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Rephrase the question,

Is x^4 = 16a (where a is a positive integer)

Or is x=2(a^1/4)

So the question simply asks to find if x is even

(1) x^2 is divisible by 20.

If x^2 is even then x must be even

1 is sufficient

(2) x is divisible by 25.

x maynor may not be even

2 is not sufficient

Answer is (A)

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Why x is not equal to 10

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Constraint: x is a positive Integer

To Answer: is \(x^4\), divisible by 16

Statement (1): \(x^2\) is divisible by 20.

For \(x^2\) to be divisible by 20, x has to be any 2 digit number ending in 0, but x \(\neq\) 10. x = 20, 30 and so on


If x = 20, \(x^4\) = 16 * 10,000 and 4000 is divisible by 16.

If x = 30, \(x^4 \)= 81 * 10,000 and 4000 is divisible by 16.

\(x^4 \) for any of the divisors will have a minimum of 4 zeroes in the end and hence wil always be divisible by 16.

Statement (1) is Sufficient.

The answer could be A or D


Statement (2): x is divisible by 25.

For x to be divisible by 25. x = 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 400, 800 and so on.

If x = 25, \(x^4 \) = 390625 and this is not divisible by 16.

If x = 50, \(x^4 \) = 625 * 10,000 and this is divisible by 16.

\(x^4 \) for numbers ending 5 are odd and can never be divisible by 16, whereas \(x^4 \) for x ending with a 0 will always be divisible by 16.

Since we have 2 conflicting statements , Statement (2) is Insufficient.

Option A

Arun Kumar

Could you please reason out the highlighted part? Why x is not equal to 10?
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Could you please reason out the highlighted part? Why x is not equal to 10?

Thank you for pointing it out. A typo on my part, which has been rectified.
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Asked: If x is a positive integer, is x^4 divisible by 16?

(1) x^2 is divisible by 20.
x^4 is divisible by 400 i.e. x^4 is divisible by 16*5^2
SUFFICIENT

(2) x is divisible by 25.
x^4 is divisible by 5^8
It can not be ascertained whether x^4 is divisible by 16 or not
NOT SUFFICIENT

IMO A
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Forget the conventional way to solve DS questions.

We will solve this DS question using the variable approach.

DS question with 1 variable: Let the original condition in a DS question contain 1 variable. Now, 1 variable would generally require 1 equation for us to be able to solve for the value of the variable. We know that each condition would usually give us an equation and Since we need 1 equation to match the numbers of variables and equations in the original condition, the logical answer is D. The answer could be A, B, or D, but the default answer will be D.

To master the Variable Approach, visit https://www.mathrevolution.com and check our lessons and proven techniques to score high in DS questions.

Let’s apply the 3 steps suggested previously. [Watch lessons on our website to master these 3 steps]

Step 1 of the Variable Approach: Modifying and rechecking the original condition and the question.

We have to find whether \(x^4\) is divisible by '6' - where 'x' is a positive integer.

Second and the third step of Variable Approach: From the original condition, we have 1 variable (x).To match the number of variables with the number of equations, we need 1 equation. Since conditions (1) and (2) will provide 1 equation each, D would most likely be the answer.

Let’s take a look at each condition.

Condition(1) tells us that \(x^2\) is divisible by 20.

=> \(x^2\) = 20n => \(x^2\) = 2 * 2 * 5 * n => for x to be an integer, n has to be 5.

=> \(x^2\) = 2 * 2 * 5 * 5 = 100 => x = 10 => \(10^4\) is never divisible by 16

Since the answer is unique NO, condition(1) is sufficient by CMT 1.

Condition(2) tells us 'x' is divisible by '5' .

=> x = 25n

=> For some values of n, x will be divisible by 16 but for some not.


Since the answer is not unique YES or NO, condition(2) is not sufficient by CMT 1.


So, A is the correct answer.

Answer: A
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