5 Hot Tips to ace GMAT Problem Solving
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27 Jun 2011, 21:13
Planning to take GMAT this year? While it is important to improve your vocabulary and work on cracking the tough Data Sufficiency section, it is as important to prepare for GMAT Problem Solving (PS) section.
This section has been designed with a purpose to assess candidate's skills in geometry, algebra, statistics, and arithmetic. Problem-solving questions present multiple-choice problems in arithmetic, basic algebra, and elementary geometry. The task is to solve the problems and choose the correct answer from among five answer choices.
Check out these 10 helpful tips for the PS section of the test, and watch your score fly high in no time-:
1) Hone your basic skills: As you won't be allowed to use the calculator, your calculations should be speedy and accurate. You can work on your speed and accuracy with practice. The more you practice, the more proficient you will be able to answer these questions in less time on the test day. This will give you more time to solve tougher sections with ease.
2) Know the pattern: If you know that the correct answer must be less than the value in choice C, you can immediately eliminate choices D and E. The answers are always in order, and hence you should avoid making random guesses.
3) Label your quantities correctly: Whenever possible, give a label to the exact quantity that you're trying to find, rather than, say, its square root. In other words, always be certain that the solution to the problem is also the solution to the equation you've set up. This will help avoid careless mistakes.
4) Master your exponents: This is one area which is frequently tested in PS area of the test. Be 100% sure to know what fractional exponents and negative exponents mean like the back of your hand.
5) Learn how to estimate: Estimation is the key to PS success. Frequently, a question will test your ability not to compute, but rather to make reasonable approximations. For example, the fact that 11 goes into 76 a little more than 7 times means that 11/76 must be slightly less than 1/7.