Continuing our discussion on the changes taking place in the GRE (the acronym for Graduate Record Examination), we come to the numeric entry questions, data interpretation questions and the use of calculator. While the first and last are entirely new to the world’s most popular standardized test, the section on data interpretation has been a part of the test since a long time. Let us take a look at what each of the sections entail:

I. Numeric Entry Questions

Ahh…We are Back to the school and college days where we had to solve the questions entirely and then put down the answers. These questions will make you realize the advantages of multiple choice questions where you could at least get to the answers by elimination or hit and trial or back solving!

In this type of question, you have to solve the problem and then enter the answer in the text box provided alongside for the purpose. In case, the answer is in fraction, two boxes will be supplied, one for the numerator, another for the denominator. If answer is in decimals, then you know how you have to enter in the right answer: the integer part, followed by the decimal point and the decimal part. Read more…

In the previous post, we discussed about the impending changes in the GRE quantitative reasoning section with respect to the quantitative comparison questions. In today’s post, we will discuss the changes in the usual multiple choice questions where there will be select one single answer questions and select one or two multiple answer questions that is there can be more than one answer!

Multiple Choice Questions – Select One

The most familiar question type in the GRE exam, it remains as it was in the old GRE. A question problem is given followed by multiple answer choices. You have to solve the question and mark the right answer choice. As simple as that!

Just keep in mind that before actually solving the question, you go through the answer choices given to know the format in which the answer is desired, that is decimal or fraction and the units also. This will make your task less complex and quicker.

An Example of this type of question is:

Multiple Choice Questions – Select One or Two

These are the multiple choice questions with a twist: there can now be two correct answers from the options given below the question. This is more on the lines of analytical quantitative reasoning and a thorough knowledge of mathematical fundamentals is quite necessary. Options can be as simple as 8 and 2³ or can be analytical for questions based on geometrical figures.

An example of this type of question is:

To crack new GRE revised General test, you need to not only be thorough with the mathematical principles but also practice GRE kind of question on a regular basis. You need to in a way mold your thought process for that particular kind of problem solving.

GRE is changing! GRE is Changing and before you know it, GRE has already changed! August is just around the corner and the current month of June is the last change for the GRE applicants to give the test in the old GRE format. From August 2011, the new GRE will come into effect, and students will be pitched against newer types of questions in the maths as well as verbal ability sections.

Do not panic because of the changes. The fundamentals of maths will remain to be the same. It is not as if 2+2 will be suddenly equal to 5 or the sum total of all the angles in a triangle will be lesser than or greater than 180! The proposed changes have been made to make the quantitative section of GRE more analytical and hence it is now known as quantitative reasoning.

There will be four types of questions in the GRE quantitative reasoning, namely quantitative comparison, Multiple-Choice Questions – Select One, Multiple-Choice Questions – Select One or More, Numeric Entry, Data Interpretation etc.

Let us take a look at the GRE Quantitative Comparison questions:

Under these types of questions, two quantities are given along with some information on them. Based on the information given above them, you have to decide whether

a)      Quantity A is greater than Quantity B

b)      Quantity B is greater than Quantity A

c)       Quantity A is equal to Quantity B

d)      No relationship can be determined between the two quantities on the basis of given information

Example:

It is crucial to score high in GRE Math section. This fact we had already established in Strategy to Score high on GRE Math – I, along with a couple of simple strategies for beginners: you need at least two to three months to prepare well and regular practicing and revision are a must.

Now, going ahead with our discussion, let us take a look at a few more techniques to get high GRE math score. First things first: get your concepts on numbers right!

Yes, we are referring to the knowledge of number system and loads of shortcut tips and techniques to solve questions based on number system. Students preparing for the old GRE General Test and appearing for the same before June 2011, will be required to solve questions such as: Read more…

The Quantitative/Math section of the GRE can easily turn into a nightmare for students who are not super skilled in the subject. The test will only get tougher, once the new revised GRE General Test comes into effect from August 1, 2011. At least, this is what the GRE counselors and test experts are saying. Their reasoning stems from the fact that in the new revised GRE test, the actual numbers will be replaced with generic variables (a, b, c, d etc) and the answers will reflect sharp problem solving skills of the candidate.

Therefore, it is clear that clear understanding of important mathematical concepts will play a vital role towards high GRE scores. As it is, the section is tougher than the Verbal Reasoning or Analytical Writing Assessment, with the highest score being equated with only 92^nd percentile! The students with a penchant for playing with numbers and solid grasp of mathematical concept make it to the top 92^nd percentile, but the most of the GRE candidates are not expert math test takers and therefore, need to work very hard to get hi Read more…

Analytical reasoning and comparison tests are amongst the favorite topics of GRE test makers. This is so because they can experiment a lot with these kind of questions and twist the difficulty level without much effort.

