BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0559 reviews
Vote for Target Test Prep, Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards 2026
NEWSWEEK READERS’ CHOICE 2026

BIG NEWS! Target Test Prep has been nominated, and they’d love your vote!

TTP has worked incredibly hard to build the best test prep experience possible, and winning Newsweek’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Test Prep would mean a lot to them. If TTP has helped you, they’d be incredibly grateful for your vote. You can vote once each day through September 9.

Vote for TTP
GMATLiveTeach 7 seats left
Chris Peckover
NEXT LIVE COHORT

Oct 13 to Jan 7, 2027

with Chris Peckover

Schedule
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Included
40 live hours + 6 months of GMAT OnDemand
  • Live instruction and real-time questions
  • Class recordings and assigned practice
View class & enroll
Limited cohort · enrollment openTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeach 5 seats left
Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll
Limited cohort · enrollment openTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

800 lvl problem.

Expert replies
by abcdefg » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:12 am
In the rectangular coordinate system, are the points (a, b) and (c, d) equidistant from the origin?

(1) a/b = c/d

(2) Square root of (a^2) + Square root of (b^2) = Square root of (c^2) + square root of (d^2).

The correct answer is C . Just wondering if anybody has some good insight on how to solving this problem using shortcuts. It would take me over 5 minutes to logic out all the scenarios.
Last edited by abcdefg on Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Join the discussion
Source: — Data Sufficiency |

by mike22629 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:26 am
First of all, unless im mistaken the answer is B, assuming you wrote the question down wrong (which im pretty sure that you did)

sqrt of a^2 + sqrt of b^2 = a + b

I assume you mean sqrt (a^2+ b^2). Am I right with this assumption?

Assuming I am right, here is my reasoning:

What is the question asking?

A,B equidistant from origin to C,D

What does that mean? Use pythagoreom thereom (a^2 + b^2 = c^2)
(c = distance from origin)



So question is asking...
does sqrt of (a^2 + b^2) = sqrt of (c^2 + d^2)?

This is exactly what Statement B tells you


For A.) Can not see how that is sufficient

If A=8, B=2, D = 4, C = 1

point (8,2) is certainly not equidistant from origin compared to (4,1)

Can you double check question?
Join the discussion

by sreak1089 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:33 am
Correct me if I am wrong, IMO answer is B.

stmt # 1 says:
a/b = c/d
Lets take coordinates (a,b) that satisfies stmt # 1
(2,4) & (c,d) = (-2,-4) In this case, (a,b) & (c,d) are indeed
equidistant.

However, lets take coordinates (a,b) = (2, 4) & (c,d) = (4,8) such that
Distance of (a,b) from origin would be sqrt(20) and distance of (c,d)
would be sqrt(80)

Hence stmt # 1 NOT SUFFICIENT

stmt # 2 says:

a^2 + b^2 == c^2 + d^2 which really implies that both the coordinates
are equidistant from the origin if you apply the distance formula

Hence stmt # 2 SUFFICIENT.

Ans in my opinion B
Join the discussion

by abcdefg » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:42 am
Sorry I made the mistake. I've corrected it in my original post. The right answer is C .

To find the distance from the origin, we simply take the square root of the sum of the squared x- and y-coordinates, i.e. .

(1) INSUFFICIENT: This simply tells us that the proportions between the x- and y-coordinates of both points are the same. E.g. take a = 5, b = 10, c = 6 and d = 12. The proportions are the same but the coordinate points are not the same distance from the origin. Conversely, if a = 5, b = 10, c = -5 and d = -10, then the proportions are equal and the coordinate points are the same distance from the origin.

(2) INSUFFICIENT: By simplifying the expression, we get |a| + |b| = |c| + |d|. This is not enough to tell if the points are equidistant. E.g. take a = 11, b = 1, c = 6 and d = 6. The expression |a| + |b| = |c| + |d| is true but the coordinate points are not the same distance from the origin. Conversely, if a = -6, b = 6, c = 6 and d = 6, then the given expression is true and the coordinate points are the same distance from the origin.

(1) AND (2) SUFFICIENT: Together the statements are sufficient. Why? If we know the proportion of a to b is the same as c to d and that |a| + |b| = |c| + |d|, then it must be the case that |a| = |c| and |b| = |d|. Plugging this into our distance formula, we get:

= ; Plug in |a| = |c| and |b| = |d| to get:
=

This is enough to show that the two points are equidistant.

The correct answer is C.
Join the discussion

by sreak1089 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:58 am
oh yeah .. you are right I didn't read qn properly
it was sqrt(a^2) + sqrt(b^2) ..................
Join the discussion

by abcdefg » Fri Jul 10, 2009 7:06 am
are there any cues or shortcuts I can take to do this question?
Join the discussion

by prindaroy » Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:28 pm
To prove they are equidistant we must show that

a^2 + b^2 = c^2 + d^2

So,

we know that 1 and 2 alone are not sufficient.

but together we know that, ad = bc

we also know that a + b = c + d, since sqrt(a^2)+sqrt(b^2)=sqrt(c^2)+sqrt(d^2)

Now, a + b = c + d becomes a - d = c - b

Square both sides to get;

a^2 - 2ad - d^2 = c^2 - 2bc +b^2

ad = bc, so 2ad and 2bc cancel out; and we have that a^2 - b^2 = c^2 - d^2,

so it must be true that a^2 + b^2 = c^2 + d^2

hence they are equidistant since a/b = c/d
Join the discussion

by real2008 » Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:20 pm
abcdefg wrote:Sorry I made the mistake. I've corrected it in my original post. The right answer is C .

To find the distance from the origin, we simply take the square root of the sum of the squared x- and y-coordinates, i.e. .

(1) INSUFFICIENT: This simply tells us that the proportions between the x- and y-coordinates of both points are the same. E.g. take a = 5, b = 10, c = 6 and d = 12. The proportions are the same but the coordinate points are not the same distance from the origin. Conversely, if a = 5, b = 10, c = -5 and d = -10, then the proportions are equal and the coordinate points are the same distance from the origin.

(2) INSUFFICIENT: By simplifying the expression, we get |a| + |b| = |c| + |d|. This is not enough to tell if the points are equidistant. E.g. take a = 11, b = 1, c = 6 and d = 6. The expression |a| + |b| = |c| + |d| is true but the coordinate points are not the same distance from the origin. Conversely, if a = -6, b = 6, c = 6 and d = 6, then the given expression is true and the coordinate points are the same distance from the origin.

(1) AND (2) SUFFICIENT: Together the statements are sufficient. Why? If we know the proportion of a to b is the same as c to d and that |a| + |b| = |c| + |d|, then it must be the case that |a| = |c| and |b| = |d|. Plugging this into our distance formula, we get:

= ; Plug in |a| = |c| and |b| = |d| to get:
=

This is enough to show that the two points are equidistant.

The correct answer is C.
I need a clarification:

As per your explanation I understand square root (x^2) is x and not -x.
Is my understanding correct?
Join the discussion