Question

On a particular day, who came earlier, Anita or Vani?
Statement 1: Anita came not later than 2 PM on that day
Statement 2: Vani came not earlier than 1 PM on that day

• A. statement (1) alone is sufficient to answer the question
• B. statement (2) alone is sufficient to answer the question
• C. both the statements together are needed to answer the question
• D. statement (1) alone or statement (2) alone is sufficient to answer the question
• E. neither statement (1) nor statement (2) suffices to answer the question

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

To determine who came earlier between Anita and Vani, we analyze the given statements:

1. Statement 1: Anita came not later than 2 PM on that day.
2. Statement 2: Vani came not earlier than 1 PM on that day.

Let's evaluate each statement individually:

• From Statement 1, we know Anita could have arrived any time on or before 2 PM. However, this statement does not tell us when Vani came, so we cannot determine who came earlier based on this information alone.
• From Statement 2, we know Vani could have arrived any time on or after 1 PM. This statement does not provide any information about Anita's arrival time compared to Vani, so we still cannot determine who came earlier.

Combining both statements:

• With both statements: Anita could have arrived before 1 PM, but we do not have enough information about the exact times they arrived to determine who came earlier. Vani could have arrived after 2 PM, but both could have also arrived between 1 PM and 2 PM.

Since neither statement alone nor both statements together provide enough information to determine who came earlier, the correct conclusion is that we cannot answer the question based on the given statements.

Therefore, the correct answer is: neither statement (1) nor statement (2) suffices to answer the question.