Inequalities with Exponential Functions
CAT 2023 Slot 3 · Quantitative Ability · Hard · Algebra
This is a hard Quantitative Ability question from the CAT 2023 Slot 3 paper. It tests Algebra. The full answer key and a step-by-step explanation are below — try it yourself first, then reveal the solution.
Let be any natural number such that . Then, the least integer value of that satisfies for each such , is
Answer
5
Explanation
First, find the range of natural numbers satisfying :
Testing natural numbers :
- (True)
- (True)
- (True)
- (True)
- (True)
- (False)
So .
We need to hold for all . Since increases as increases, the strongest condition occurs at :
Since and , we need:
Thus, the least integer value of is .
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