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Bunuel
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Is ab > 0? (1) 1/a < 1 (2) b^3c^2 > 0 27 Nov 2019, 01:46
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Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

62% (01:10) correct 38% (01:02) wrong based on 65 sessions

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Is \(ab > 0\)?

(1) \(\frac{1}{a}<1\)

(2) \(b^3c^2>0\)
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chetan2u
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GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
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Is ab > 0? (1) 1/a < 1 (2) b^3c^2 > 0 27 Nov 2019, 03:34
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Is \(ab > 0\)? Are a and b of SAME sign?

(1) \(\frac{1}{a}<1\)
a could be any integer except 1 and 0, so a can be positive or negative.

(2) \(b^3c^2>0\)
c^2 will always be positive, so b is positive.
Nothing about a

Combined
b>0, but a could be anything

E
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Rishbha
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Is ab > 0? (1) 1/a < 1 (2) b^3c^2 > 0 04 Dec 2019, 05:12
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chetan2u
Is \(ab > 0\)? Are a and b of SAME sign?

(1) \(\frac{1}{a}<1\)
a could be any integer except 1 and 0, so a can be positive or negative.

(2) \(b^3c^2>0\)
c^2 will always be positive, so b is positive.
Nothing about a

Combined
b>0, but a could be anything

E
Show more
Hello chetan2u,

please help me understand below query :

if 1/a< 1 , then doesnt that mean a>1 ? When we cross multiply?

And if a>1 and b>0, then even if they are fractions, the result of ab should always be gretaer than 0?

Thank you
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chetan2u
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GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
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GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
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Is ab > 0? (1) 1/a < 1 (2) b^3c^2 > 0 04 Dec 2019, 05:47
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Rishbha
chetan2u
Is \(ab > 0\)? Are a and b of SAME sign?

(1) \(\frac{1}{a}<1\)
a could be any integer except 1 and 0, so a can be positive or negative.

(2) \(b^3c^2>0\)
c^2 will always be positive, so b is positive.
Nothing about a

Combined
b>0, but a could be anything

E
Hello chetan2u,

please help me understand below query :

if 1/a< 1 , then doesnt that mean a>1 ? When we cross multiply?

And if a>1 and b>0, then even if they are fractions, the result of ab should always be gretaer than 0?

Thank you
Show more

No it doesn’t mean a>1 as you do not know the sign of a.
Say a=-2, then 1/(-2)<1 does not mean 1<1*(-2).
Yes a>1 and b>0 will always give you ab>0, but you can say anything about a
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Rishbha
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Is ab > 0? (1) 1/a < 1 (2) b^3c^2 > 0 04 Dec 2019, 07:50
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chetan2u
Rishbha
chetan2u
Is \(ab > 0\)? Are a and b of SAME sign?

(1) \(\frac{1}{a}<1\)
a could be any integer except 1 and 0, so a can be positive or negative.

(2) \(b^3c^2>0\)
c^2 will always be positive, so b is positive.
Nothing about a

Combined
b>0, but a could be anything

E
Hello chetan2u,

please help me understand below query :

if 1/a< 1 , then doesnt that mean a>1 ? When we cross multiply?

And if a>1 and b>0, then even if they are fractions, the result of ab should always be gretaer than 0?

Thank you

No it doesn’t mean a>1 as you do not know the sign of a.
Say a=-2, then 1/(-2)<1 does not mean 1<1*(-2).
Yes a>1 and b>0 will always give you ab>0, but you can say anything about a
Show more


Thank you so much, I understand it now.
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