OG PS #14

by **guest** Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:55 pm

Which of the following cannot be a value of 1/x-1?

I don't get the explanation for this problem. The OG says "since 1 divided by any number can never equal zero".
if x=0 then the value would be 1/-1=-1.

Am I missing something?

thanks!

by **GMATAttack** Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:15 pm

Yes, you are missing something. If you posted entire the question that would be helpful in the future.

1/x-1?

The question is asking what can the value of the entire equation not be, NOT what can the value of x not be, those are two very different questions.

Since the question is asking what the value of 1/x-1 CANNOT be...the answer is zero. The reason is simple and straightforward. In order for the value of a fraction to be zero, zero must be in the NUMERATOR (at the top) of the fraction. A number cannot be divided by zero.

If the question asked about X, which I don't think it did, then x could not be equal to 1. Since again, you cannot divide by zero.

by **RonPurewal** Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:51 am

Yeah, you should post the entire problem.

By the way, your writing of this problem - "1/x-1" - means, by default, the difference between 1/x and 1 (as dictated by the order of operations PEMDAS). If the denominator is supposed to be x - 1, then you should type the expression with parentheses: 1/(x-1).

by **guest** Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:49 am

Oh, so sorry. i totally forgot to post the answers.

Q: Which of the following CANNOT be a value of 1/x-1?

A)-1
B)0
C)2/3
D)1
E)2

by **StaceyKoprince** Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:25 pm

Is this supposed to read 1/(x-1) or (1/x) - 1?

OG PS #14

OG PS #14

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