Graphing - GMAT Quantitative
Card 1 of 400
What is the equation of the line of symmetry of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane?
Statement 1: The parabola has one of its two 
-intercepts at the point 
.
Statement 2: The 
-intercept of the parabola is at the origin.
What is the equation of the line of symmetry of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane?
Statement 1: The parabola has one of its two
Statement 2: The
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The line of symmetry of a vertical parabola is the vertical line passing through the vertex. Each statement alone gives only one point on the graph, neither of which is the vertex, so neither statement alone gives sufficient information.
Now assume both statements to be true. Statement 1 gives one 
-intercept, 
; Statement 2 states that the graph passes through the origin, so it is not only the 
-intercept, it is also the other 
-intercept. The 
-coordinate of the vertex is the arithmetic mean of those of the two 
-intercepts, so that value is
Only the 
-coordinate of the vertex is needed to answer the question - we can immediately deduce that the line of symmetry is 
.
The line of symmetry of a vertical parabola is the vertical line passing through the vertex. Each statement alone gives only one point on the graph, neither of which is the vertex, so neither statement alone gives sufficient information.
Now assume both statements to be true. Statement 1 gives one
Only the
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The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
,
where 
are real, and 
is a nonzero number.
How many 
-intercepts does this parabola on the coordinate plane have - zero, one, or two?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
where
How many
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Assume Statement 1 alone. The number of 
-intercepts(s) of the graph of 
depends on the sign of discriminant 
. By Statement 1, 
, or, equivalently, 
, which means that the parabola of 
has exactly one 
-intercept.
Statement 2 alone, that the quadratic coefficient is positive, only establishes that the parabola is concave upward. Therefore, it gives insufficient information.
Assume Statement 1 alone. The number of
Statement 2 alone, that the quadratic coefficient is positive, only establishes that the parabola is concave upward. Therefore, it gives insufficient information.
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The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
, 
real, 
nonzero.
Is this parabola concave upward or concave downward?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
Is this parabola concave upward or concave downward?
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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The parabola is concave upward if and only if 
, and concave downward if and only if 
. Therefore, we need to know the sign of 
to answer the question. Statement 2, but not Statement 1, gives us the value of 
, the sign of which is positive, so Statement 2 alone, but not Statement 1 alone, tells us the parabola is concave upward.
The parabola is concave upward if and only if
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What is the equation of the line of symmetry of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane?
Statement 1: The 
-intercept of the parabola is 
.
Statement 2: The only 
-intercept of the parabola is at 
.
What is the equation of the line of symmetry of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane?
Statement 1: The
Statement 2: The only
Tap to reveal answer
The line of symmetry of a vertical parabola is the vertical line passing through the vertex. Statement 1 alone is not helpful, since it only gives the 
-intercept.
Statement 2 alone, however, answers the question. In a parabola with only one 
-intercept, that 
-intercept, given in Statement 2 as 
, doubles as the vertex. The vertical line through the vertex, which here is the line with equation 
, is the line of symmetry.
The line of symmetry of a vertical parabola is the vertical line passing through the vertex. Statement 1 alone is not helpful, since it only gives the
Statement 2 alone, however, answers the question. In a parabola with only one
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The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
, real, nonzero.
How many 
-intercepts does the parabola have - zero, one, or two?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
The equation of a vertical parabola on the coordinate plane can be written in the form
How many
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Assume Statement 1 alone. The number of 
-intercepts of the graph of the function - depends on the sign of the discriminant of the expression, 
.
If 
, then the discriminant becomes
Since in a quadratic equation, 
is nonzero, 
must be positive, and discriminant 
must be negative. This means that the parabola of 
has no 
-intercepts.
We show that Statement 2 alone gives insufficient information by examining two equations: 
and 
. In both equations, the sum of the coefficients is 9.
In the first equation, the discriminant is
, a positive value, so the parabola of 
has two 
-intercepts.
In the second equation, however, the discriminant is
, a negative value, so the parabola of 
has no 
-intercepts.
Assume Statement 1 alone. The number of
If
Since in a quadratic equation,
We show that Statement 2 alone gives insufficient information by examining two equations:
In the first equation, the discriminant is
In the second equation, however, the discriminant is
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Find the graph of the linear function 
.
I) 
passes through the points 
and 
.
II) 
intercepts the 
-axis at 
.
Find the graph of the linear function
I)
II)
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Find the graph of the linear function 
.
I) 
passes through the points 
and 
.
II) 
intercepts the 
-axis at .
Using I), we can find the slope of the function, and then we can start at either point and extend the slope in either direction to find our graph:
So, using I) we are able to find the slope, from which we can find our graph
II) gives us one point, but without any more information, we cannot use II) by itself to find the rest of the graph
So:
Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.
Find the graph of the linear function
I)
II)
Using I), we can find the slope of the function, and then we can start at either point and extend the slope in either direction to find our graph:
So, using I) we are able to find the slope, from which we can find our graph
II) gives us one point, but without any more information, we cannot use II) by itself to find the rest of the graph
So:
Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.
