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DS roots...please explain the solution

Expert replies
Source: — Problem Solving |

by [email protected] » Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:10 pm
Hi pritam.ryders,

This is a yes/no DS question that asks Is A^3 > 20? We don't know anything about the value of A to begin.

Fact 1 tells us that A^4 > 80

We can TEST values against this Fact
If A = 10, then the answer to the question is YES
If A = -10, then the answer to the question is NO
Inconsistent = INSUFFICIENT

Fact 2 tells us that A^5 > 200
This tells us that A MUST BE POSITIVE

Now, you might be concerned that A could be a fraction or decimal and you might not be sure how that would affect the correct answer.
By comparison, we find that:
2^5 = 32
3^5 = 243
A, by definition, has a minimal value and that minimal value is really close to 3.

Mathematically, when you compare A^5 back to A^3, you have to divide by A^2
If A = 3, then A^2 = 9 and anything 200+/9 > 20 so the answer to the question would be YES
Decreasing the value of A, even a tiny bit, would lead to A^2 < 9 200+/(<9) > 20 so the answer to the question is ALWAYS YES

Fact 2 is SUFFICIENT

Final Answer: B

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:02 pm
pritam.ryders wrote:Is a^3 > 20?

(1) a^4 > 80
(2) a^5 > 200
Statement 1: a� > 80
If a = 10, then a³ > 20.
If a = -10, then a³ < 20.
INSUFFICIENT.

Statement 2: a� > 200
Here, a>0.

Statement 2 rephrased:
(a�)³ > (20*10)³
a¹� > 20³ * 10³
a¹� > 20³ * 1000.

Questions stem rephrased:
(a³)� > 20�
a¹� > 20³ * 20²
Is a¹� > 20³ * 400?

Since a¹� > 20³ * 1000, we know that a¹� > 20³ * 400.
SUFFICIENT.

The correct answer is B.
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