GMATPrepNow wrote:
If x and y are positive INTEGERS, what is the value of x + y?
1) x percent of 300 is equal to y percent of 125
2) y is 140 percent greater than x
Target question: What is the value of x + y? Given: x and y are positive INTEGERS Statement 1: x percent of 300 is equal to y percent of 125 We can write: (x/100)(300) = (y/100)(125)
Simplify: 3x = 1.25y
Divide both sides by 1.25 to get:
2.4x = yThere are several values of x and y that satisfy the equation
2.4x = y. Here are two:
Case a: x = 10 and y = 24. In this case, the answer to the target question is
x + y = 10 + 24 = 34Case b: x = 5 and y = 12. In this case, the answer to the target question is
x + y = 5 + 12 = 17Since we cannot answer the
target question with certainty, statement 1 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statement 2: y is 140 percent greater than x We can write: y = x + 140% of x
In other words: y = x + 1.4x
Simplify:
y = 2.4xDivide both sides by 1.25 to get:
2.4x = yAt this point, we're finished.
This equation (
2.4x = y) is the SAME equation we derived for statement 1.
Since statement 1 is not sufficient, we can conclude that statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT
Statements 1 and 2 combined When we combine the statements, all we know is that
2.4x = yWe already know that this equation is not enough to answer the
target question with certainty.
So, the combined statements are NOT SUFFICIENT
Answer: E
Cheers,
Brent