Example 21: Question: Ravi spent less than Rs.75 to buy one kilogram each of potato, onion, and gourd. Which one of the three vegetables bought was the costliest? Statements: A. 2 kg potato and 1 kg gourd cost less than 1 kg potato and 2 kg gourd. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 26/69 B. 1 kg potato and 2 kg onion together cost the same as 1 kg onion and 2 kg gourd. [CAT 2004] Solution: Let one kilogram of potatoes, onions and gourd cost Rs. p, Rs. o and Rs. g respectively. Then p + o + g < 75. Using statement A alone: 2p + g < p + 2g p < g But, nothing is known about o. Statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: p + 2o = o + 2g o + p = 2g The cost of 1 kg of gourd is the average of the costs of 1 kg potatoes and 1 kg onions. g is neither the costliest nor the cheapest. But the costliest vegetable cannot be found. Statement B is insufficient. Considering both statements together: p < g and g is the average of p and o o > g Onions are the costliest. Hence, option 3. Example 22: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 27/69 Question: Zakib spends 30% of his income on his childrens education, 20% on recreation and 10% on healthcare. The corresponding percentages for Supriyo are 40%, 25%, and 13%. Who spends more on childrens education? Statements: A. Zakib spends more on recreation than Supriyo. B. Supriyo spends more on healthcare than Zakib. [CAT 2004] Solution: Let Zakibs and Supriyos incomes be z and s respectively. Using statement A alone: 0.2z > 0.25s z > s Zakib and Supriyo spend 0.3z and 0.4s on childrens education. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: 0.13s > 0.1z Supriyo spends more than Zakib on childrens education. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 28/69 Statement B alone is sufficient. Hence, option 1. Directions for examples 23 to 27: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. Example 23: Question: What is the value of x? Statements: A. x 3 9x 2 + 27x 27 > 0 B. x is less than y where 18, 24 and 6y form a right angled triangle with 6y as the hypotenuse. Solution: Using statement A alone: x 3 9x 2 + 27x 27 > 0 (x 3) 3 > 0 x 3 > 0 x > 3 This does not give a unique value of x. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 29/69 Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Let z = 6y Applying Pythagoras theorem, we get, z 2 = 18 2 + 24 2 Thus, z = 30 z = 6y = 30 y = 5 But, x < y i.e. x < 5 This does not give a unique value of x. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: x > 3 and x < 5 i.e. 3 < x < 5 This also does not give a unique value of x, because x can take any real values between 3 and 5. Do not assume that x is an integer here. Both the Statements A and B together are also not sufficient. Hence, option 4. Example 24: Question: Is x y an even number? Statements: A. x is an odd number. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 30/69 B. y is an odd number. Solution: Using statement A alone: x is an odd number. An Odd number raised to any number gives an odd number. Thus, x y is an odd number. It is not even. The answer to the question is No. Statement A alone is sufficient. Hence, option 1. REMEMBER In the previous example, after we found that statement A alone is sufficient, we did not test the sufficiency of the data from statement B alone. This is because of the fact that no option in the instruction set says both statements A and B are individually sufficient. Even if we test the sufficiency of the data from statement B alone, we find that it is not sufficient. EXPLANATION: Using statement B alone: If x is even, then the number x y is even, but if x is odd, then x y is odd. Hence, a unique answer cannot be determined using statement B alone. Example 25: Question: The average weight of a class of 100 students is 45 kg. The class consists of two sections, I and II, each with 50 students. The average weight, W I , of Section I is smaller than the average weight, W II ,of Section II. If the heaviest student, say Deepak, of Section II is moved to Section I, and the lightest student, say Poonam, of Section I is moved to Section II, then the average weights of the two sections are 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 31/69 switched, i.e., the average weight of Section I becomes W II and that of Section II becomes W I . What is the weight of Poonam? Statements: A. W II W I = 1.0 B. Moving Deepak from Section II to I (without any move from I to II) makes the average weights of the two sections equal. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let the weights of Deepak and Poonam be d and p respectively. (50W II + 50W I )/100 = 45 W II + W I = 90 ...(i) 50W I + d p = 50W II 50W II d + p = 50W I 50(W II W I ) = d p ....(ii) Using statement A alone: W II W I = 1 ...(iii) From (i), (ii) and (iii) W I and W II can be found. Also, d p = 50 ...(iv) However this information does not give us the value of p. Statement A is insufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: W I = W II = (Sum I + d)/51 = (Sum II d)/49 49(Sum I ) + 49d = 51(Sum II ) 51d 100d = 51(50W II ) 49(50W I ) 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 32/69 2d = 51W II 49W I ...