Carcass wrote:
Which of the following statements is true about the line segment with endpoints (–1, 1) and (1, –1)?
(A) Crosses the x-axis only.
(B) Crosses the y-axis only.
(C) Crosses the y-axis on its positive side.
(D) Passes through the origin (0, 0).
(E) Crosses the x- and y-axes on their negative sides.
We see that (-1, 1) is in the second quadrant of the xy-plane and (1, -1) is in the fourth quadrant.
Since we move 2 units to the right and 2 units down to go from (-1, 1) to (1, -1), the line segment must pass through the origin. Notice that from (-1, 1) to the origin (0, 0), we need to go 1 unit to the right and 1 unit down, and then from (0, 0) to (1, -1), we need to go 1 unit to right again and 1 unit down again. Going 2 units to the right and 2 units down is equivalent of making two trips of going 1 unit to the right and 1 unit down.
Answer: D