Area of triangle ABC

Expert replies

kamalakarthi: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 80; Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 10:08 pmFollowed by: 2 members

by kamalakarthi » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:01 am

Hi GMAT Experts,

Can you please help me on why S1 is not sufficient in the below DS question.

My rational was that according to S1, ABD=60, so ADB must be 90 and we know the length of AD, so we can calculate the lengths of all the sides , SInce BAD must be 30 degrees, DAC also should be 30 degrees and ACD must be 60 degrees so with this, I can calculate DC as well.

But it looks like this is not correct. Can you help me on what am I missing.

Source : Manhattan CAT

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Quantitative Reasoning | Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:01 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:55 am

kamalakarthi wrote: Can you please help me on why S1 is not sufficient in the below DS question.

My rational was that according to S1, ABD=60, so ADB must be 90 and we know the length of AD, so we can calculate the lengths of all the sides , SInce BAD must be 30 degrees, DAC also should be 30 degrees and ACD must be 60 degrees so with this, I can calculate DC as well.

From the given information, we know that ABD and ACD are both right triangles. However, since we don't know the angle of B or C, we don't know if they are SYMMETRICAL triangles. Don't just trust your eyes and assume that they are the same! One triangle might be slightly larger or smaller than the other.

Statement (1) tells us that ABD is a 30-60-90 triangle, and thus we can calculate its lengths and area. There is no information given to allow us to infer that DAC is also 30, as you stated. It might be slightly smaller or slightly larger. We don't have sufficient information to find the area of the entire triangle.

Statement (2) likewise only gives us information about triangle ACD, but not ABD. If AC = 12, we can infer that ACD is a 30-60-90, but this won't tell us the area of the whole triangle ABC.

(1) & (2) together: if ABD and ACD are both 30-60-90 triangles with a shared side, they must be identical. Since we know that they are both 30-60-90 triangles and we have a side length for each, we have sufficient information to determine the area of each.

The answer is C.

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Like this post

GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:59 am

Trusting your eyes & making assumptions are two of the biggest mistakes you can make on DS geometry problems! Here's an article about why geometry is especially tricky in DS: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ncy-wrong/

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review