(v) This alone cannot help us find the value of p. Statement B is insufficient to answer the question. Considering both statements together, we have values of W I and W II , which can be substituted in (v) to find d, which can be used to find p using (iv). Hence, option 3. Example 26: Question: Rahim plans to draw a square JKLM with a point O on the side JK but is not successful. Why is Rahim unable to draw the square? Statements: A. The length of OM is twice that of OL. B. The length of OM is 4 cm. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let p be the side of square JKLM. From Statement A, OM = 2 OL OM is maximum when it is the diagonal of the square and has length When OM is maximum, OM = OL OM 2 OL if O lies on JK. Rahim is unable to draw the square. Statement B offers no additional or relevant information. Hence, option 1. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 33/69 Example 27: Question: ABC Corporation is required to maintain at least 400 Kilolitres of water at all times in its factory, in order to meet safety and regulatory requirements. ABC is considering the suitability of a spherical tank with uniform wall thickness for the purpose. The outer diameter of the tank is 10 meters. Is the tank capacity adequate to meet ABCs requirements? Statements: A. The inner diameter of the tank is at least 8 meters. B. The tank weighs 30,000 kg when empty, and is made of a material with density of 3 gm/cc. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let the inner radius be r meter. Capacity of tank = (1 m 3 = 1 kilolitre) Using statement A alone: Since r 4m Capacity of tank > 256 m 3 Since the capacity needed is more than 256 m 3 statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: Volume of the material of tank = mass/density = 30000kg/(3 gm/cc) = 10,000,000 cm 3 = 10 m 3 Hence the inner volume of tank = Outer volume Volume of material of tank Therefore, we can say that the tank capacity is adequate. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 34/69 Hence, option 2. Directions for the examples 28 and 29: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if Statement A alone is sufficient to answer the question. Mark (2) if Statement B alone is sufficient to answer the question. Mark (3) if Statement A and Statement B together are sufficient, but neither of the two alone is sufficient to answer the question. Mark (4) if either Statement A or Statement B alone is sufficient to answer the question. Mark (5) if both Statement A and Statement B are insufficient to answer the question. Example 28: In the trapezoid PQRS, PS is parallel to QR. PQ and SR are extended to meet at A. What is the value of PAS? Statements: A. PQ = 3, RS = 4 and QPS = 60 . B. PS = 10, QR = 5. [XAT 2010] Solution: Using statement A alone: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 35/69 QPM is a 30-60-90 triangle Statement A is sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: PS = 10 and QR = 5 This statement is not sufficient to answer the question. Hence, option 1. Example 29: A sequence of positive integer is defined as A n +1 = A n 2 +1 for each n 0. What is the value of Greatest Common Divisor of A 900 and A 1000 ? Statements: A. A 0 = 1 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 36/69 B. A 1 = 2< Solution: Using statement A alone: A 0 = 1 A 1 = 1 2 + 1 = 2 A 2 = 2 2 + 1 = 5 A 3 = 5 2 + 1 = 26 Proceeding thus, we can find A 900 and A 1000 and hence their GCD. Statement A is sufficient. Using statement B alone: A 1 = 2 A 2 = 2 2 + 1 = 5 A 3 = 5 2 + 1 =26 Thus, A 900 and A 1000 and hence their GCD can be found. Statement B is also sufficient. Hence, option 4. VI. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON REASONING Directions for the examples 30 to 34: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 37/69 using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (5) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. Example 30: Question: Four friends A, B, C and D like to collect one out of caps, shirts, jeans and shorts and each one of them likes to eat one of the food items jelly, juice, ice-cream and chocolate. No two people like the same thing. Nobody likes to collect garments and eat food items the names of which start with the same letter. A does not like any food item with a name starting with J. If D likes to collect caps, who likes to eat jelly? Statements: A. B likes juice. B. C likes jeans. Solution: Using statement A alone: A B C D Garment (like) Caps Garment (not like) Food item (like) Juice Food item (not like) Jelly, Juice Chocolate We cannot find out who out of C and D likes Jelly from this data. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 38/69 A B C D Garment (like) Jeans Caps Garment (not like) Food item (like) Food item (not like) Jelly, Juice Jelly, Juice Chocolate We cannot find out who out of B and D likes Jelly from this data. