This semester Professor Popkin will commute to Montreal by plane, leaving every Tuesday and returning to Toronto every Friday. She instructs her travel agent to schedule for her one round-trip that departs from Toronto on the first Tuesday and returns to Toronto on the last Friday of the semester and additional round-trips that depart from and return to Montreal for each weekly commute in between.We see that this way of booking flights will have the following result:
The first round trip, which "departs from Toronto on the first Tuesday and returns to Toronto on the last Friday of the semester," will involve flights that are months apart.
Then, all the other round trips will not appear to be from Toronto to Montreal and back to Toronto. Rather, they will appear to depart from Montreal on Friday and return to Montreal on Tuesday. So, they will appear to be from Montreal to Toronto and back to Toronto.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain Professor Popkin’s instructions to her travel agent regarding the grouping of her flights into round-trips?
(A) Professor Popkin’s round-trip tickets are least expensive if each trip is scheduled so that at least one Saturday night intervenes between the departing flight and the returning flight.This choice matches how the flights are booked.
The first round trip booked will have multiple Saturday nights during the semester between the flight from Toronto to Montreal and the flight back from Montreal to Toronto.
Then, since the other trips will be from Montreal to Toronto on Friday and then from Toronto to Montreal on Tuesday, they will all have Saturdays between the flights that make up the round trips.
So, through booking the flights in this way, the tickets will be the least expensive.
Keep.
(B) A ticket for a round-trip in which the departing flight and the returning flight are separated by several months will cost Professor Popkin more than a ticket for a round-trip in which they are separated by less than one week.This choice doesn't fit the instructions. After all, if the round trips were booked normally, each would have occurred in under a week, the first flight being on a Tuesday and the flight back on a Friday.
Also, the first trip booked, the one that is as if it's to be taken at the beginning and end of the semester would involve a departing flight and a returning flight separated by months and thus costing more than it would have if booked normally.
Eliminate.
(C) Professor Popkin will be eligible to travel in the first-class section of the plane at no extra charge after she has completed a specified number of round-trips.This choice doesn't fit the instructions since the professor would have been eligible to travel in the first-class section sooner if the first flight to Montreal had not been paired with a flight back to Toronto at the end of the semester.
Eliminate.
(D) If all Professor Popkin’s tickets are paid for at one time, she will be eligible for a frequent traveler discount.The elaborate instructions are not necessary for taking advantage of this discount since the tickets can be paid for at one time regardless of how the trips are set up.
Eliminate.
(E) In order for Professor Popkin to receive the lowest possible airfare, each of her roundtrips must be paid for at least seven days in advance of the departing flight.The elaborate instructions are not necessary for taking advantage of the lowest airfare since the tickets can be paid for at least seven days in advance of the departing flight regardless of how the trips are set up.
Eliminate.
Correct answer: A