Terms

Distance Basic Probability Formula

Definitions
Rate x Time = Distance Number of outcomes you want / total number of possible outcomes Probability A x Probability B = Both things happening Probability A + Probability B = One or the other thing happening Wont = 1 - Will Will = 1 - Wont y = Mx + b y-intercept Slope The difference in the y-coordinates / The difference in the x-coordinates P.E.M.D.A.S Reorder and find middle number. If Even number of number take the middle two numbers and average them. The number that occurs most often. There can be more that one number that is the mode

Probability of Both things happening Probability of one or the other thing happening

Probability something wont happening Probability something wont happening Straight Line What does b mean in a straight line equation What does M mean in a straight line equation How do you find the Slope

Order of Operations Median

Mode

Data Sufficiency

In data sufficiency if the line number 1 is enough to solve the problem then ... In data sufficiency if the line number 1 is NOT

The answer has to be A or D

Then the answer has to B, C, or E

enough to solve the problem then ... If you have two Integers, each with exponents and the Integers are being multiplied then you should .... If you have two Integers, each with exponents and the Integers are being divided then you should .... When you raise a power to a power, you can simply... Distributing exponents: When several numbers are inside parentheses Quadratic Equations:If an equation is in a factored form... Quadratic Equations:If an equation is in a unfactored form... To unfactor a factored expression, just Area of a circle is equal to the circumference is equal to Volume is equal to Surface Area is Add the Exponents Example

Subtract the Exponents

multiply the exponents

the exponent outside the parentheses must be distributed to all of the numbers within. unfactor it

factor it

multiply it out using FOIL (First, Outer, Inner, Last) Pi r squared 2(Pi)(r) or Pi(d) length x width x depth The sum of all of the sides of a three dimensional figure. Even Number Odd Number Even Number Even Number Even Number Odd Number just "1" The number Add the exponents

Multiplying Even and Even will give you an... Multiplying Odd and Odd will give you an... Multiplying Even and Odd will give you an ... Adding Even and Even will give you an ... Adding Odd and Odd will give you an ... Adding Even and Odd will give you an ... Any number to the power zero is ... Any number to the power 1 is ... If you are adding multiplying the same number with exponents you can ....

Any number to the power of -1 is

a fraction GMAT Math Sample Questions Algebra Linear Equation

The given question is a word problem from Algebra and requires framing a couple of linear equations and solving the equations. Question 1 A farmer has only chickens and cows. When the farmer counted the heads of the stock in the farm, the number totaled up to 200. However, when the number of legs was counted, the number totaled up to 540. How many chickens were there in the farm? A. B. C. D. E. 70 120 60 130 80

The correct choice is (D) and the correct answer is 130. Explanatory Answer Let there by 'x' chickens and 'y' cows, therefore, x + y = 200 --- (1) Each chicken has 2 legs and each cow has 4 legs

Therefore, 2x + 4y = 540 --- (2) Solving equations (1) and (2), we get x = 130 and y = 70. There were 130 chickens and 70 pigs in the farm. Question 2 Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now? A. B. C. D. E. 12 years 6 years 3 years 9 years 27 years

The correct choice is (D) and the correct answer is 9 years. Explanatory Answer Let the age of the son 3 years back be x years Therefore, the age of the father 3 years back was x + 24 At present the age of the son is x + 3 and the father is 5 times as old as the son. i.e., x + 24 + 3 = 5(x + 3) i.e., x + 27 = 5x + 15 or 4x = 12 or x = 3. Therefore, the son was 3 years old 3 years back and he will be 9 years old three years from now.

Question 4 The basic one-way air fare for a child aged between 3 and 10 years costs half the regular fare for an adult plus a reservation charge that is the same on the child's ticket as on the adult's ticket. One reserved ticket for an adult costs $216 and the cost of a reserved ticket for an adult and a child (aged between 3 and 10) costs $327. What is the basic fare for the journey for an adult? A. B. C. D. E. $111 $52.5 $210 $58.5 $6

The correct choice is (C) and the correct answer is $210. Explanatory Answer Let the basic fare for the child be $X. Therefore, the basic fare for an adult = $2X. Let the reservation charge per ticket be $Y Hence, an adult ticket will cost 2X + Y = $216 And ticket for an adult and a childe will cost 2X + Y + X + Y = 3X + 2Y = 327 Solving for X, we get X = 105. The basic fare of an adult ticket = 2X = 2*105 = $210

The Pythagorean Theorem on the GMAT

Theres a reason this is the most famous theorem in mathematics! This remarkable theorem is one of the most versatile and highly adaptable formulas in existence. Of course, Im sure you remember that it says: For any right triangle,

Of course, if any question gives you two sides of a right triangle and asks you to find the third, you will use this formula. Here are a couple problems to show its other guises.

