Data Sufficiency — Question of the Day
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August 7, 2021Data Sufficiency — Question of the Day
Explanation
Statement (1)
This does not give us the value of y, so this statement is insufficient. The answer is B, C, or E.
Statement (2)
This does not give us the value of x, so this statement is insufficient. The answer is C or E.
Statement (1 & 2)
Statement (1) factors into (x − 2)(x + 1) = 0, and x = −1 or 2. (Check out this blog post if you've forgotten how to factor quadratic equations.) Since we have two values for x, and Statement (2) does not narrow it down since it says nothing about x, even if we had a single value for y from Statement (2) we would not have a unique answer to the question. Both statements together are not sufficient.
The correct answer is E.
This does not give us the value of y, so this statement is insufficient. The answer is B, C, or E.
Statement (2)
This does not give us the value of x, so this statement is insufficient. The answer is C or E.
Statement (1 & 2)
Statement (1) factors into (x − 2)(x + 1) = 0, and x = −1 or 2. (Check out this blog post if you've forgotten how to factor quadratic equations.) Since we have two values for x, and Statement (2) does not narrow it down since it says nothing about x, even if we had a single value for y from Statement (2) we would not have a unique answer to the question. Both statements together are not sufficient.
The correct answer is E.