Question

In a survey of retailers, what percent had purchased computers for business purposes?
(1) 85 percent of the retailers surveyed who owned their own store had purchased computers for business purposes.
(2) 40 percent of the retailers surveyed owned their own store.

• 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

Hint:

When solving percent problems, make sure that the information provided applies to the whole group being asked about.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Analyze statement (1).
Statement (1) tells us that 85 percent of the retailers who own their own store have purchased computers for business purposes, but this only provides information about a subset of the retailers surveyed, not about all of them. Therefore, statement (1) alone is not sufficient.
Step 2: Analyze statement (2).
Statement (2) tells us that 40 percent of the retailers surveyed owned their own store, but it does not provide any information about how many of the retailers who do not own their own store have purchased computers. Therefore, statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
Step 3: Combine both statements.
Even when combining both statements, we still cannot determine the overall percentage of retailers who have purchased computers for business purposes. The information given only allows us to calculate the percentage of store owners who purchased computers, but not the total percentage of all retailers surveyed.
\[ \boxed{E} \]