Practice Questions: Using the Pythagorean Theorem

1) In the coordinate plane, point A has coordinates (-2, -1) and point B has coordinates (4, 7). What is the length of segment AB? A. B. C. D. E. 10 10.5 12 13.675 14 2) Paul drove 50 miles north, then changed direction and drove 120 miles east. At the end of this trip, how far was he from his starting point? A. B. C. D. E. 70 miles 110 miles 130 miles 150 miles 170 miles

Answers and Explanations

1) The easiest distances to find in the coordinate plane are the horizontal and vertical lines, so we begin by drawing those.

For the lengths of AC and BC, we can simply count boxes. AC = 6 and BC = 8. These are the two legs of a right triangle, and AB is the hypotenuse, so

Answer: A. 2) Essentially, Paul drove along the legs of a big right triangle, and the hypotenuse is how far he is from his starting point.

Therefore,

Answer: C.

GMAT Math: Area of a Triangle

By Mike on January 4, 2012 in Formulas, Geometry, Math

As you may remember from high school,

, where b is the base and h is the height. If you , and

are having trouble remembering this, simply remember that a rectangle has an area of that a triangle is half a rectangle.

Practice Question: Using the Area Formula

1) The figure on the left is an isosceles right triangle, and the figure on the right is a square of length 3. Find the value of b. Statement #1: b is the length of the diagonal of the square. Statement #2: the triangle and the square have the same area.

Answer and Explanation

Statement #1 says that b is the length of the diagonal of the square. We know the side of the square is 3, so we could find the length of its diagonal with the ubiquitous Pythagorean Theorem. Therefore, we would know b. Statement #1 is sufficient by itself. Statement #2 says that the triangle and the square have equal area. Well, we know the area of the square is 9. The triangle has a base of b, and because we know its isosceles, we know its height is

also b. Its area, sufficient by itself. Answer: D.

, must equal 9. That means, we can solve for b. Statement #2 is also

GMAT Averages and Sums Formulas

By Mike on January 5, 2012 in Formulas, Math

Everyone knows how to find an average, but the power of this formula is often underestimated. We know: average = (sum of the items)/(number of items) Notice, we can also write this as:

sum of items = (average)*(number of items) This latter form can be powerful. For example, if we add or subtract one item from a set, we can easily figure out how that changes the sum, and that can allow us to calculate the new average. Also, if we are combining two groups of different sizes, we cant add averages, but we can add sums.

Practice Questions: Averages

1) There are 17 students in a certain class. On the day the test was given, Taqeesha was absent. The other 16 students took the test, and their average was 77. The next day, Taqeesha took the test, and with her grade included, the new average is 78. What is Taqeeshas grade on the test? A. B. C. D. E. 78 80 87 91 94

2) A company has 15 managers and 75 associates. The 15 managers have an average salary of $120,000. The 75 associates have an average salary of $30,000. What is the average salary for the company? A. B. C. D. E. $35,000 $45,000 $55,000 $65,000 $75,000

Answers and Explanations

1) The average of the first 16 students is 77. This means, the sum of these 16 scores is sum = (average)*(number of scores) = 77*16 = 1232

Once Taqeesha takes her test, the average of all 17 scores is 78. This means, the sum of these 17 scores is: sum = (average)*(number of scores) =78*17 = 1326 Once we had the sum of the 16 scores, all we had to do was add Taqeeshas score to that total to get the sum of all 17. Therefore, the difference in these two sums is Taqeeshas score. 1326 1232 = 94. Answer: E.

2) The 15 managers have an average salary of $120,000. The sum of their salaries is: sum = (average)*(number of salaries) = $120,000*15 = $1,800,000 The 75 associates have an average salary of $30,000. The sum of their salaries is: sum = (average)*(number of salaries) = $30,000*75 = $2,250,000 When we add those two sums, we get the total payroll of all 90 employees. $1,800,000 + $2,250,000 = $4,050,000 So, we have 90 employees, and together they earn $4,050,000, so the average is average = $4,050,000 90 = $45,000 Answer: B.

