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use of trig formulae in solving DS problems

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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by GMIHIR » Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:36 am
Hi,

I was solving a DS problem related to traingles and i used trig formulae to derive the answer. However, to my surprise, the answer to that problem was E (both statements not sufficient).

So, just curious, is it not "permitted" to use Trignometric formulas(sin, cos, tan) in solving such problems in GMAT ? It would be really wierd if this is true.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, inputs, answers.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Feb 23, 2012 7:15 am
GMIHIR wrote:Hi,

I was solving a DS problem related to traingles and i used trig formulae to derive the answer. However, to my surprise, the answer to that problem was E (both statements not sufficient).

So, just curious, is it not "permitted" to use Trignometric formulas(sin, cos, tan) in solving such problems in GMAT ? It would be really wierd if this is true.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, inputs, answers.
Good question,

No, there are no official GMAT question that can be solved only through the use of sine, cosine or tangent. All triangle questions will be solvable using some other approaches.

Having said that, it's quite conceivable that a question could be solved using trig. Similarly, it's possible that one might use calculus as one approach to solving a question, but you can be sure that there are also solutions that do not rely on calculus.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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