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Source: — Problem Solving |

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:41 am
Nijo wrote:
Is y = 3?

(1) (y - 3)(x - 4) = 0
(2) (x - 4) = 0
Statement 1:
If x=4, then y can be any value.
INSUFFICIENT.

Statement 2:
x=4.
No information about y.
INSUFFICIENT.

Statements combined:
Since x=4, y can be any value.
INSUFFICIENT.

The correct answer is E.
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by [email protected] » Thu Jun 26, 2014 9:35 am
Hi Nijo,

This DS question is based on the concept of Quadratics, but you have to be very careful with the information that you're given.

The question asks if Y = 3. This is a YES/NO question.

Fact 1: (Y - 3)(X - 4) = 0

This means that EITHER Y = 3 OR X = 4.

If Y = 3, then the answer to the question is YES.
If X = 4, then Y could be ANYTHING and the answer to the question could be YES (If Y = 3) or NO (If Y = anything else).
Fact 1 is INSUFFICIENT

Fact 2: (X - 4) = 0

This tells us that X = 4, but tells us nothing about Y.
Fact 2 is INSUFFICIENT

Combined, we know that X = 4, but we still don't know anything about Y. We run into the same situation as in Fact 1. Y might = 3, but it might be something else.
Combined, INSUFFICIENT.

Final Answer: E

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by Nijo » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:47 pm
Hi, thanks a ton. Pretty clear, now I feel foolish!
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