GMAT Question of the Day - Daily to your Mailbox; hard ones only

 It is currently 22 Oct 2018, 01:12

### GMAT 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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

# If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d

Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 14 Nov 2016
Posts: 1314
Location: Malaysia
If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

Updated on: 19 Jan 2017, 22:21
9
00:00

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

64% (01:36) correct 36% (01:47) wrong based on 178 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

If $$b < c < d$$ and $$c > 0$$, which of the following cannot be true if b, c and d are integers?

$$A. bcd > 0$$

$$B. b + cd < 0$$

$$C. b – cd > 0$$

$$D. \frac{b}{cd} < 0$$

$$E. b^{3} cd < 0$$

_________________

"Be challenged at EVERY MOMENT."

“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

"Each stage of the journey is crucial to attaining new heights of knowledge."

Originally posted by hazelnut on 19 Jan 2017, 20:35.
Last edited by hazelnut on 19 Jan 2017, 22:21, edited 1 time in total.
Manager
Joined: 04 Dec 2016
Posts: 56
Location: India
GPA: 3.8
WE: Operations (Other)
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

19 Jan 2017, 21:10
b<c<d and c>0 => either b>0 or b<0

A.bcd>0. POSSIBLE if b>0

B.b+cd<0. POSSIBLE if b= -10, c=2, d=3

C.b–cd>0. NOT POSSIBLE.

D.bcd<0. POSSIBLE if b<0

E.(b^3)cd<0. POSSIBLE if b<0

Therefore, C.
Senior SC Moderator
Joined: 14 Nov 2016
Posts: 1314
Location: Malaysia
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

19 Jan 2017, 22:20
1

I have tested by using different sets of value to verify the result.

Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
_________________

"Be challenged at EVERY MOMENT."

“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

"Each stage of the journey is crucial to attaining new heights of knowledge."

Manager
Joined: 23 Jul 2015
Posts: 158
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

20 Jan 2017, 01:31
b< c < d && c> 0 ==> d>0 && (b<0 or b>0)

since c & d are greater than 0 ==> cd > 0 && cd > b
Thus, b - cd > 0 is not possible.

Ans.: C
Director
Joined: 02 Sep 2016
Posts: 697
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

03 Apr 2017, 11:04
b can be 0 as we are not given that b,c,d are positive integers.

Thus only choice C fits.
_________________

Help me make my explanation better by providing a logical feedback.

If you liked the post, HIT KUDOS !!

Don't quit.............Do it.

Target Test Prep Representative
Status: Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Posts: 3907
Location: United States (CA)
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

06 Apr 2017, 09:57
ziyuen wrote:
If $$b < c < d$$ and $$c > 0$$, which of the following cannot be true if b, c and d are integers?

$$A. bcd > 0$$

$$B. b + cd < 0$$

$$C. b – cd > 0$$

$$D. \frac{b}{cd} < 0$$

$$E. b^{3} cd < 0$$

We are given that b < c < d and c > 0, and that b, c, and d are integers.

Since c > 0, c is positive, and since d > c, d must also be positive. However, we are unsure of whether b is positive or negative. Let’s look at our answer choices to determine which MUST be true.

A. bcd > 0

If b is positive, then bcd is greater than zero. Answer choice A can be true.

B. b + cd < 0

If b is negative and its absolute value is greater than the product of cd, then b + cd is less than zero. For example, if b = -3, c = 1, and d = 2, we have -3 + (1)(2) = -1 < 0. Answer choice B can be true.

C. b - cd > 0

b > cd

If b is negative or zero, it certainly can’t be greater than cd, since cd is positive. If b is positive, it still can’t be greater than cd, since both c and d are integers greater than b. Thus, answer choice C can never be true.

_________________

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO

GMAT Quant Self-Study Course
500+ lessons 3000+ practice problems 800+ HD solutions

Senior DS Moderator
Joined: 27 Oct 2017
Posts: 904
Location: India
GPA: 3.64
WE: Business Development (Energy and Utilities)
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d  [#permalink]

### Show Tags

18 Apr 2018, 17:56
This question can be done by this approach.
The key point is that b can be greater than , equal to or less than zero.
Attachments

IMG-20180419-WA0022.jpg [ 87.47 KiB | Viewed 549 times ]

_________________
Re: If b<c<d and c>0, which of the following cannot be true if b,c and d &nbs [#permalink] 18 Apr 2018, 17:56
Display posts from previous: Sort by