GMAT Distance and Work: Rate Formula

By Mike on January 11, 2012 in Formulas, Math, Work Rate

Formulas
A rate is how fast something is growing, changing, or being performed. The overarching rate formula is: Amount = Rate * Time

When the rate is a speed, this simplifies to the familiar formula: Distance = Speed * Time

In questions about speed, especially where an object travels at one speed for a while, then at another speed, keep in mind that you never find the numerical average of two different speeds. If the question ask for average velocity for the whole trip, then you add the distances from both parts of the trip to find the total distance, and add the times of both parts of the trip to find the total time, and use those and the formula above to calculate the speed. When the rate is a rate of work being done, then when two people work together, their combined rate is the sum of their respective individual rates. Make sure what are you adding are the rates, not anything else.

Practice Questions
1) A car drives 40 miles on local roads at 20 mph, and 180 miles on the highway at 60 mph, what is the average speed of the entire trip? A. B. C. D. E. 36 mph 40 mph 44 mph 52 mph 58 mph

2) When Mary paints a house, it takes her 4 hours. When Lisa joins Mary, and they work together, it takes them only 3 hours to paint a house of the same size. How long would it take for Lisa to paint a house of the same size by herself? A. B. C. D. 5 hr 6 hr 7 hr 12 hr

E.

20 hr

Answers and Explanations

1) In phase #1 of the trip, the car traveled 40 mi at 20 mph. That time of this phase was: time = distance/rate = (40 mi)/(20 mph) = 2 hr

In phase #2 of the trip, the car traveled 180 mi at 60 mph. That time of this phase was: time = distance/rate = (180 mi)/(60 mph) = 6 hr

The total distance of the trip = 40 mi + 180 mi = 220 mi The total time of the trip = 2 hr + 3 hr = 5 hr The average speed of trip is given by speed = distance/time = (220 mi)/(5 hr) = 44 mph Answer: C.

2) Here, the rate equation becomes: (# of houses) = (painting rate)*(time)

When Mary paints a house, it takes her 4 hours. Thus (1 house) = (Marys rate)*(4 hr) so her rate is 1/4.

When Mary & Lisa paint together, it takes 3 hrs. Thus

(1 house) = (combined rate)*(3 hr) and the combined rate = 1/3.

To find a combined rate, we add individual rates. (combined rate) = (Marys rate) + (Lisas rate) 1/3 = 1/4 + (Lisas rate)

(Lisas rate) = Lisas rate is 1/12 of a house every hour, or in other words, 1 house in 12 hrs. Thus, it would take her 12 hours to paint a house of the same size. Answer: D.

GMAT Permutations and Combinations

By Mike on January 11, 2012 in Formulas, Math, Permutations and Combinations

Permutations
A permutation is a possible order in which to put a set of objects. Suppose I had a shelf of 5 different books, and I wanted to know: in how many different orders can I put these 5 books? Another way to say that is: 5 books have how many different permutations? In order to answer this question, we need an odd math symbol: the factorial. Its written as an exclamation sign, and it means: the product of that number and all the positive integers below it, down to 1. For example, 4! (read four factorial) is 4! = (4)(3)(2)(1) = 24

Heres the permutation formula: # of permutations of n objects = n!

So, five books

the number of permutations is 5! = (5)(4)(3)(2)(1) = 120

Combinations
A combination is a selection from a larger set. Suppose there is a class of 20, and we are going to pick a team of three people at random, and we want to know: how many different possible threeperson teams could we pick? Another way to say that is: how many different combinations of 3 can be taken from a set of 20? This formula is scary looking, but really not bad at all. If n is the size of the larger collection, and r is the number of elements that will be selected, then the number of combinations is given by

# of combinations =

Again, this looks complicated, but it gets simple very fast. In the question just posed, n = 20, r = 3, and n r = 17. Therefore,

# of combinations =

To simplify this, consider that: 20! = (20)(19)(18)(17)(the product of all the numbers less than 17)

Or, in other words, 20! = (20)(19)(18)(17!)

That neat little trick allow us to enormously simplify the combinations formula:

# of combinations = That example is most likely harder than anything youll see on the GMAT math, but you may be asked to find combinations with smaller numbers.

