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avigutman IanStewart do you agree with Veritas' explanation for statement (2) https://gmatclub.com/forum/what-is-the- ... l#p1584699

Wouldn't the GMAT make it clear by stating "the positive difference" between the two digits? In that case, we could consider 13 and 31 as two possibilities... right?
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Hoozan


Wouldn't the GMAT make it clear by stating "the positive difference" between the two digits? In that case, we could consider 13 and 31 as two possibilities... right?

The difference between the two digits is 2
Hoozan do you have reason to believe that this statement is directional? Meaning, the order of the digits is relevant?
The difference in height between the two brothers is 2 inches
What about the two brothers? Would it be the 'older' - 'younger'? What if they're twins?

Even the following two statements have the same meaning:
    i) the difference between x and y is 2
    ii) the difference between y and x is 2

They both translate into |x-y| = |y-x| = 2

I guess this comes down to the meaning of the word "difference". When a difference between two numbers is given, we cannot infer the relative order of those numbers on the number line. All we know is the distance between them.

Having said that, a true GMAT question would absolutely clarify in the question stem that x is a positive integer:
What is the value of the two-digit number positive integer x?
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simonden4
Well, since we are talking about a two digit "number," why can't we take the values such as 1.3 or 3.1? The question doesn't say it has to be an integer. 1.3 is as much a two digit number as 13.

simonden4 A true GMAT question would absolutely clarify in the question stem that x is a positive integer:
What is the value of the two-digit number positive integer x?
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Hoozan
avigutman IanStewart do you agree with Veritas' explanation for statement (2) https://gmatclub.com/forum/what-is-the- ... l#p1584699

Wouldn't the GMAT make it clear by stating "the positive difference" between the two digits? In that case, we could consider 13 and 31 as two possibilities... right?

I do agree with that explanation, though I can't recall a real GMAT question where this issue might be relevant. Usually when we talk about the "difference" in two different real world quantities, we mean the positive difference anyway (or, equivalently, the distance between the two quantities on the number line). You can say "the difference between Canada's GDP and America's GDP is $18 trillion", which tells us those two figures are $18 trillion apart, but doesn't say which is larger. But you can't rewrite that sentence in English using "negative $18 trillion" in place of "$18 trillion".

So when we talk about the difference in two real world quantities, we mean the positive difference, and there's no need to insert the word "positive" to make our meaning clear. But some people insist that an abstract sentence like "the difference of x and y is 3" means "x - y = 3", while a larger number of people would take that sentence to mean "|x - y| = 3" (the positive difference is 3), and since there's no consensus about what that sentence means, I can't imagine the GMAT would ever use it (though if anyone knows of examples of official questions that use a phrase like this, I'd be curious to see them). Sentences like this are easily avoided; one can say "x is 3 greater than y", or "the positive difference of x and y is 3", to convey either of the two possible meanings.
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What is the value of the two-digit number x?
x=ab

(1) The sum of the two digits is 4.
a+b=4
ab can be 40,13, 31, 22
(2) The difference between the two digits is 2.
13, 31, 24,42,35,53,46,64...
Both (1) and (2) -> ab is 13 or 31

Answer is E
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