Q: 0.35 * (a ^ b ) = ?
St1: b = 200% * a
b = 2a
target question becomes,
0.35 (a ^2a) INSUFFICIENT
(a could be any number)
St2: 50% * b = a
b = 2a
same as st1, INSUFFICIENT
St1+st2: Even after combining we get the same equation b = 2a INSUFFICIENT,
[spoiler]Answer : E[/spoiler]
Regards,
Vivek
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Source: Beat The GMAT — Data Sufficiency |
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Target question: What is 35 percent of a^b?SaraLotfy wrote:What is 35 percent of a^b?
1) b is 200 percent of a
2)50 percent of b is a
Statement 1: b is 200 percent of a
In other words, b = 2a
There are several values of a and b that satisfy this condition. Here are two:
Case a: a = 1 and b = 2, in which case 35% of a^b = (0.35)(1)
Case b: a = 2 and b = 4, in which case 35% of a^b = (0.35)(16)
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2:50 percent of b is a
In other words, a = (1/2)b
Or we can write 2a = b
STOP
At this point, we should recognize that statement 2 provides the EXACT SAME information that statement 1 provides. When the statements provide the same information, the correct answer must be either D (each statement is sufficient) or E (each statement is NOT sufficient).
Since we've already shown that statement 1 is NOT sufficient, we can conclude that statement 2 is NOT sufficient, and we can conclude that the statements combined are NOT sufficient.
Answer = E
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
