GMAT Myth - GMAT Quant tests Higher level Math Concepts!

GMAT Quant is divided into two sections: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. Both the section requires knowledge of Arithmetic, Elementary Algebra, and Geometry Concepts & Formulae. The sections test the student’s ability to solve problems, interpret graphical data, and evaluate the information required to solve quantitative problems. 37 GMAT Quant Questions need to be answered in 75 minutes. This means you will get, on an average, 2 minutes to answer each question.

The topics covered in Quant include: Number properties, Fractions, Decimals, Percent, Averages, Ratios, Work & Rates, Multiples, Factors,  Powers and Radicals, Algebra, Lines and Angles, Triangles,  Quadrilaterals, Circles and Coordinate Geometry.

As you can see, the topics are high school math topics but the trick here is that GMAC are experts at framing questions in such a way that even questions from the simplest topics can look tricky and time consuming. Let us look at a sample question provided by GMAC:

Question

If u > t, r > q, s > t, and t > r, which of the following must be true?

I. u > s
II. s > q
III. u > r

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II
(E) II and III

Answer

Remember you have 2 minutes to answer this question. The question itself has no complex formulas. It is just how you rewrite the conditions.

The best method is to substitute the variables with numbers so that all the conditions are satisfied

u > t, r > q, s > t, and t >r

Let us start with positive numbers

12>10   7>5    13>10  10>7

I. u > s 12>13 (NO)
II. s > q 13>5 (Yes)
III. u > r 12>7 (Yes)

The answer choices are

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II
(E) II and III

E is the correct answer.

The only risk here is the situation where I, II and III are all correct. Since there are no such answer choice, you can confidently pick E.