Question

Each of the following questions is followed by two statements, I and II. Answer as follows:
Mark option (1) if the question can be answered using statement I alone, but not using statement II alone.
Mark option (2) if the question can be answered using statement II alone, but not using statement I alone.
Mark option (3) if the question can be answered using both statements I and II together, but not by using either statement alone.
Mark option (4) if the question cannot be answered even using both statements I and II together.

How much tax did Mrs. X pay?
I. Gauri paid twice the amount that Rajat did last year.
II. Rajat paid Rs. 9800 as tax this year.

• A. The question can be answered using statement I alone, but not using statement II alone.
• B. The question can be answered using statement II alone, but not using statement I alone.
• C. The question can be answered using both statements I and II together, but not by using either statement alone.
• D. The question cannot be answered even using both statements I and II together.

Hint:

Check first whether the statements even talk about Mrs. X; if the person named in each statement never matches the person asked about, no amount of combining the statements will help.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This question tests relevance: before combining any statements, check if they actually talk about the person or quantity the question asks about. Here the question wants Mrs. X's tax amount.

1. Statement I: This statement compares the tax paid by Gauri with the tax Rajat paid last year. It never mentions Mrs. X, so on its own it cannot give her tax figure.
2. Statement II: This statement states that Rajat paid Rs. 9800 as tax this year. It is a fact about Rajat alone, again with no mention of Mrs. X.

Now combine both statements: together they only build a fuller picture of Gauri and Rajat's tax payments over two years. Since nothing in either statement, or in the two put together, links Gauri or Rajat's numbers to Mrs. X, there is no way to work out what Mrs. X paid.

Let's summarize:

• A statement is only useful if it refers to the exact person or quantity the question asks about.
• Facts about Gauri and Rajat, however precise, cannot substitute for facts about Mrs. X.

So even both statements taken together fail to answer the question, which makes option (4) correct.