Data Sufficiency from GMAT Prep

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by shankar.ashwin » Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:46 am
(n^2 - 1) / 8 --> r =?

Statement 1:

n is odd.

let n = 1 -> 0/8 = 0 (remainder = 0)
n = 3 -> 8/8 (remainder = 0)

COnsider a bigger number, say 11. (121-1 = 120) 120/8 - remainder 0

So all odds follow a pattern here (0 remainder - Sufficient)

Statement 2:

n is not divisible by 8.

Consider n = 2, n^2 - 1 / 8 = 3/8 (remainder = 3)

We have seen other numbers in prev case which give remainder = 0.

Insufficient.

A IMO

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:18 pm
Question rephrased: If n is a positive integer, what is the remainder when (n+1)(n-1) is divided by 8?

Statement 1: n is odd.
Thus,(n-1)(n+1) = the product of two consecutive even integers.
Of every two consecutive even integers, exactly one will be a multiple of 4:
0,2,4,6,8,10,12...
Thus, the product of any two consecutive even integers = (multiple of 4)(even) = multiple of 8.
When a multiple of 8 is divided by 8, R=0.
SUFFICIENT.

Statement 2: n is not a multiple of 8.

If n=3, then (n-1)(n+1) = 2*4 = 8.
8/8 = 1 R0.
If n=4, then (n-1)(n+1) = 3*5 = 15.
15/8 = 1 R7.
Since R can be different values, INSUFFICIENT.

The correct answer is A.
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by gb » Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:07 am
Stm 1 - n is odd . Lets say n = 2k + 1.
So, n^2 - 1 = ( 4k ^2 + 4k + 1 ) - 1
= 4k^2 + 4K
= 4k (k+1) ...now k and k+1 are consecutive , so one of them will be even
so now we have 4*even* odd which will leave a remainder of 0 when divided by 8.

Stm 2 - does not give any useful information