XAT 2012 — Decision Making Question 9
Answer the following questions on the basis of the information given in the following case.
Tina a blast furnace expert, who works as a technology trouble-shooter stays in Jamshedpur. She has got an important assignment in Delhi, which requires six hours to complete. The work is so critical that she has to start working the moment she reaches the client’s premises.
She is considering various options for her onward and return journey between Jamshedpur to Delhi.
A quick search revealed that ticket from Jamshedpur to Delhi is available in two trains. Trains 12801 and 12443 depart from Jamshedpur station at 06:45 hrs and 15.55 hrs and reach Delhi next day at 04:50 hrs and 10:35 hrs respectively. Trains 12444 and 12802 start from Delhi at 17:20 hrs and 22:20 hrs and reach Jamshedpur next day at 10:35 hrs and 20:05 hrs respectively.
Another option is to reach Ranchi by a three hour road trip and take a flight to Delhi from Ranchi. The distance between Ranchi and Delhi is covered in 105 minutes both-ways by any of the scheduled flights. Air India operates two flights, AI 9810 and AI 810, which depart Ranchi at 8:00 hrs and 15:25 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3348 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Ranchi at 19:20 hrs. Return flights operated by Air India, AI 9809 and AI 809, depart Delhi at 5:50 hrs and 11:00 hrs respectively. Flight number IT-3347 operated by Kingfisher Airlines departs Delhi at 17:10 hrs.
From Tina’s home Jamshedpur railway station is five minutes drive, and her destination at Delhi is 90 minutes and 30 minutes drive from airport and railway station respectively. One has to reach the airport at least one hour before the scheduled departure to complete the boarding procedure. At every railway station she loses five minutes in navigating through the crowd.
If Tina decides to minimize the in-between waiting period, the option that she should choose from the options given below, will be:
Answer & solution
Go by Train 12801 and return by IT 3347
- B
Go by Train 12443 and return by Train 12802
- C
Go by AI 9810 and return by Train 12802
- D
Go by AI 810 and return by AI 9809
- E
Go by IT 3348 and return by AI 809
Note that in this case, we are not interested in the travel time and work time at all, as the objective is to minimize the waiting time. The waiting time of one hour at the airport is to be considered but the navigation time of 5 minutes at the railway station is not to be considered.
Also, the waiting time will be nothing but the difference between completion of work and time at which she needs to leave from the work site. We need to add 0, 60 or 120 minutes to this (depending on how many times she travels by flight).
Consider each option.
Option 1:
Since she travels by flight once, 60 minutes will be added to the waiting time.
If she goes by train 12801, she will complete the work by 11:25 hours. To catch flight IT 3347 which departs at 17:10 hours, she needs to leave at 14:40 hours i.e a wait time of 195 minutes.
So, total wait time = 195 + 60 = 255 minutes
Option 2:
Since she travels by train twice, 0 minutes will be added to the waiting time.
If she goes by train 12443, she will complete the work by 17:10 hours. To catch train 12802 which departs at 22:20 hours, she needs to leave at 21:45 hours i.e a wait time of 275 minutes.
So, total wait time = 275 minutes
Hence, option (b) can be eliminated.
Option 3:
Since she travels by flight once, 60 minutes will be added to the waiting time.
If she goes by flight AI 9810, she will complete the work by 17:15 hours. To catch train 12802 which departs at 22:20 hours, she needs to leave at 21:45 hours i.e a wait time of 270 minutes.
So, total wait time = 270 + 60 = 330 minutes
Hence, option (c) can be eliminated.
Option 4:
Since she travels by flight twice, 120 minutes will be added to the waiting time.
If she goes by flight AI 810, she will complete the work by 00:40 hours. To catch flight AI 9809 which departs at 05:50 hours, she needs to leave at 03:20 hours i.e a wait time of 160 minutes.
So, total wait time = 160 + 120 = 280 minutes
Hence, option (d) can be eliminated.
Option 5:
Since she travels by flight twice, 120 minutes will be added to the waiting time.
If she goes by flight IT 3348, she will complete the work by 04:35 hours. To catch flight AI 809 which departs at 11:00 hours, she needs to leave at 08:30 hours i.e a wait time of 235 minutes.
So, total wait time = 235 + 120 = 355 minutes
Hence, option (e) can be eliminated.
Hence, option (a).