Shipping Clerk: The five specially ordered shipments sent out last week were sent out on Thursday. Last week, all of...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Shipping Clerk: The five specially ordered shipments sent out last week were sent out on Thursday. Last week, all of the shipments that were sent out on Friday consisted entirely of building supplies, and the shipping department then closed for the weekend. Four shipments were sent to Truax Construction last week, only three of which consisted of building supplies.
If the shipping clerk's statements are true, which of the following must also be true?
Passage Visualization
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
|---|---|
| The five specially ordered shipments sent out last week were sent out on Thursday. | Establishes: Thursday shipments = 5 specially ordered items Key Pattern: All special orders concentrated on one day Example: Thursday = 5 special shipments, other days = regular shipments only |
| Last week, all of the shipments that were sent out on Friday consisted entirely of building supplies, and the shipping department then closed for the weekend. | Establishes: Friday = 100% building supplies only Weekend = No shipments Key Constraint: Friday shipments are exclusively building supplies Example: If 3 shipments went Friday, all 3 = building supplies |
| Four shipments were sent to Truax Construction last week, only three of which consisted of building supplies. | Establishes: Truax total = 4 shipments Truax building supplies = 3 shipments Truax non-building supplies = 1 shipment Critical Gap: 1 Truax shipment ≠ building supplies Logic Chain: Since Friday = only building supplies, the 1 non-building Truax shipment cannot be Friday |
| Overall Implication | Core Constraint Conflict: Truax received 1 non-building supply shipment, but Friday only sent building supplies Therefore: At least 1 Truax shipment must have been sent on a day other than Friday Pattern: Friday restrictions force non-building shipments to other days |
Valid Inferences
Inference: At least one shipment to Truax Construction was sent on a day other than Friday.
Supporting Logic: Since Truax Construction received four shipments with only three consisting of building supplies, one Truax shipment was not building supplies. Since all Friday shipments consisted entirely of building supplies, the non-building supply shipment to Truax could not have been sent on Friday. Therefore, at least one Truax shipment was sent on Thursday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Clarification Note: While we know one Truax shipment wasn't sent Friday, we cannot determine the specific day it was sent or whether it was one of the specially ordered Thursday shipments.