GMAT Math : DSQ: Graphing an ordered pair

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Dsq: Graphing An Ordered Pair

What quadrant contains the point  , where  ?

Statement 1: 

Statement 2: 

Possible Answers:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

Statement 1 alone tells you that  and  are of the same sign, so the point is in Quadrant I (both positive) or Quadrant III (both negative).

Statement 2 tells you that any of the following hold:

 is positive and  is negative - example: 

 is negative and  is negative - example: 

 is positive and  is positive - example: 

This places the point in any quadrant except Quadrant II (where  is negative and  is positive). 

The two statements together only eliminate two quadrants and leave both Quadrant I and Quadrant III as possibilities.

Example Question #31 : Coordinate Geometry

Graph the point .

I)  is in quadrant IV.

II)  .

Possible Answers:

Both statements are needed to answer the question.

Either statement is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Statement II is sufficient to answer the question, but statement I is not sufficient to answer the question.

Neither statement is sufficient to answer the question. More information is needed.

Correct answer:

Both statements are needed to answer the question.

Explanation:

Graph the point (a,b)

I) (a,b) is in quadrant 4

II)  

To graph (a,b) we need to know a and b

I) Tells us which quadrant the point is in. In quadrant 4, the x value is positive and the y value must be negative.

II) Lets us find the following:

So the only possible location of  is .

Therefore, both statements are needed to answer the question. 

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