Last visit was: 26 Apr 2026, 09:28 It is currently 26 Apr 2026, 09:28
Close
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
Your Progress

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
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 26 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,837
Own Kudos:
811,404
 [1]
Given Kudos: 105,896
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,837
Kudos: 811,404
 [1]
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
AbhishekGopal
Joined: 08 May 2016
Last visit: 14 Feb 2019
Posts: 11
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 6
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Human Resources
GMAT 1: 520 Q31 V31
GPA: 3.3
WE:Human Resources (Consulting)
GMAT 1: 520 Q31 V31
Posts: 11
Kudos: 8
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 26 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,837
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 105,896
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,837
Kudos: 811,404
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
NandishSS
Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Last visit: 28 Jan 2021
Posts: 700
Own Kudos:
1,788
 [2]
Given Kudos: 579
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Finance
GPA: 3.35
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
Posts: 700
Kudos: 1,788
 [2]
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
If ab > 9, is a < 1?

(1) b < 9
(2) 1 < b < 8

Hi,

(1)b < 9

Consider b=-8 and a=-2 & ab>9 is a < 1--Yes

Now Consider b=4 and a=4 & ab>9 is a < 1--No

So Statement 1 is not suff

(2) 1 < b < 8

In this case consider extreme b=7.99 then to prove ab>9 a has to be greater than 1, hence gives ans no hence suff

Hence B
User avatar
HKD1710
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Last visit: 26 Feb 2021
Posts: 960
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 182
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Technology
GMAT 1: 540 Q45 V20
GPA: 2.49
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
GMAT 1: 540 Q45 V20
Posts: 960
Kudos: 4,663
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AbhishekGopal
Hi Bunuel,

Could you please tell me how you got B as the answer choice?

I got D as the answer.

Hi AbhishekGopal,

Here is how D is incorrect:

ab > 9

ab/9 > 1

a(b/9) > 1

stmt-1: b < 9

if b < 9 then b/9 < 1

a*something-less-than-1 > 1 shows that a has to be greater than 1 i.e. a > 1. so you say this sentence is fine. is this sufficient?

stmt-2:

1 < b < 8

again it means b/9 < 1 and reasoning is same a*something-less-than-1 > 1 shows that a has to be greater than 1.

but wait we are getting the same answer from both the statements but are the ranges provided for b by both the statements SAME? No!

in stmt-1 b can be -ve also.

all right so if b is negative then a also has to be -ve for a(b/9) > 1 to be true. which means a < 1. so this proves that stmt-1 is not sufficient.

I wanted to prove two things here:

#1. If i followed the process of evaluating the statement very carefully then i would not have gotten into the trap initially in statement-1. but now that i was trapped:
#2. Take help from the other statement. Great, this told me that there was sometthing fishy about statement-1.

Trap - We generally forget to test the -ve values. Learning!
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,988
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,988
Kudos: 1,118
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
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.
Moderators:
Math Expert
109837 posts
498 posts
212 posts