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

Redeem

Proportion Data suffiency

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:56 pm

Proportion Data suffiency

by Fokin » Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:39 pm
How to resolve such problem :

John and Paul are standing together on a sunny day. John's shadow is 10 feet long. Paul's shadow is 9 feet long . How tall is Paul?

1)John is 6 feet tall
2) John is tanding 2 feet away from Paul
Top
Source: — Data Sufficiency |
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 435
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:15 am
Thanked: 32 times
Followed by:1 members

by eaakbari » Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:20 am
IMO A

The triangles formed by their shadows will be similar.

(1)
Gives us johns height, hence
6/10=x/9
x = pauls height = 5.4 feet

(2) The distance does not matter

Hence A

Please confirm the answer
Whether you think you can or can't, you're right.
- Henry Ford
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:56 pm

by Fokin » Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:57 am
eaakbari wrote:IMO A

The triangles formed by their shadows will be similar.

(1)
Gives us johns height, hence
6/10=x/9
x = pauls height = 5.4 feet

(2) The distance does not matter

Hence A

Please confirm the answer
Yes, you are right. Thank you for your help!
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1275
Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:13 pm
Location: Arabian Sea
Thanked: 125 times
Followed by:2 members

by ajith » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:06 am
Moved to DS forum
Always borrow money from a pessimist, he doesn't expect to be paid back.
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:51 am
Thanked: 1 times

by meghash3 » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:02 pm
Ans : E ; Both the statements & the ques dont say anything about hte relative pos of John and paul, their shadow lenghts will change according to thier alignment and source of light. We need to know hte angle etc for this, i think its E
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:07 pm
Thanked: 3 times

by el_torero » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:40 pm
It's a strange question, but I think A is the answer.

Here's why:

The setup of the question basically revolves around similar right triangles. Each person's shadow and height form a right triangle with the ray of the sun which shares the same angles.

Therefore, you have J/10 = P/9, where J = John's height and P = Paul's height.

(1) gives you J. Great. Now you can solve for P.

(2) gives you nothing. INSUFF

Hope this helps.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1