760+ - What GMAT Assassins Do To Score at The Highest Levels - General GMAT Questions and Strategies

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760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

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760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 11 Apr 2017, 19:45
EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Hi All,
Whether you’re just beginning your studies or have been training for the GMAT for some time now, you likely have some idea of what
your ‘goal score’ is. For many GMATers, the goal is 700+. That score is relatively rare territory though – only about 10% of Test Takers
ever reach that level (and some of them actually hit that score repeatedly - in an attempt to score higher, so not as many Test Takers
score 700+ each year as you might think). Obviously, the numbers become even more rare at higher levels. The 760+ level is essentially
the 99th percentile. For simple comparison purposes, for every 1,000 people who take the GMAT this year, only about 10 of them will
score 760+ (and some of those Test Takers are GMAT Teachers/Tutors or other industry experts who are not taking the GMAT with the
intent to go to Business School).
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat The GMAT is a remarkably consistent Exam. It’s predictable – and you can train to properly face everything that will appear on Test Day.
Joined: 19 Dec 2014 However, mere knowledge will not be enough to get you to a 760+. The GMAT is NOT an ‘IQ test’, nor is it a ‘math test’ or a ‘vocab
Posts: 10207 test.’ At its core, it’s a ‘critical thinking test’, so to score at the highest levels, you have to look beyond having the necessary
Kudos [?]: 3559 [14], given: 173 knowledge and general math/verbal abilities – and you have to train to ‘see’ (and respond to) the GMAT a certain way. A degree of
flexibility is also required on your part; since GMAT questions can almost always be approached in more than one way, you have to learn
Location: United States (CA)
multiple approaches (so that you can choose the most efficient approach for every question that you face).
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170 This thread will help you to work on the very skills that can help you to score 760+.
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GMAT Assassins aren’t born, they’re made,
Rich
Edit: Note: If you have any questions about anything in this thread, then you can feel free to contact me directly via email or
PM.
PAGE 1:
04/11/2017 Learning to Solve Quant Questions in More than Just One Way (part 1) (Jump to it)
04/11/2017 Learning to Solve Quant Questions in More than Just One Way (3 approaches) (Jump to it)
04/13/2017 Finding Patterns in PS Questions When You Don’t Immediately See Them (Jump to it)
04/19/2017 Test Your Pattern-Finding Skills on These 3 PS Questions (Jump to it)
04/22/2017 Solutions: The Patterns Behind those Prior 3 PS Questions (Jump to it)
04/30/2017 Acknowledge That “Your Way” is NOT Necessarily the Fastest Way (and Then CHANGE Your Approach) (Jump to it)
05/01/2017 Answer to the Prior Question: Long Math Approaches vs. Faster Tactical Approaches (Jump to it)
05/14/2017 Using the Answers in a PS Question to Your Advantage (Jump to it)
05/15/2017 Use the Answers to Your Advantage on These 3 Questions…. (Jump to it)
05/16/2017 Explanations to the Prior 3 Problem Solving Question…. (Jump to it)
05/23/2017 Reading Comp: Learning to Read GMAT RC at the Perfect Pace (Jump to it)
05/29/2017 Reading Comp: Practice Your Reading Pace on 3 Passages (Jump to it)
07/12/2017 Your Big Problem With the Verbal Section is Based on a “Probability Problem” (Jump to it)
08/14/2017 Defining Your Pacing Problem in the Quant and/or Verbal Sections (Part 1) (Jump to it)
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Re: 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 11 Apr 2017, 19:47
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Learning to Solve Quant Questions in More than Just One Way (part 1)
The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a ‘math test’ – it’s a ‘critical thinking test’ that uses math as the subject through which you can
prove your critical thinking skills. While the Quant section does require that you complete lots of basic calculations as you work through
the section, the GMAT will NEVER require that you complete complex calculations to get to the correct answer… so if you CHOOSE to
approach questions in that way, then you will likely limit how high you can score. If one of your goals is a Q51, then you would find it
really helpful to build up a multitude of Quant skills, instead of focusing on complex, long-winded ‘math approaches’ that often take
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder longer to implement than other more-strategic options and increase the chances of you making little mistakes along the way.
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat
The GMAC Official Guide is a fantastic book of practice questions – and if you don’t have a copy, then you should absolutely purchase
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
one for your studies.
Posts: 10207
Kudos [?]: 3559 [1], given: 173 Consider the following question that appears in the Diagnostic Test of the GMAC Official Guide. It’s question #8 in the Problem Solving
Location: United States (CA) section of the Diagnostic – and has appeared in the last several versions of that book:
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
If a certain toy store’s revenue in November was 2/5 of its revenue in December and its revenue in January was ¼ of it’s revenue in
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
November, then the store’s revenue in December was how many times the average (arithmetic mean) of its revenues in November and
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January?
1/4
1/2
2/3
2
4
This is a fairly mid-level prompt; it’s a little wordy but the ‘math’ behind it isn’t too difficult. How would you approach it? Would you
use algebra? Do you recognize that there are at least two OTHER ways to get to the correct answer (and one of those approaches
requires almost no math…)?
Take a moment to answer this question in whatever way you choose. Write everything down and – in the next post - we’ll compare your
approach to the three options that I’ve hinted at.

