Hi All,
While this question can be solved Algebraically, it can also be solved by TESTing VALUES and taking some basic notes:
We're given a series of facts to work with:
1) A certain high school has 5,000 students.
2) Of these students:
X are taking music,
Y are taking art, and
Z are taking BOTH music and art.
We're asked how many students are taking NEITHER music nor art?
Let's TEST
X = 2
Y = 2
Z = 1
So, we have 2 students taking music, 2 taking art and 1 taking BOTH music and art. That 1 person has been counted TWICE though (once in the music 'group' and once in the art 'group'), so what we really have is...
1 student taking JUST music
1 student taking JUST art
1 student taking BOTH music and art
Total = 3 students
We're asked for the total number of students who are taking NEITHER Course. That is 5000 - 3 = 4997. So that's the answer that we're looking for when X=2, Y=2 and Z=1. There's only one answer that matches...
Final Answer:
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich