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What was the revenue that the movie theater earned from Friday to Sunday?

GMAT Data Sufficiency Movie TheaterWhat was the revenue that the movie theater earned from Friday to Sunday if the occupancy rate of its three screens 1, 2, and 3 were the following?

                       Friday       Saturday     Sunday         
Screen 1           85%            90%            90%
Screen 2            65%           50%            65%
Screen 3            50%           20%            15%   

1)    There are two ticket types in each screen  – Silver and Gold, Silver sold at $35 - $10 less than Gold
2)    The total number of seats in each screen was 500

A. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
B. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient.
C. BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
D. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
E. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.

Answer

The trick to answer GMAT Data sufficiency question is to convert the question to statements, so that statement 1 and 2 can be tested, and the appropriate answer choices selected.
The question gives us information about Occupancy rate broken down from Friday to Sunday. What we need to find is the revenue earned from Friday to Sunday

Revenue = Number of Tickets x Price of Each Ticket

Statement 1 explains about the two types of ticket types – Silver and Gold, and the price of each

Silver = $35
Gold = $45


Revenue = Number of Silver Tickets x $35 + Number of Gold Tickets x $45

Since we don’t have information about the total seats and how it is divided between Gold, and Silver Category, we can’t find the revenue.

Statement 1 is insufficient

Eliminate A and D

Statement 2 gives us information that Screen 1 = Screen 2 = Screen 3 = 500
Total Seats = 1500

Since we don’t have information about the cost of each ticket, we can’t find the revenue.

Eliminate B

Now it is the time to combine Statement 1 and Statement 2

Screen 1 = Screen 2 = Screen 3 = 500

Silver = $35
Gold = $45

Occupancy Rate

                       Friday       Saturday     Sunday         
Screen 1           85%            90%            90%
Screen 2            65%           50%            65%
Screen 3            50%           20%            15%  


Although we have almost all information, one crucial information is missing – how silver and gold tickets are divided in a screen. Therefore combining statements does not help.

Correct Answer: E