Walkabout wrote:
In the xy-coordinate plane, is point R equidistant from points (-3,-3) and (1,-3) ?
(1) The x-coordinate of point R is -1.
(2) Point R lies on the line y = -3.
Forget conventional ways of solving math questions. In DS, Variable approach is the easiest and quickest way to find the answer without actually solving the problem. Remember equal number of variables and independent equations ensures a solution.
From the original condition, we can set up as this question as follows.
The distance between \(R(x,y)\) and \((-3,-3)\) is \(\sqrt{(x+3)^2 + (y+3)^2}\) and the distance between \(R(x,y)\) and \((1,-3)\) is \(\sqrt{(x-1)^2 + (y+3)^2}\).
Thus, we have \(\sqrt{(x+3)^2 + (y+3)^2} = \sqrt{(x-1)^2 + (y+3)^2}\).
Then \(x^2 + 6x + 9 + y^2 + 6y + 9 = x^2 -2x + 1 + y^2 + 6y + 9\).
\(6x + 9 = -2x + 1\)
\(8x = -8\)
\(x = -1\)
We have 2 variables \(x\) and \(y\) and 1 equation, \(x = -1\).
In the original condition, there is 1 variable(x), which should match with the number of equations. So you need 1 equation. For 1) 1 equation, for 2) 1 equation, which is likely to make D the answer.
For 1), \(x = -1\), which is equivalent to the condition from the original question. No additional condition is provided. Thus this is not sufficient.
For 2), \(y = -3\). Then the point R is (-1,-3). This is sufficient.
Therefore, the answer is B.
-> For cases where we need 1 more equation, such as original conditions with “1 variable”, or “2 variables and 1 equation”, or “3 variables and 2 equations”, we have 1 equation each in both 1) and 2). Therefore, there is 59 % chance that D is the answer, while A or B has 38% chance and C or E has 3% chance. Since D is most likely to be the answer using 1) and 2) separately according to DS definition. Obviously there may be cases where the answer is A, B, C or E.