If 3 ≥ s ≥ –3, and t –2, then which of the following cannot be the

Question

If 3 ≥ s ≥ –3, and t > –2, then which of the following cannot be the value of s – t ?

A. 5
B. 1
C. 1/2
D. -1/2
E. –6

nailin16 · Answer

A
5 can't be obtained.
Coz max value of s allowed is 3
And to get 5 I need t to be (-2)which is not possible

Posted from my mobile device

ehsan090 · Answer

Bunuel 
Please explain how to tackle such questions or mention any related topic
TIA

chetan2u · Answer

Hi

In such Qs where ranges are given and you are looking for a value...
MANTRA or a helping point will be :- As the variables can take any value within the range, more than often the extremes would B the answer that is A or E.  
So A.5 cannot be formed from 3-(- something slightly less than 2)..
But E.-6 can be found as min here will be infinity

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ehsan090,

You can TEST VALUES to prove which 4 answers ARE possible (and which one is not).

We're told that 3 ≥ S ≥ –3, and T > –2. We're asked which of the following CANNOT be the value of S – T....

IF....
S = 1, T = 0, then S-T could be 1. Eliminate Answer B.
S = 1/2, T = 0, then S-T could be 1/2. Eliminate Answer C.
S = -1/2, T = 0, then S-T could be -1/2. Eliminate Answer D.
S = 0, T = 6, then S-T could be -6. Eliminate Answer E.

There's only one answer remaining...

Final Answer:  A

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

ehsan090 · Answer

Thanks  EMPOWERgmatRichC 
This mean anyhow we must use putting values method to come to answer there is no other method exist am I right?
Actually I feel it is a little time taken procedure and sometime resulted in panic for me when value are negative specially

profileusername · Answer

Doesn't t>-2 mean that it could take assume any value greater than -2? If that's the case, it could be +2 as well which would make the answer 5 possible.

shashankism · Answer

For t = -2, -1<=s-t<=5 For t=-1, -2<=s-t<=4 and so on.. t can take any values and not only integral values. So we can see that s-t can attain any values <=5 if t>=-2 If t>-2, s-t<5. Option A is correct

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi TheMastermind,

You have to pay careful attention to the details of this question - and what it's ultimately asking for. The prompt asks us for what CANNOT be a possible value of (S - T), so proving that four of the answers ARE possible would leave us with the one that is not.

You correctly note that T could be +2, so given the possible range of values for S, what COULD (S-T) equal...? Any value from +1 to -5, inclusive. "5" is NOT in that range.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

frankgraves · Answer

Hi, just trying to give my 2 cents.
The way I approach this question is by using extreme Max and Min value.

Max : 
If we want to Maximize s-t, we have to find maximum value of s and minimum value of t.
Max s = 3
Min t= -1.999.... (a little more than -2)
So Max s-t = 4.999....

Min :
If we want to Minimize s-t, we have to find minimum value of s and maximum value of t.
Min s = -3
Max t = +infinite (very large positive number)
So Min s-t = -infinite (very small negative number)

Now we just need to check the answer options which are not within Max and Min range.
Only A is not within this range as the value will never reach 5.
Hence, A is the answer.

bumpbot · Answer

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If 3 ≥ s ≥ –3, and t > –2, then which of the following cannot be the

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