Manhattan Strategy Guide problem- Geometry DS

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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:34 am
radhika88 wrote:Hello friends,
Need your help with this DS problem.

Line L passes through points R (0, -5 ) and S (4,0)(see figure below). Point P with coordinates (x, y) is a point on Line L Is xy > 0?
(1) x > 4
(2) y > - 5

Many thanks in advance!
Image
Target question: Is xy > 0?

Given: Point P with coordinates (x, y) is on Line L

Statement 1: x > 4
If point P is on Line L AND x > 4, then point P can be anywhere on the portion of the line (shown below in red)
Image
Notice that, for any point on the red part of the line, the x- and y-coordinates will both be positive.
So, it must be the case that xy > 0
Since we can answer the target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: y > - 5
So, point P can be anywhere on the red line (shown below)
Image

There are many points that meet this condition. Here are two:
Case a: point P is here:
Image
In this case, the x-coordinate of P is positive and the y-coordinate is negative, which means xy < 0


Case b: point P is here:
Image
In this case, the x-coordinate of P is positive and the y-coordinate is positive, which means xy > 0

Since we cannot answer the target question with certainty, statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer = A

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by rishianand7 » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:26 am
The line passes through 2 points - (4,0) and (0.-5)
The slope can be calculated using the formula (y2 - y1)/(x2-x1)

Thus slope equals - (-5-0)/(0-4) which is 5/4 (m= 5/4)

Since the line intersects the y axis at point (0,-5), the y intercept is equal to -5 (c= -5)

Using the general form of the equation of a line - y = mx + c

The equation of the line can be determined -> 5x - 4y = 20

Now we have to find out whether xy>0

1) x>4

Take x=5 and substitute in the equation 5x - 4y = 20

y will be equal to 5/4

when x=10 y will be 7.5
when x=20 y will be 20

In each case xy>0 since both x and y are positive

2) y>-5

Take y = -4

x will be equal to 4/5

when y = -1, x will be 16/5 thus xy is negative
when y = 20, x will be 20 thus xy is positive

Hence this statement is not sufficient

Answer - A