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by singhmaharaj » Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:51 am
Which of the following lists the number of points at which a circle can intersect a triangle?

(a) 2 and 6 only

(b) 2, 4, and 6 only

(c) 1, 2, 3, and 6 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 only

(e) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:36 am
singhmaharaj wrote:Which of the following lists the number of points at which a circle can intersect a triangle?

(a) 2 and 6 only
(b) 2, 4, and 6 only
(c) 1, 2, 3, and 6 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 only
(e) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

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Answer: E

The important takeaway here is that "intersect" does not necessarily mean "pass through"
So, a line that is tangent to a circle (touching the circle but not passing through it) can be said to intersect the circle. To intersect is to share a common point.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:14 pm
Which of the following lists the number of points at which a circle can intersect a triangle?

1. 2 and 6 only
2. 2, 4, and 6 only
3. 1, 2, 3, and 6 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 only
5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Notice how the answer choices DIFFER.
Only E states that the circle and the triangle can intersect at 5 points.
If it's possible for there to be 5 intersections, A, B, C and D can be eliminated.

Image

Since 5 intersections are possible, eliminate A, B, C and D.

The correct answer is E.
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