OG 2020: Question No. 381
If a merchant purchased a sofa from a manufacturer for $400 and then sold it, what was the selling price of the sofa?
- The selling price of the sofa was greater than 140 percent of the purchase price.
- The merchant’s gross profit from the purchase and sale of the sofa was 1/3 of the selling price.
| Source | OG 2020 |
| Type | Data Sufficiency |
| Topic | Word Problems |
| Sub-Topic | Sales & Purchase |
| Difficulty | Easy – Medium |
Solution
Steps 1 & 2: Understand Question and Draw Inferences
In this question, we are given
- A merchant purchased a sofa from a manufacturer for $400 and then sold it.
We need to determine
- The selling price of the sofa.
As we have no other relevant information present in the question stem, let us now analyse the individual statements.
Step 3: Analyse Statement 1
As per the information given in statement 1, the selling price of the sofa was greater than 140 percent of the purchase price.
- However, to determine the exact selling price, we need to know by what exact percentage the selling price is greater than purchase price.
Since we don’t know the exact percentage value, statement 1 is not sufficient to answer the question.
Step 4: Analyse Statement 2
As per the information given in statement 2, the merchant’s gross profit from the purchase and sale of the sofa was 1/3 of the selling price.
- Profit = selling price – purchase price
Or, 1/3 * selling price = selling price – purchase price
Or, 2/3 * selling price = purchase price = 400
Or, selling price = 400 * 3/2 = 600
Hence, statement 2 is sufficient to answer the question.
Step 5: Combine Both Statements Together (If Needed)
Since we can determine the answer from statement 2 individually, this step is not required.
Hence, the correct answer choice is option B.
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