quantitative reasoning

Last-minute tips to master the Quant section on the GRE

Dilip Oak's Academy

Preparing for a competitive exam like GRE is always a daunting task. Nonetheless, summing up the preparation is also equally important to perform better on the exam. In this blog, we will share some of the tips with you on how to brush up on the Math section in the last week before your GRE. So, let’s get started!

Revise all the theory concepts well

Don’t forget that the GRE is more about conceptual clarity than heavy calculation. So, make sure that you have understood all the concepts well. In case you come across a point where some clarity is required, refer to your lecture notes and practice it again but don’t panic.

Check your error log

In the last week of preparation, instead of revising all the problems that you have solved, it is advisable to concentrate only on those questions that you have got incorrect while practicing. So, refer to your error log and revise only the difficult questions.

Solve only a limited number of questions

Don’t get exhausted by solving too many of the questions in the last week. Instead, select only a limited number of questions for practice.

Revise formulae sheet

Please remember that the required formulae should be on the tip of your tongue! Thus, revise all the formulae at least once daily without fail.

Revise tables daily

This is yet another important technique to give a boost to your Quant score on the GRE. In spite of the fact that the use of a calculator is permitted on GRE, it is better to do the calculations manually as much as possible. Thus, revise the tables at least twice a day.

If you ensure that these aspects are taken care of, you will feel more confident as you attempt the exam.

Wish you all the very best in your preparation!!

Question of the Week

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GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Type your answers in the comments section below!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Question of the Week

Dilip Oak's Academy1 Comment

GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Type your answers in the comments section below!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Start your GRE Prep with us! New batches starting 27th & 28th March! Enroll here: https://www.dilipoakacademy.com/gre-coaching

Question of the Week

Dilip Oak's Academy1 Comment

GRE aspirants, it’s time to rack your brain and crack this question of the week! Our expert GRE faculty will drop in interesting questions for you every week to help you think logically and get closer to acing the GRE! Solve and post your answers in the comments section!

We will publish the correct answers and explanations in the comments section every Friday! STAY TUNED!

Coronavirus Lockdown: How To Use The Lockdown Time For Smart GRE Prep

Dilip Oak's Academy

The looming uncertainties about visa processes and admissions to US universities due to ongoing lockdown have put the long term plans on hold for many students who have already secured university admits. Meanwhile, many of you, who are currently preparing for the GRE and have joined GRE coaching, are also finding it difficult to plan and manage their studies due to suspension of classes and postponement of tests.

As of now, there is no clarity by when these situations will improve and classes will resume. Therefore, to help you make the best use of this lockdown time without being affected by the mounting pressure, we have come up with a few tips that will help you continue your studies at home, in a smart way! 

Verbal Reasoning Section

  • Keep reading. Not losing touch with the syllabus is most crucial at this point. Revise and practice whatever has been covered in your class till now.
  • Solve at least five to six passages for Reading Comprehension and 10-15 questions for Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion and Sentence Completion every day. Understand where you are going wrong and improvise accordingly.
  • Learn and memorize at least 20 to 25 GRE words every day. Mark the ones you find difficult and practice them more.
  • Brainstorm two to three Issue and Argument topics each, every alternate day to cover different topics.
  • Practice writing at least two Issue and Argument essays each in 30 minutes, every week, to become comfortable with timed writing.

 Quantitative Reasoning Section

  • Make sure to revise and be thorough with basic concepts and formulae.
  • Focus more on quantitative comparison questions since they are trickier than other question types and constitute around 40 percent of the total 20 questions.
  • Solve one set (minimum of 20 questions) every day.
  • The Data Interpretation section is relatively easy to study and score, so make sure you practice that section well. 
  • Most engineering students are good with basic concepts but make silly mistakes during calculations and lose marks. To avoid this, practice manually, using a pen and paper so you become more attentive.
  • For those who are students of Dilip Oak’s Academy, solve Book 4 thoroughly. It will help you to understand the exact requirement of every problem and use the concepts correctly. If you do this, you can manage to score 160+ easily. 

GRE Material and Prep Tools for Quick Study

If you are a Dilip Oak’s Academy student, you have a suite of online features that you can make maximum use of to practice:

Focused Practice – Reinforce your understanding by testing yourself on:

  • Topic-wise questions for the Quantitative Reasoning section
  • Specific question types for the Verbal Reasoning section
  • 400+ on Verbal and Quantitative sections combined

Test Prep

  • Customized Practice Sessions: choose question types and difficulty levels and practice using timed and untimed modes
  • In-depth Explanatory Answers: view detailed explanations for every question
  • Instant Review: view your results immediately after each practice session

Full-length Tests

  • AWM Essays: graded on ETS’s 6-point scale with feedback from the experts
  • Explanatory Review: details explanatory answers for every single question
  • Detailed Analysis: question-wise analysis of your performance to enable you to gauge your strengths and weaknesses

Vocabulary App – Covers 1500 high-frequency words

  • Images illustrating word meaning
  • Sample sentences and roots
  • Test mode to help you master the word list.

Note: All the above-mentioned facilities can be availed fully only if you have enrolled for GRE coaching at Dilip Oak’s Academy. If you are not an academy student, you can still purchase our online practice packages. View our Plans & Pricing HERE

Quantitative Comparison Questions: Doubtful D!

Dilip Oak's Academy

~ by our Maths Faculty

Now, here’s a tip about the weird GRE question type called Quantitative Comparison or simply QC. As we know, in QC questions there are two columns, ‘A’ and ‘B’, containing some quantities. Our job is to evaluate the quantities and compare their magnitudes. In QC questions, the options are always as follows:

 

 

(A) Quantity under Column A is GREATER THAN quantity under Column B

(B) Quantity under Column A is LESS THAN quantity under Column B

(C) Quantity under Column A is EQUAL TO quantity under Column B

(D) RELATIONSHIP CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED using the given information.

