Last Updated on May 11, 2023
GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE DS
Solution:
To show Jim’s salary and commissions last month, we can create an equation in which n = his base salary and p = his total car sales:
Total salary = n + 0.1p
Total = n + 0.1p
Statement One Alone:
Last month, Jim’s base salary was $3,000.
We have:
Total = 3,000 + 0.1p
Since we cannot determine his total car sales, statement one alone is not sufficient to answer the question.
Statement Two Alone:
Last month, Jim sold 3 cars whose prices totaled $60,000 and 5 cars whose prices totaled $120,000.
Since we are given information about only 8 of the 15 cars, we do not know the total sales of the remaining 7 cars, and thus we don’t know the value of p. Furthermore, we do not know the value of n. Thus, statement two alone is not sufficient to answer the question.
Statements One and Two Together:
Using the statements together, we still cannot determine the value of p, and thus we cannot determine his total salary last month.
Answer: E