You must have noticed that all GRE Quantitative tests do figures one or two sets of these kinds of questions, which basically test your reasoning faculties and the efficiency with which you use them. The key to solving these kinds of questions is to get your basics right and speed up your calculation cum thinking process. Read more…

Passage based quantitative aptitude questions form a major part of the GRE quantitative sections. The students are required to analyze the date provided in the paragraph very closely and answer the questions that follow. The basic knowledge of arithmetic concepts like ratio, proportion, variation, percentage, fractions, profit and loss and average come in quite handy in solving these kinds of questions.

Given below is one such paragraph based question. Have you taken a GRE quantitative practice test recently? We advise you to undergo online GRE testing at least twice a week!

Directions: For questions 136 to 140: these questions are based on the following information:

In an electronic goods manufacturing unit, there are three machines X, Y, and Z whose capacities to manufacture gadgets of quality A are in the ratio 3:7:2. Their capacities to manufacture gadgets of quality B are in the ratio 3:4:1. X manufactures 60 units more or 50 percent more of quality A in a day than that of quality B. The cost per unit of gadget of quality A and B are $40 and $120 respectively. The ratio of selling prices per unit of gadgets of quality A and B are 2.5. The profit on selling the gadgets of quality A and B is in the ratio 2 : 3.

1. The profit per unit on selling gadgets of quality A is?

a)      $20

b)      $30

c)       $15

d)      $10

e)      $40

2. The capacity of machine Z to manufacture gadgets of quality B per day is

a)      20

b)      50

c)       25

d)      100

e)      None of these

3. On a particular day, only gadgets of quality A  were produced to full capacity and sold on the same day. The profit made on that day is:

a)      $24000

b)      $14,400

c)       $15000

d)      $12000

e)      $16500

4. The capacity of Y to manufacture gadgets of quality A is how much percentage more or less than the capacity of Z to manufacture gadgets of quality B?

a)      120 percent more

b)      150 percent less

c)       1200 percent more

d)      950 percent more

e)      60 percent less

5. The profit percentage obtained by selling gadgets of quality B per unit is:

a)      50/3 %

b)      20 %

c)       25 %

d)      100/3 %

e)      50 %

Data interpretation and quantitative section also comprises questions based on pie charts which are fairly easy to solve and the chances getting right answers in the minimum time possible are quite high. How well do you know pie-chart concepts?

Solutions: 1 (a), 2(e), 3(b), 4(d), 5(c )

Pie charts are very popular amongst the GRE math section test makers and can be used in virtually any part and in any way. Here we have a pie-chart based question for you to solve. Let us see how well you know the GRE pie chart concepts. Read more…

Proportion and Variation are important mathematical concepts. The GRE test takers are required to be proficient and quite handy with the Proportion and Variation techniques because a lot of questions in the exam are based upon them. Usually, there is a secondary and perhaps lengthier way to solve a question, which can be solved within seconds with the help of variation concepts.

Let us take a quick review of the Proportion and Variation theory and try a few GRE practice questions.

Direct Proportion

If X is directly proportional to Y, then as X increases Y also increases proportionally. For example, the relationship between speed, distance and time, speed is directly proportional to distance when time is constant.  This means that the distance a body travels will double if the speed becomes twice. Well, isn’t it common sense? Obviously if you move faster, you will discover greater distance in the same time period. So, you see, people have a way to complicate things in the name of formulating apt theories!

Direct Variation

Variation is the same thing as above, with the only exception that the ratio is not constant. In proportion, if one quantity doubles, the other one doubles as well. In Variation, one quantity can increase by three times, four times or only marginally, in response to an increase in the other related quantity.

The variation between the two quantities is determined by X = KY where K is the constant of variation. Read more…

How to Score Perfect on GRE Quantitative

The highest one can score in quantitative section of a GRE test is 800. There are people who do score 800 and a lot of students who score very highly in quantitative. Therefore aiming for a perfect score in GRE quantitative is indeed a realistic target that needs lot of practice, hard work and a tiny slice of luck on the day of the examination.

The scoring dynamics

Most of the top university programs take students with high quantitative scores, even though slightly lower scores in the Verbal section are tolerated. For example, the average GRE quantitative score for Columbia is over 770 while it is just around 750 for University of Pennsylvania and Yale. The score is generally calculated based on the number of questions answered correctly, although it is not uniform. The raw score which is the number of right answers translates into the scaled score on a scale of 0 – 800. You get 200 for answering up to 5 questions correctly. Between 9 to 24 correct questions, you add up almost 30 points to your scaled score. From 24 – 28, you get 20 points for every right answer. 28 is the total number of questions and since it is a bell curve, one gets the maximum benefit and percentile change in the middle.

How to score on the higher side?

Scoring high, to start with, in GRE quantitative needs you to develop 2 exceptional qualities. The first is to develop the speed to solve a major part of quantitative questions in under a minute. This needs you to convert the question into a viable formula that you can remember and then proceed to solve. The second thing is the ability to identify the question that needs to be solved and the question where the answer needs to be deduced, instead of lengthy, complicated math. Read more…