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Is there an algebraic approach to solve this question, because, in hit and trial based method, for statement-1,if you miss taking b = 1, then in all other cases, statement-1 appears to be sufficient for answering. So just curious if there is surefire way to solve this rather than serendipitously stumble across all such peculiar hit and trial cases in actual exam?
Bunuel would appreciate your expertise here
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XLmafia21
Is there an algebraic approach to solve this question, because, in hit and trial based method, for statement-1,if you miss taking b = 1, then in all other cases, statement-1 appears to be sufficient for answering. So just curious if there is surefire way to solve this rather than serendipitously stumble across all such peculiar hit and trial cases in actual exam?
Bunuel would appreciate your expertise here

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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