What is the value of r? Sudoku!

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What is the value of r? Sudoku!

by kobel51 » Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:02 pm
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Each of the letters in the table above represents one of the numbers 1, 2, or 3, and each of these numbers occurs exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. What is the value of r?

1) v+z = 6
2) s+t+u+x = 6

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by Patrick_GMATFix » Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:17 pm
Good question! The answer is D. I go through the question in detail in the full solution below (taken from the GMATFix App).

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:39 pm
kobel51 wrote: r s t
u v w
x y z

Each of the letters in the table above represents one of the numbers 1, 2, or 3, and each of these numbers occurs exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. What is the value of r?

1) v+z = 6
2) s+t+u+x = 6
Target question: What is the value of r?

Statement 1: v+z = 6
Step 1: If v+z=6, then v and z must both equal 3.
Step 2: If each number occurs exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column, then s cannot equal 3 (since s and v are in the same column) and t cannot equal 3 (since t and z are in the same column).
Step 3: If s and t cannot equal 3, then r must equal 3 (since each number occurs exactly once in each row)
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2 s+t+u+x = 6:
If each number occurs exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column, the sum of numbers in any row or column will always equal 6.
So, r+s+t=6, and r+u+x=6
When we combine these two equations, we get
(r+s+t)+ (r+u+x)= 6+6
Simplify to get: 2r+(s+t+u+x)=12
Statement 2 tells us that s+t+u+x=6
When we add this to the equation 2r+(s+t+u+x)=12, we get: 2r+(6)=12
When we solve this, we get r=3
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is SUFFICIENT

Answer = D

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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