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tanishqgirotra
Hi bunuel, can we not cancel out the squares from both sides initially only ?­
­Hi Tanisha,

If \(a^2 = b^2\)
then ±a = ±b
i.e. a = ±b or |a| = |b| (Correct Inference)

Please don't get confused with 
\(a^2 = b^2\) means a = b (It would be wrong inference)

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GMATinsight given that a^2 = b^2 and statement 2 says both a and b are are positive can you please help explain why (a-b) is not equal to zero?

My Wroking

(ax+by)2=(bx+ay)2
a^2=b^2
(A-B)(A+B)=0

Statement 1 - Insufficient
Satatement 2 - Since Both A and B Positive therefore a-b = 0 sufficient
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thakur91
If \((ax + by)^2 = (bx + ay)^2\), what is the value of \(a – b\) ?

(1) \(x^2 > y^2\)

(2) a and b are positive integers.­

GMATinsight given that a^2 = b^2 and statement 2 says both a and b are are positive can you please help explain why (a-b) is not equal to zero?

My Wroking

(ax+by)2=(bx+ay)2
a^2=b^2
(A-B)(A+B)=0

Statement 1 - Insufficient
Satatement 2 - Since Both A and B Positive therefore a-b = 0 sufficient
From the stem we don't have that a^2 = b^2. We have \((x^2-y^2)(a^2-b^2) = 0\), thus \(a^2 = b^2\) OR \(x^2 = y^2\). From (2) knowing that  a and b are positive integers, implies that \(a = b\), giving \(a - b = 0\), OR \(x = y\), OR \(x = -y\).

P.S. Worth noting though that such type of 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

Hope it helps.­
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tanishqgirotra
Hi bunuel, can we not cancel out the squares from both sides initially only ?­

No. m^2 = n^2 does not mean that m = n; we could have m = n or m = -n. We could take the square root from the statements to get |m| = |n|, though (recall that \sqrt{x^2}=|x|).­
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