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: A B C D Garment (like) Jeans Caps Garment (not like) Food item (like) Juice Food item (not like) Jelly, Juice Jelly, Juice Chocolate Here, we realize that if B likes juice and A and C do not like jelly, then D has to like jelly. Both the Statements A and B together are sufficient. Hence, option 4. Example 31: Question: A and B play carom with 9 white, 9 black and one red disc. Each white disc obtained gives the player 20 points, while each black disc gives 10 points and the red disc gives 50 points. While playing the game, last 3 discs left on the board were one black disc, one white disc and one red disc. The player who scores more wins. Who won the game? Statements: A. Of the last 3 discs, A was able to obtain only the black disc. B. When only last 3 discs left on the board, A had obtained all the other white 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 39/69 discs. Solution: Using statement A alone: We cannot infer anything from this statement regarding the total scores of the two players. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: A had obtained all 8 white discs. So, score of A is at least 8 20 = 160 Now, if B gets all the other discs, his score becomes 10 9 + 20 1 + 50 1 = 160 In this case, no one wins, but if score of A is more than 160, he will win. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: A has won 8 white discs and at least 1 black disc. So, his score is at least 20 8 + 10 1 = 170. If B wins all the other discs, i.e. 8 black discs, 1 white disc and 1 red disc, his total score will be at most 8 10 + 1 20 + 1 50 = 150, which is less than As minimum score. Thus, A won the game. Both the Statements A and B together are sufficient. Hence, option 4. Example 32: Question: A, B, C, D, E and F are arranged in ascending order according to their heights from left to right in a row, leftmost being the shortest person. Where is E standing if two 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 40/69 out of these six people are equal in height? Statements: A. E and F are the only two persons to the right of A. B. E is one of the two people who are equal in height. Solution: Using statement A alone: There are two possible combinations: _ _ A E F or _ _ A F E Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: We cannot infer anything about the position of E from this statement. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: Now, E is next to A or F. So, if E and A are equal in height, then the possible combination is given below. _ _ A E F If E and F are equal in height, there are two possible combinations possible. _ _ A E F and _ _ A F E Yet, the exact position of E cannot be determined. Both the Statements A and B together are also not sufficient. Hence, option 5. Example 33: Question: In a football match, at half-time, Mahindra and Mahindra Club was trailing by three 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 41/69 goals. Did it win the match? Statements: A. In the second half Mahindra and Mahindra Club scored four goals. B. The opponent scored four goals in the match. [CAT 2007] Solution: Using statement A alone: The MM club scored 4 goals in the second half. The number of goals scored by the opponent is not known. So the winner cannot be determined. Statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: The opponent scored 4 goals in the match, but we do not know the number of goals that the MM club scored. Statement B is insufficient. Considering both the statements we have the following. Thus, MM club could have won the match or could have tied it. The question cannot be answered. Hence, option 5. Example 34: In a single elimination tournament, any player is eliminated with a single loss. The tournament is played in multiple rounds subject to the following rules: a. If the number of players, say n, in any round is even, then the players are grouped into n/2 pairs. The players in each pair play a match against each other and the winner moves on to the next round. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 42/69 b. If the number of players, say n, in any round is odd, then one of them is given a bye, that is, he automatically moves on to the next round. The remaining (n 1) players are grouped into (n 1)/2 pairs. The players in each pair play a match against each other and the winner moves on to the next round. No player gets more than one bye in the entire tournament. Thus, if n is even, then n/2 players move on to the next round while if n is odd, then (n + 1)/2 players move on to the next round. The process is continued till the final round, which obviously is played between two players. The winner in the final round is the champion of the tournament. [CAT 2008] Question 1: What is the number of matches played by the champion? Statements: A. The entry list for the tournament consists of 83 players. B. The champion received one bye. Solution: Using statement A alone: The entry list for the tournament consists of 83 players. In round 1, 1 of the 83 players gets a bye and directly moves on to the next round. 42 players move on to round 2. Similarly, 21 players move on to round 3, 11 players move on to round 4, 6 players move on to round 5, 3 players move on to round 6, 2 players move on to round 7. The winner of the tournament would have played one match in each of the rounds; i.e. a total of 7 matches, provided he doesnt get a bye. However, we are not told whether or not the champion received a bye at some point in the tournament. We cannot answer the question on the basis of statement (A) alone. Using statement B alone: The champion received one bye. