If J, S, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance bet

Question

If J, S, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance between S and V?

(1) The distance between J and S is 20.
(2) The distance between J and V is 25.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

SOLUTION

If J, S, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance between 5 and V?

(1) The distance between J and S is 20.
(2) The distance between J and V is 25.

The answer to this question is E. Notice that we don't know relative positioning of the points on the number line:

Attachment:

Untitled.png [ 22.84 KiB | Viewed 25876 times ]

Answer: E.

WoundedTiger · Answer

If J, 5, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance between 5 and V?

(1) The distance between J and 5 is 20.
(2) The distance between J and V is 25.

Sol:

We need to find the distance between 5 and V ie. l 5-V l

From St 1 we have the distance between J and 5. We can J anywhere to the left or right of 5 and the distance between them can be 20. So Possible values of J will be 25 or -15 . Not Sufficient

From St 2 we have the distance b/w J and V is 25. Not sufficient as we do not know the position relative to 5 on the number line

Combining we get there are the 2 values of J ie. -15 or 25 and thus value of V can be -40 or 10 (25 to the left or right of  -15(J value) ) or 50 or 0 (25 to the left or right of 25 (J value))

Hence 5- V can have multiple values.

Ans E

energetics · Answer

This is a good question to understand the concept of absolute value. 
Prompt: |S-V| = ?

1) |J-S| = 20
Picking some numbers... Say J is 0, so S is either -20 or 20. No info about V, NS

2) |J-V| = 25
Say J is 0 again, so V is either -25 or 25. No info about S, NS

3) Combining we could say:
|S-V| = |±20 - ±25|

20±25 = -5 or 45 and -20±25 = 5 or -45

Since we're looking for |S-V|, or the distance between the two points, it has two possible values, 5 and 45. So Both are still NS.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Solution:

Question Stem Analysis:

We need to determine the distance between S and V, given that they are points on the number line along with J.

Statement One Alone:
 
Since we don’t know anything about point V, statement one alone is not sufficient.

Statement Two Alone:
 
Since we don’t know anything about point S, statement two alone is not sufficient.

Statements One and Two Together:
 
Both statements together are still not sufficient. For example, if J is between S and V, then the distance between S and V is 20 + 25 = 45. However, if J is to the right (or to the left) of both S and V, then the distance between S and V is 25 - 20 = 5.

Answer: E

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.

If J, S, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance bet

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

If J, S, and V are points on the number line, what is the distance bet

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