Distance on the number line

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Distance on the number line

by actofman » Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:11 am
On the number line, the distance between x and y is greater than the distance between x and z. Does z lie between x and y on the number line?
a) xyz < 0
b) xy < 0

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by Anju@Gurome » Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:22 am
actofman wrote:On the number line, the distance between x and y is greater than the distance between x and z. Does z lie between x and y on the number line?

a) xyz < 0
b) xy < 0
Consider the following two cases,
  • x = 2, y = -1, z = 1 ---> YES
    x = 2, y = -1, z = 3 ---> NO
Both of the above cases satisfy both the statements but the answer in the first case is YES and in the second is NO.

The correct answer is E.
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by GMATGuruNY » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:09 am
actofman wrote:On the number line, the distance between x and y is greater than the distance between x and z. Does z lie between x and y on the number line?
a) xyz < 0
b) xy < 0
When no order is specified, consider different -- especially non-alphabetic -- orderings of the given points.

The following case satisfies all of the constraints in the problem:
y=-10..............................0..................z=9.....x=10
Here, z lies between x and y.

The following case satisfies all of the constraints in the problem:
y=-10..............................0..............................x=10....z=11
Here, z does NOT lie between x and y.

Thus, the two statements combined are INSUFFICIENT.

The correct answer is E.
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