Now look at this example:

 

x2 – 2x – 24 = 0

y2 – 3y + 2 = 0

 

Column A Column B

x y

 

The question asks us to compare ‘x’ and ‘y’. In order to get the answer, we need to solve both the quadratic equations. When we do this, we get the following values: x (4, -6) and y (2, 1)

Thus, if we pick 4 as the value of ‘x’, it is greater than both values of ‘y’. Hence, option (B) and option (C) can be rejected outright.

Now, we are left with only two options, (A) and (D). But if we pick -6 as the value of ‘x’, it is less than both the values of ‘y’ so, we have to eliminate option (A) and thus, we have option (D) as the final answer!

Why was this example given? To show you that is that the only time we need to be extra cautious when solving QC questions is when we think that the answer is probably option D!

Now, try this one:

 

X < (1/X)

 

Column A Column B

X X2

 

 

see answer here

Did You Know these Facts about GRE Math?

Dilip Oak's Academy

 

~ By our Quantitative Reasoning Faculty

 

April is almost over and the countdown to the exam has already begun. You want a good overall score and if you’re an engineer, you are most probably thinking that getting 165 on Quant shouldn’t be too much of a problem (the typical engineer approaches maths questions with a raw “Just bring ‘em on” kind of arrogance and usually gets most questions right). But here’s the problem: sometimes even those with a strong background in maths may not cross the 160 mark – and when that happens, dreams of a score in the 325+ range come crashing down. To prevent that unhappy outcome, here are some basic insights about the way the math works on GRE.

One fundamental reason why some students don’t get the scores they should, is that they simply don’t understand the way the exam ‘TALKS’ maths. What this means is that the GRE test has its own way of defining mathematical terms. If you don’t understand the definitions used in the GRE exam, then time and time again you are going to end up making errors on questions you should have got right – and you are likely to end up feeling frustrated and demoralized. So, let’s have a look at a few basic differences between Indian maths and American math.

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Answers to Practice GRE Test Quant Questions

Dilip Oak's Academy

Post: Did You Know these Facts about GRE Math?

Question: How many positive integers, less than 20, are either an even multiple of 2 or, a multiple of 9 or, the sum of a positive multiple of 2 and a positive multiple of 9?

Answer: There are 11 such integers:

  • Multiples of 2 – 4, 8, 12, 16 (total 4)
  • Multiples of 9 – 9, 18 (total 2)
  • Sums of a positive multiple of 2 and a positive multiple of 9 – 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 (total 5)

 

Post: Quantitative Comparison Questions: Doubtful D!

 

Question:

X < (1/X)

Column A Column B

X X2

 

Answer:: (D)

The given inequality is X< (1/X).

This is possible only in two cases:

(1) If 0 < X < 1 OR

(2) X < -2

Now, you need to compare ‘X’ with ‘X2’

If you pick the value of ‘X’ from 1st range, let’s say ‘X’ = ½, then X > X2, thus the possible answer is option (A) and hence, options (B) and (C) can be eliminated.

But if you pick up the value of ‘X’ from the second range of values, lets say X = -3, then X < X2.

That means we are not able to reach to any unique conclusion using the information given, thus the answer is option (D)

 

Cracking the GRE Test – Debanjana Nayak (GRE Score 330/340) – Tips for Quantitative,Verbal and Analytical Writing

Dilip Oak's Academy

Tips

Here’s the next part of Debanjana’s tips – this time with lots of specifics for each section of the test!

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Before starting with this set of tips specifically for the Quantitative, Verbal and AW sections, I must mention that I took classes from Dilip Oak’s Academy and I will be talking a lot about the Academy’s classes and materials because I found them extremely useful in preparing for these sections. In giving these tips, I am also assuming that you too are a student of Dilip Oak’s Academy. Of course, you will have your own experience and perspective, but here’s what I would suggest.

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GRE Score – 337/340: Ashwin’s Tips for Cracking the GRE (Part 2)

Dilip Oak's Academy

TrophyThis week we bring you the second part of a really trophy-winning article: Ashwin’s tips for cracking the GRE.

In this part he gets even more specific, with tips for the Practice Tests and each of the sections – Analytical Writing, Quantitative Reasoning and the super-hard Verbal Reasoning section. Read on. There are literally dozens of pointers that you can really benefit from.

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Tips for the Practice Tests

1) If you haven’t given exams like Pravinya, MTS, NTS etc. the GRE exam may be a new experience. If that is so, I would advise you to give one of the mock tests within a week of finishing classes just in order to know where you stand (editor’s note: you can use the Oak’s free test for this purpose).

2) Practice, practice, practice. The more preparation you do the better you will score. It just works that way. There are studies that show if you prepare just one hour beyond the point where you feel you know everything, you can increase your marks by up to 5% (which is significant in an exam like this one).

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Quantitative Reasoning Question Formats in the Revised General GRE Test: Get a Peek

Dilip Oak's Academy

Quantitative Reasoning in the Revised General GRE, like Verbal Reasoning has two sections with 20 questions each and for which 35 minutes solving time is given per section. Each Quantitative Reasoning section has mix of question types:

  • quantitative comparison
  • problem solving
    • numeric entry questions (single and double)
    • multiple correct choices (vertical check-box questions)
    • single correct choice (i.e. radio button questions – vertical and horizontal)
  • data interpretation

This makes a total of 7 different formats which are illustrated in the screenshots below. The screenshots are of the Dilip Oak’s Online test, but they will give you a good idea of what these formats will look like when you take the GRE computer-based test.

Quantitative Comparison
Quantitative Comparison

Get information on the Oak’s Online GRE test

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