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Q.24, Problem Solving, GMAT Review 13th Edition

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by Priyaranjan » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:59 pm
A B C D E
-------------------------
-2 -1 0 1 2
Of the five coordinates associated with points A,B,C,D & E on the number line above, which has the greatest absolute value?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E

The answer given in the OG is option A.

But, the absolute value of both -2 & 2 is same. So, how come the answer can be A.

Can anybody clarify the same.

Thanks
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by GMATGuruNY » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:04 am
Absolute value = DISTANCE FROM 0.
Unless otherwise noted, PS figures are DRAWN TO SCALE.
Here is the actual figure in the OG13:

Image

Of the five points, A is the farthest from 0.

The correct answer is A.

Since E is slightly to the LEFT OF 2, its absolute value is LESS than A's.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:13 am
As Mitch notes, the diagrams in problem solving questions are DRAWN TO SCALE unless stated otherwise.
We have a free video on this topic as well as other assumptions we can make about diagrams on the GMAT: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-geometry?id=863

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by Jeff@TargetTestPrep » Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:14 am
Priyaranjan wrote:A B C D E
-------------------------
-2 -1 0 1 2
Of the five coordinates associated with points A,B,C,D & E on the number line above, which has the greatest absolute value?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E

The answer given in the OG is option A.

But, the absolute value of both -2 & 2 is same. So, how come the answer can be A.

Can anybody clarify the same.

Thanks

Image

Solution:

Before attacking this question, we want to review what "absolute value" means. The absolute value of a number measures or is the distance that number is from zero on the number line.

Let's say we are comparing the absolute values of -100 and 90; we'd say that -100 has THE GREATER ABSOLUTE VALUE. It has the greater absolute value because |-100| = 100 and |90| = 90. Notice that 100 is farther away from zero than 90 is.

In regard to this question, we can see that A (notice that A = 2) is farther from zero than any other answer choice. If we were to estimate E, we could say it's about 1.8. That is slightly closer to zero than A is, because the distance of A from 0 is |-2| = 2.

The answer is A

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