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If a and b are constants, what is one solution of the

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If a and b are constants, what is one solution of the

by vinni.k » Mon Mar 12, 2018 11:21 am
If a and b are constants, what is one solution of the equation (x + a)(x - b) = 0?

(1) a = 4
(2) b = 3

OA is D

Here in this question, both of the statements give one solution, but aren't these two statements contradicting each other ?

Just confuse in this question
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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by ErikaPrepScholar » Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:01 pm
This problem is asking for us to find *one* solution of the equation - this means that even if there are multiple solutions to the equation, we only need to find one of them for the statement to be sufficient. Statement 1 allows us to find the solution x = -4, while Statement 2 allows us to find the solution x = 3. Considering the statements together, we get the equation (x + 4)(x - 3) = 0, which has both x = -4 and x = 3 as solutions. So while we find a different solution with Statement 1 than we do with Statement 2, they don't contradict each other - they are both correct solutions.

Let me know if you'd like me to expand on this.
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