Question

In March 2007, Computers Ltd. made a bundled offer of its laptops together with Deskjet printers to boost sales, though both products were also sold individually. What is the price of the printer, if bought separately? Decide whether the information given in the two statements below is enough to answer the question.

Statement (1): The bundled offer price was Rs 42,600.
Statement (2): The laptop, without the bundle offer, was priced at Rs 39,400.

• A. Any one of the two statements (1) or (2) is enough to answer the question.
• B. Each of the statements (1) or (2), taken alone, is enough to answer the question.
• C. Both statements, taken together, are enough to answer the question, but neither one alone is enough.
• D. Both statements together are not enough to answer the question.

Hint:

A bundle price is rarely just the sum of the individual prices; without knowing the discount, the two statements cannot isolate the printer's price.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question.
Let \(L\) be the laptop's separate price and \(Pr\) be the printer's separate price. We want the value of \(Pr\) alone.

Step 2: Check Statement (1) alone.
Statement (1) only tells us the bundle price, Rs 42,600. This is one combined number covering both products, and we have no idea how it splits between the laptop and the printer. Not enough by itself.

Step 3: Check Statement (2) alone.
Statement (2) only gives \(L = 39{,}400\), the laptop's own price. It says nothing about the printer. Not enough by itself.

Step 4: Combine both statements.
A bundled offer is a marketing deal, and such deals almost always include some discount \(d\) off the sum of the individual prices, where \(d\) can be any value from 0 upward and is not stated anywhere in the question. So:
\[ 42{,}600 = L + Pr - d = 39{,}400 + Pr - d \]
\[ Pr = 3{,}200 + d \]
Since \(d\) is unknown, \(Pr\) could be Rs 3,200 (if there was no discount at all) or any larger number, depending on how big the bundle discount was. There is no way to pin down one exact value.

Step 5: Final Answer.
Even after combining both statements, an unknown discount keeps the printer's exact separate price out of reach, so both statements together are still not enough. \[ \boxed{\text{Both statements together are insufficient}} \]