Each time Meg has visited a certain ice cream parlor with friends, she

Question

Each time Meg has visited a certain ice cream parlor with friends, she has bought chocolate ice cream, unless half or a majority of her accompanying friends all bought the same flavor of ice cream and that flavor was not chocolate—in which case Meg bought that flavor. Yesterday, Meg visited the parlor with four friends: Ann, Bart, Cathy, and Derek. Ann bought chocolate ice cream. Did Meg buy chocolate ice cream?

(1) Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream.

(2) Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart.

(1) Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream.

(2) Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart.

chetan2u · Answer

Each time Meg has visited a certain ice cream parlor with friends, she has bought chocolate ice cream, unless half or a majority of her accompanying friends all bought the same flavor of ice cream and that flavor was not chocolate—in which case Meg bought that flavor. Yesterday, Meg visited the parlor with four friends: Ann, Bart, Cathy, and Derek. Ann bought chocolate ice cream. Did Meg buy chocolate ice cream?

(1) Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream.

(2) Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart.

So four of Meg’s friends accompanied her. Now, Ann purchased Chocolate. 
When will Meg not buy chocolate. 
a. When at least two of remaining buy same flavour other than chocolate.

(1) Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream.
Meg…….Ann…….Bart………....Cathy……….Derek
??…………C……..(V or C) ….N(V or C)…..Not known
Cannot say 
*All four could buy different flavours, then Chocolate 
*Derek and Bart could buy Chocolate, again Chocolate
*Bart and Derek could buy V, then V
*Cathy and Derek could buy something similar, then that particular flavour. 
Insufficient

(2) Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart.
Meg…….Ann…….Bart………....Cathy……….Derek
??…………C…….…..x..………………y…………..Not x
Cannot say 
*All four could buy different flavours, then Chocolate 
*Cathy and Derek or Bart and Cathy buy something similar, then that particular flavour. 
Insufficient

Combined
Meg…….Ann…….Bart………....Cathy……….Derek
??…………C……..(V or C) ….N(V or C)…..N(V or C)
Cannot say 
All four could buy different flavours, then Chocolate 
Cathy and Derek could buy something similar, then that particular flavour. 
Insufficient

E

gmatophobia · Answer

The flavor that Meg buys is based on the following decision tree gmatfocus.jpg We know that Ann bought chocolate flavor. Statement 1 (1) Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream. Case 1 : Bart → buys chocolate flavor Cathy → buys strawberry flavor Derek → buys strawberry flavor Meg → buys strawberry flavor Case 2 : Bart → buys chocolate flavor Cathy → buys strawberry flavor Derek → buys chocolate flavor Meg → buys chocolate flavor Hence, statement 1 is not sufficient to answer the question. Eliminate A. Statement 2 (2) Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart. Case 1 : Bart → buys chocolate flavor Cathy → buys strawberry flavor Derek → buys strawberry flavor Meg → buys strawberry flavor Case 2 : Bart → buys vanilla flavor Cathy → buys strawberry flavor Derek → buys peach flavor Meg → buys chocolate flavor Hence, statement 2 is not sufficient to answer the question. Eliminate B. Combined Both the cases of statement 2 are still valid. Hence, the statements combined don't help either. Option E

Gemmie · Answer

Statement (1): Bart bought either vanilla or chocolate ice cream, and Cathy bought neither vanilla nor chocolate ice cream.

Ann: Chocolate
Bart: Vanilla or Chocolate
Cathy: Not Vanilla, Not Chocolate
Derek: UnknownEven with this information, we can't determine if half or more of Meg's friends bought the same non-chocolate flavor. We're missing information about Derek's choice and Bart's exact choice.

Statement (2): Derek did not buy the same flavor as Bart.

This statement alone doesn't give us enough information to determine Meg's choice.

Combined both statements:

Ann: Chocolate
Bart: Vanilla or Chocolate
Cathy: Not Vanilla, Not Chocolate
Derek: Not the same as Bart

Even with both statements, we still can't determine for certain what Meg bought because

+ Scenario 1: If Bart bought chocolate, Derek didn't, but we don't know if Derek and Cathy bought the same non-chocolate flavor.

+ Scenario 2: If Bart bought vanilla, Derek didn't, and we know Cathy didn't either, but we don't know what Derek and Cathy bought or if they bought the same flavor.

In neither scenario can we definitively say whether or not half or more of Meg's friends bought the same non-chocolate flavor.

Therefore, the correct answer is E: Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question asked.

bumpbot · Answer

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Each time Meg has visited a certain ice cream parlor with friends, she

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