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Stockmoose16
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
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- Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:42 pm
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Is X + Y < 1 ?
1. X < 8 / 9
2. Y < 1 / 8
I picked C, but the answer is E
If you give both numbers a common denominator, you get
1) X< 64/72
2) Y< 9/72
Obviously, each statement alone is insufficient. But I'm confused why together they don't work. Since X must be less than 64/72, the largest it can be is 63/72. And since Y is less than 9/72, the largest it can be is 8/72. Together, their maximum values add up to 71/72, which is less than 1. Why can't you definitively say that X + Y < 1?
1. X < 8 / 9
2. Y < 1 / 8
I picked C, but the answer is E
If you give both numbers a common denominator, you get
1) X< 64/72
2) Y< 9/72
Obviously, each statement alone is insufficient. But I'm confused why together they don't work. Since X must be less than 64/72, the largest it can be is 63/72. And since Y is less than 9/72, the largest it can be is 8/72. Together, their maximum values add up to 71/72, which is less than 1. Why can't you definitively say that X + Y < 1?

















