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A certain computer program randomly generates equations of lines in the form y = mx + b. If point P
is a point on a line generated by this program, what is the probability that the line does NOT pass through figure ABCD?
  • a)
    3/4
  • b)
    3/5
  • c)
    1/2
  • d)
    2/5
  • e)
    1/4
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
A certain computer program randomly generates equations of lines in th...

The most difficult part of this question is conceptualizing what you're asked to find. The best way to handle tricky problems like this is to break them down into their component parts, resolve each part, then reconstruct them as a whole. You start off with a coordinate plane and four points (A, B, C, and D) that form a square when joined. Beneath the square, on the x-axis, lies another point, P. Then you are asked to determine the probability that a line randomly drawn through P will not also pass through square ABCD. In any probability question, the first thing you need to determine is the number of total possibilities. In this case, the total number of possibilities will be the total number of lines that can be drawn through P. The problem, though, is that there are literally infinitely many lines that satisfy this criterion. We cannot use infinity as the denominator of our probability fraction. So what to do? 
This is where some creative thinking is necessary. First, you need to recognize that there must be a limited range of possibilities for lines that pass through both P and ABCD. If that were not the case, the probability would necessarily be 1 or 0. What is this range? Well, drawing out a diagram of the problem will help enormously here. Any line that passes through both P and ABCD has to pass through a triangle formed by ABP. This triangle is an isosceles right triangle. We know this because if we drop perpendiculars from points A and B, we end up with two isosceles right triangles, with angles of 45 degrees on either side of P. Since angles along a straight line must equal 180, we know that angle APB must measure 90 degrees. So if angle APB measures 90 degrees, we can use that to figure out the proportion of lines that pass through both P and ABCD. If we draw a semicircle with P as its center, we can see that the proportion of lines passing through P and ABCD will be the same as the proportion of the semicircle occupied by sector APB. Since a semicircle contains 180 degrees, sector APB occupies 1/2 of the semicircle. So 1/2 of all possible lines through P will also pass though ABCD, which means the 1/2 will NOT pass through ABCD and we have our answer.
The correct answer is C.
 
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A certain computer program randomly generates equations of lines in the form y = mx + b. If point Pis a point on a line generated by this program, what is the probability that the line does NOT pass through figure ABCD?a)3/4b)3/5c)1/2d)2/5e)1/4Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2025 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about A certain computer program randomly generates equations of lines in the form y = mx + b. If point Pis a point on a line generated by this program, what is the probability that the line does NOT pass through figure ABCD?a)3/4b)3/5c)1/2d)2/5e)1/4Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2025 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for A certain computer program randomly generates equations of lines in the form y = mx + b. If point Pis a point on a line generated by this program, what is the probability that the line does NOT pass through figure ABCD?a)3/4b)3/5c)1/2d)2/5e)1/4Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?.
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