is rst 1?

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is rst 1?

by kobel51 » Sat Dec 21, 2013 3:43 pm
Is rst=1 ?

1) rs=1

2) st=1

how do you evaluate the statements together?

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Dec 21, 2013 4:26 pm
kobel51 wrote:Is rst=1 ?
1) rs=1
2) st=1
Target question: Is rst=1?

Statement 1: rs = 1
No information about t
INSUFFICIENT

Statement 2: st = 1
No information about r
INSUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
So, rs = 1 and st = 1
This means that rs/st = 1/1
Simplify to get r/t = 1
This tells us that r = t, so this is all that we can conclude one we combine the statements.

If r = t, there are still several values of r, s and t that satisfy the both statements. Here are two:
Case a: r = 1, s = 1 and t = 1, in which case rst = 1
Case b: r = 0.5, s = 2 and t = 0.5, in which case rst = 0.5
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer = E

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Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat Dec 21, 2013 4:31 pm
The solution below is taken from the GMATFix App.

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by vipulgoyal » Tue Dec 24, 2013 2:18 am
can different variables represent the same number and same varible represents two differ numbers ????

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by Patrick_GMATFix » Tue Dec 24, 2013 2:32 am
Yes. Each variable has a specific value (that's why from x^2=1, we don't know what x is), but two variables can share the same value.
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