GMAT Question of the Day - Daily to your Mailbox; hard ones only

 It is currently 22 Apr 2019, 07:33

### GMAT Club Daily Prep

#### Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

# A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?

Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

Manager
Status: Never ever give up on yourself.Period.
Joined: 23 Aug 2012
Posts: 136
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Human Resources
GMAT 1: 570 Q47 V21
GMAT 2: 690 Q50 V33
GPA: 3.5
WE: Information Technology (Investment Banking)
A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

17 Feb 2013, 20:58
9
00:00

Difficulty:

85% (hard)

Question Stats:

42% (01:32) correct 58% (01:31) wrong based on 243 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

A and B are integers, is $$(0.5)^{AB}>1$$ ?

(1) A is positive integer and B is negative integer.

(2) A and B are two consecutive numbers.

_________________
Don't give up on yourself ever. Period.
Beat it, no one wants to be defeated (My journey from 570 to 690) : http://gmatclub.com/forum/beat-it-no-one-wants-to-be-defeated-journey-570-to-149968.html
VP
Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Posts: 1159
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.8
WE: Engineering (Energy and Utilities)
Re: A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

17 Feb 2013, 21:53
Although each statement IS sufficient on its own,the statements are contradictory to each other... Are you sure the question is right?
_________________
Did you find this post helpful?... Please let me know through the Kudos button.

Thanks To The Almighty - My GMAT Debrief

GMAT Reading Comprehension: 7 Most Common Passage Types
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Posts: 9129
Location: Pune, India
Re: A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

18 Feb 2013, 21:41
2
daviesj wrote:
A and B are integers, is $$(0.5)^{AB}>1$$ ?

1. A is positive integer and B is negative integer.

2. A and B are two consecutive numbers.

Is $$(\frac{1}{2})^{AB}>1$$

Notice that when you raise 1/2 to a positive integer power, the value keeps going down.
(1/2)^2 = 1/4;
(1/2)^3 = 1/8;
(1/2)^4 = 1/16 etc

On the other hand, when you raise 1/2 to a negative integer power, you get a value greater than 1 in all cases
(1/2)^(-1) = 2
(1/2)^(-2) = 4
and so on...

When you raise (1/2) to 0, you get 1.

1. A is positive integer and B is negative integer.
This means that AB is a negative integer.
So (1/2)^AB will be greater than 1 in all cases. Answer is Yes. Sufficient.

2. A and B are two consecutive numbers.
The product of two consecutive integers will be either a positive integer or 0. In either case, (1/2)^AB will not be greater than 1. Answer is No. Sufficient.

Notice that the answer obtained from the two statements in definitive in each case but contradictory (statement 1 says yes, 2 says no). This does not happen in actual GMAT questions.
_________________
Karishma
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor

Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Posts: 10587
Re: A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

13 Jul 2017, 04:07
Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
_________________
Re: A and B are integers, is (0.5)^(AB) > 1?   [#permalink] 13 Jul 2017, 04:07
Display posts from previous: Sort by