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 43/69 From this statement, we cannot find the number of matches played by the champion. We cannot answer the question on the basis of statement (B) alone. Using both the statements (A) and (B) together: The champion must have played 7 matches if he did not receive any bye. But it is given that the champion has got one bye in the tournament. He must have played only 6 matches. We can answer the question using both the statements (A) and (B) together. Hence, option 4. Question 2: If the number of players, say n, in the first round was between 65 and 128, then what is the exact value of n? Statements: A. Exactly one player received a bye in the entire tournament. B. One player received a bye while moving on to the fourth round from the third round. Solution: Using statement A alone: Exactly 1 player received a bye in the entire tournament. We get many values of n between 65 and 128 that satisfy this condition. For example, n can have the value 124 in round 1, to follow the pattern, [124-62- 31-16-8-4-2-1]. Also, n can have the value 127 in round 1, to follow the pattern, [127-64-32-16-8- 4-2-1]. We cannot answer the question on the basis of statement A alone. Using statement B alone: One player received a bye while moving on to the fourth round from the third 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 44/69 round. Here also, we get multiple values of n. For example, n can have the value 124 in round 1, where 1 player received a bye while moving from round 3 to round 4 following the pattern, [124-62-31-16-8-4-2- 1]. Also, n can have the value 122 in round 1, where 1 player received a bye while moving from round 3 to round 4 following the pattern, [122-61-31-16-8-4-2-1]. We cannot answer the question on the basis of statement (B) alone. Using statements (A) and (B) together: n can only have the value 124 in round 1, where exactly 1 player received a bye while moving from round 3 to round 4 following the pattern [124-62-31-16-8-4-2- 1]. We can answer the question using both the statements (A) and (B) together. Hence, option 4. Note: An analysis of how 124 was arrived at when using both conditions together: Let the number of players in the first round be n. Since only one player gets a bye, and that too when moving from the third to the fourth round, hence we have the following conditions: 1. There will be n players in the first round, where n is even. 2. There will be n/2 players in the second round, where n/2 is even. 3. There will be n/4 players in the third round, where n/4 is odd. round, 5. All numbers of players in the subsequent rounds should also be even. From condition 4, we can conclude that: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 45/69 Hence, n = 16k 4; so, within the given range, n could be 76 or 92 or 108 or 124. Writing the pattern for each of the above possible values of n, we have: 76: [76-38-19-10-5-3-2-1] 92: [92-46-23-12-6-3-2-1] 108: [108-54-27-14-7-4-2-1] 124: [124-62-31-16-8-4-2-1] We see that only 124 satisfies condition 5. Directions for examples 35 to 43: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions Choose 1 if the question can be answered by using one of the statements alone but not by using the other statement alone. Choose 2 if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Choose 3 if the question can be answered by using both statements together but not by either statement alone. Choose 4 if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. Example 35: Question: In a class of 30 students, Rashmi secured the third rank among the girls, while her brother Kumar studying in the same class secured the sixth rank in the whole class. Between the two, who had a better overall rank? Statements: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 46/69 A. Kumar was among the top 25% of the boys merit list in the class in which 60% were boys. B. There were three boys among the top five rank holders, and three girls among the top ten rank holders. [CAT 2007] Solution: Using statement A alone: There were 60% of 30 = 18 boys in the class. Kumars rank among boys [0.25 18] or 4 If Kumars rank among boys = 4, there are 2 girls in the first 6 rankers. Rashmis rank is lower than Kumars. If Kumars rank among boys is 3, 2 or 1, there are 3, 4 or 5 girls in the first 6 rankers. Rashmis rank is higher than Kumars. Statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: There were three boys in the top 5 and Kumar was 6th. There were 4 boys and 2 girls in the top 6. Rashmi was not in the top six. Kumar had a better overall rank. Statement B is sufficient. Hence, option 1. Example 36: Question: Four candidates for an award obtain distinct scores in a test. Each of the four casts 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 47/69 a vote to choose the winner of the award. The candidate who gets the largest number of votes wins the award. In case of a tie in the voting process, the candidate with the highest score wins the award. Who wins the award? Statements: A. The candidates with the top three scores each vote for the top scorer amongst the other three. B. The candidate with the lowest score votes for the player with the second highest score. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let A, B, C and D get the highest to lowest scores in that order. Consider statement A: A votes for B, B votes for A and C votes for A. If D votes for A, A wins. If D votes for B, there is a tie between A and B and A wins as he has the highest score. If D votes for C/D, A wins. Statement A alone is sufficient. Consider statement B: D votes for B. This statement alone is not sufficient. Hence, option 1. Example 37: Question: Nandini paid for an article using currency notes of denominations Re. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, and Rs. 10 using at least one note of each denomination. The total number of five and ten rupee notes used was one more than the total number of one and two rupee notes used. What was the price of the article? Statements: A. Nandini used a total of 13 currency notes. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 48/69 B. The price of the article was a multiple of Rs. 10. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let Nandini use a, b, c and d notes of denominations 1, 2, 5 and 10 respectively. Then c + d = a + b + 1 and price of the article = a + 2b + 5c + 10d Using statement A alone: a + b + c + d = 13 2(a + b) + 1 = 13 a + b = 6, c + d = 7 Price of the article cannot be found from this data. Statement A is insufficient. Using statement B alone: a + 2b + 5c + 10d = 10k As a, b, c, d 1, 10k 18 k 2 But, statement B is also insufficient. Considering both statements together: We know that a + b = 6, c + d = 7 and Price = 10k When c = 2 and d = 5, Price = a + 2b + 60 When c = 4 and d = 3, Price = a + 2b + 50 Even if we assume that there is only one value of (a, b) such that a + 2b is a multiple of 10, we will still get at least 2 values for the price of the article. Hence, data is insufficient. Hence, option 4. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 49/69 Example 38: Question: Tarak is standing 2 steps to the left of a red mark and 3 steps to the right of a blue mark. He tosses a coin. If it comes up heads, he moves one step to the right; otherwise he moves one step to the left. He keeps doing this until he reaches one of the two marks, and then he stops. At which mark does he stop? Statements: A. He stops after 21 coin tosses. B. He obtains three more tails than heads. [CAT 2007] Solution: Let Tarak get h heads and t tails. Let Tarak be at 0 on the number line. Then the blue mark is at 3 and the red mark is at 2. Using statement A alone: h + t = 21 and h t = 2 (if he stops at the red mark) or h t = 3 (if he stops at the blue mark) Solving, 2h = 23 (however, this is not possible) or 2h = 18 h = 9 and t = 12 Tarak stops at the blue mark. Statement A is sufficient. Consider statement B: h = t 3 and h t = 2 or h t = 3 He stops at the blue mark. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 50/69 Statement B is also sufficient. Hence, option 2. Example 39: Question: F and M are father and mother of S, respectively. S has four uncles and three aunts. F has two siblings. The siblings of F and M are unmarried. How many brothers does M have? Statements: A. F has two brothers. B. M has five siblings. [CAT 2003 Leaked Test] Solution: F and M have a total of four brothers and three sisters. Statement A states that F has two brothers, which means M should have two brothers. Statement A is alone sufficient. Statement B is redundant as no additional information is provided. Hence, option 1. Example 40: Question: Members in a club either speak French or Russian or both. Find the number of members in the club who speak only French. Statements: A. There are 300 members in the club and the number of members who speak 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 51/69 both French and Russian is 196. B. The number of members who speak only Russian is 58. [CAT 2002] Solution: Let F represent the set of members speaking French and R represent the set of members speaking Russian. Also, let x represent the number of members speaking only French. Using statement A alone: Here, total number of members = 300 Number of members who speak only French = 300 196 x = 104 x However, we cannot find the value of x. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Consider statement B: We are given that the number of members speaking Russian = 58 Statement B alone is not sufficient. Consider both statements together: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 52/69 We have, 104 x = 58 Number of members speaking only French, x = 104 58 = 46 The question can be answered using both statements together. Hence, option 3. Example 41: Question: In a hockey match, the Indian team was behind by 2 goals with 5 minutes remaining. Did they win the match? Statements: A. Deepak Thakur, the Indian striker scored 3 goals in the last 5 minutes of the match. B. Korea scored a total of 3 goals in the match. [CAT 2002] Solution: From statement A alone, it is not clear whether Korea too scored in the last 5 minutes or not. From statement B alone, it is not clear whether India scored in the last 5 minutes or not. Using both the statements, there