Please verify this test question

Test Preparation
1

<p>Quantitative</p>

<p>A B
((4^2) + (5^2))^(1/2) ((3^2)+(6^2))^(1/2)</p>

<p>isnt the answer D, not enough info</p>

<p>the roots are + or minus which makes the answer ambiguous</p>

2

<p>I think I read in one of the prep books (Kaplan/Baron/GRE), since x^0.5 is equal to ROOT SIGN of x (sqrt x) it will be positive.</p>

3

<p>According to the Nova Math Prep book:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>In your case, you should only consider the positive roots since you are given X^(1/2). If that was not the case then you would have to consider both positive and negative solutions.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>In most cases, if you are given numbers then you should no longer consider D as a possible answer.</p>

4

<p>I can’t tell what the question is asking. Is it supposed to be an equality?</p>

5

<p>Basically this is the typical comparison problem, where the questions are:</p>

<p>A:
((4^2) + (5^2))^(1/2)</p>

<p>B:
((3^2)+(6^2))^(1/2)</p>

<p>The choices are:
a) A > B
b) A< B
c) A=B
d) Not enough info to determine</p>

<p>Since it’s a positive square root (can be written either sqrtX or X^0.5), the answer MUST be positive only. E.g. 36^0.5 = 6 only, not -6
However, if it’s NOT from a positive square root, e.g. " X^2 = 25, what is X?", the answer can be 5 and -5.</p>

6

<p>The answer is (B).</p>

7

<p>^ I concur Dr. Watson.</p>