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Source: Official Guide for the GMAT 13th Ed. Problem Solving; #157 Official Guide for the GMAT 2015 14th Ed. Problem Solving; #157

1

If 4 - x/2 + x = x, what is the value of x^2 + 3x - 4?

If 4 - x/2 + x = x, what is the value of x^2 + 3x - 4?

1 Explanation

1

Gravatar Mike McGarry, Magoosh Tutor

Dec 28, 2013 • Comment

kiran Chandola

Why did we not factor it further?

Jul 5, 2014 • Reply

Carolyn Shasha, Magoosh Tutor

Hi Swaroop!

Happy to help :) We didn't need to factor it further in this case because we just wanted to know what x^2 + 3x - 4 EQUALS. Once we found that it was equal to 0, that's all we needed - we didn't have to simplify it any further. We just had to find the answer choice that matched - we weren't asked to simplify x^2 + 3x - 4 at all.

Does that clear things up? If not, let me know! :)

Jul 9, 2014 • Reply

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Section 5.3 Problem Solving

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