Practice Questions
1) A bookseller has two display windows. She plans to display 4 new fiction books in the left window, and 3 new non-fiction books in the right window. Assuming she can put the four fiction books in any order, and separately, the three non-fiction books in any order, how many total configurations will there be for the two display windows? A. B. C. D. E. 24 72 144 336 420

2) The county-mandated guidelines at a certain community college specify that for the introductory English class, the professor may choose one of three specified novels, and choose two from a list of 5 specified plays. Thus, the reading list for this introductory class is guaranteed to have one novel and two plays. How many different reading lists could a professor create within these parameters? A. B. C. D. E. 15 30 90 150 360

Answers and Explanations

1) The left window will have permutations of the 4 fiction books, so the number of possibilities for that window is

permutations = 4! = (4)(3)(2)(1) = 24

The right window will have permutations of the 3 non-fiction books, so the number of possibilities for that window is permutations = 3! = (3)(2)(1) = 6

Any of the 24 displays of the left window could be combined with any of the 6 displays of the right window, so the total number of configurations is 24*6 = 144 Answer: C.

2) There are three possibilities for the novel. set of 5 n = 5, r = 2, n r = 3

With the plays, we are taken a combination of 3 from a

# of combinations =

If the plays are P, Q, R, S, and T, then the 10 sets of two are PQ, PR, PS, PT, QR, QS, QT, RS, RT, & ST. Any of the three novels can be grouped with any of the 10 possible pairs of plays, for a total of 30 possible reading lists. Answer: B.

Math Review Sheet Answers

Click here to return to the Questions.

1. Circles 2. Perfect Squares 3. Odds and Evens 4. Least Common Multiples 5. Common Percent Equivalencies 6. Distance Problems (Distance, Rate & Time) 7. Triangles (30-60-90, 45-45-90, 3-4-5, 5-12-13) 8. Prime Numbers 9. Work Problems 10. Percent Problems 11. Number Properties 12. Probability 13. Inequalities 14. Averages 15. Divisibility Rules 16. Ratios 17. Exponents 18. Parallelograms
1. Circles Circumference = 2 * Pi * R where R = Radius or Pi * D where D = Diameter Diameter = 2 * R Radius = D/2 Area = Pi * R2 The area of a circle is 36. What is the diameter of the circle? 36 = Pi * R2 so R = 6 / Square root of Pi so D = (12 * Square root of Pi)/Pi The radius of a circle is 10. What is the circumference of the circle? Circumference = 2 * Pi * R so circumference = 20 * Pi What formula do you use to find the ratio of the arcs, sectors, etc. of a circle? x/360 = arc length/circumference = area of sector/area where x is the degree measure of the angle

2. Perfect Squares List all the perfect squares from 0 to 100 0 (don't forget 0!), 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100 3. Odds and Evens Odd + Odd = Even Odd * Even = Even Even - Even = Even Even/Odd = Even (or decimal) Even * Even = Even Odd + Even = Odd Odd - Odd = Even Odd/Odd = Odd (or decimal)

4. Least Common Multiples What is the least common multiple of 15 and 24? 15 = 3 * 5 and 24 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 3, Eliminate one of each of the common factors (3) and multiply the rest of the prime factors, LCM = 120 What is the least common multiple of 12 and 30? 12 = 2 * 2 * 3 and 30 = 2 * 3 * 5, Follow the same procedure as above, eliminate 2 & 3, LCM = 60

5. Common Percent Equivalencies Decimals to Fractions 0.4 = 2/5 0.875 = 7/8 0.167 = 1/6 0.85 = 17/20

0.375 = 3/8 Fractions to Decimals 5/8 = 0.625 2/40 = 0.05 5/6 = 0.833 3/5 = 0.6 2/16 = 0.125

6. Distance Problems (Distance, Rate & Time) Distance = Rate * Time Rate = Distance/Time Time = Distance/Rate

7. Triangles (30-60-90, 45-45-90, 3-4-5, 5-12-13) Draw a 30-60-90 triangle and label its sides and angles The side opposite the 90 will be 2X, the side opposite the 60 will be X * the square root of 3, the side opposite the 30 will be X Draw a 45-45-90 triangle and label its sides and angles The sides opposite the 45 will be Xs, the side opposite the 90 will be X * the square root of 2 (Note: All of the following are right triangles) If the leg opposite the 30-degree angle is 8, what is the hypotenuse of the triangle? 16 If one of the legs is 6 and the hypotenuse is 10, what is the other leg? 8 (3-4-5 triangle) If the hypotenuse is 20, what is the length of the leg opposite the 45-degree angle?

