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Math and Mental Ability Data Sufficiency

Read the problem below; then answer the question that follows.

Maria left her home at 9:00 A.M., ran 3 miles to the lake, ran around the lake twice, and then ran home along the same route for a total distance of 10 miles. What was Maria's average jogging speed?

Which single piece of additional information is required to solve this problem?

the distance around the lake

the time she returned home

the amount of time she stopped to rest

the average length of her jogging stride

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Explanation:

Let’s break it down:

- The question asks for Maria’s average jogging speed.

- We already know she covered 10 miles in total.

- To find average speed, you need total distance and total time.

Let’s look at the options:

- Option 1: the distance around the lake

Useless here. She already ran the full 10 miles. The breakdown of the lake distance is just a detail for the journey, not for the calculation.

- Option 2: the time she returned home

Bingo. If you know what time she got home (she left at 9:00 A.M.), you can figure out the total time spent running. Speed = distance / time. That’s what you need.

- Option 3: the amount of time she stopped to rest

Only relevant if you want to know running time versus resting time, but for *average* speed (including rests), you just need total elapsed time from start to finish.

- Option 4: the average length of her jogging stride

Doesn’t matter at all unless you want to calculate step count, which isn’t asked here.

So, what this really means is:

Option 2 is the only information you actually need to solve for average speed.