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Find the graph of 
.
I) 
is a linear equation which passes through the point 
.
II) 
crosses the y-axis at 1300.
Find the graph of
I)
II)
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Find the graph of 
.
I) 
is a linear equation which passes through the point 
.
II) 
crosses the y-axis at 1300.
To graph a linear equation, we need some combination of slope, y-intercept, or two points.
Statement I tells us 
is linear and gives us one point.
Statement II gives us the y-intercept of 
.
We can use Statement I and Statement II to find the slope of 
. Then, we can plot the given points and continue the line in either direction to get our graph.
Slope:
Plugging in the provided value of 
, 1300, we have the equation of the line 
:
Find the graph of
I)
II)
To graph a linear equation, we need some combination of slope, y-intercept, or two points.
Statement I tells us
Statement II gives us the y-intercept of
We can use Statement I and Statement II to find the slope of
Slope:
Plugging in the provided value of
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Graph a line, if possible.
Statement 1: The slope is 4.
Statement 2: The y-intercept is 4.
Graph a line, if possible.
Statement 1: The slope is 4.
Statement 2: The y-intercept is 4.
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Statement 1): The slope is 4.
Write the slope-intercept form, and substitute the slope.
The point and the y-intercept are unknown. Either of these will be needed to solve for the graph of this line.
Statement 1) by itself is not sufficient to graph a line.
Statement 2): The y-intercept is 4.
Substitute the y-intercept into the incomplete formula.
The function 
can then be graphed on the x-y coordinate plane.
Therefore:
Statement 1): The slope is 4.
Write the slope-intercept form, and substitute the slope.
The point and the y-intercept are unknown. Either of these will be needed to solve for the graph of this line.
Statement 1) by itself is not sufficient to graph a line.
Statement 2): The y-intercept is 4.
Substitute the y-intercept into the incomplete formula.
The function
Therefore:
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
.
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Only positive numbers have logarithms, so:
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
Statement 1 alone gives that 
. 
is the reciprocal of this, or 
, and 
, so the vertical asymptote is 
.
Statement 2 alone gives no clue about either 
, 
, or their relationship.
Only positive numbers have logarithms, so:
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
Statement 1 alone gives that
Statement 2 alone gives no clue about either
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
.
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Since a logarithm of a nonpositive number cannot be taken,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
Each of Statement 1 and Statement 2 gives us only one of 
and 
. However, the two together tell us that
making the vertical asymptote
.
Since a logarithm of a nonpositive number cannot be taken,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
Each of Statement 1 and Statement 2 gives us only one of
making the vertical asymptote
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Does the graph of 
have a 
-intercept?
Statement 1: 
.
Statement 2: 
.
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Does the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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The 
-intercept of the graph of the function 
, if there is one, occurs at the point with 
-coordinate 0. Therefore, we find 
:
This expression is defined if and only if 
is a positive value. Statement 1 gives 
as positive, so it follows that the graph indeed has a 
-intercept. Statement 2, which only gives 
, is irrelevant.
The
This expression is defined if and only if
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Does the graph of 
have a 
-intercept?
Statement 1: 
.
Statement 2: 
and 
have different signs.
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Does the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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The 
-intercept of the graph of the function 
, if there is one, occurs at the point with 
-coordinate 0. Therefore, we find 
:
This expression is defined if and only if 
is a positive value. However, the two statements together do not give this information; the values of 
and 
from Statement 1 are irrelevant, and Statement 2 does not reveal which of 
and 
is positive and which is negative.
The
This expression is defined if and only if
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
in relation to the 
-axis - is it to the left of it, to the right of it, or on it?
Statement 1: 
and 
are both positive.
Statement 2: 
and 
are of opposite sign.
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
Statement 1 gives irrelevant information. But Statement 2 alone gives sufficient information; since 
and 
are of opposite sign, their quotient 
is negative, and 
is positive. This locates the vertical asymptote on the right side of the 
-axis.
Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
Statement 1 gives irrelevant information. But Statement 2 alone gives sufficient information; since
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
in relation to the 
-axis - is it to the left of it, to the right of it, or on it?
Statement 1: 
and 
are both positive.
Statement 2: 
and 
are of opposite sign.
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Tap to reveal answer
Since only positive numbers have logarithms, the expression 
must be positive, so
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
In order to determine which side of the 
-axis the vertical asymptote falls, it is necessary to find the sign of 
; if it is negative, it is on the left side, if it is positive, it is on the right side.
Assume both statements are true. By Statement 1, 
is positive. If 
is positive, then 
is negative, and vice versa. However, Statement 2, which mentions 
, does not give its actual sign - just the fact that its sign is the opposite of that of 
, which we are not given either. The two statements therefore give insufficient information.
Since only positive numbers have logarithms, the expression
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
In order to determine which side of the
Assume both statements are true. By Statement 1,
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
.
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Give the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Tap to reveal answer
Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
Assume both statements to be true. We need two numbers 
and 
whose sum is 7 and whose product is 12; by trial and error, we can find these numbers to be 3 and 4. However, without further information, we have no way of determining which of 
and 
is 3 and which is 4, so the asymptote can be either 
or 
.
Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
Assume both statements to be true. We need two numbers
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
What is the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
?
Statement 1: 
and 
are of opposite sign.
Statement 2: 
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
What is the equation of the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Tap to reveal answer
Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
In order to determine which side of the 
-axis the vertical asymptote falls, it is necessary to find the sign of 
; if it is negative, it is on the left side, and if it is positive, it is on the right side.
Statement 1 alone only gives us that 
is a different sign from 
; without any information about the sign of 
, we cannot answer the question.
Statement 2 alone gives us that 
, and, consequently, 
. This means that 
and 
are of opposite sign. But again, with no information about the sign of 
, we cannot answer the question.
Assume both statements to be true. Since, from the two statements, both 
and 
are of the opposite sign from 
, 
and 
are of the same sign. Their quotient 
is positive, and 
is negative, so the vertical asymptote 
is to the left of the 
-axis.
Since only positive numbers have logarithms,
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
In order to determine which side of the
Statement 1 alone only gives us that
Statement 2 alone gives us that
Assume both statements to be true. Since, from the two statements, both
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Define a function 
as follows:
for nonzero real numbers 
.
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of 
in relation to the 
-axis - is it to the left of it, to the right of it, or on it?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
Define a function
for nonzero real numbers
Where is the vertical asymptote of the graph of
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Tap to reveal answer
Only positive numbers have logarithms, so:
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
.
In order to determine which side of the 
-axis the vertical asymptote falls, it is necessary to find out whether the signs of 
and 
are the same or different. If 
and 
are of the same sign, then their quotient 
is positive, and 
is negative, putting 
on the left side of the 
-axis. If 
and 
are of different sign, then their quotient 
is negative, and 
is positive, putting 
on the right side of the 
-axis.
Statement 1 alone does not give us enough information to determine whether 
and 
have different signs. 
, for example, but 
, also.
From Statement 2, since the product of 
and 
is negative, they must be of different sign. Therefore, 
is positive, and 
falls to the right of the 
-axis.
Only positive numbers have logarithms, so:
Therefore, the vertical asymptote must be the vertical line of the equation
In order to determine which side of the
Statement 1 alone does not give us enough information to determine whether
From Statement 2, since the product of
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In which quadrant is the point 
located: I, II, III, or IV?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
In which quadrant is the point
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Assume Statement 1 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points on the line of the equation
which will pass through at least two quadrants on the coordinate plane. Therefore, Statement 1 provides insufficient information.
Now assume Statement 2 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points of the circle of the equation
This circle has 
as its center and 
as its radius. Since its center is 
, which is 5 units away from its closest axis, and the radius is less than 5 units, the circle never intersects an axis, so it is contained entirely within the same quadrant as its center. The center has negative 
- and 
-coordinates, placing it, and the entire circle, in Quadrant III.
Assume Statement 1 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points on the line of the equation
which will pass through at least two quadrants on the coordinate plane. Therefore, Statement 1 provides insufficient information.
Now assume Statement 2 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points of the circle of the equation
This circle has
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In which quadrant is the point 
located: I, II, III, or IV?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
In which quadrant is the point
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Assume Statement 1 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points on the line of the equation
,
which will pass through at least two quadrants on the coordinate plane. Therefore, Statement 1 provides insufficient information. By the same argument, Statement 2 is also insuffcient.
Now assume both statements to be true. The two statements together form a system of linear equations which can be solved using the elimination method:
Now, substitute back:
The point is 
, which has a positive 
-coordinate and a negative 
-coordinate and is consequently in Quadrant IV.
Assume Statement 1 alone. The set of points that satisfy the equation is the set of all points on the line of the equation
which will pass through at least two quadrants on the coordinate plane. Therefore, Statement 1 provides insufficient information. By the same argument, Statement 2 is also insuffcient.
Now assume both statements to be true. The two statements together form a system of linear equations which can be solved using the elimination method:
Now, substitute back:
The point is
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In which quadrant is the point 
located: I, II, III, or IV?
Statement 1: 
Statement 2: 
In which quadrant is the point
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
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Assume Statement 1 alone. The points 
and 
each satisfy the condition of the statement; however, the former is in Quadrant I, having a positive 
-coordinate and a positive 
-coordinate; the latter is in Quadrant IV, having a positive 
-coordinate and a negative 
-coordinate.
Assume Statement 2 alone. The points 
and 
each satisfy the condition of the statement, since 
. However, the former is in Quadrant IV, having a positive 
-coordinate and a negative 
-coordinate; the latter is in Quadrant II, having a negative 
-coordinate and a positive 
-coordinate.
Assume both statements to be true. Statement 2 can be rewritten as 
; since 
is positive from Statement 1, 
is negative. Since the point has a positive 
-coordinate and a negative 
-coordinate, it is in Quadrant IV.
Assume Statement 1 alone. The points
Assume Statement 2 alone. The points
Assume both statements to be true. Statement 2 can be rewritten as
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