Doubt on geometry statements

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vinni.k: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 421; Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:27 am; Location: India; Thanked: 6 times; Followed by:2 members; GMAT Score:620

Doubt on geometry statements

by vinni.k » Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:14 am

Hi All,

I have a general cum conceptual question on the wording of the following sentences. Are the wordings of the following two sentences similar ?

(1). A rectangular plot is half as long again as it is broad and its area is 2/3 hectares. Then its length is ?

(2).A rectangular garden is to be twice as long as it is wide. If 360 yards of fencing, including the gate, will completely enclose the garden, what will be the length of the garden, in yards?

It looks similar to me, but i have a very different explanation for (1) in comparison to (2). What are the right ways of expressing these statements ?

Thanks & Regards
Vinni

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:14 am

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Anju@Gurome: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 511; Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:47 am; Location: Delhi, India; Thanked: 344 times; Followed by:86 members

by Anju@Gurome » Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:18 am

vinni.k wrote:(1). A rectangular plot is half as long again as it is broad

I guess there won't be any 'again'.
Otherwise, this means length of the plot is half of its breadth, i.e. length = (breadth)/2

vinni.k wrote:(2).A rectangular garden is to be twice as long as it is wide.

This means length of the garden is twice its width, i.e. length = 2*(width)

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vinni.k: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 421; Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:27 am; Location: India; Thanked: 6 times; Followed by:2 members; GMAT Score:620

by vinni.k » Sat Apr 27, 2013 6:54 am

Anju@Gurome wrote:
vinni.k wrote:(1). A rectangular plot is half as long again as it is broad
I guess there won't be any 'again'.
Otherwise, this means length of the plot is half of its breadth, i.e. length = (breadth)/2

'again' is in the sentence. A bit confusing and shouldn't be in the sentence. Moreover the explanation that i have says L = x + (1/2)x = (3/2)x. I think it is wrong. What are your thoughts ?

Thanks
Vinni

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Anju@Gurome: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 511; Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:47 am; Location: Delhi, India; Thanked: 344 times; Followed by:86 members

by Anju@Gurome » Sat Apr 27, 2013 7:38 am

vinni.k wrote:'again' is in the sentence. A bit confusing and shouldn't be in the sentence. Moreover the explanation that i have says L = x + (1/2)x = (3/2)x. I think it is wrong. What are your thoughts ?

I've never seen such phrase which is used to mean that in any maths problem.
A proper GMAT problem would have said "the length of the plot is 50% more than the width" or something like that.

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vinni.k: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 421; Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:27 am; Location: India; Thanked: 6 times; Followed by:2 members; GMAT Score:620

by vinni.k » Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:03 am

Anju@Gurome wrote:
I've never seen such phrase which is used to mean that in any maths problem.
A proper GMAT problem would have said "the length of the plot is 50% more than the width" or something like that.

I completely agree with you, and this is the exact wording that i was looking for this type of expression.

The answer explanation that i have is flawed.

Thanks and appreciate for your help.

Regards
Vinni

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm; Thanked: 1443 times; Followed by:247 members

by ceilidh.erickson » Fri May 03, 2013 12:52 pm

"Half as long again" or "half again as long" is a colloquialism (mostly British, I believe, though I'm not entirely sure. It certainly sounds very old-fashioned to my American ears) that means "50% longer than." I have never seen this expression used on the GMAT, and I am nearly certain that you never would. Idiomatic language is only tested on SC, not on quant, and even then this type of idiom wouldn't be tested.

Also, I've never seen a GMAT problem that said "broad" rather than "wide." "Broad" wouldn't necessarily be incorrect, but it's just less commonly used in American English. (Also, the GMAT would probably never use "hectares"). My recommendation would be to stop studying from this source, as it clearly is not well steeped in GMAT language.

To your question about the solution... if length is 50% greater than the width (breadth), then:
L = 1.5W --> L = (3/2)W --> W = (2/3)L
L*W = 2/3
L*(2/3)L = 2/3
L^2 = 1
L = 1

So, that wasn't incorrect.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education