12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 1: On Christmas Eve, Santa

total time gifts are being wrapped is 10 hours from 1pm to 11 pm
target were 120 presents wrapped in this duration?
#1
During that period, Santa was interrupted three times by visits from reindeer needing attention.
there is no info about the duration the interruption was for
insufficient
#2
Santa's average rate while he was wrapping was 15 presents per hour.
average rate per hour is 15 , total hours worked is 10
but there is no information whether gift wrapping was done the whole duration from 1pm to 11 pm
insufficient
from 1 &2
the duration of interruption is not given , nor it is given about the total hours actual wrapping was done, insufficient combined statements

option E is correct

Given: On Christmas Eve, Santa began wrapping presents at 1:00 p.m. and finished at 11:00 p.m.
Asked: Did he wrap more than 120 presents during that period?

(1) During that period, Santa was interrupted three times by visits from reindeer needing attention.
The rate of wrapping by Santa is not known.
Duration of interruption is also not known.
NOT SUFFICIENT

(2) Santa's average rate while he was wrapping was 15 presents per hour.
Number of hours = 10 hours
Rate = 15 presents/hour
Maximum number of presents wrapped = 10*15 = 150
Number of hours of wrapping required to wrap 120 presents = 120/15 = 8 hours
If he was interrupted for less than 2 hours, he wrapped more than 120 presents
But if he was interrupted for more than or equal to 2 hours, he did not wrapp more than 120 presents
NOT SUFFICIENT

(1) + (2)
(1) During that period, Santa was interrupted three times by visits from reindeer needing attention.
(2) Santa's average rate while he was wrapping was 15 presents per hour.
Number of hours = 10 hours
Rate = 15 presents/hour
Maximum number of presents wrapped = 10*15 = 150
Number of hours of wrapping required to wrap 120 presents = 120/15 = 8 hours
If he was interrupted for less than 2 hours, he wrapped more than 120 presents
But if he was interrupted for more than or equal to 2 hours, he did not wrapp more than 120 presents
But period of interruption is not known
NOT SUFFICIENT

IMO E

IMO E
On Christmas eve, Santa was wrapping presents for 10 hours.

1. Santa was interrupted three times
We don't know for how long these interruptions lasted.
We also don't know the rate at which Santa was packing presents.
Therefore 1 is insufficient...A and D are out.

2. Santa's average rate while he was wrapping was 15 presents per hour.
We might get the the average rate of 15 presents per hour. Therefore, you might think that 15*10=150 presents were packed.
But catch the words "while he was wrapping". This means that average has been calculated only when he was packing, interruptions have been excluded.
Which means B is out.

Let's try a combination of 1 & 2.
We know that there were three interruptions, but we don't know for how long they lasted.
Therefore, C is also out.

Both statements together are insufficient...hence, answer is E.

The question stem does not indicate that there was any interruption, only Statement 1 indicates an interruption. Why can't we assume that based on the question stem alone, Santa was not interrupted? It was direct to say that he started and stopped.

I understand your point, but it's important to consider that the question specifically refers to the 'average rate WHILE he was wrapping.' The word 'while' in Statement 2 indicates that Santa's wrapping rate applies only during the actual wrapping. The notion that there was no interruption would have been an unsupported assumption, not the other way around. Moreover, upon seeing the first statement, it should have been an additional hint that continuous wrapping shouldn't be assumed. Hence, given the unknown duration of the interruption, we can't determine the actual time spent wrapping. Therefore, this uncertainty leads to E being the correct answer. Having said that, I see your point and we might consider perfecting the wording in future. Appreciate your insights. Thank you!

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