If the symbol # represents either addition, subtraction

Question

If the symbol # represents either addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, what is the value of 6#2?

(1) 10#5 = 2
(2) 4#2 = 2

Bunuel · Answer

If the symbol # represents either addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, what is the value of 6#2?

(1)10#5 = 2 --> # can only be division, hence 6#2=6/2=3. Sufficient.

(2) 4#2 = 2 --> # can be either division or subtraction: if it's division then 6#2=6/2=3 but if it's subtraction then 6#2=6-2=4. Two different answers, not sufficient.

Answer: A.

PTK · Answer

I do not think this to be 600-700 level question. Bunuel is the Best

Raths · Answer

this is a tricky one...

LT2018 · Answer

I cannot see the options for the answers, can anybody help!

Bunuel · Answer

This is a data sufficiency question. Options for DS questions are always the same.

The data sufficiency problem consists of a question and two statements, labeled (1) and (2), in which certain data are given. You have to decide whether the data given in the statements are sufficient for answering the question. Using the data given in the statements, plus your knowledge of mathematics and everyday facts (such as the number of days in July or the meaning of the word counterclockwise), you must indicate whether—

A. Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
B. Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked.
C. BOTH statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question asked, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked.
D. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked.
E. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question asked, and additional data specific to the problem are needed.

I suggest you to go through the following posts: 
 ALL YOU NEED FOR QUANT .
 Ultimate GMAT Quantitative Megathread

Hope this helps.

KrishnakumarKA1 · Answer

Solution:

Given:  “#” represents one of the following operations such as; addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. 
 To find:  Value of 6#2, which means which operation does “#” holds.

Analysis of statement 1:   10 # 5 = 2 
Let’s plug in the different operations for “#” and let’s see which yields 2 as the answer.
 10#5 = 10+ 2 = 12 ≠2
 10#5 = 10 - 5 = 5 ≠2
 10#5 = 10 × 5 = 50 ≠2
 10#5 = 10 ÷ 2 = 2
From statement 1 it is clear that “#” hold division operation, therefore we can get the answer for 
6#2 = 6 ÷2=3. Hence statement 1 is sufficient. We can eliminate options B, C and D.

Analysis of statement 2:   4 # 2 = 2 
Let’s plug in the different operations for “#” and let’s see which yields 2 as the answer
 4#2 =4+ 2 = 6 ≠2
 4#2 =4-2 = 2=2
 4#2 = 4 × 2 = 8 ≠2
 4#2 = 4 ÷ 2 = 2
From statement 2 it is clear that “#” hold both subtraction and division operation, therefore we will be getting two different answers. 
 6#2 = 6 – 2 = 4
 6#2 = 6÷2 = 3
Hence statement 2 is not sufficient to answer. We can eliminate options D.

So, the correct answer option is “A”.

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If the symbol # represents either addition, subtraction

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GMAT Data Sufficiency (DS) Questions

If the symbol # represents either addition, subtraction

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