Official Guide Explanation:
Data Sufficiency #39

 

 

Background

This is just one of hundreds of free explanations I've created to the quantitative questions in The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review (2nd ed.). Click the links on the question number, difficulty level, and categories to find explanations for other problems.

These are the same explanations that are featured in my "Guides to the Official Guide" PDF booklets. However, because of the limitations of HTML and cross-browser compatibility, some mathematical concepts, such as fractions and roots, do not display as clearly online.

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Solution and Metadata

Question: 39
Page: 155
Difficulty: 5 (Moderate)
Category 1: Arithmetic > Properties of Integers > Primes
Category 2: Arithmetic > Properties of Integers > Evens and Odds

Explanation: The question stem is basically asking whether p has at least four factors. (1, itself, and two numbers whose product is p.) The only numbers with fewer than four factors are prime numbers (which have two factors) and the squares of prime numbers (which have three factors).

Statement (1) is sufficient: no number in the range given is a prime or the square of a prime, so the answer must be "yes." Statement (2) is insufficient: there are plenty of odd prime numbers, and there are plenty of odd numbers with four or more factors. Choice (A) is correct.

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