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25 May 2022, 07:30
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C
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Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
67% (02:04) correct
33%
(01:50)
wrong
based on 141
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A trader purchased three products - Product X, Product Y, and Product Z - for a sum of $500,000. Did the trader pay more than $200,000 for Product Z?
(1) The sum the trader paid for Product X and Product Y combined was 3 times the sum the trader paid for Product X.
(2) The trader paid more to purchase Product Z than to purchase Product Y.
Are You Up For the Challenge: 700 Level Questions
(1) The sum the trader paid for Product X and Product Y combined was 3 times the sum the trader paid for Product X.
(2) The trader paid more to purchase Product Z than to purchase Product Y.
Are You Up For the Challenge: 700 Level Questions
31 May 2026, 07:06
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C is right. Let me lay it out fully since the algebra is where people slip.
We know X + Y + Z = 500,000, and the question asks: is Z > 200,000?
Statement (1): X + Y = 3 times X, so Y = 2X. That pins down the relationship between X and Y, but Z is still totally free. Z could be 10,000 or 400,000. Not sufficient.
Statement (2): Z > Y. On its own this tells us nothing about the actual size of Z. If Y is tiny, Z could be just above it and still small. Not sufficient.
Now combine them. From (1), Y = 2X. From (2), Z > Y, so Z > 2X. Substitute into the total:
X + Y + Z = 500,000
X + 2X + Z = 500,000
Z = 500,000 - 3X
Since Z > 2X, we get 500,000 - 3X > 2X, which means 500,000 > 5X, so X < 100,000.
Here's the key move: if X < 100,000, then 3X < 300,000, so Z = 500,000 - 3X > 200,000. Every single time. The answer to the question is a definite yes.
So together they're sufficient. Answer is C.
The trap I see people fall into is stopping at "we don't know exact values, so it must be E." You don't need exact values in DS. You just need to know if Z clears the 200,000 line, and the inequality locks that in. I got burned by exactly this mindset early in my prep. Drilling the difference between "find the value" and "answer yes/no" fixed it.
We know X + Y + Z = 500,000, and the question asks: is Z > 200,000?
Statement (1): X + Y = 3 times X, so Y = 2X. That pins down the relationship between X and Y, but Z is still totally free. Z could be 10,000 or 400,000. Not sufficient.
Statement (2): Z > Y. On its own this tells us nothing about the actual size of Z. If Y is tiny, Z could be just above it and still small. Not sufficient.
Now combine them. From (1), Y = 2X. From (2), Z > Y, so Z > 2X. Substitute into the total:
X + Y + Z = 500,000
X + 2X + Z = 500,000
Z = 500,000 - 3X
Since Z > 2X, we get 500,000 - 3X > 2X, which means 500,000 > 5X, so X < 100,000.
Here's the key move: if X < 100,000, then 3X < 300,000, so Z = 500,000 - 3X > 200,000. Every single time. The answer to the question is a definite yes.
So together they're sufficient. Answer is C.
The trap I see people fall into is stopping at "we don't know exact values, so it must be E." You don't need exact values in DS. You just need to know if Z clears the 200,000 line, and the inequality locks that in. I got burned by exactly this mindset early in my prep. Drilling the difference between "find the value" and "answer yes/no" fixed it.
