BTGmoderatorDC wrote:What is the value of x?
(1) (x + 2)(x + 3) = 0
(2) x² + 5x + 6 = 0
Target question: What is the value of x?
Statement 1: (x + 2)(x + 3) = 0
This means that EITHER
x = -2 OR
x = -3
Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: x² + 5x + 6 = 0
Factor the left side of the equation to get: (x + 2)(x + 3) = 0
HOLD ON...
This is the same equation as the equation in statement 1.
ASIDE: When the two statements provide the
same information in a Data Sufficiency question, the correct answer is either D (each statement is sufficient) or E (the statements combined are not sufficient)
Since statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT, we can conclude that statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT, and the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
Cheers,
Brent
