prachich1987 wrote:What is the ratio of x to y?
(1) 5x = 2y
(2) 2y = 7x - 8
I received a PM asking me to comment.
Since a ratio is sometimes written as a fraction, I can't imagine that the GMAT writers would suggest that statement 1 is insufficient because if x=y=0, then the ratio of x/y = 0/0. Division by 0 is not discussed on the GMAT. If this question were to appear on the GMAT, the information that x≠0 and y≠0 likely would be included.
It is important to recognize when a value can be equal to 0, however. Let's say that the question above said the following:
If x and y are nonnegative integers, is x<y?
When we examine statement 1, letting x=y=0 would not result in division by 0. Thus, statement 1 would be insufficient.
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