are two cases possible: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 53/69 Case 1: Before the last 5 minutes In the last 5 minutes Final Score India 0 3 3 Korea 2 1 3 In this case, the match ended in a draw. Case 2: Before the last 5 minutes In the last 5 minutes Final Score India 1 3 4 Korea 3 0 3 In this case, India wins the match. Even after combining both the statements, we cannot say whether India won the match or not. Hence, option 4. Example 42: Question: On a given day a boat ferried 1500 passengers across the river in twelve hours. How many round trips did it make? Statements: A. The boat can carry two hundred passengers at any time. B. It takes 40 minutes each way and 20 minutes of waiting time at each terminal. [CAT 2001] Solution: Using statement A alone: Statement A only gives the maximum capacity of the boat. The number of trips cannot be calculated. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 54/69 Statement A alone is not sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: Time required to make one round trip = 40 + 40 + 40 = 120 minutes = 2 hours The total number of trips made = 12/2 = 6 Statement B alone is sufficient to answer the question. Hence, option 1. Example 43: Question: For any two real numbers a b = 1 if both a and b are positive or both a and b are negative. = 1 if one of the two numbers a and b is positive and the other negative. What is (2 0) (5 6)? Statements: A. a b is zero if a is zero. B. a b = b a [CAT 2000] Solution: (2 0) (5 6) = (2 0) 1 Using statement A alone: (0 2) = 0 but we dont know the value of (2 0). Statement A alone is not sufficient to answer the question. Using statement B alone: (2 0) = (0 2) 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 55/69 Statement B alone is not sufficient to answer the question. After combining both the statements, we get, (2 0) = (0 2) = 0 (2 0) (5 6) = (2 0) 1 = 0 1 = 0 Both the statements are required to answer the question. Hence, option 3. Directions for example 44: Choose 1, if the question can be answered by using statement A alone but not by using B alone. Choose 2, if the question can be answered by using statement B alone but not by using A alone. Choose 3, if the question can be answered by using either statement alone. Choose 4, if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either statement. Example 44: Question: In a cricket match, the man of the match award is given to the player scoring the highest number of runs. In case of a tie, the player (out of those locked in the tie) who has taken the higher number of catches is chosen. Even thereafter if there is a tie, the player (out of those locked in the tie) who has dropped fewer catches is selected. Aakash, Biplab and Chirag who were contenders for the award dropped at least one catch each. Biplab dropped 2 catches more than Aakash did, scored 50, and took 2 catches. Chirag got two chances to catch and dropped both. Who was the man of the match? Statements: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 56/69 A. Chirag made 15 runs less than both Aakash and Biplab. B. The catches dropped by Biplab are 1 more than the catches taken by Aakash. [CAT 2003 Retest] Solution: Using statement A alone: We get the table as shown above : We do not know the number of catches taken by Aakash. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Statement B does not give any information about the runs scored. Statement B alone is not sufficient. After combining both the statements, we get, Number of catches taken by Aakash = x + 1 If x = 1 then Aakash is man of the match since he has dropped fewer catches. If x > 1 then Aakash will be the man of the match as he has taken more catches. Hence, option 4. VII. DS EXAMPLES BASED ON DATA INTERPRETATION Directions for examples 45 to 47: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 57/69 using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Mark (5) if the question cannot be answered on the basis of the two statements. The following graphs show the sales (in crores) and production (in thousands) of company XYZ which manufactures a particular car. The company was initiated in the year 1999 and the data provided is for the period 1999 - 2002. Carry over inventory cost is the cost incurred in storing the unsold vehicles manufactured in previous years in a warehouse. Example 45: 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 58/69 Question: What is the price of each car in the year 2000? Statements: A. Half the cars produced in the year 1999 were not sold in the year 1999. B. Half the quantity of cars available for sale in the year 2000 was not sold in the year 2000. Solution: Using statement A alone: We can find the total number of cars available in the year 2000 for sale (= cars manufactured in the year 2000 + Half of the cars manufactured in the year 1999) But, we dont know exactly how many of these cars were sold in the year 2000. Thus, we dont know the price of each car. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: We do not know how many cars were available in the year 2000 for sale as it depends on the number of unsold cars in 1999. