Is area of the triangle \(ABC\) greater than \(24?\)

[AAPL]

Is area of the triangle \(ABC\) greater than \(24?\)

1) Two of the Sides of the triangle are \(6\) and \(8\)
2) ABC is a Right Triangle

OA A

[gmatter2012]

Is area of the triangle \(ABC\) greater than \(24?\)

1) Two of the Sides of the triangle are \(6\) and \(8\)
2) ABC is a Right Triangle

OA A

Here is the answer , the OA is E . Kindly correct the OA
https://gmatclub.com/forum/is-the-area- ... 51083.html

[beatthegmat]

Hello,

With the information in the first statement, the maximum possible area would be when the side of 6 and the side of 8 form a right triangle with legs of 6 and 8. This would make a maximum area of 24 - in all other situations, the area is less than 24. The question asks if the area is greater than 24, so the answer to the question would always be NO. This makes the first statement sufficient to answer the question, which is why the correct answer is A.

[Ian Stewart]

On the remote chance that anyone reads this thread and wonders why the OA on this site differs from that on GMAT Club, both OAs are correct -- the questions on the two sites are slightly different. The question posted here asks if the area is greater than 24, while the question on GMAT Club asks whether the area is greater than or equal to 24. That difference changes the correct answer.

Regardless, this is a doubly unrealistic question for the newer GMAT -- geometry is not tested in this way any more, and all DS problems on the GMAT are now real world word problems.