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ajtah · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:31 am

No argument regarding the answer, but I do have a bone to pick with this question. Is this really a suitable GMAT preparation question? The Math Review from the OG does not indicate that test-takers are expected to know the equation of a circle in the coordinate plane and the properties of such an equation. And I have yet to come across any official questions testing this type of knowledge. So while the question is interesting and difficult, I feel like it is more of a general interest type of question that a math-lover would tackle in his/her free time rather than a question reflective of the type that would show up on the GMAT... any opinions on this? Have any test-takers seen an "equation of a circle" question on the GMAT before? :?:

iamgame · **Posted:** Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:42 am

The OG 12 does speak of a Circle equation...and it is very much expected from a candidate to know the equation of basic curves including lines, circles, parabolas etc..
This is not a tough problem if you know that you are working with a circle...and can be expected if you are doing well to very well on your test..

ajtah · **Posted:** Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:25 am

Thanks for the reply! Do you think you could provide me with the page number(s) on which this information is mentioned? As far as I can tell, the OG12 Math Review portion on "Circles" only mentions area, circumference, areas of a sector, arc length and inscribed polygons. And the portion on "Coordinate Geometry" only goes up to curves of a parabolic nature. And, I am also unable to find any mention of the equation of a circle in the MGMAT Study Guides that I am using... It is upsetting to know that this topic has been overlooked in them.

And yes, I know the question is not difficult once you recognize it to be the equation of a circle. I was just surprised to see such a question come up because in my preparation I had not yet come across this type of question, which explicitly requires you to know the equation of a circle. Usually a question of this nature would be solvable by other (algebraic) means. In this case, without knowledge of the fact that this is the equation of a circle, one would be unable to answer this question (or so I think).

Jdam · **Posted:** Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:05 pm

...I hate geometry

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