BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem
TTP OnDemand GMAT Video Course
Featured Course

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Scott Woodbury-Stewart’s private virtual classroom — 400 hours of master-class video lessons for the GMAT Focus Edition.

  • 715+ score guarantee — highest in the industry (99th percentile)
  • 52 chapters · 1,500+ lessons · 4,000+ practice questions
  • 400 hours of video · 1,500+ instructor-led HD smartboard lessons
  • 300,000+ students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth & Sloan & more
  • 24/7 live support + weekly Zoom office hours with GMAT instructors
  • TTP AI Assist — 24/7 AI-powered virtual tutor for instant help
  • 1,200+ flashcards + AI-powered study assistant & daily calendar
  • OnDemand, LiveTeach & GMAT Bootcamp formats available
  • Also: GRE, SAT Math & Executive Assessment courses
  • MBA Admissions Consulting now available
  • 🏆 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Award: Test Prep Solution Provider of the Year
  • 200,000+ students served
  • 5-day free trial — $0 to start, no auto-billing, cancel anytime
★★★★★ 5.0 (559 reviews)
130-pt guarantee
$0 to start then $127/mo
Start Free 5-Day Trial Read 559 Reviews →

Which of the following points could lie in the same quadrant

Expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Moderator
Posts: 2632
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:08 pmFollowed by: 2 members
by AAPL » Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:13 am

Timer

00:00

Answers

A

B

C

D

E

Stats

Difficulty—

Manhattan GMAT

Which of the following points could lie in the same quadrant of the xy-coordinate plane as the point (a, b), where ab ≠ 0?

A. (-b, -a)
B. (-a, -b)
C. (b, -a)
D. (a, -b)
E. (-b, a)

OA A
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Source: — Problem Solving |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3008
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:19 amFollowed by: 34 members
Location: Grand Central / New York
Thanked: 470 times

by Jay@ManhattanReview » Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:31 am
AAPL wrote:Manhattan GMAT

Which of the following points could lie in the same quadrant of the xy-coordinate plane as the point (a, b), where ab ≠ 0?

A. (-b, -a)
B. (-a, -b)
C. (b, -a)
D. (a, -b)
E. (-b, a)

OA A


Note that a and b can be positive or negative. Thus, the point in questions is (±a, ±b).

Let's take suitable values for a and b. Say a = ±1 and b = ±2. Thus, the point is (±1, ±2).

Say the point is in

1. First quadrant: thus, the point is (1, 2)

We see that all the options have at least one negative coordinate; thus, the point (a, b) is not in the first quadrant.

2. Second quadrant: thus, the point is (-1, 2)

We see that option A (-b, -a) with the assumed values would be (-2, 1). The point (-2, 1) is also in the second quadrant. Thus, option A can be the correct answer.

Since this is a PS question, and only one option can be correct, the correct option is A.

The correct answer: A

Hope this helps!

-Jay
_________________
Manhattan Review GMAT Prep

Locations: New York | Hyderabad | Mexico City | Toronto | and many more...

Schedule your free consultation with an experienced GMAT Prep Advisor! Click here.
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 15539
Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members
Location: New York, NY
Thanked: 13060 times
GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:26 am
AAPL wrote:Manhattan GMAT

Which of the following points could lie in the same quadrant of the xy-coordinate plane as the point (a, b), where ab ≠ 0?

A. (-b, -a)
B. (-a, -b)
C. (b, -a)
D. (a, -b)
E. (-b, a)
Every answer choice includes at least one negative sign.
Test coordinate pairs that include at least one negative value.

Case 1: a=1 and b=-1, so that (a, b) = (1, -1)
Plug a=1 and b=-1 into the answer choices to see whether one of the answer choices yields a point in the same quadrant as (1,-1).

A: (-b, -a) = ( -(-1), -1 ) = (1, -1).
Success!

The correct answer is A.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 8136
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 43 times

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:13 pm
AAPL wrote:Manhattan GMAT

Which of the following points could lie in the same quadrant of the xy-coordinate plane as the point (a, b), where ab ≠ 0?

A. (-b, -a)
B. (-a, -b)
C. (b, -a)
D. (a, -b)
E. (-b, a)
If a is positive and b is negative, then (a, b) lies in Quadrant IV.

Thus, -b is positive and -a is negative, so (-b, -a) also lies in Quadrant IV.

Alternate Solution:

If we assume that both a and b are positive, and thus are in Quadrant I, we see that none of the answer choices will lie in Quadrant I.

Now let's assume that a is positive (a = 1) and b is negative (b = -2), then (1, -2) lies in Quadrant IV. Looking at the answer choices, we see that choice A gives us (-b, -a), which is (2, -1), which is also in Quadrant IV.

Answer: A

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

Image

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

ImageImage
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 10392
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Thanked: 2867 times
GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sun Aug 26, 2018 1:41 pm
Hi All,

Co-ordinate Geometry (or "graphing", as most people call it) is a relatively rare category in the GMAT Quant section; you'll likely see just 1 of these questions on Test Day. The question is perfect for TESTing VALUES. Here's how:

We're asked which of the 5 answers COULD be in the same quadrant as (A,B), where neither A nor B equals 0. This makes me think that we'll have to consider more than one possibility, since there are 4 different quadrants on a graph.

Here are the examples that I would consider:
(A,B)
(1,2) - Quadrant 1
(-1,2) - Quadrant 2
(-1,-2) - Quadrant 3
(1,-2) - Quadrant 4

You'll notice that each of the 5 answer choices changes the "sign" of at least one of the variables (and sometimes switches the variables around). If you start off in Quadrant 1, the only way to end up in that SAME Quadrant is if both the a and b are positive. That doesn't happen in ANY of the answer choices, so we need to look at a diffent Quadrant. I'm going to start with Quadrant 2:

Quadrant 2:
(A,B)
(-1,2)

So, if we plug A = -1 and B = 2 into the 5 answer choices, do any of them give us an answer that puts us in Quadrant 2? One of them DOES....

Final Answer: A

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
Image
Top
Join the discussion
Log in to postLogin with Googleuse password
QUOTE IN REPLY
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1