If x and y are integers, is xy greater than 0?
(1) x^2 is greater than 0.
(2) y^3 < –9
There are 2 variables (x,y) in the original condition. In order to match the number of variables to the number of equations, we need 2 more equations. Since the condition 1) and the condition 2) each has 1 equation, there is high chance that C is the correct answer.
Using both the condition 1) and the condition 2), from x^2>0, we get x=/0. So, when x=-1 and y=-3, the answer is yes. When x=1 and y=-3, the answer is no. Therefore, the condition is not sufficient and the correct answer choice is E.
l For cases where we need 2 more equations, such as original conditions with “2 variables”, or “3 variables and 1 equation”, or “4 variables and 2 equations”, we have 1 equation each in both 1) and 2). Therefore, there is 70% chance that C is the answer, while E has 25% chance. These two are the majority. In case of common mistake type 3,4, the answer may be from A, B or D but there is only 5% chance. Since C is most likely to be the answer using 1) and 2) separately according to DS definition (It saves us time). Obviously there may be cases where the answer is A, B, D or E.