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DS Divisibility

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by faraz_jeddah » Sun May 26, 2013 11:36 pm
If a,b,c are integers all greater than 1, and 15^8 = a * (b)^c. What is the value of c?

1 - a is not divisible by 5
2 - b is not divisible by 3

I will post the OA after some discussion.

My approach

(3)^8 * (5)^8 = a * (b)^c

Statement 1 tells us a cannot have a 5 in its factor.
Statement 2 tells us b cannot have a 3 in its factor.

Since all are greater than 1
By comparing the equations a = 3^8 ; b =5
Hence c = 8.

IMO C
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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

by sanjayism » Mon May 27, 2013 5:12 am
answer is c; its correct
kumar sanjay
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by faraz_jeddah » Mon May 27, 2013 5:20 am
sanjayism wrote:answer is c; its correct
Nope the OA is E
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon May 27, 2013 5:53 am
faraz_jeddah wrote:If a,b,c are integers all greater than 1, and 15^8 = a * (b)^c. What is the value of c?

(1) a is not divisible by 5
(2) b is not divisible by 3

Target question: What is the value of c?

Given: a,b,c are integers all greater than 1, and 15^8 = a * (b)^c

Here are a few possibilities:
15^8 = (3^8)(5^8)
15^8 = (5^8)(3^8)
15^8 = (3^8)(25^4) since 25 = 5^2, we get (3^8)(25^4) = (3^8)(5^2)^4 = (3^8)(5^8) = 15^8
15^8 = (3^8)(625^2) since 625 = 5^4, we get (3^8)(625^2) = (3^8)(5^4)^2 = (3^8)(5^8) = 15^8

Okay, now onto the question

Statement 1: a is not divisible by 5
There are several sets of values that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: 15^8 = (3^8)(5^8), in which case a = 3^8, b = 5 and c = 8
Case b: 15^8 = (3^8)(25^4), in which case a = 3^8, b = 25 and c = 4
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: b is not divisible by 3
There are several sets of values that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: 15^8 = (3^8)(5^8), in which case a = 3^8, b = 5 and c = 8
Case b: 15^8 = (3^8)(25^4), in which case a = 3^8, b = 25 and c = 4
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined:
There are still different sets of values that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: 15^8 = (3^8)(5^8), in which case a = 3^8, b = 5 and c = 8
Case b: 15^8 = (3^8)(25^4), in which case a = 3^8, b = 25 and c = 4
Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer = E

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by hutch27 » Mon May 27, 2013 6:24 am
That was a tricky question, where's it from
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