BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

GMAT Club Forum DS Question - Right Triangle on a Plane

Expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:53 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 16 times
GMAT Score:780
by 800_or_bust » Tue May 24, 2016 6:03 pm
I have an issue with this question. The credited answer is given as (B), but I believe the correct answer should be (E). Can anybody explain why (B) is correct? Update: See Post #3. I think the correct answer is actually (C). Also note there were no drawings accompanying this, so conceivably any configuration of Triangle ABC should be valid.

PROBLEM M04-12

A, B, C, and D are distinct points on a plane. If triangle ABC is right angled and BD is a height of this triangle, what is the value of AB times BC ?

(1) AB=6

(2) The product of the non-hypotenuse sides is equal to 24.
Last edited by 800_or_bust on Tue May 24, 2016 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
800 or bust!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Data Sufficiency |
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:53 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 16 times
GMAT Score:780

by 800_or_bust » Tue May 24, 2016 6:21 pm
800_or_bust wrote:I have an issue with this question. The credited answer is given as (B), but I believe the correct answer should be (E). Can anybody explain why (B) is correct?

PROBLEM M04-12

A, B, C, and D are distinct points on a plane. If triangle ABC is right angled and BD is a height of this triangle, what is the value of AB times BC ?

(1) AB=6

(2) The product of the non-hypotenuse sides is equal to 24.
Here's an illustration. In both cases, BD is the height of the triangle. In case one, the height is measured from leg BC. And in case two, the height is measured from hypotenuse AC. Note in case one AB is a hypotenuse and in case two AB is a leg.

Image
800 or bust!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:53 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 16 times
GMAT Score:780

by 800_or_bust » Tue May 24, 2016 6:26 pm
I suppose technically you could make the case for (C), i.e. together the two statements are sufficient, because I think (II) would imply AB must be a leg if its length were 6. I don't think there are any possible combinations of legs such that the product of those legs would be 24, and the corresponding hypotenuse is 6. That just doesn't seem plausible. Obviously the hypotenuse cannot be 6, if the legs are 6 and 4. And no other integer values would work. But even something like 5.xxx and 4.xxxx couldn't possibly work, because the sum of their squares would be much greater than 36.

So it may be (C), but definitely not (B) IMO.
800 or bust!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:53 amFollowed by: 4 members
Thanked: 16 times
GMAT Score:780

by 800_or_bust » Wed May 25, 2016 12:38 pm
800_or_bust wrote:I have an issue with this question. The credited answer is given as (B), but I believe the correct answer should be (E). Can anybody explain why (B) is correct? Update: See Post #3. I think the correct answer is actually (C). Also note there were no drawings accompanying this, so conceivably any configuration of Triangle ABC should be valid.

PROBLEM M04-12

A, B, C, and D are distinct points on a plane. If triangle ABC is right angled and BD is a height of this triangle, what is the value of AB times BC ?

(1) AB=6

(2) The product of the non-hypotenuse sides is equal to 24.
So I guess an altitude technically is a line segment from one vertex to any base such that the angle formed between the segments is a 90-degree angle. I have no idea whether "height" and "altitude" are synonymous in this sense. The question specified "a height" - not sure if that implies altitude or not? Would a GMAT question require us to know the formal definition of a term like "altitude"? It seems like the GMAT is pretty good about defining terms of art, or at least providing accompanying diagrams that illustrate the concept.
800 or bust!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pmFollowed by: 119 members
Location: East Bay all the way
Thanked: 625 times
GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Thu May 26, 2016 2:58 pm
AFAIK height and altitude are synonymous, and since your triangle isn't obtuse, all three altitudes are WITHIN the triangle by convention. (Much) more here.

This is a pretty typical GMATClub question: sloppily written, overly technical, and on the borderline of the scope of the GMAT.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1