Bunuel
If xy > 0, is \((xy)^2<\sqrt{xy}\) ?
(1) 4/x > 7y
(2) x − 16 > −16
Both sides of the inequality in the question stem are positive.
Implication:
We can safely square both sides, with the following result:
Is \((xy)^4 < xy\) ?
The answer will be YES only if 0<xy<1.
Question stem, rephrased:
Is 0<xy<1?
Statement 1:
Case 1: x and y are both negative
Multplying both sides by x and flipping the inequality, we get:
4 < 7xy
4/7 < xy
If xy=0.9, then the answer to the rephrased question stem is YES.
If xy=1, then the answer to the rephrased question stem is NO.
INSUFFICIENT.
Statement 2:
Adding 16 to both sides, we get:
x>0
No information about y.
INSUFFICIENT.
Statements combined:
Since x is positive, multiplying both sides of Statement 1 by x yields the following:
4 > 7xy
4/7 > xy
Since xy>0 and xy < 4/7, we know that 0<x<1.
Thus, the answer to the rephrased qustion stem is YES.
SUFFICIENT.