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philipssonicare
What is the question source?

Please provide an explanation that is step-by-step.

With only 25% correct so far, is this a 700 level question or out of scope?

philipssonicare The explanation provided by nick1816 is correct above.
Please refer to that.

\(x^2-y^2 = (x+y)(x-y)\)
\(x^3-y^3 = (x-y)(x^2+y^2+xy)\)
\(x^3+y^3 = (x+y)(x^2+y^2-xy)\)

None of the concepts used in this question are OUT OF SCOPE of GMAT exam.
Don't you know above formulas?
Or Greatest prime factor?
Or difference?

What makes this question difficult is application of more than one concept.
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If x = \(11^6 - 7^6\) and y = \(7^6 - 3^6\) , then what is the difference between greatest prime factor of x & greatest prime factor of y?

A. 168
B. 48
C. 6
D. 60
E. 210

Using the difference of squares, we have:

x = (11^3 - 7^3)(11^3 + 7^3) = (1331 - 343)(1331 + 343) = (988)(1674) = (2^2 × 13 × 19) x (2 x 3^3 x 31)

We see that the largest prime factor of x is 31.

Similarly, using the difference of squares for y, we have:

y = (7^3 - 3^3)(7^3 + 3^3) = (343 - 27)(343 + 27) = (316)(370) = (2^2 x 79) x (2 x 5 x 37)

We see that the largest prime factor of y is 79. Therefore, the difference between their largest prime factors is 79 - 31 = 48.

Answer: B
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Can yourself finish the question in 2 mins?
I think this question is out of scope, not because of the application of cubic sum formula, but because the numbers are not set properly. You should have used smaller prime numbers.
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