Let S be a finite set of consecutive multiples of 7. How many terms are there in S?
(1) The sum of the terms in set S is 105. Clearly insufficient. For example, consider S={28, 35, 42} and {49, 56}.
(2) The standard deviation of set S is equal to 3.5. Important property: if we add or subtract a constant to each term in a set SD will not change. From this it follows, that:
Any set with two consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7}, {7, 14}, {14, 21}, {21, 28}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
Any set with three consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7, 14}, {7, 14, 21}, {14, 21, 28}, {21, 28, 35}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
Any set with four consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7, 14, 21}, {7, 14, 21, 28}, {14, 21, 28, 35}, {21, 28, 35, 42}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
...
We know the standard deviation of S is 3.5. We CAN get the standard deviations of {0, 7}, {0, 7, 14}, {0, 7, 14, 21}, ... Only one of them will have the standard deviation of 3.5. So, we can get how many terms are there in the set. Sufficient.
Answer: B.
Hope it's clear.
(1) The sum of the terms in set S is 105. Clearly insufficient. For example, consider S={28, 35, 42} and {49, 56}.
(2) The standard deviation of set S is equal to 3.5. Important property: if we add or subtract a constant to each term in a set SD will not change. From this it follows, that:
Any set with two consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7}, {7, 14}, {14, 21}, {21, 28}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
Any set with three consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7, 14}, {7, 14, 21}, {14, 21, 28}, {21, 28, 35}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
Any set with four consecutive multiples of 7 will have the same standard deviation. For example, ..., {0, 7, 14, 21}, {7, 14, 21, 28}, {14, 21, 28, 35}, {21, 28, 35, 42}, ... will have the same standard deviation.
...
We know the standard deviation of S is 3.5. We CAN get the standard deviations of {0, 7}, {0, 7, 14}, {0, 7, 14, 21}, ... Only one of them will have the standard deviation of 3.5. So, we can get how many terms are there in the set. Sufficient.
Answer: B.
Hope it's clear.