In the xy-plane, is the slope of line L greater than the

Question

In the xy-plane, is the slope of line L greater than the slope of line K?

(1) L passes through (5, 0) and K passes through (-5, 0).
(2) L and K intersect with each other in the 2nd quadrant.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Answer is E, not C as everyone stated above. Note that: a steeper incline indicates a higher absolute value of the slope. Obviously each statement alone is not sufficient. When taken together, we can have 2 cases: The slope of K is greater than that of L.png You can see that the slope of K (blue) is greater than that of L (red): 2>-1; The slope of K is less than that of L.png In this case the slope of K (blue) is less than that of L (red): -8<-1/2. Here, both lines have negative slopes. Line K is steeper than line L, which indicates that the absolute value of its slope is greater than that of line L, since slopes are negative, then slope of K is "more negative" (so less) than slope of L. Answer: E. Check Coordinate Geometry chapter of Math Book for more on this topic: math-coordinate-geometry-87652.html Similar questions to practice: if-the-slopes-of-the-line-l1-and-l2-are-of-the-same-sign-is-126759.html slopes-of-m-and-n-124025.html line-n-and-p-lie-in-the-xy-plane-is-the-slope-of-the-line-30553.html lines-n-and-p-lie-in-the-xy-plane-is-the-slope-of-line-n-97007.html Hope it helps.

amit2k9 · Answer

I believe drawing this out will make the scenario's clearer.
However, 3 scenarios here - slope of L > | = | < m considered.
a. meaning L can be = M or > | < M too.
not sufficient.

b. no clue about the lines and slopes here.
insufficient.

a+b
means, Line L has negative slope hence it enters 2nd quad
Line M has positive slope hence it enters 2nd quad from 3rd quad(possibly).

thus true.
Sufficient.
C it is.

saikarthikreddy · Answer

In the xy-plane, is the slope of line L greater than the slope of line K?
(1) L passes through (5, 0) and K passes through (-5, 0).
(2) L and K intersect with each other in the 2nd quadrant.

From statement 1 alone we dont have any information regarding the slopes of the two lines .
statement 2 alone we cannot predict anything about the slope.
Now combine both the statements.
L passes from 1 st quadrant to the 2 nd quadrant.Implies slope is negative.

K is already in the second quadrant( -5,0) .For it to interect with the line L it has to have a positive slope or even if its negative ,its magnitude is higher than that of line L.

Hence 2 statements together are requried . Sorry you need to imagine the figure ,I would have helped better with a diagram !!

boomtangboy · Answer

I got C as well but its super easy after drawing a figure

shikhar · Answer

Wow Excellent question and nice trap

mydreammba · Answer

Bunnel

I think when we follow graphs we might miss some of the cases, i think it is better to solve by algebra? am i correct?

Bunuel · Answer

You should choose approach which suits you best. For me personally, it wasn't too hard to find two examples satisfying both statements and giving different answers to the question

Archit143 · Answer

Hi bunuel...
I must say excellent solution but one thing that i did not understand is how did u form equation for the two different lines when we do not have any point of intersection .......
Can u pls elaborate on that point.

Archit

Bunuel · Answer

We know that the lines intersect in 2nd quadrant, so the lines drawn are just examples.

Bunuel · Answer

Check algebraic approach for similar problems: in-the-xy-plane-if-line-k-has-negative-slope-and-passes-135197.html line-m-and-n-pass-through-point-1-2-is-the-slope-of-m-90629.html lines-n-and-p-lie-in-the-xy-plane-is-the-slope-of-line-n-127999.html Hope it helps.

bumpbot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club BumpBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

In the xy-plane, is the slope of line L greater than the

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Data Sufficiency (DS) Questions

In the xy-plane, is the slope of line L greater than the

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards