General DS Question

[lagomez]

Let's assume the answer to a question is "D" (each statement alone)

Do statement 1 and statement 2 have to yield the same answer?

For example,

is x = 2?

1. x - 2 = 0 (the answer is yes)

2. x - 3 = 0 (the answer is no)

Could the answer choice be D because both statements yield definitive answers, however the answers are different?

Should the answers yield the same result? In this case should the answer be A.

[netigen]

In GMAT both A and B will yield the same results. In non GMAT questions such as MGMAT, Kaplan etc I have seen otherwise.

[lagomez]

I noticed the same..the gmat book yielding the same result and the others a mix..

i just don't want to assume...i guess gmat would stay consistent (between official guide and actual exam)

[Ian Stewart]

Yes, on any real GMAT question, the two statements must be 'logically consistent'. You will never see two statements on Data Sufficiency like the following:

1) x = 2
2) x = 3

since it is impossible for both statements to be true, and therefore impossible to consider the two statements together- what would it mean for x to be equal to both 2 and 3 at the same time? Some questions produced by test prep companies do not observe this rule, however.

[lagomez]

okay..that makes sense too