Math questions from any Manhattan Prep GMAT Computer Adaptive Test.
AmunaGmat
Course Students
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:50 am
 

DS, some one please help urgently

by AmunaGmat Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:05 am

I got this from MGMAT CAT?

Does line S intersect line segment QR? The segment has Q(1,3) and R(2,2)
(1) The equation of line S is y = -x + 4.
(2) The slope of line S is -1.

Number 1, when I plug the values I got the same points in the x-axis, and I answered yes.
Number 2, lines with the equal slope are parallel, then I answered no,

I chosed D, answers are different but the data is sufficient to answer both questions
But I got it wrong, the QA is A.

am I missing some rules?
RonPurewal
Students
 
Posts: 19744
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
 

Re: DS, some one please help urgently

by RonPurewal Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:07 am

amukelanishiringani Wrote:Number 2, lines with the equal slope are parallel, then I answered no,


statement 1: i'll take it as given that you understand how to do this part, since you correctly deduced that statement 1 is sufficient.
however, there's a much shorter path to that particular conclusion:
just realize that this is ONE LINE, and so, by necessity, the answer to the question must be "definite yes" or "definite no".
in other words, since statement 1 narrows you down to exactly one line, that line either does or doesn't intersect the given segment; there is no possible "maybe" about it.
therefore, sufficient; no need to calculate or deduce anything. that's always nice.

--

statement 2:
yes, as you've correctly deduced, this line has the same slope as the segment in question.
however, there are still two possibilities:
* the line is parallel to the segment (which you took to be the only possibility);
* the line includes (i.e., lies on top of) the segment.
in the latter case, the answer to "do they intersect?" is yes, since "intersect", after all, just means "share at least one point". an intersection doesn't have to mean what it does in normal spoken language (i.e., crossing at some sort of angle and sharing only one point).
so, this is a maybe.
insufficient.

--

this problem is a bit on the "ha! gotcha" side, but it's not so tricky that it would be unreasonable for the real gmat.
malikrulzz
Forum Guests
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:07 am
 

Re: DS, some one please help urgently

by malikrulzz Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:16 am

RonPurewal Wrote:
amukelanishiringani Wrote:Number 2, lines with the equal slope are parallel, then I answered no,


statement 1: since statement 1 narrows you down to exactly one line, that line either does or doesn't intersect the given segment; there is no possible "maybe" about it.
therefore, sufficient; no need to calculate or deduce anything. that's always nice.

--

statement 2:
yes, as you've correctly deduced, this line has the same slope as the segment in question.
however, there are still two possibilities:
* the line is parallel to the segment (which you took to be the only possibility);
* the line includes (i.e., lies on top of) the segment.
in the latter case, the answer to "do they intersect?" is yes, since "intersect", after all, just means "share at least one point". an intersection doesn't have to mean what it does in normal spoken language (i.e., crossing at some sort of angle and sharing only one point).
so, this is a maybe.
insufficient.
quote]

Overlapping can also happen in case 1 as slope is -1 and equaltion is exactly the same
RonPurewal
Students
 
Posts: 19744
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
 

Re: DS, some one please help urgently

by RonPurewal Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:49 am

Overlapping can also happen in case 1 as slope is -1 and equaltion is exactly the same


well, yes. if you take (waste) the time to do the algebra, then you'll find out that, in fact, they do overlap: the segment is contained within the line.

again, though, it is a complete waste of time to figure this out. given statement (1), you have a specified line and a specified segment.
therefore, the answer to the question is either "definite yes" or "definite no"; it can't possibly be "maybe". so we know this is sufficient, and there's no reason to waste the substantial amount of time needed to figure out whether it's "yes" or "no".
malikrulzz
Forum Guests
 
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:03 am
 

Re: DS, some one please help urgently

by malikrulzz Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:34 am

Thanks Ron
JonathanSchneider
ManhattanGMAT Staff
 
Posts: 477
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:40 am
Location: Durham, NC
 

Re: DS, some one please help urgently

by JonathanSchneider Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:43 pm

:)