Bunuel
What is the value of j + k?
(1) mj + mk = 2m
(2) 5j + 5k = 10
Kudos for a correct solution.
VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTIONSolution: B.
While statement 1 may look sufficient at first, recognize that m could be 0 and the statement would be satisfied regardless of j and k. For example, j could be 9 and k could be 11, but if m is 0 the equation would be: 0(9) + 0(11) = 2(0). If m is not 0, then j + k must equal 2, as you could simply divide both sides by m to get j + k = 2. Because you can get multiple answers to the question, statement 1 is not sufficient.
Statement 2 is sufficient, as you can divide both sides by 5 to get j + k = 2. And remember to ask “Why Are You Here?” for statement 2. The fact that statement 2 is quite clearly sufficient should demonstrate to you that the difficulty in this question lies within statement 1. Statement 2 here is an invitation to go back and spend more time on statement 1 if you inadvertently just divided both sides by m and called it “sufficient”.