ronsom wrote:But the question asks "If the operation TRIANGLE is one of the four arithmetic operations".
From Statement (1) we can select either multiplication or addition, but only Statement (2) in combination with statement (1) would further narrow down to the answer "multiplication". The question says, TRIANGLE is one of the four operators..
Especially in yes/no data sufficiency questions, you should always simplify or rephrase the stem.
The question clause asks whether the left hand side (LHS) of the equation equals the right hand side (RHS). We know that the triange is one of the four listed operations. For which of these four operations will the LHS equal the RHS?
Well, since the order in which you add or multiply is not important, the LHS will equal the RHS if the triangle represents either of addition or multiplication.
As you point out, the inequality in (1) is satisfied only if the triangle represents either of addition or multiplication. Thus, regardless of whether it is addition or multiplication the LHS of the equation in the question will definitely equal the RHS. (It matters not that addition and multiplication would lead to different values).
As an aside, please post DS questions in the DS forum (you've posted this one in the PS forum).
Kaplan Teacher in Toronto
