Kushchokhani wrote:
If \(x\neq{0}\), is \(x^{-y}\)>0?
1. y<0
2. x<0
Target question: Is \(x^{-y}\)>0When I scan the two statements, they both feel insufficient, AND I’m pretty sure I can identify some cases with conflicting answers to the
target question. So, I’m going to head straight to……
Statements 1 and 2 combined There are several values of \(x\) and \(y\) that satisfy BOTH statements. Here are two:
Case a: \(x = -1\) and \(y = -1\). In this case, \(x^{-y}=(-1)^{-(-1)}=(-1)^{1}=-1\), which means the answer to the target question is
NO, \(x^{-y}\) is not greater than 0Case b: \(x = -1\) and \(y = -2\). In this case, \(x^{-y}=(-1)^{-(-2)}=(-1)^{2}=1\), which means the answer to the target question is
YES, \(x^{-y}\) is greater than 0Since we can’t answer the
target question with certainty, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
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Brent Hanneson – Creator of gmatprepnow.com
