Target question: What is the value of k?guerrero wrote:If j and k are positive integers, and j + k is odd, what is the value of k?
(1) When j is divided by k, the remainder is 3
(2) j > 7 > 6 > k
Given: j and k are positive integers, and j + k is odd
Statement 1: When j is divided by k, the remainder is 3
There's a nice rule that says: the remainder is always less than the divisor. For example, if we divide an integer by 7, the remainder will be less than 7.
In this particular question, we're told that j divided by k leaves remainder 3, so we can be certain that the divisor (k) is greater than 3.
So, we know that k > 3, and we know a few other things (j+k is odd, etc.) This does not feel like enough information to find the exact value of k, so I'm going to look for different sets of values for j and k that satisfy the given conditions yet yield conflicting answers to the target question.
Here are two such sets of values:
Case a: j = 7 and k = 4, in which case k = 4
Case b: j = 8 and k = 5, in which case k = 5
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: j > 7 > 6 > k
This tells us that integer k is less than 6. This still leaves several possible values of k (i.e., k = 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5)
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined
There are still several sets of of values that satisfy both statements AND the given information. Here are two:
Case a: j = 11 and k = 4, in which case k = 4
Case b: j = 8 and k = 5, in which case k = 5
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer = E
Cheers,
Brent
