Given: v and w are different integers
Target question: Does v = 0?
Statement 1: vw = v²
Subtract v² from both sides of the equation: vw - v² = 0
Factor: v(w - v) = 0
So, EITHER v = 0 OR w - v = 0
Important: If w - v = 0, then that means w = v, and the question tells us that v and w are different integers.
This means w - v cannot equal 0, which means v = 0
So, the answer to the target question is YES, v = 0
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: w = 2
Since statement to provides no information about v, we can’t answer the target question with certainty
Statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: A
Cheers,
Brent
