Tom and Jerry have one day to work, but two tasks to focus on: building chairs and tables. If Tom spends all day building chairs, he will make 16 chairs. If he instead devotes his day to building tables, Tom will make 4 tables. If Jerry spends his day building chairs, he will make 14 chairs; if he spends the day building tables, he will make 7 tables. In one day, Tom can produce either:
A) (16 chairs, 4 tables) or (8 chairs, 2 tables).
B) (8 chairs, 2 tables) or (4 chairs, 6 tables).
C) (8 chairs, 2 tables) or (4 chairs, 3 tables).
D) (12 chairs, 3 tables) or (8 chairs, 3 tables).

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

From the given information, we can see that Tom is more efficient at building chairs than Jerry, and Jerry is more efficient at building tables than Tom. Therefore, it makes sense for Tom to focus on building chairs while Jerry focuses on building tables. 
In one day, Tom can make 16 chairs while Jerry can make 7 tables. However, they only have one day to work, so they cannot produce both 16 chairs and 7 tables. 
The next best option is for Tom to make 8 chairs (half of what he can produce in a day) and for Jerry to make 3.5 tables (half of what he can produce in a day). However, it is not possible to make half a table, so Jerry rounds down to 3 tables. 
Thus, the best option is for them to produce (8 chairs, 2 tables) or (4 chairs, 3 tables), which is only possible with choice C.

Tom and Jerry Have One Day to Work, but Two