Problem Solving

Hi prata,

Formatting issues, like the type that you're describing, are not likely to happen on the Official GMAT. However, the question writers do tend to 'protect' their questions against 'interpretational bias' - if you interpret a question a certain way, and your answer to the given question is NOT among the 5 choices, then your interpretation is not correct. In that way, you can potentially figure out what you mis-interpreted and still get to the correct answer.

As an example, given the interpretation of the prompt that you described, you would have come up with the following answer:

(2^8)(3)(root3)/(root2)

Since that answer isn't among the choices, something's wrong with your interpretation of the calculation.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Which of the following is equal to (2∛3/√2)³?

A) 3√2/2
B) 3√2
C) 6√2
D) 12
E) 12√2

We can simplify the expression inside the parentheses first.

Recall that x/√x = √x, so 2/√2 = √2 and hence 2 x (^3√3)/√2 = √2 x (^3√3)

Now we raise each term to the 3rd power:

[√2 x (^3√3)]^3 = (√2)^3 x (^3√3)^3 = 2√2 x 3 = 6√2

(Note: When we raise each factor to the 3rd power, we use the fact that:

(√x)^3 = x√x and (^3√x)^3 = x) .

Answer: C