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Q1)If a^2*b^2*c^3 = 4500.Is b+c =7

1)a b c are positive integers

2)a>b

Is the answer B??

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by eaakbari » Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:06 pm
IMO C


a^2*b^2*c^3 = 4500
a^2*b^2*c^3 = 3^2 * 2^2 * 5^3

c = 5, a can be 2 or 3, b can be 2 or 3 & c >0

(I) Only states that a,b,c,>0 . Clearly Insuff

(II)a>b that could mean 3>2 or -2>-3 .Its not precise. Insuff


(I) & (II)
Together there is only one option of a=3 and b = 2.

which makes b +c = 7. Hence Suff

Therefore answer is C
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by soni_pallavi » Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:18 pm
What's confused me about this question is that the answer given is E.

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by Anindya Madhudor » Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:29 pm
I think you also need to consider the case that 4500=6^2*1^2*5^3. In this case, b+c=6. Hence, both statements together are not sufficient.

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:31 am
soni_pallavi wrote:If a^2*b^2*c^3 = 4500. Is b+c =7

1)a b c are positive integers
2)a>b
Target question: Does b+c = 7?

Given: a^2*b^2*c^3 = 4500
Find the prime factorization of 4500
4500 = (2^2)(3^2)(5^3)

Statement 1: a, b, and c are positive integers
There are different sets of numbers that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: a = 3, b = 2 and c = 5, in which case b+c equals 7
Case b: a = 6, b = 1 and c = 5, in which case b+c does not equal 7
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: a>b
There are different sets of numbers that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: a = 3, b = 2 and c = 5, in which case b+c equals 7
Case b: a = 6, b = 1 and c = 5, in which case b+c does not equal 7
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined:
Notice that I used the same sets of numbers to show that each individual statement (alone) is not sufficient. This means that we can automatically see that the two statements combined are not sufficient, since we still have two conflicting cases to consider:
Case a: a = 3, b = 2 and c = 5, in which case b+c equals 7
Case b: a = 6, b = 1 and c = 5, in which case b+c does not equal 7
Since we still cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer = E

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Brent
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by soni_pallavi » Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:44 am
Thanks Brent!!