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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by parallel_chase » Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:38 am
I think the answer is C.

Statement I.

x^1/2 = sqrtx>y

if sqrt x > y then x will always be greater than y for any value except for fractions.
x=1/4
y=1/3

sqrt(1/4)>1/3
1/2>1/3

but (1/4)<1/3

Hence Insufficient.

Statement II

x^3>y

x=3
y=4
3^3>4
but 3 is not greater than 4

x=-1/2
y=-1

-(1/2)^3 > -(1)
-(1/8) > -(1)
-(1/2) is also greater than -1

Hence Insufficient.

Combining I & II
If x^3 is greater than y and sqrt x is greater than y then x will also be greater than y.

Hence C.

Whats the OA?

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by kshin78 » Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:23 pm
OA please?

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by parallel_chase » Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:38 pm
The question stem does not say anything about x or y

It does not states that x and y are integers or non integers, therefore x and y can be anything. positive integers, negative integers, fractions, they can even be 0.

When no conditions about x or y are stated, a statement should hold true or false for all the above conditions to reach to a conclusion.

Hence Statement II is insufficient.

Let me know if think otherwise.

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by cornell2005 » Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:44 pm
I get C also, but am not sure how to prove that 1 and 2 together are sufficient. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

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by lunarpower » Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:12 am
cornell2005 wrote:I get C also, but am not sure how to prove that 1 and 2 together are sufficient. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
the presence of x^(1/2), also known as &#8730;x, in the problem guarantees that x is nonnegative. therefore, there are four cases:
(1) x = 0
(2) 0 < x < 1
(3) x = 1
(4) x > 1

cases (1) and (3): in these cases, &#8730;x = x^3 = x. therefore, saying that any one of these three quantities is greater than y is equivalent to saying that any other one of them is equivalent to y.

**case (2): if 0 < x < 1, then x^3 < x < &#8730;x. if both statements are true, then y must be smaller than both x^3 and &#8730;x, so that we have y < x^3 < x < &#8730;x.

***case (4): if x > 1, then &#8730;x < x < x^3 (the "normal" order of these three quantities). if both statements are true, then y must be smaller than both x^3 and &#8730;x, so that we have y < &#8730;x < x < x^3.

in all four cases, statements 1 and 2 together are sufficient, so answer = c.

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**note: this is the case that proves statement 1 insufficient, as y could be less than &#8730;x but more than x.

***note: this is the case that proves statement 2 insufficient, as y could be less than x^3 but more than x.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by cornell2005 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:49 am
Thank you - that is exactly what I needed.