X+Y = X.Y

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X+Y = X.Y

by kartikshah » Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:57 pm
Does x + y = x.y ?
(1) The product of x and positive integer z is not x.

(2) y is neither positive nor negative.

Why is B alone not sufficient? OA is C
Source: Master GMAT
Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by eagleeye » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:25 pm
kartikshah wrote:Does x + y = x.y ?
(1) The product of x and positive integer z is not x.

(2) y is neither positive nor negative.

Why is B alone not sufficient? OA is C
Source: Master GMAT
Does x + y = x.y ?

(1) The product of x and positive integer z is not x.
If xz=x => (z-1)x = 0. Either z=1 OR x=0. If this is NOT true, then we have z is not equal to 1 AND x is not equal to 0. If x is not 0,
2+2 = 2*2, the expression is true.
2+1 does not equal 2*1, expression isn't true. Insufficient.

(2) y is neither positive nor negative.
If y is neither positive nor negative, y=0.

If the expression is true, x+0 =0.x => x=0. So expression is true when x=0
If x is not equal to 0, expression is not true.
Since we don't know whether x equals 0 or not, this statement is insufficient.

Together, we have:
y=0, x is not zero.
Therefore, x+y is not equal to x.y. Sufficiently answered as NO.

Hence C is the correct answer.
Let me know if this helps :)

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by Birottam Dutta » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:28 pm
A small trick here.

2. basically says that y=0. But it does not say anything about x right. If x were to be zero as well, then the equality would hold. So, we cannot say for sure based on 2 alone.

Using both the statements, we can say for sure that the equality will not hold, hence C is the answer.