Data Sufficiency

I was out looking for the same type of questions. Conflict between options C and E -> Finding a definite NO. Thanks for posting !

fibbonnaci wrote:If pqrst= 4, then is p= (1/q) ??

1) r=s=t

2) three of p,q,r,s,t are integers

1. 2*2*1*1*1 = 2

2* 1/4*1/4*4*4*4 = 4

E !

Statement 1 not sufficient as r=s=t does not lead anywhere.
Stetment 2 alone not sufficient.

combining also not sufficient: example: if r=s=t=4 p=1/4 and q=1/4 still pqrst =4

if r=s=t=2 p=1/root2 q=1/root2 pqrst=4 not unique...so answer E.

C the ANSWER.

Yup I agree the answer upon combining S1 and S2 is Definitely C. Good question indeed !!

Hi,
My understanding is that the question asks if p=1/q not if pqrst=4!
To answer p=1/q, each statement alone is sufficient. We don't need to prove if equation is 4 or not.
It should be D.

rencsee wrote:Hi,
My understanding is that the question asks if p=1/q not if pqrst=4!
To answer p=1/q, each statement alone is sufficient. We don't need to prove if equation is 4 or not.
It should be D.

You're right that the question is asking if p = 1/q. We're given that pqrst = 4. Give Mitch's post on the previous page another read. His approach was to show that p = 1/q if pq = 1. And if we're given that pqrst = 4, then pq =1 if rst = 4. Thus, asking if p = 1/q, is the same as asking if rst = 4. (And so we'll need both statements to determine this definitely.)

DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:

rencsee wrote:Hi,
My understanding is that the question asks if p=1/q not if pqrst=4!
To answer p=1/q, each statement alone is sufficient. We don't need to prove if equation is 4 or not.
It should be D.

You're right that the question is asking if p = 1/q. We're given that pqrst = 4. Give Mitch's post on the previous page another read. His approach was to show that p = 1/q if pq = 1. And if we're given that pqrst = 4, then pq =1 if rst = 4. Thus, asking if p = 1/q, is the same as asking if rst = 4. (And so we'll need both statements to determine this definitely.)

Thank you for your reply. This is how I see:
1. If r=s=t then p can not be equal to 1/q because pq=1 therefore the equation won't be equal to 4 - sufficient
2. If p q r s t are all integer then p can not be a fraction - sufficient
Pls let me know.

rencsee wrote:

DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:

rencsee wrote:Hi,
My understanding is that the question asks if p=1/q not if pqrst=4!
To answer p=1/q, each statement alone is sufficient. We don't need to prove if equation is 4 or not.
It should be D.

You're right that the question is asking if p = 1/q. We're given that pqrst = 4. Give Mitch's post on the previous page another read. His approach was to show that p = 1/q if pq = 1. And if we're given that pqrst = 4, then pq =1 if rst = 4. Thus, asking if p = 1/q, is the same as asking if rst = 4. (And so we'll need both statements to determine this definitely.)

Thank you for your reply. This is how I see:
1. If r=s=t then p can not be equal to 1/q because pq=1 therefore the equation won't be equal to 4 - sufficient
2. If p q r s t are all integer then p can not be a fraction - sufficient
Pls let me know.

Remember that before we examine the statements, we don't know if we're dealing with integer values. For statement 1, it's possible that r = s = t = 4^(1/3), in which case pq = 1, and the answer to the question is YES. But it's also possible that r = s = t = 1, in which case pq = 4, and the answer to the question is NO.

For statement 2, we only know that 3 of the 5 variables are integers. We don't know which 3. So p may or may not be a fraction.