GRE Prep Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
|x - 5|
[#permalink]
22 Mar 2018, 13:10
22 Mar 2018, 13:10
1
Expert Reply
8
Bookmarks
00:00
Question Stats:
55% (01:49) correct
44% (01:45) wrong based on 169 sessions
Hide Show timer Statistics
Attachment:
line.jpg [ 6.96 KiB | Viewed 5879 times ]
Quantity A |
Quantity B |
\(|x - 5| - |a - b|\) |
\(|b - a| - |5 - x|\) |
A. The quantity in Column A is greater
B. The quantity in Column B is greater
C. The two quantities are equal
D. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Re: |x - 5|
[#permalink]
26 Mar 2018, 04:22
26 Mar 2018, 04:22
13
2
Bookmarks
Answer is choice B. Here's how:
Firstly, it is not mentioned that the figure not drawn to scale, which means, it is drawn to scale.
As we know |a-b| = |b-a|, and |x-5| = |5-x|
So we can simplify Quantity B as follows:
Quantity A: |x-5| - |a-b|
Quantity B: |a-b| - |x-5|
Now, we need to see whether |x-5| is greater or |a-b|. As we know |x-y| gives distance between x and 5, while |a-b| gives distance between a and b, therefore. After looking at the number line we can see that clearly distance between a and b is greater than distance between x and 5.
Thus, Quantity B is greater.
Firstly, it is not mentioned that the figure not drawn to scale, which means, it is drawn to scale.
As we know |a-b| = |b-a|, and |x-5| = |5-x|
So we can simplify Quantity B as follows:
Quantity A: |x-5| - |a-b|
Quantity B: |a-b| - |x-5|
Now, we need to see whether |x-5| is greater or |a-b|. As we know |x-y| gives distance between x and 5, while |a-b| gives distance between a and b, therefore. After looking at the number line we can see that clearly distance between a and b is greater than distance between x and 5.
Thus, Quantity B is greater.
General Discussion
Re: |x - 5|
[#permalink]
22 Mar 2018, 16:43
22 Mar 2018, 16:43
1
Answer: C
a < 0 < 5 < b < x < 10
| x - 5| - |a - b|
|b - a| - |5 - x|
Comparing the two equations is better than evaluating their value, because they seem similar.
A: x is something between 5 and 10 so x -5 is positive, so |x-5| equals x-5
a is negative, b is positive, (a - b) is negative, so |a - b| = -(a - b)
| x - 5| - |a - b| = x - 5 - a + b
B: x is positive and more than 5, 5-x is negative, so |5-x| equals -(5-x)
b is positive and a is negative, (b-a) is positive, so |b-a| equals b-a
|b - a| - |5 - x| = b - a - 5 + x
They are both equal!
a < 0 < 5 < b < x < 10
| x - 5| - |a - b|
|b - a| - |5 - x|
Comparing the two equations is better than evaluating their value, because they seem similar.
A: x is something between 5 and 10 so x -5 is positive, so |x-5| equals x-5
a is negative, b is positive, (a - b) is negative, so |a - b| = -(a - b)
| x - 5| - |a - b| = x - 5 - a + b
B: x is positive and more than 5, 5-x is negative, so |5-x| equals -(5-x)
b is positive and a is negative, (b-a) is positive, so |b-a| equals b-a
|b - a| - |5 - x| = b - a - 5 + x
They are both equal!
