Evens

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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by kstv » Sat May 22, 2010 6:26 pm
nicajvch wrote:If x and y are positive integers, is the product xy even?

1) 5x-4y is even
2) 6x + 7y is even
odd +- odd = even
even+- even = even
even+- odd = odd
IMH D

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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat May 22, 2010 10:45 pm
The key to this is a good rephrase. For a product of 2 integers to be even, at least one of them must be even.

REPHRASE: Is x or y even?

The statements should be evaluated with even/odd in mind. For instance look at (1). 4y is always even. so 5x-4y is 5x-even. For this to have an even result, 5x itself must be even, so x must be even. This answers our rephrase with a definitive YES.

The 2nd statement should be handled the same way. Again, think in terms of even/odd property. The answer is D

This is GMATPrep question 1510

-Patrick