In this particular question, and only in the case of statement 1 alone, we can indeed cross-multiply the terms because both $x$ and $y$ are given to us as positive numbers, and this means that all of the terms in the inequality are positive. However, if statement 1 was stated as $x \lt y$, then statement 1 alone would no longer be sufficient.
Please watch my video below that illustrates this point with a slightly different example:
why dont you do cross multiplication to simplify?
Hi Ricky,
In this particular question, and only in the case of statement 1 alone, we can indeed cross-multiply the terms because both $x$ and $y$ are given to us as positive numbers, and this means that all of the terms in the inequality are positive. However, if statement 1 was stated as $x \lt y$, then statement 1 alone would no longer be sufficient.
Please watch my video below that illustrates this point with a slightly different example:
Dabral