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: Statement A gives the total number of cars available in year 2000 for sale. Of these, as per statement B, half were not sold. So, we can find the number of cars sold in the year 2000. We also know the total sales of XYZ in the year 2000 from the graph. Thus, we can find the price of each car in the year 2000. Both the statements A and B together are sufficient. Hence, option 4. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 59/69 Example 46: Question: What is the percentage increase/decrease in carry over inventory cost in the year 2001 over the year 2000, if the carry over inventory cost of storing one car for one year is Rs. 1,000? Statements: A. All cars produced in the year 2001 were sold in the year 2001. B. All cars produced in the year 2000 were sold in the year 2000. Solution: Using statement A alone: The number of cars produced and sold in the year 2001 gives no idea of the unsold cars in previous years and thus does not give us any relevant information. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: Carry over inventory cost in the year 2000 = 1000 Number of cars produced in the year 1999 but not sold in 1999. Carry over inventory cost in the year 2001 = 1000 Number of cars produced in the year 1999 but not sold in the year 1999 as well as in 2000. We do not know how many unsold cars of the year 1999 were sold in the year 2000. Thus, we cannot find the difference in the carry over inventory cost. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: This gives us no extra information than statement B alone, since statement A is redundant and does not provide any useful information. Both the statements A and B together are also not sufficient. Hence, option 5. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 60/69 Example 47: Question: What is the productivity of each machine used by company XYZ in the year 1999 where each machine is equally productive? Statements: A. Company XYZ used 15 machines to manufacture cars in year 1999. B. Company XYZ had 72 holidays in the year 1999 and all the machines were being used on the remaining days for 8 hours each. Solution: Using statement A alone: No information is given about the time. So, we cannot find the productivity of each machine in the year 1999. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: No information is given about the number of machines. So, we cannot find the productivity of each machine in year 1999. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. Using both the statements A and B together: Since we know the number of machines and the number of cars produced by each machine (as we know the total number of cars produced in year 1999 from graph), and the time each machine was working for. Hence, we can find the productivity of each machine in the year 1999. Both the statements A and B together are sufficient. Hence, option 4. Directions for example 48: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 61/69 following instructions: Mark (1) if the question can be answered by using the statement A alone but not by using the statement B alone. Mark (2) if the question can be answered by using the statement B alone but not by using the statement A alone. Mark (3) if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone. Mark (4) if the question can be answered by using both the statements together but not by either of the statements alone. Example 48: Question: A survey was conducted on 100 people about their choice of beverages. How many females preferred only tea if everyone preferred at least one of the two beverages, tea or coffee? Statements: A. Number of males drinking tea = Number of people who drink only coffee = (1/2) Number of people who drink only tea B. Number of females drinking tea Number of males drinking tea = 10 Solution: Let us consider the following two Venn diagrams. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 62/69 As no one dislikes both tea and coffee, d = 0 a + b + c = 100 And, p + q + r + s = 100 (i) We have to find out how many females preferred only tea, i.e. the value of p. Number of people drinking tea = a + b = p + q Number of males drinking tea = q Number of people who drink only coffee = c = r + s (ii) Number of people who drink only tea = a Using statement A alone: q = c = a/2 (iii) From equations (i), (ii) and (iii) we get, p + a = 100 (iv) Thus, this statement alone does not give us the value of p. Statement A alone is not sufficient. Using statement B alone: p q = 10 (v) 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 63/69 Thus, this statement alone does not give us the value of p. Statement B alone is also not sufficient. However from (iii), (iv) and (v), it is possible to find the value of p. Hence, option 4. REMEMBER In the above question, since neither of the statements A or B alone is sufficient, the correct option is (4). We need not have to check the sufficiency of the data with both the statements A and B together, because there is no option corresponding to the case when data is insufficient and the question cannot be answered. This type of DS is known as guaranteed answer variety. VIII. DS EXAMPLES WITH OTHER VARIETIES OF INSTRUCTION SETS Example 49: The following information is given about a four