Bunuel
Let m and n be positive integers. Is mn > 100?
(1) m < 100n
(2) m – n = 101
Target question: Is mn > 100? Given: m and n are positive integers. Statement 1: m < 100n This statement doesn't FEEL sufficient, so let's TEST some values.
There are several values of m and n that satisfy statement 1. Here are two:
Case a: m = 1 and n = 1. This satisfies statement 1. In this case,
mn = (1)(1) = 1. So, mn < 100Case b: m = 1 and n = 200. This satisfies statement 1. In this case,
mn = (1)(200) = 200. So, mn > 100Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Aside: For more on this idea of plugging in values when a statement doesn't feel sufficient, you can read my article: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/dat ... lug-values Statement 2: m – n = 101Add n to both sides to get: m = 101 + n
Since n is a positive integer, we know that n must be greater than or equal to 1.
Since m = 101 + n, we can conclude that
m is greater than or equal to 102.
In other words, the
SMALLEST value of mn is 102 (when n = 1 and m = 102)
So, mn must be greater than or equal to 102.
This means we can be certain that
mn > 100Since we can answer the
target question with certainty, statement 2 is SUFFICIENT
Answer: B
Cheers,
Brent