Is r < 10 ?

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Re: Is r < 10 ?

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Aug 26, 2020 5:36 am

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BTGModeratorVI wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 7:11 am
Is r < 10 ?

(1) r < −2
(2) r ≤ 10

Answer: A
Source: Economist GMAT
Target question: Is r < 10 ?

Statement 1: r < −2
If r is LESS THAN -2, then r is clearly NEGATIVE, which means r must be less than 10
Statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Alternatively, if we recognize that -2 < 10, we can combine this information with Statement 1 to get: r < 2 < 10
So, the answer to the target question is YES r is less than 10
Statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: r ≤ 10
Consider these two possible cases:
Case a: r = 9, in which case the answer to the target question is YES r is less than 10
Case b: r = 10, in which case the answer to the target question is NO r is not less than 10
Since we can't answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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