line

This topic has expert replies

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2623
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:17 am
Location: Montreal
Thanked: 1090 times
Followed by:355 members
GMAT Score:780

by Ian Stewart » Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:05 pm
Stuart Kovinsky wrote: I disagree. A point which is equidistant from two other points does not need to be a perpedicular bisector; however, a line can only be described as equidistant from two points if the entire line is equidistant, and that will only be the case if the line is a perpendicular bisector of the line joining the two points in question; otherwise, one point on the line may be equidistant but all of the other points on the line won't be.
I think you have this in reverse- the set of points which are equidistant from two points A and B is of course the perpendicular bisector (this is often used as the definition of a line). But the distance from point A to a line is understood to be the minimum (orthogonal) distance. If A and B are the same distance from a line, their orthogonal distances to the line are equal.

Mind you, this is a completely academic discussion, of no relevance to the GMAT. I've never seen a real GMAT question that required the test-taker to even know what 'distance from a point to a line' means, and as this discussion demonstrates, the phrase could, quite reasonably, be interpreted in different ways. This question fails to be a realistic GMAT question on two counts- it tests a definition test-takers would not be assumed to know, and it still has two correct answers even if you divine the interpretation intended by the question writer.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com