10 * the square root of 2 If one of the legs is 10 and the other leg is 24, what is the length of the hypotenuse? 26 (5-12-13 triangle)

8. Prime Numbers List all the prime numbers less than 22 2 (1 is not a prime number!), 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19

9. Work Problems What is the formula to use for work problems? (X*Y)/(X+Y) = Combined time of two workers (C) where X equals the time of one worker working alone and Y equals the time of the other worker working alone If Sue can do a job in 3 hours and Bob can do the same job in 6 hours, how long will it take them working together at their respective rates? 2 hours If Tom can do a job in 10 hours and Tom and Mary together can do the job in 6 hours working at their respective rates, how long will it take Mary to do the job by herself? 10Y/(10 + Y) = 6 so Y = 15 hours

10. Percent Problems What number should you always pick for percent problems? 100 What formula will give you the percent increase/decrease? [(New # - Old #)/Old #] * 100 What formula will give you what percent the new quantity is of the old quantity? (New #/Old #) * 100

11. Number Properties What numbers get bigger when you square them? Negative numbers and numbers greater than 1 What numbers stay the same when you square them? 0 and 1 What numbers get smaller when you square them? Numbers between 0 and 1 What numbers get bigger when you cube them? Numbers between -1 and 0 and numbers greater than 1 What numbers stay the same when you cube them? -1, 0 and 1 What numbers get smaller when you cube them? Numbers less than -1 and numbers between 0 and 1

12. Probability What formula will give you probability of an event occuring? Favorable events divided by total number of events What method do you use to find the total number of events that could occur? Multiply each individual event by the number of different things that could happen for that event What is a popular shortcut to find the probability of "success"? 1 - Probablity of failure

13. Inequalities An inequality can be treated just like an equal sign with one exception. What is it? When you are dividing or multiplying by a negative number, you must "flip" the sign

If 6x < -18, what does x have to be? x < -3 If -10x + 120 > -2(40 + 15x), what does x have to be? x > -10

14. Averages What is the formula used to find out the average of a group of numbers? (Sum of numbers/# of numbers) If a group contains five numbers and the average of the numbers is 17, what is the sum of the numbers? 85 If the average of a group of numbers is 24 and the sum of the numbers is 192, how many numbers are there? 8

15. Divisibility Rules How do you know if a number is divisible by 3? Sum of the digits is divisible by 3 How do you know if a number is divisible by 4? Last two digits are divisible by 4 How do you know if a number is divisible by 5? Last digit is either a 0 or a 5 How do you know if a number is divisible by 6? Number is even and divisible by 3 How do you know if a number is divisible by 7? Number divides evenly by 7 (there is no shortcut) How do you know if a number is divisible by 9?

Sum of the digits is divisible by 9 Is 47 a prime number? Yes Is 117 a prime number? No (divisible by 3, 9, etc.) Is 981,495 a prime number? No (divisible by 3, 5, etc.)

16. Ratios If three things are in a ratio of 5:9:11, what does the total number of things have to be a multiple of? 25 (the sum of the numbers) If the number of things represented by the 5 doubles, can you represent the new ratio as 10:9:11? Yes, multiplication and division are okay If you add 6 things to the the number of things represented by the 9, can you represent the new ratio as 5:15:11? No, not unless you know the absolute number If the number of things represented by the 9 is reduced by one-third, can you represent the new ratio as 5:7:11? No, but you could represent it by 5:6:11

17. Exponents (x2)*(x3) = x5 (Add the exponents) (x8)/(x2) = x6 (Subtract the exponents) (x3)2 = x6 (Multiply the exponents) x-6 = 1/x6

18. Parallelograms What is the formula for the area of parallelogram? Base * Height (Not Side * Side) What things do you know to be true about a parallelogram? Opposite angles are equal, opposite sides are equal, sides are parallel, interior angles equal 360 What do you know about the area of a parallelogram versus the product of its sides? The area will always be less than the product of the sides (because the height of of the parallelogram will always be less than the length of the sides). Is a square always a parallelogram? Yes Is a parallelogram always a square? No