GMAT Math : Parallel Lines

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

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Example Questions

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Example Question #7 : Dsq: Calculating Whether Lines Are Parallel

You are given distinct lines  and  on the coordinate plane. Are they parallel, perpendicular, or neither?

Statement 1: Line  has -intercept  and line  has -intercept .

Statement 1: Line  has -intercept  and line  has -intercept .

Possible Answers:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question. 

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question. 

Explanation:

The answer to the question depends on the slopes of the lines—parallel lines have the same slope, and perpendicular lines have slopes that have product .

From Statement 1 alone, we only know one point of each line, so no information about their slopes can be determined; the same holds for Statement 2.

Assume both statements are true. Then we know two points of each line—specifically, both intercepts—from which we can determine the slope of each by way of the slope formula. After doing so, we can use the slopes to answer the question.

Example Question #8 : Dsq: Calculating Whether Lines Are Parallel

You are given two distinct lines, Line  and Line , on the coordinate plane. Neither line is horizontal or vertical. Are they parallel lines, perpendicular lines, or neither of these?

Statement 1: The product of the slopes of the two lines is .

Statement 2: The absolute value of the slope of Line  is .

Possible Answers:

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question. 

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The question can be answered by finding and comparing the slopes of the lines. The lines are parallel if and only if they have the same slope, and perpendicular if and only if the product of the slopes is .

Statement 1 alone does not answer the question. Two lines with slope 1 are parallel, and a line with slope 2 and a line with slope  are not, but in both cases, the product of the slopes is 1.

Statement 2 alone gives that Line  has slope 1 or , but nothing is given about the slope of Line .

Now, assume both statements are true. From Statement 2,  has slope 1 or . From Statement 1, the product of the slopes is 1; if the slope of  is 1, then the slope of  is , and if the slope of  is , then the slope of  is . Therefore, if both statements are true, the lines have the same slope, making them parallel.

Example Question #9 : Dsq: Calculating Whether Lines Are Parallel

You are given distinct lines  and  on the coordinate plane. Are they parallel, perpendicular, or neither?

Statement 1: The product of the slopes of the two lines is .

Statement 2: The slope of Line  is .

Possible Answers:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question. 

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The answer to the question depends on the slopes of the lines - parallel lines have the same slope, and perpendicular lines have slopes that have product .

Statement 1 alone only eliminates the possiblity of the lines being perpendicular, since the product of the slope is not . Two lines with slope 3 are parallel, and one line with slope 1 and one with slope 9 are neither parallel nor perpendicular; both pairs of lines satisfy Statement 1, but only the first pair is parallel. Therefore, Statement 1 only establishes that they are not perpendicular.

From Statement 2, only the slope of  is given; without the slope of , the question cannot be answered.

Assume both statements to be true. Then since Line  has slope  and the product of the slopes is 9, The slope of Line  is . Therefore, both lines have slope , and the lines are parallel.

Example Question #1 : Dsq: Calculating The Slope Of Parallel Lines

Consider this system of equations:

Does this system has exactly one solution?

Statement 1: The lines representing the equations are parallel.

Statement 2: 

Possible Answers:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The solution of a system of linear equations is the point at which their lines intersect; if they are parallel, then by definition, there is no such point, and the system has no solution.

If , then we can rewrite the second equation as 

In slope-intercept form:

This line has a slope of . The other equation has a line with slope of  also, as can be easily seen since it is already in slope-intercept form. Since both equations have lines with the same slope, they are either the same line or parallel lines; either way, the system does not have exactly one solution.

Example Question #2 : Dsq: Calculating The Slope Of Parallel Lines

If  is modeled by , find the slope of .

I) .

II)  crosses the -axis at .

Possible Answers:

Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Statement II is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement I is not sufficient to answer the question.

Either statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Both statements together are needed to answer the question.

Neither statement is sufficient to answer the question. More information is needed.

Correct answer:

Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

I) Tells us the two lines are parallel. Parallel lines have the same slope.

II) Gives us the x-intercept of b(t). By itself this gives us no clue as to the slop of b. If we had another point on b(t) we could find the slope, but we don't have another point.

So, statement I is what we need.

Example Question #3 : Dsq: Calculating The Slope Of Parallel Lines

Calculate the slope of a line parallel to line .

  1. Line  passes through points  and .
  2. The equation for line  is .
Possible Answers:

Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient.

Statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question.

Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient, and additional data is needed to answer the question.

Correct answer:

Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

Statement 1: Since we're referring to a line parallel to line XY, the slopes will be identical. We can use the points provided to calculate the slope:
   

    

We can simplify the slope to just .

 

Statement 2: Finding the slope of a line parallel to line XY is really straightforward when given the equation of a line.

       

Where  is the slope and  the y-intercept.

In this case, our  value is .\

Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Example Question #4 : Dsq: Calculating The Slope Of Parallel Lines

Find the slope of the line parallel to .

I)  passes through the point .

II)  has an x-intercept of 290.

Possible Answers:

Neither statement is sufficient to answer the question. More information is needed.

Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Either statement is sufficient to answer the question.

Both statements are needed to answer the question.

Statement II is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement I is not sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

Both statements are needed to answer the question.

Explanation:

Recall that parallel lines have the same slope and that slope can be calculated from any two points.

Statement I gives us a point on 

Statement II gives us the x-intercept, a.k.a. the point .

Therfore, using both statements, we can find the slope of  and any line parallel to it.

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