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Is x a negative number ?

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omer205
 Post subject: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:54 am 
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Students


Posts: 3
Is x a negative number?

(1) x2 is a positive number.

(2) x · |y| is not a positive number.


I believe that answer should be C. Both Statements together are sufficient.

Reason:

1. tells that x is not zero. It is either positive or negative.
2. tells that x is negative or zero (not positive).

Combing 1 and 2, I conclude that x is a negative number hence C. But CAT claims that answer is E. Can anyone explain why ?
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omer205
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:58 am 
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Posts: 3
OK. Got it. if y=0, x can be positive.

This question was really tough though...
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esledge
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 2:48 pm 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


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Location: St. Louis, MO
Yeah, that's a bit of a "gotcha." Most of us think about pos/neg questions as binary, but there is that third possibility - zero. One wording clue in this one: "not a positive number." If we weren't to consider zero, it would have been worded less awkwardly as "a negative number."

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Emily Sledge
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ManhattanGMAT
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yousuf_azim
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:06 pm 
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Posts: 45
ANS: E, I think.
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JohnHarris
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:05 am 
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Posts: 38
omer205 wrote:
Is x a negative number?

(1) x2 is a positive number.

(2) x · |y| is not a positive number.

...


O.K., (1) says x is not zero but what is y? Is it zero? If so what does (2) imply? Is y equal to 10? If so, what does (2) imply. Is there any limitations on y which says it can't be zero? Any limitations which says it can't be 10? Are there any limitations on y at all?
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yousuf_azim
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:35 am 
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Posts: 45
Dears,

|y| means what??

Let me clear the concept.

BR
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jnelson0612
 Post subject: Re: Is x a negative number ?
 Post Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 11:52 pm 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 1857
yousuf_azim wrote:
Dears,

|y| means what??

Let me clear the concept.

BR


Yousuf, that is the absolute value of y, which means that it indicates the positive distance from y to zero on the number line. Thus, that number can never be negative and it's smallest possible value is zero. :-)

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Jamie Nelson
ManhattanGMAT Instructor
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