Decide the combination of which rows of Table I and Table II are sufficient to…
2021
Decide the combination of which rows of Table I and Table II are sufficient to answer the question.
If a person sold an article which
1. costs Rs. _______
2. at _______% profit
3. on a discount percentage of ______
find the selling price of the article.
COLUMN I | COLUMN II |
|---|---|
(a) | 2) T |
3) T/2 | |
(b) | 1) 100 |
2) T-1 |
COLUMN 1 | COLUMN II |
|---|---|
(c) | Profit earned = 8% |
(d) | 1) 100 |
- A.
a, d
- B.
b, d
- C.
a, c
- D.
b, c
- E.
Neither of combination is sufficient
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
In a Data Sufficiency question, a statement's information is usable only when it fixes a concrete, definite number. An expression written only in terms of an unresolved variable does not, by itself, supply a value. Separately, once the Cost Price (CP) and the profit percentage realised on that cost are both known as concrete numbers, the Selling Price (SP) is fully determined: SP = CP x (1 + Profit%/100) - no discount or marked-price figure is needed for this, because the profit here is quoted directly relative to the cost, not relative to a marked price.
Application
First read what each row states:
Row (a): profit% = T and discount% = T/2 - both expressed only in terms of the unresolved variable T.
Row (b): Cost Price = Rs. 100 (a concrete number) and profit% = (T - 1) - again tied to T.
Row (c): Profit earned = 8% - a concrete number, with no variable attached.
Row (d): Cost Price = Rs. 100 (a concrete number, same figure as row (b)).
Now check each offered pairing for whether it fixes both the Cost Price and the profit percentage as plain numbers:
Rows a, d: Cost Price = 100 from (d), but profit% is still only "T" from (a); T is never pinned to a number, so profit% never becomes concrete. Not sufficient.
Rows b, d: both rows repeat Cost Price = 100; profit% is still "T - 1" from (b), again tied to the unresolved T. Not sufficient.
Rows a, c: row (c) does give a concrete profit% = 8%, but neither row (a) nor row (c) states the Cost Price anywhere. Selling Price needs Cost Price too, so this pairing is not sufficient.
Rows b, c: row (b) gives Cost Price = Rs. 100 as a concrete number, and row (c) gives profit% = 8% as a concrete number, independent of T. Both quantities the formula needs are now fixed: Selling Price = 100 x 1.08 = Rs. 108. Sufficient.
Cross-check
Rows b and c are the only pairing that supplies both required numbers without depending on the unresolved T, so "neither combination is sufficient" is also ruled out. Notice that the discount-percentage blank in the question is never actually used - once profit% is known directly relative to Cost Price, Selling Price follows without any marked-price or discount information, confirming that rows b and c alone are enough.
Result
The combination of rows b and c is sufficient to find the selling price.