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Which of the following numbers is the biggest

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Which of the following numbers is the biggest

by M7MBA » Wed May 16, 2018 1:21 am

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Which of the following numbers is the biggest:

[ -6/7, - 7/8, - 9/10, - 12/13, -34/35]

A) -6/7
B) -7/8
C) -9/10
D) -12/13
E) -34/35

The OA is A .

How can I conclude which number is the biggest? Could anybody give a good explanation here? Thanks in advance.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed May 16, 2018 4:32 am
M7MBA wrote:Which of the following numbers is the biggest:

[ -6/7, - 7/8, - 9/10, - 12/13, -34/35]

A) -6/7
B) -7/8
C) -9/10
D) -12/13
E) -34/35
Since we're dealing with NEGATIVE numbers, the greatest number will be the one with the smallest MAGNITUDE
For example, 2 < 3, so we know that -2 is greater than -3
Likewise, 11 < 12, so we know that -11 is greater than -12

Of the values 6/7, 7/8, 9/10, 12/13 and 34/35, the fraction 6/7 has the smallest magnitude, which means -6/7 is the greatest values.

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by Jeff@TargetTestPrep » Thu May 17, 2018 5:16 pm
M7MBA wrote:Which of the following numbers is the biggest:

[ -6/7, - 7/8, - 9/10, - 12/13, -34/35]

A) -6/7
B) -7/8
C) -9/10
D) -12/13
E) -34/35
If all the numbers are negative, the number that is the largest is the one that will be closest to zero on the number line. Here, that number is -6/7.

Alternate Solution:

If all the numbers are negative, the number that is the largest is the one will the smallest absolute value. Here, that number is -6/7 since |-6/7| = 6/7 which is smaller than the absolute value of any other numbers in the list.

Alternate Solution:

Note that if we have a list of numbers and if we were to add any constant number to each of the numbers on the list, the ordering of the numbers will not change. Let's add 1 to each of the numbers on the list:

[ 1 - 6/7, 1 - 7/8, 1 - 9/10, 1 - 12/13, 1 - 34/35] = [ 1/7, 1/8, 1/10, 1/13, 1/35]

Since 1/7 is the largest among all the numbers obtained after adding 1 to each of the numbers, -6/7 is the largest among the original numbers.

Answer: A

Jeffrey Miller
Head of GMAT Instruction
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