Question

Abger Electronics, a retail store, restructures its employees’ schedules every six months. The employees are asked for their shift preferences, and the schedules are rearranged according to these preferences. When there is a conflict, those with the best total sales over the past six months are given priority. The following graph and table show the most recent sales records and employee preferences, respectively.
A bar graph has month on the x-axis and sales (dollars times 1,000) on the y-axis. Rachel: January, 19.8; February, 23.3; March, 16.5; April, 19.3. Gary: January, 17.1; February, 16.3; March, 17.2; April, 24.4. Hannah: January, 17.8; February, 21.8; March, 23.4; April, 16.9. Christopher: January, 17.4; February, 16.1; March, 15.4; April, 21.7.
Employee
1st Pick
2nd Pick
3rd Pick
4th Pick
Rachel
12 p.m.
3 p.m.
9 a.m.
6 p.m.
Gary
9 a.m.
6 p.m.
12 p.m.
3 p.m.
Hannah
12 p.m.
6 p.m.
3 p.m.
9 a.m.
Christopher
9 a.m.
12 p.m.
3 p.m.
6 p.m.

Based on this information, when will each employee’s shift begin?
a.
9 a.m. - Gary; 12 p.m. - Rachel; 3 p.m. - Christopher; 6 p.m. - Hannah
b.
9 a.m. - Christopher; 12 p.m. - Rachel; 3 p.m. - Hannah; 6 p.m. - Gary
c.
9 a.m. - Christopher; 12 p.m. - Hannah; 3 p.m. - Rachel; 6 p.m. - Gary
d.
9 a.m. - Gary; 12 p.m. - Rachel; 3 p.m. - Hannah; 6 p.m. - Christopher

Answer 1

Compute each employee’s total sales (sum of the months shown):
- Rachel: 19.8 + 23.3 + 16.5 + 19.3 = 78.9
- Gary: 17.1 + 16.3 + 17.2 + 24.4 = 75.0
- Hannah: 17.8 + 21.8 + 23.4 + 16.9 = 79.9
- Christopher: 17.4 + 16.1 + 15.4 + 21.7 = 70.6

Priority order by sales: Hannah > Rachel > Gary > Christopher.

Give each person their highest available preferred shift in that order:
- Hannah gets her 1st pick, 12 p.m.
- Rachel’s 1st pick (12 p.m.) is taken, so she gets her 2nd pick, 3 p.m.
- Gary gets his 1st pick, 9 a.m.
- Christopher takes the remaining shift, 6 p.m.

So the schedule is: 9 a.m. – Gary; 12 p.m. – Hannah; 3 p.m. – Rachel; 6 p.m. – Christopher.

None of the choices (a–d) match this assignment.