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Source: — Problem Solving |

by theCodeToGMAT » Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:13 am
Answer [spoiler]{E}[/spoiler]
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Oct 02, 2013 8:29 am
vinay1983 wrote:Image
Ignore the constraint that a must be a positive integer.
The correct answer choice must work for ANY VALUE of a.

Let a = 1/2.
Then:
3^(2a) + (36^a) / (2^(2a)) = 3 + (√36)/2 = 3 + 3 = 6. This is our target.

Now plug a = 1/2 into the answers to see which yields our target of 6.
A quick scan reveals that only E works:
2 * 9^a = 2 * √9 = 2*3 = 6.

The correct answer is E.
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