The twelve numbers shown represent, the ages, in years, of the twelve

This a perfect question that we can use the concept of maximization and minimization. There are three things to keep in mind while solving questions related to the median :

1. By definition, the median is the middle value in a list of numbers arranged in ascending or descending order.
2. The arrangement is always key to solving questions related to the median.
3. On questions where we have a list of elements with many variables, maximization and minimization is the best way to proceed.

Now lets jump into the solving of the question.

We have the list x, x, x, x, 8, 8, 8, 8, 12, 12, 11,y. Since the data here are of ages, x and y have to be integers.

Statement 1 : x = 10

Arranging the elements in ascending order we get, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12, y.

Now let us think about the max and min values of y. If y >= 12, then the max median will be 10. If y <= 12, then the list now becomes y, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12. Again, the min median will be 10. Sufficient.

Statement 2 : y = 13

Arranging the elements in ascending order we get, x, x, x, x, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12, 13.

If x<= 10, the list will be as above and then the minimum median is 10, but if x >=13, then the list will be 10, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 12, 13, x, x, x, x. In this case the max median will be 12. So the median here can be any value from 10 to 12. Insufficient.

Hope this helps!
Aditya

Hello Aditya, nice to see you on the gmatclub & thank you for the precise explanation.

AdityaCrackVerbal