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 →

Absolute Values

Expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:04 am
by kumard24 » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:44 am
Is |a| > |b|?

(1) b < -a

(2) a < 0

This question has baffled me! In the answer it states......we can rephrase this question as: "Is a farther away from zero than b, on the number-line?" We can solve this question by picking numbers:

Just dont get this statement
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Problem Solving |
Legendary Member
Posts: 789
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:25 amFollowed by: 6 members
Location: Southern California, USA
Thanked: 15 times

hm

by resilient » Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:14 am
whats source? qa please
Appetite for 700 and I scraped my plate!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:04 am
Thanked: 1 times

by Kaunteya1 » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:35 am
From statement one:

1) b<-a

This means that b is negative smaller than one. a is closer to zero on the number line, and b is further away if b<-a. Therefore the absolute value of b will be greater than a and you can answer NO to statement 1.

2) just tell you that a is a negative number but does not tell you anything about b.

I would choose A.

I hope that is correnct.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:04 am
Thanked: 1 times

by Kaunteya1 » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:37 am
From statement one:

1) b<-a

This means that b is negative smaller than one. a is closer to zero on the number line, and b is further away if b<-a. Therefore the absolute value of b will be greater than a and you can answer NO to statement 1.

2) just tell you that a is a negative number but does not tell you anything about b.

I would choose A.

I hope that is correnct.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 789
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:25 amFollowed by: 6 members
Location: Southern California, USA
Thanked: 15 times

testing numbers

by resilient » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:10 am
statement 1: b<-a

lets pick some numbers to solidify thoughts.
----b------a--------plug in and test to see answer.
1 -2 yes
-2 -2 no
2 3 yes



statement 2: need b so insufficient

together: testing numbers again with both constraints from st. 1 and st.2
----b--------a-------plug in and test to see answer
1 -2 yes
-2 -2 no


qa is E.










remember we are plugging in a neg number which turn into positive (statement 1)
I wonder what level question this is.
PLEASE POST QA AND SOURCE PLEASE!
I hope this makes sense to you guys. I hope Im right too. lol
Appetite for 700 and I scraped my plate!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3225
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:40 pmFollowed by: 614 members
Location: Toronto
Thanked: 1710 times
GMAT Score:800

Re: Absolute Values

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:22 pm
kumard24 wrote:Is |a| > |b|?

(1) b < -a

(2) a < 0
(1) b < -a

Let's pick some numbers that fit this rule and see if we can get a yes and a no answer.

b = -50, a = 3 (-50 < -3, so valid numbers). Is |3| > |-50|? No.

b = -50, a = -100 (-50 < -(-100), so valid numbers. Is |-100| > |-50|? Yes.

We can get a no and a yes - insufficient.

(2) a < 0. No info about (b), so insufficient.

Combined:

Now we have to pick numbers that follow BOTH rules.

We're no longer allowed to pick b=-50 and a=3 (since now a<0), but we can still pick b=-50 and a=-100: that's a yes answer.

We could also pick:

b = -50 and a = -3 (-50 < -(-3) and -3 < 0, so valid numbers). Is |-3| > |-50|? No!

So, we can still get both a yes and a no - insufficient: choose (e).
Image

Stuart Kovinsky | Kaplan GMAT Faculty | Toronto

Kaplan Exclusive: The Official Test Day Experience | Ready to Take a Free Practice Test? | Kaplan/Beat the GMAT Member Discount
BTG100 for $100 off a full course
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Legendary Member
Posts: 789
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:25 amFollowed by: 6 members
Location: Southern California, USA
Thanked: 15 times

stuart

by resilient » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:52 pm
Stuart do i have the underlying reasoning right!
Appetite for 700 and I scraped my plate!
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3225
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:40 pmFollowed by: 614 members
Location: Toronto
Thanked: 1710 times
GMAT Score:800

Re: stuart

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:32 am
Enginpasa1 wrote:Stuart do i have the underlying reasoning right!
You chose all valid numbers, so it looks like you're on the right track!
Image

Stuart Kovinsky | Kaplan GMAT Faculty | Toronto

Kaplan Exclusive: The Official Test Day Experience | Ready to Take a Free Practice Test? | Kaplan/Beat the GMAT Member Discount
BTG100 for $100 off a full course
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1