algebra- inequalities

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algebra- inequalities

by pritam.ryders » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:09 am
Is y a negative number?
1) y +2 is positive
2) y^2 > 10

please explain the second part (inequality)

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by theCodeToGMAT » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:58 am
To find: y is negative?

Statement 1:

y+2 positive.
Y = -1 , y+2 = -1+2 = 1 YES
Y = 0 , y+2 = 0+2 = 2 NO
INSUFFICIENT

Statement 2:
y^2 > 10
y = -4 ==> y^2 = 16
y = +4 ==> y^2 = 16
INSUFFICIENT

Combining...
for y+2 to be positive.. the negative value of y >= -1.9
for y^2 > 10.. we need y <-3._ oy y>3._
hence, Y is Positive
SUFFICIENT
[spoiler]{C}[/spoiler]
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:50 am
pritam.ryders wrote:Is y a negative number?

1) y + 2 is positive
2) y² > 10
Target question: Is y negative?

Statement 1: y + 2 is positive
In other words, y + 2 > 0
Subtract 2 from both sides to get y > -2
From this information, can we determine whether or not y is negative?
No.
Consider these two conflicting cases:
Case a: y = -1, in which case y IS negative
Case b: y = 1, in which case y is NOT negative
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: y² > 10
There are two possible sets of y-values that satisfy this inequality
Case a: y > √10, in which case y is NOT negative
Case b: y < -√10, in which case y IS negative
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined
Statement 2 presents us with two possible cases:
Case a: y > √10
Case b: y < -√10

Statement 1 tells us that y > -2. This eliminates case b, since y cannot simultaneously be greater than -2 AND less than -√10 (≈3.2).
This means that it MUST be the case that y > √10, which means y is definitely NOT negative.
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are SUFFICIENT

Answer = C

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Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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