Struggling to solve DS problem in less than 2 min

Question

Hi,

I find that DS problems take longer than regular PS. How long do you typically take to solve a DS problem? I find it very hard to go under the 2 minutes mark. On PS I have no problem.

onedayill · Answer

I agree with you sometime, DS takes a little longer compared to PS because we have to solve with 2 different options and sometime we have to combine them.

The best strategy to compete time will be:

Always treat 2 statements as different, don;t assume what's given in one will be used in another until you are going with use both the statements.

Dawgie · Answer

DS is harder for a lot of people because they are used to the type of question. Practice makes perfect!

shaselai · Answer

remember in DS you are never supposed to "solve" the problem in terms of getting the answer. once you notice the solution you move on.

shrouded1 · Answer

For most DS problems I used to give myself a target of 60-90 seconds per problem so that for the really tough ones you can afford to spend 3 to 4 minutes without losing out on overall time

On the OG, I would practice 20 problems at a time, with an average time of 25-30mins to do the set. On the real GMAT, things take a bit longer because you want to revise and be sure of the answer before you click

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I agree with shaselai. For DS questions that ask for a specific value, do not solve for the value. It wastes time. Once you know that you have enough information to be able to solve, move on. This should save you at least 20-30 seconds.

PadawanOfTheGMAT · Answer

Sure, but sometimes GMAT tricks us, for instance 3 unknowns require 3 independent equations. So when I saw three equations, I would just say ok it's solvable, until I discovered that GMAT likes to provided redundant equations, so really I have to go as far as I can in solving the unknowns. Obviously I won't try to reduce x = 23/89 to its simplest form :wink:

So I guess I need more training.

kissthegmat · Answer

For DS, you should know very well AD/BCE, BD/ACE or 12TEN rules. (all are same though, used different notations by different companies!) If Statement 1 is correct you should know your answer is going to be A or D. If Statement 2 is correct you should know your answer is going to be B or D. You shouldn't confuse statement 1 with statement 2 (I do

) solve statements separately, don't use information of 1 statement in statement 2 (except when you have rejected statement 1 and 2 separately!) You can give a try to Veritas DS guide, if you have enough time.

PadawanOfTheGMAT · Answer

Ok I understand why DS takes a bit longer.

Imagine 1) is sufficient, but not 2). But you miss that 1) is sufficient, so you try to see what about 1)+2)?

The problem is that when solving 1+2) you will endure a double penalty:
- the answer you'll pick will be wrong
- you waste valuable time

So I guess it's important to not rush.

All in all, as I'm fast and accurate in PS, the little bit overtime I take in DS zeros out at the end, and that's what matters.

I'll still put more focus on DS. I feel really stupid when I mix up C and D, and that happens often!

I'll use MGMAT system:
AB
CDE

Yet I don't think it appeared in any book, I think I only saw it in a video lab or was was it on this website?

smuvern · Answer

But in the official guide's solutions to DS problems, more often than not they attempt to solve the problems. I wasn't solving initially but then I was missing a lot more than I was getting correct. I switched strategies and started solving for the values, and my accuracy has bumped up a notch although it takes a tad more time especially with difficult questions. But doing this enables me to be a little more thorough rather than hastily arriving at an answer without solving,

jpr200012 · Answer

Obviously, you must memorize the answer choices.

Spend the time up front to simplify the question before even moving on to the statements. Write out your steps as you simplify. Look for any of these appearing in the statements.

Work through the MGMAT Number Properties book. It was a tremendous help for me. I generally spend less time on DS than PS now.

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Struggling to solve DS problem in less than 2 min

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