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Bunuel
If x and y are positive integers, is x a multiple of y?

(1) \(2y^2 + 5y = 3x\)
(2) y is not a multiple of 3.


Project DS Butler Data Sufficiency (DS3)


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This question is a part of Are You Up For the Challenge: 700 Level Questions collection.
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Bunuel
If x and y are positive integers, is x a multiple of y?

(1) \(2y^2 + 5y = 3x\)
(2) y is not a multiple of 3.


Rephrase the question:

Is \(x = i * y\), where \(i\) is an integer?

Statement 1 Alone:

We have \(x = \frac{2y^2 + 5y}{3} = \frac{2y + 5}{3}*y\). We are concerned if \(\frac{2y + 5}{3}\) is an integer. If it is not, then y must be a multiple of 3 as we already know the result \(x\) is an integer. Currently we do not have enough information so this is insufficient.

Statement 2 Alone:

Insufficient.

Both Statements Combined:

Since y is not a multiple of 3, we need \(\frac{2y + 5}{3}\) to be an integer. Thus \(x = i*y\) is a multiple of 3.

Answer: C
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I still get confused with this exercise.

The answer is supposed to be C (Both statements). However I have the following scenarios:
If Y = 5 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 25 and X is in fact a multiple of Y,
If Y = 7 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 133/3 and obviously X is not a multiple of Y.

That's why I chose answer E (not sufficient together).

Hope you could check my racionale.
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when u insert 7 x would not be an integer. So that makes the statement invalid. We should try with values which makes x to become integer
Deska
I still get confused with this exercise.

The answer is supposed to be C (Both statements). However I have the following scenarios:
If Y = 5 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 25 and X is in fact a multiple of Y,
If Y = 7 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 133/3 and obviously X is not a multiple of Y.

That's why I chose answer E (not sufficient together).

Hope you could check my racionale.
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i'm confused about the answer

we are asked to see if x/y is an integer

1) y(2y+5)=3x => (2y+5)/3=x/y
for y=1 we get 7/3 -> not an integer
for y=2 we get 9/3=3 -> integer
1 isn't sufficient

2) this doesn't explain anything about x so it isn't sufficient.

together) the numbers we inserted in 1) were already not multiples of 3 so we don't have any new information. not sufficient.
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Deska
I still get confused with this exercise.

The answer is supposed to be C (Both statements). However I have the following scenarios:
If Y = 5 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 25 and X is in fact a multiple of Y,
If Y = 7 (not a multiple of 3), then X = 133/3 and obviously X is not a multiple of Y.

That's why I chose answer E (not sufficient together).

Hope you could check my racionale.

y cannot be 7 because we are told that x is an integer, and this value of y does not produce an integer value for x.
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pipet
If x and y are positive integers, is x a multiple of y?
(1) \(2y^2 + 5y = 3x\)
(2) y is not a multiple of 3.

i'm confused about the answer

we are asked to see if x/y is an integer

1) y(2y+5)=3x => (2y+5)/3=x/y
for y=1 we get 7/3 -> not an integer
for y=2 we get 9/3=3 -> integer
1 isn't sufficient

2) this doesn't explain anything about x so it isn't sufficient.

together) the numbers we inserted in 1) were already not multiples of 3 so we don't have any new information. not sufficient.

When we combine the statements, we get that x = (2y + 5)/3 * y and y is not a multiple of 3. Now, since y is not a multiple of 3 and we know that x is an integer, (2y + 5)/3 must itself be a multiple of 3, making it an integer. Therefore, x = integer * y, which means x is a multiple of y.

P.S. Pure algebraic questions are no longer a part of the DS syllabus of the GMAT.

DS questions in GMAT Focus encompass various types of word problems, such as:

  • Word Problems
  • Work Problems
  • Distance Problems
  • Mixture Problems
  • Percent and Interest Problems
  • Overlapping Sets Problems
  • Statistics Problems
  • Combination and Probability Problems

While these questions may involve or necessitate knowledge of algebra, arithmetic, inequalities, etc., they will always be presented in the form of word problems. You won’t encounter pure "algebra" questions like, "Is x > y?" or "A positive integer n has two prime factors..."

Check GMAT Syllabus for Focus Edition

You can also visit the Data Sufficiency forum and filter questions by OG 2024-2025, GMAT Prep (Focus), and Data Insights Review 2024-2025 sources to see the types of questions currently tested on the GMAT.

So, you can ignore this question.

Hope it helps.­
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