madhuravkale wrote:Hi,
I just gave my first GMATprep yesterday. Came across one particular sum that I really got stuck onto even in the exam (I normally don't give time to questions that take too much time). So here goes:
1.) Given x>y2>z4 (numbers indicating powers), which of the following could be true?
I. x>y>z
II. z>y>x
III. x>z>y
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. I and III only
D. II and III only
E. I, II and III
After a while.[/spoiler]
Ask yourself what the question is testing.
What kind of number gets smaller when it's raised to a power?
A positive fraction.
I. Let x=1/3, y=1/4, z=1/5.
Plugging these values into x > y² > z�, we get:
1/3 > (1/4)² > (1/5)�. This works.
Eliminate any answers that don't include I.
Eliminate D.
II. Let z=1/3, y=1/4, x=1/5.
Plugging these values into x > y² > z�, we get:
1/5 > (1/4)² > (1/3)�. This works.
Eliminate any remaining answers that don't include II.
Eliminate A and C.
III. Let x=1/3, z=1/4, y=1/5.
Plugging these values into x > y² > z�, we get:
1/3 > (1/5)² > (1/4)�. This works.
Eliminate any remaining answers that don't include III.
Eliminate B.
The correct answer is
E.
Awhile back I wrote an article about what to do when you don't know what to do. Please feel free to check it out:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... k-yourself
Last edited by
GMATGuruNY on Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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