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If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the followi

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If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the followi

by Max@Math Revolution » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:14 am
If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the following positions is n?

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A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
E. E


* A solution will be posted in two days.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Apr 04, 2016 7:49 am
Max@Math Revolution wrote:If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the following positions is n?

Image

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
E. E


* A solution will be posted in two days.
This is a very confusing question. That said, what conclusions can we make about n?

We're told that 1/n < -2
This means that 1/n is NEGATIVE, which means n must be negative.
If we multiply both sides of the inequality by n we get: 1 > -2n

Aside: notice that we REVERSED the inequality because we multiplied both sides by a NEGATIVE value. For more on this, see our free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat ... /video/979

Now let's divide both sides by -2 to get -1/2 < n
Also, since we know that n is NEGATIVE, we can conclude that -1/2 < n < 0

So, ANY value of n such that -1/2 < n < 0 will satisfy the condition that 1/n < -2

How does relate to the answer choices? I have no idea. The question is strangely worded.

Cheers,
Brent
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by Max@Math Revolution » Wed Apr 06, 2016 5:17 am
Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:
Max@Math Revolution wrote:If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the following positions is n?

Image

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
E. E


* A solution will be posted in two days.
This is a very confusing question. That said, what conclusions can we make about n?

We're told that 1/n < -2
This means that 1/n is NEGATIVE, which means n must be negative.
If we multiply both sides of the inequality by n we get: 1 > -2n

Aside: notice that we REVERSED the inequality because we multiplied both sides by a NEGATIVE value. For more on this, see our free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat ... /video/979

Now let's divide both sides by -2 to get -1/2 < n
Also, since we know that n is NEGATIVE, we can conclude that -1/2 < n < 0

So, ANY value of n such that -1/2 < n < 0 will satisfy the condition that 1/n < -2

How does relate to the answer choices? I have no idea. The question is strangely worded.

Cheers,
Brent

Hi,

Right. C is on the left side of 0, not indicating 0.
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by Max@Math Revolution » Wed Apr 06, 2016 5:31 am
If the reciprocal of n is less than -2, which of the following positions is n?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
E. E


-> 1/n<-2 and from 0>n>1/-2=-1/2, the range that it satisfies is C.
Therefore, the answer is C.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Apr 06, 2016 9:52 am
Max@Math Revolution wrote: Right. C is on the left side of 0, not indicating 0.
I see.
The question could still use a few tweaks to make it more GMAT-like.
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