Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized for You
we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Track Your Progress
every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance
Practice Pays
we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Thank you for using the timer!
We noticed you are actually not timing your practice. Click the START button first next time you use the timer.
There are many benefits to timing your practice, including:
You might fall for the trap answer, D. You’ll break down 156 into 13 times 12 (and realize that you can’t break 13 down any further so there’s no other way to recombine the prime factors to find consecutive integers with a prime), and note that b has to be 13 and a has to be 12. So choice A is, indeed, sufficient. And then when you get to statement 2 you’ll think – yeah, freebie. 13 is bigger than 12, so it has to be 13. But wait – why can’t it be -12 while a is -13? You’ve fallen into the trap – you assumed negative! Woe is you…why do you keep falling for these traps?!
_________________
Re: The product of consecutive integers a and b is 156. What is the value
[#permalink]
Show Tags
15 Feb 2017, 16:22
2
Bunuel wrote:
The product of consecutive integers a and b is 156. What is the value of b?
(1) b is prime
(2) b > a
We are given that the product of consecutive integers a and b is 156. If we let a = x and b = x + 1 (or vice versa), we can create the following equation:
x(x + 1) = 156
x^2 + x - 156 = 0
(x + 13)(x - 12) = 0
x = -13 or x = 12
Thus, in no particular order, a and b could be -13 and -12 or 12 and 13. We must determine the value of b.
Statement One Alone:
b is prime.
Since no negative numbers can be prime and 12 is not a prime, the only possible value of b is 13. Statement one alone is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement Two Alone:
b > a
Using the information in statement two, b could be 13 or -12. Statement two is not sufficient to answer the question.
Answer: A
_________________
Scott Woodbury-Stewart Founder and CEO
GMAT Quant Self-Study Course 500+ lessons 3000+ practice problems 800+ HD solutions
close
35% (00:53) correct 
