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02 Jul 2010, 20:30
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Hey guys,
Often in difficult problems, even knowing the concepts solid is not enough, feels like there is a lot of tricks and shortcuts to be learned, the thing is, you can only learn so much of those "patterns"
So the question is, when you are faced with a math problem where you aren't getting that initial spark to even start attempting a solution :
1- what do you do to try and spark it ?
2- And how long do you try before moving on ? Meaning you should at least figure out the method in how many seconds max
Voice your thoughs
Often in difficult problems, even knowing the concepts solid is not enough, feels like there is a lot of tricks and shortcuts to be learned, the thing is, you can only learn so much of those "patterns"
So the question is, when you are faced with a math problem where you aren't getting that initial spark to even start attempting a solution :
1- what do you do to try and spark it ?
2- And how long do you try before moving on ? Meaning you should at least figure out the method in how many seconds max
Voice your thoughs
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whiplash2411
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02 Jul 2010, 21:31
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I think the key here is to practice the concepts you've learnt to the maximum extent possible. This will basically ensure that you'll be able to connect the dots between what's being asked and some problem that you've done in the past which called for similar strategies. As the difficulty increases, maybe this will require you to combine more than one strategy together to answer a question. But IMO practice is the only thing that can concretely help "light" that spark.
Having studied competitive exam math for almost 5-6 years now in multiple scenarios (Indian Institute of Technology Entrance Exam which made me wish for death instead, engineering major and now GMAT), I can safely say that the key to solve a question you can't quite go by instinct on is to write what's given and what's asked of you.
This inherently helps a lot of people make missing connections.
As for the timing, initially, that is totally dependent on the situation. For instance, if you're on a roll and you get to like the 35th question with some 10 minutes remaining, then, yes, you can take even 4-5 minutes to attempt the question, but if you're on the 25th question with 10 minutes remaining, it's better to just move on and guess instead of leaving the last few questions blank (you might know the answer to these!!)
So, IMHO, to put it in a nutshell, there's no set time beyond which you should say, "Okay, I've tried all I know and asked Zeus for help within my brain" and move on. It's totally relative to where you are in the section and how confident you are of previous questions so you can judge the ability to miss one.
Having studied competitive exam math for almost 5-6 years now in multiple scenarios (Indian Institute of Technology Entrance Exam which made me wish for death instead, engineering major and now GMAT), I can safely say that the key to solve a question you can't quite go by instinct on is to write what's given and what's asked of you.
This inherently helps a lot of people make missing connections.
As for the timing, initially, that is totally dependent on the situation. For instance, if you're on a roll and you get to like the 35th question with some 10 minutes remaining, then, yes, you can take even 4-5 minutes to attempt the question, but if you're on the 25th question with 10 minutes remaining, it's better to just move on and guess instead of leaving the last few questions blank (you might know the answer to these!!)
So, IMHO, to put it in a nutshell, there's no set time beyond which you should say, "Okay, I've tried all I know and asked Zeus for help within my brain" and move on. It's totally relative to where you are in the section and how confident you are of previous questions so you can judge the ability to miss one.
02 Jul 2010, 22:07
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I like your answers, they both make a lot of sense. Especially regarding timing, I was looking at it in a more linear and compartmentalized approach
I guess yeah the key is practice ! And breaking the problem into clear small bits, what's given, what's wanted
Often what's wanted is a rule or a concept, so I MUST know that at least, and be able to tell that this is the rule/concept needed here, that's step one
And what's given is number, variables, values whatever
Crossing the chasm and closing the gap to get all the numbers for the rule, often this is the tricky part, seems from the practice problems I've done is that usually they try disguising the given so it doesn't at first impression fit into the concept directly
Other challanging questions are like you said, multiple concepts and strategies meshed into one
And the third kind of challenging questions are those with complex wordings, which often translate to complex relationships among the variables
I think like you said, in all three cases, practice is key
I guess yeah the key is practice ! And breaking the problem into clear small bits, what's given, what's wanted
Often what's wanted is a rule or a concept, so I MUST know that at least, and be able to tell that this is the rule/concept needed here, that's step one
And what's given is number, variables, values whatever
Crossing the chasm and closing the gap to get all the numbers for the rule, often this is the tricky part, seems from the practice problems I've done is that usually they try disguising the given so it doesn't at first impression fit into the concept directly
Other challanging questions are like you said, multiple concepts and strategies meshed into one
And the third kind of challenging questions are those with complex wordings, which often translate to complex relationships among the variables
I think like you said, in all three cases, practice is key
