GMAT Math Practice — Algebra Questions
Question
2
What is the value of a ?
| (1) |  a + b = 6 |
| (2) |  b + a = 4 |
| (A) | Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) alone is NOT sufficient. |
| (B) | Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) alone is NOT sufficient. |
| (C) | BOTH statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient. |
| (D) | Each statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question. |
| (E) | Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question. |
Answer and Analysis
The correct response is (E). The two equations given are actually the same equation. (One way to confirm this is to multiply each term in the second equation by .) Given one linear equation in two variables, you cannot determine the value of one variable without knowing the value of the other. Thus, a has an infinite number of possible values.
