GMAT Practice Question: If x and y are integers and x-y is odd, which of the following must be true? I. x y...
Question
If x and y are integers and x-y is odd, which of the following must be true? I. x y is even. II. x^2+y^2 is odd. III. (x+y)^2 is even.
- I only
- II only
- III only
- I and II only
- I, II, and III
Topics: odds/evens, development formulas, number theory, must be true statements
Solution
Step 1
We first note that x-y is odd only when one of x and y is odd and the other is even. We translate "x - y is odd" accordingly.
x is odd and y is even x is even and y is odd
Step 2
For statement I, since one of x and y is even and the other is odd, their product must be even.
xy = odd even = even xy = even odd = even
Step 3
For statement II, squaring preserves parity, and then adding an odd and an even yields an odd result.
x^2 = odd odd = odd y^2 = even even = even x^2 + y^2 = odd + even = odd
Step 4
For statement III, adding an odd and an even gives an odd, and squaring an odd gives an odd, so (x+y)^2 is odd, not even.
x + y = odd + even = odd (x+y)^2 = odd odd = odd
Answer
I and II only