sided polygon. I. The polygon is a rectangle. II. The area of the polygon is given to be 100 m 2 . III. One side of the polygon is 8 m. IV. All the adjacent sides are at right angle to each other. Which of the above facts are sufficient to determine the dimensions of the polygon? (1) II and III (2) II, III, and IV (3) I, III, and IV (4) I and II [JMET 2008] 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 64/69 Solution: Both statements I and IV have the same implication. Also, statements II and III are definitely required to find the other dimensions. So, either statements I, II, III or statements II, III, IV are required to determine the dimensions of the polygon. Hence, option 2. Example 50: Study the questions and the statements given below. Decide whether any information provided in the statement(s) is redundant and/or can be dispensed with, to answer it. If 7 is added to numerator and denominator each of fraction a/b, will the new fraction be less than the original one? Statement I: a = 73, b = 103 Statement II: The average of a and b is less than b Statement III: a 5 is greater than b 5 (1) II and either I or III (2) Only II or III (3) Any two of them (4) Any one of them [SNAP 2008] Solution: 7b 7a < 0 and b(b + 7) > 0 OR 7b 7a > 0 and 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 65/69 b(b + 7) < 0 b < a and b > 0 (i) Or b < a and b < 7 (ii) Or b > a and 7 < b < 0 (iii) Statement I: a = 73 and b = 103 b > a, but 7 b 0 Statement II: The average of a and b is less than b. a < b, but nothing is known about the value of b. This statement does not give us enough information to answer the question. Statement III: a 5 > b 5 a > b, but nothing is known about the value of b. This statement does not give us enough information to answer the question. Statements II and III can be dispensed with. Hence, option 2. Note: In the actual SNAP 2008 paper, the correct option was not present. We have changed the second option in the paper from Only I and II to Only II and III, in 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 66/69 order to make a correct option available for the students to mark. Directions for examples 51 and 52: Select the appropriate answer from the options given below. 1. Using the given statement, only conclusion I can be derived. 2. Using the given statement, only conclusion II can be derived. 3. Using the given statement, only conclusion III can be derived. 4. Using the given statement, all conclusions can be derived. 5. Using the given statement, none of the three conclusions I, II and III can be derived. Example 51: A 0 , A 1 , A 2 , is a sequence of numbers with A 0 = 1, A 1 = 3 and A t = (t + 1)A (t 1)
t(A (t 2) ) for t = 2, 3, 4, Conclusion I. A 8 = 77 Conclusion II. A 10 = 121 Conclusion III. A 12 = 145 [XAT 2008] Solution: A 0 = 1 and A 1 = 3 A 1 A 0 = 2 A 2 = 3 3 2 1 = 7 A 2 A 1 = 4 = 2 2 = 2 (A 1 A 0 ) A 3 = 4 7 3 3 = 19 A 3 A 2 = 12 = 3 (A 2 A 1 ) 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 67/69 A 4 = 5 19 4 7 = 67 A 4 A 3 = 48 = 4 (A 3 A 2 ) A 5 = 307 We can observe a pattern which is followed by the terms of the sequence, According to the pattern we observe that the value of the terms is increasing and as 307 is greater than the given value of A 8 , A 10 and A 12 in the conclusions, we can say that none of the conclusions can be derived. Hence, option 5. Example 52: A, B, C be real numbers satisfying A < B < C, A + B + C = 6 and AB + BC + CA = 9 Conclusion I. 1 < B < 3 Conclusion II. 2 < A < 3 Conclusion III. 0 < C < 1 Solution: A + B + C = 6 C = 6 A B AB + B(6 A B) + A(6 A B) = 9 AB + 6B AB B 2 + 6A A 2 AB = 9 A 2 + B 2 6B 6A + AB + 9 = 0 A 2 + A (B 6) + B 2 6B + 9 = 0 If we consider this equation in terms of A, then 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 68/69 But we can also substitute A in terms of C initially. We will get same equation in C and C will also have same roots. To satisfy the condition A < B < C, Adding (B 6) to all sides, Squaring both sides, we get (3B 6) 2 < 3B 2 + 12B 9B 2 36B + 36 < 3B 2 + 12B 12B 2 48B +36 < 0 B 2 4B + 3 < 0 (B 3) (B 1) < 0 1 < B < 3 Hence, Conclusion I is valid. Conclusion II is not valid because if A > 2 then B and C also have to be greater than 2. A + B + C = 6 is not satisfied. Conclusion III is also not valid, because if C < 1 then A and B will also be less than 1. A + B + C = 6 is not satisfied. Only conclusion I can be derived. 10/10/2013 Data Sufficiency file:///G:/Ebooks by Ashish Khairkar/Data Sufficiency.mht 69/69 Hence, option 1. REVISION OF IMPORTANT POINTS: DS questions can be asked from Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning or Data Interpretation. Students should read the instructions very carefully, before starting to solve the DS questions. The order of instructions to mark the correct answer can be different from those discussed here or the instructions can also change completely. Do not try to solve the DS questions to get the final answer of the question unless it is required. Just check for the sufficiency of the data given. Only a unique answer from a single statement is acceptable. No is as good an answer as Yes. ********************************* End of Lesson *********************************