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If ABCE is a rectangle

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Source: — Data Sufficiency |

If ABCE is a rectangle

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun May 03, 2015 9:58 am
Mechmeera wrote: Image

If ABCE is a rectangle, is the area of ∆AED greater than the area of ∆ADC?

(1) ED > DC
(2) AE > ED

Target question: Is the area of ∆AED greater than the area of ∆ADC?

Area of triangle = (1/2)(base)(height)
IMPORTANT: the height of ∆AED is the SAME AS the height of ∆ADC.
So, the area of ∆AED will be greater than the area of ∆ADC only if the BASE of ∆AED is longer than the BASE of ∆ADC

So, we can REPHRASE the target question as....
REPHRASED target question: Is the BASE of ∆AED longer than the BASE of ∆ADC?

Statement 1: ED > DC
In other words, the BASE of ∆AED IS longer than the BASE of ∆ADC.
Since we can answer the REPHRASED target question with certainty, statement 1 is SUFFICIENT

Aside: We have a free video with tips on rephrasing the target question: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... cy?id=1100

Statement 2: AE > ED
This tells us nothing about the relative lengths of the base of each triangle, so statement 2 is NOT SUFFICIENT

Answer = A

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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