gmatbusters wrote:
If, J, K, L, M, and N are positive integers in ascending order, what is the value of L?
(1) The value of K is 3.
(2) The value of M is 7.
Given: J, K, L, M, and N are positive integers in ascending orderTarget question: What is the value of L?Statement 1: The value of K is 3.There are many scenarios that satisfy statement 1. Here are two:
Case a: J = 1, K = 3, L = 4, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 4Case b: J = 1, K = 3, L = 5, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 5Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: The value of M is 7.There are many scenarios that satisfy statement 2. Here are two:
Case a: J = 1, K = 3, L = 4, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 4Case b: J = 1, K = 3, L = 5, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 5Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined IMPORTANT: Notice that I was able to use the
same counter-examples to show that each statement ALONE is not sufficient. So, the same counter-examples will satisfy the two statements COMBINED.
In other words,
Case a: J = 1, K = 3, L = 4, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 4Case b: J = 1, K = 3, L = 5, M = 7, N = 8. In this case, the answer to the target question is
L = 5Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
Cheers,
Brent