Scope of GMAT in geometry

Hi Balkan,
As far as what topics of Mathematics are covered in the GMAT, your best bet is to open
the Official Guide (11th, 12th or 13th Edition) and go thru Chapter 4.0 Math Review.
For geometry, reference section 4.3 Geometry, pages 107, p127 thru 139 (OG 12th Edition)
'Geometry is limited primarily to measurement and intuitive geometry or spatial visualization. Extensive knowledge of theorems and the ability to construct proofs, skills that are usually developed in a formal geometry course, are not tested. The topics included in this section are the following:
1. Lines
2. intersecting Lines and Angles
3. Perpendicular lines
4. Parallel Lines
5. Polygons (Convex)
6. Triangles
7. Quadrilaterals
8. Circles
9. Rectangular Solids and Cylinders
10. Coordinate Geometry'

I have not yet seen an 'official' GMAT problem with spheres, cones or pyramids that could not be 'reduced' to a 2D problem with circle(s), square(s) or triangles(s).

For example:
how-many-spheres-of-a-1-foot-radius-can-fit-in-a-8x10x12-37862.html

Now...it would hurt your general knowledge and/or personal confidence to know the following formulas:

Sphere:
\(Surface (Sphere) = 4*pi*R^2\)
\(Volume (Sphere) = \frac{4}{3}*pi*R^3\)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere
volume-of-a-sphere-84970.html
sphere-inside-cube-35637.html
method-to-solve-3-spheres-of-dough-problem-107119.html
ps-crystal-spheres-34671.html

Cone:
\(Surface (Cone) = pi*R*(R+L)\)
where \(R\) is the radius of the circle at the bottom of the cone and
\(L\) is the lateral height of the cone (given by the Pythagorean theorem \(L=\sqrt{R^2 + h^2}\) where \(h\) is the height of the cone).

\(Volume (Cone) = \frac{1}{3}*B*h\)
where \(B\) is the area of the base and \(h\) the height (the perpendicular distance from the base to the apex).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_(geometry)#Geometry
cones-and-spheres-on-gmat-96751.html

Pyramid:
\(Volume (Pyramid) = \frac{1}{3}*B*h\) (same formula as for the Cone)
\(Surface (Pyramid) = B + \frac{(P*L)}{2}\)
where \(B\) is the base area, \(P\) is the base perimeter and \(L\) is the slant height \(L=\sqrt{R^2 + h^2}\) where \(h\) is the pyramid altitude and R is the inradius of the base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_(geometry)#Volume
find-the-volume-of-a-pyramid-13904.html

Thank you!

You were very helpful!

Check Math Book Geometry chapters.
Triangles: math-triangles-87197.html
Polygons: math-polygons-87336.html
Coordinate Geometry: math-coordinate-geometry-87652.html
Circles: math-circles-87957.html
3-D Geometries: math-3-d-geometries-102044.html#p792331

For practice check our question banks.
PS questions on geometry: search.php?search_id=tag&tag_id=53
DS questions on geometry: search.php?search_id=tag&tag_id=32
PS questions on coordinate geometry: search.php?search_id=tag&tag_id=62
DS questions on coordinate geometry: search.php?search_id=tag&tag_id=41

Hope it helps.

You are all very helpful!
Thanks a lot!

Bunuel
Are concepts like angle of elevation, angle of depression(geometry), ellipses, parabolas( coordinate geometry) tested in GMAT? what are the planes tested?
Help appreciated.

Hi Emdee,

It sounds as though you are just starting out with your GMAT prep. Have you taken a diagnostic to get a baseline score? Do you need any advice regarding your study plan?

To get a bird’s-eye view of what is tested in GMAT quant, you may find it helpful to check out my GMAT quant equation guide.

Feel free to reach out with further questions. Good luck!

Angles are frequently tested, but you only need to know basic facts about them. You would never need to know what the phrases "angle of elevation" or "angle of depression" mean, and if a problem did include what is technically known as an "angle of elevation", you'd be able to solve it just by using elementary geometry. You do not need to know anything about trigonometry for the GMAT.

Curves that turn out to be parabolas do sometimes show up on the GMAT, but you don't need to know anything about parabolas to solve those questions. So for example, you might need to know how to find the x-intercepts of the curve y = x^2 - 5x + 6. That curve is technically a parabola, but you don't need to know that to answer a question about x-intercepts -- you just need to set y equal to zero and solve. I suppose you could also see the equation of an ellipse in a question, though I don't believe I ever have, and I've seen essentially every published official GMAT Quant problem. You certainly don't need to know anything about ellipses for the test.

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