Gmat Prep exam question

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Gmat Prep exam question

by Fab_Vr6 » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:28 pm
I can't seems to understand this following question:

For which of the following functions is f(A+B)= f(A) + f(B) for all postive numbers A and B?

1) f(x)= X^2
2) f(x)= X+1
3) f(x)=Square root X
4) f(x)=2/X
5) f(x)= -3X

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by simplythebest » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:26 pm
I think the answer should be E.

If i am correct let me know..so that i can shoot my logic..

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by Fab_Vr6 » Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:55 pm
why is it E?

I don't even know where to start with this question.

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by thumpin_termis » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:08 pm
Another vote for e.

I find just plugging in numbers to something like this the most intuitive.

let a=1, and b=2

then, go through the answer choices and plug it in:
so if
f(x) = -3x (answer choice e)

then,
f(a) = f(1) = -3(1) = -3
f(b) = f(2) = -3(2) = -6
f(a+b) = f(1+2) = f(3) = -3(3) = -9

thus
f(a+b) = f(a) + f(b)

If you try this out on other answer choices, you'll see that it doesn't fit.