What does p equal?

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by Anju@Gurome » Sat Apr 13, 2013 7:54 am
gmatquant25 wrote:What does p equal?

1. p < p^4
2. -p^3=|-p|
Statement 1: Divide both sides by p,
  • If p > 0, 1 < p^3 ---> p > 1
    If p < 0, 1 > p^3 ---> p < 1 ---> p < 0
Hence, p is either greater than 1 or less than 0.

Not sufficient

Statement 2: (-p)^3 = |-p|
This means cube of an quantity is equal to the absolute value of the quantity.
Only such numbers are 0 and 1.
Hence, p = 0 or p = -1

Not sufficient

1 & 2 Together: Now from statement 1, p cannot be equal to zero.
Hence, p = -1

Sufficient

The correct answer is C.
Anju Agarwal
Quant Expert, Gurome

Backup Methods : General guide on plugging, estimation etc.
Wavy Curve Method : Solving complex inequalities in a matter of seconds.

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