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inequalities

Expert replies
Source: — Data Sufficiency |

by pepeprepa » Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:26 pm
What does xy>0..mean?

"xy" means x and y are multiplied. If we want to totally write "a multiplied by b" which is the same as "b multiplied by a" we write: a x b or a * b. That's a multiplication.
xy>0 means that the result is positive. For example, if x=2 and y=3 we have: 2*3=6>0
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by 4meonly » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:40 am
Answer is D?
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by mim3 » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:56 am
I'm not postiive on this one, but I think it's A here.

1. x+y=xy
The only way this works is if x and y both equal 2 or 0. In both cases, the stem is proven. Sufficient

2. x=y
Just picking numbers and plugging into the stem, say x, y= 3 (3-1)(3-1) does not = 1 whereas (2-1)(2-1) = 1. Insufficient.

So I think it's A. What's the OA?
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by Fab » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:05 am
I would say A since,

For (x-1)(y-1)=1, there are only 2 possibilities:
1. x=0 y=0
2. x=2 y=2

In both cases x+y=xy

Option B could be anything...3=3, 4=4, 5=5....and so on..
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by smithpa2 » Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:55 am
One thing to consider is that xy>0, so both x and y are either positive or negative, but can't equal 0.

IMO A, b/c 2 is the only number that satisfies the criterion.
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by 4meonly » Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:03 am
(x-1)(y-1)=1 ?
makes the questionin such way: xy=x+y ?


(1)
xy=x+y
the same as we found
SUFF

(2)
x=y
from the main statement xy=x+y we have
yy=2y
y^2=2y
y=2 so x=2
(2-1)(2-1)=1
SUFF

Answer D

If I am wrong, pls somebody correct me
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by schumi_gmat » Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:11 pm
Ans is A

The second condition is possible only of x=y=2 but not true for any other number

Hence A is correct
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by mim3 » Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:38 pm
[quote="4meonly"](x-1)(y-1)=1 ?
makes the questionin such way: xy=x+y ?


(1)
xy=x+y
the same as we found
SUFF

(2)
x=y
from the main statement xy=x+y we have
yy=2y
y^2=2y
y=2 so x=2
(2-1)(2-1)=1
SUFF

Answer D

If I am wrong, pls somebody correct me[/quote]

The stem was xy > 0, not xy=x+y, that was statement one.
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by 4meonly » Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:39 am
(x-1)(y-1)=1 ?
xy-x-y+1=1
xy=1-1+x+y
xy=x+y

So, the question can be rephrased in
Does xy=x+y ?

(1) Directly gives you the answer

(2) x=y
sustitute yy=y+y
y^2 = 2y
y = 2
2*2 = 2+2 or (2-1)(2-1)=1
According to xy>0? 2*2 > 0

Answer D
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by beater » Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:26 am
OA - A. Thanks!
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by Ian Stewart » Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:05 am
4meonly wrote:(x-1)(y-1)=1 ?
xy-x-y+1=1
xy=1-1+x+y
xy=x+y

So, the question can be rephrased in
Does xy=x+y ?

(1) Directly gives you the answer

(2) x=y
sustitute yy=y+y
y^2 = 2y
y = 2
2*2 = 2+2 or (2-1)(2-1)=1
According to xy>0? 2*2 > 0

Answer D
You are doing the math correctly, but you're answering a different question from the one that's being asked here. The question is:

Is (x-1)(y-1) = 1 ?

As you've done, you can rephrase the question:

Is xy = x + y ?

Still, that's the question. It's not a fact. Do not assume the answer to the question is 'yes', and use it as if it were a fact. This is crucially important, and it's a common trap people fall into when they first start doing DS questions.

So, you aren't trying to find x or y here; you are trying to decide, from Statement 2, whether xy = x+y must be true. If we know statement 2, we know that x = y, so we need to know whether x*x = x+x, that is whether x^2 = 2x. Well, x could be 2, and then x^2 = 2x, or x could be 3, and x^2 does not equal 2x. So we can't answer the question by only using 2) alone. As demonstrated above, Statement 1) is sufficient.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com
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by sumithshah » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:17 am
I agree with your explanation IAN but if an equation is simplified and found to be true, shouldlnt the un simplified equation be true also?
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by Ian Stewart » Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:57 am
sumithshah wrote:I agree with your explanation IAN but if an equation is simplified and found to be true, shouldlnt the un simplified equation be true also?
Yes, but I'm afraid I don't see the relevance of that to this question. We can rewrite or simplify the equation in the question all we want; using Statement 2 alone, we can't prove that it's true.
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