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.
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 92nd percentile! The students with a penchant for playing with numbers and solid grasp of mathematical concept make it to the top 92nd 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…
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…
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…
Quantitative reasoning involves knowing about your fundamentals while being able to compare more than compute. Here are some tips to prepare well and score highly in GRE quantitative reasoning.
Practice, practice and more practice
Those who score highly in this section are often those candidates who are good with numbers. Yes, it is true that you have to be comfortable with numbers rather than being strong in maths itself. That would be an added advantage. But you must be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers easily to prove your assumptions and make your quick estimations rather than painfully eke out the answer from a complex equation. So, practice as many comparisons and reasoning problems as possible. The more you practice, the more you will pick up speed and the intuition to spot the right answers. Invariably the reasoning questions have to be answered by substitutions and eliminations, as you would hardly ever need to do the complete math.
Use basic principles to good effect
When you learn the fundamentals you would read a lot of theorems. For example, dealing with bases and indices, angles and side lengths etc. will always help you compare two quantities. So your strategy should always be around generalisations such as the sum of 2 sides of a triangle is always greater than length of the 3rd side. Similarly when the base is same, while multiplying 2 numbers, you can add the powers. Remembering these basic math principles will help you compare better and thereby reason better. Read more…
Quantitative aptitude in GRE is not very tough to be honest. This is the right way because it gives a level playing field for everyone. Therefore students need to go in believing that they have a chance to score well in quantitative section irrespective of whether they have a background in it or not. Here are some tips to approach the section with a positive attitude.
You can work backwards
This is one of the more underrated approaches taken for quantitative questions. That is because a lot of people look at the question try solving it and then look at the options. However, there are quite a few questions, where if you are stuck, you can make hypothetical assumptions with the options available and work your way to the top. This way, if you get lucky you can arrive at the answer pretty quickly with the first or second option you pick. All is not lost even if you are not sure how to get to the answer from the top.
Number crunching shortcuts
It is true that not all of us are good at Vedic mathematics. But there is definitely a good case for understanding the importance of shortening calculations in some smart ways. It is all about application of theories too. A very good example is the formula (a+b)(a-b) = a2 – b2. if you are looking at a seemingly daunting multiplication like 52 X 48, don’t waste valuable time multiplying it. Instead it just becomes (50 + 2)(50 – 2) which equates to 502 – 22. Isn’t that far simpler to solve? There are other short cut calculation techniques for calculating squares, adding numbers and so on and so forth. At the end of the day it is the presence of mind to use these methods which will save you precious minutes towards the end. Read more…
GRE math section consists of questions which include quantitative comparisons, multiple choice questions and analysing graphs. With 45 minutes, candidates are expected to solve around 28 questions over a wide array of topics covering arithmetic operations, percentage, estimation radical expressions, absolute value, algebra, geometry principles and data analysis.
Format and difficulty level
GRE maths includes 14 questions of quantitative comparisons, 9 multiple choice questions and 5 graphs. They test the basic mathematic skill of the students with focus on ingenuity rather than in depth knowledge that could have given undue advantage to students of maths. So although the difficulty level of the GRE math problems is not very high, students are expected to be able to spot the easy questions and tick them off rather than wasting time over lengthy solutions.
Use the substitution technique
One of the things that work very well for many students is the idea of substituting. Often you have a question where you will arrive at an equation and a lot of students try to solve that equation and get to the answer. This could be a time consuming way. If you have 4 simple multiple choices, you can substitute them and straight away get the right answer. Read more…
December 27th, 2010
admin
GRE Math section is comprised of 28 questions that you must complete in 45 minutes. You need to practice a lot top get good scores in math section of GRE.
Brenda is an experienced test creator and has created this 27 questions GRE math practice test . This gre math practice test has Math Problem Solving and Quantitative Comparison Questions. At the end of test , you would find detailed explanations for each correct answer.
Take the test and give your feedback.
