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I'm assuming that w, v, x, y and z are exponents and that the question is asking:xxpatzz wrote:If v,w,x,y are non-negative integers, and a=3w2v b=5z3y2x is a/b a terminating decimal?
(1) w>y
(2) v>x
so far, only 6 out of 85 people answered correctly
Please help.
Hi,Mom4MBA wrote:Just a try.
A fraction can be terminating only if the denominator is 2 and/or 5 , else it is recurring.
so none of the statements alone or combined tell us anything about what the denominators x,y,z are hence answer should be (e) none of the statements are sufficient.
Hi,ArpanaAmishi wrote:So...this 2 and 5 denom rule is universal , should I note this down ...or there are any expcetions too ?
people will definitely give you wrong answer if you give them wrong question. you should have mentioned the powers properly. Had you written properly, it wasn't a tough question.If v,w,x,y are non-negative integers, and a=3w2v b=5z3y2x is a/b a terminating decimal?
(1) w>y
(2) v>x
so far, only 6 out of 85 people answered correctly
Unfortunately, w v z y x are not exponents, I just double checked the original question.GMATGuruNY wrote:I'm assuming that w, v, x, y and z are exponents and that the question is asking:xxpatzz wrote:If v,w,x,y are non-negative integers, and a=3w2v b=5z3y2x is a/b a terminating decimal?
(1) w>y
(2) v>x
so far, only 6 out of 85 people answered correctly
Please help.
Is (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) a terminating decimal?
Dividing by a power of 2 results in a terminating decimal:
1/2 = .5
1/2² = .25
1/2³ = .125
etc.
Dividing by a power of 5 results in a terminating decimal:
1/5 = .2
1/5² = .04
1/5³ = .008
etc.
Dividing by a power of 3 results in a non-terminating decimal:
1/3 = .33333...
1/3² = .11111...
1/3³ = .037037037...
Thus, we need to know whether (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will require dividing by a power of 3.
If there are more 3's in the denominator than in the numerator, then (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will require dividing by a power of 3.
Since the number of 3's depends on the sizes of the exponents, the question can be rephrased:
Is y>w?
Statement 1: w>y.
Thus, we know that (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will NOT require dividing by a power of 3, indicating that (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will be a terminating decimal.
Sufficient.
Statement 2: v>x.
No information about whether y>w.
Insufficient.
The correct answer is A.
Nope, I just double checked the original question ,they are not exponents.Mom4MBA wrote:people will definitely give you wrong answer if you give them wrong question. you should have mentioned the powers properly. Had you written properly, it wasn't a tough question.If v,w,x,y are non-negative integers, and a=3w2v b=5z3y2x is a/b a terminating decimal?
(1) w>y
(2) v>x
so far, only 6 out of 85 people answered correctly
a=3^w 2^v b=5^z 3^y 2^x
If v, w, x, y, and z are not exponents:xxpatzz wrote:Unfortunately, w v z y x are not exponents, I just double checked the original question.GMATGuruNY wrote:I'm assuming that w, v, x, y and z are exponents and that the question is asking:xxpatzz wrote:If v,w,x,y are non-negative integers, and a=3w2v b=5z3y2x is a/b a terminating decimal?
(1) w>y
(2) v>x
so far, only 6 out of 85 people answered correctly
Please help.
Is (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) a terminating decimal?
Dividing by a power of 2 results in a terminating decimal:
1/2 = .5
1/2² = .25
1/2³ = .125
etc.
Dividing by a power of 5 results in a terminating decimal:
1/5 = .2
1/5² = .04
1/5³ = .008
etc.
Dividing by a power of 3 results in a non-terminating decimal:
1/3 = .33333...
1/3² = .11111...
1/3³ = .037037037...
Thus, we need to know whether (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will require dividing by a power of 3.
If there are more 3's in the denominator than in the numerator, then (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will require dividing by a power of 3.
Since the number of 3's depends on the sizes of the exponents, the question can be rephrased:
Is y>w?
Statement 1: w>y.
Thus, we know that (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will NOT require dividing by a power of 3, indicating that (3^w)(2^v) / (5^z)(3^y)(2^x) will be a terminating decimal.
Sufficient.
Statement 2: v>x.
No information about whether y>w.
Insufficient.
The correct answer is A.
They are very clearly *supposed* to be exponents. The question is pretty much pointless unless the letters are exponents, since if they are not exponents, the answer obviously has to be E. There would also be no reason at all to intermingle letters and numbers as written (no mathematician would ever write '3w2v'). If the source you are looking at does not print the letters as exponents, it's a mistake in the source (and that explains why so many people got the question wrong!). The version of the question which is worth understanding is the one Mitch solved in his first post above.xxpatzz wrote:
Nope, I just double checked the original question ,they are not exponents.
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