DS Statement: b < -a

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DS Statement: b < -a

by ejose » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:10 am
Hi Guys --

I have a general DS question -- possibly a very silly one, but I want to make sure I understand this completely.

On a number of practice DS questions that I've done, a statement of "b < -a" is included in one of the answer choices. Usually the question deals with a multi-variate inequality and/or an absolute value problem.

As a rule, what does this statement mean? I understand the nomenclature being "b is less than the opposite of a" .. but how do others approach a statement like this?

-Eric
Source: — Data Sufficiency |

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by ajith » Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:04 am
ejose wrote:Hi Guys --

I have a general DS question -- possibly a very silly one, but I want to make sure I understand this completely.

On a number of practice DS questions that I've done, a statement of "b < -a" is included in one of the answer choices. Usually the question deals with a multi-variate inequality and/or an absolute value problem.

As a rule, what does this statement mean? I understand the nomenclature being "b is less than the opposite of a" .. but how do others approach a statement like this?

-Eric
b <-a

Add a to both sides

b+a <0

That's what it means
Sum of a and b is less than zero
Always borrow money from a pessimist, he doesn't expect to be paid back.