Rich
2 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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If you have any questions about anything in this thread, then you can feel free to contact me directly via email or PM.
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Learning to Solve Quant Questions in More than Just One Way (3 approaches)
In the prior post, I hinted that there were (at least) 3 different approaches to solving the included OG Diagnostic question. Here they
are:
1st Approach: Algebra
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder The explanations provided in the Official Guide often focus on the ‘math approach’ as that is that standard approach taken in most
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat math books. However, that type of approach is often step-heavy and arguably takes the longest to complete.
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
For this prompt, we can create 3 variables:
Posts: 10207
Kudos [?]: 3559 [4], given: 173 N = revenue in November
Location: United States (CA) D = revenue in December
J = revenue in January
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
With the information in the first half of the prompt, we can create two equations:
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N = (2/5)(D)
J = (1/4)(N)
We’re then asked to calculate (D) / [(N+J)/2]
With the given equations, we can translate each variable ‘in terms of’ D and plug in… Again, this is tedious, step-heavy work, but you
can view it in the Official Guide if you like.
2nd Approach: TESTing VALUES
Many questions in the Quant section can be solved with a Tactical approach (and part of your training should focus on learning those
approaches and when certain Tactics are applicable). Here, we are given no actual values to work with, so we can choose our own.
Based on the fractions involved, the common denominator would be 20, so let’s start with D = 20…
IF….
D = 20 then
N = (2/5)(D) = 8
J = (1/4)(N) = 2
Now, we just have to place D = 20, N = 8 and J = 2 into the question….
(20) / [(8 + 2)/2] = (20) / (5) = 4
This is the answer to the question - and you’ll get that same result regardless of the values that you choose to TEST (as long as your
numbers ‘fit’ the given equations). This approach has the benefit of being fast and easy (consider the work involved - we’re really just
adding and multiplying small numbers together). With fewer steps, you’re also less likely to make a little mistake along the way.
3rd Approach: Logic (and using the ‘spread’ of the answers to your advantage)
Certain questions in the Quant section are designed with really fast ‘concept shortcuts’ in mind. This is done on purpose to reward
strong critical thinkers. Business Schools are looking for EXACTLY that type of critical-thinking applicant, but the GMAT has no way to
give you extra points for ‘being clever’ – it can only provide you with potential shortcuts that will save you time and decrease whatever
pacing-related anxiety that you might have. As a result of finding these shortcuts, your chances of scoring higher should increase, since
you’ll have more time to answer the remaining questions than someone who is using lengthy math approaches and losing time as a
result.
Here, consider how the given monthly revenues relate to one another….
1 - November’s revenue is 2/5 of December’s revenue. This means that the December revenue is MORE THAN DOUBLE November’s
revenue.
2 – January’s revenue is ¼ of November’s revenue. Since January’s revenue is so much smaller than November’s revenue – and we
already know that December’s revenue is MORE THAN DOUBLE November’s revenue, then this means that December’s revenue is a LOT
greater (FAR MORE than double) than January’s revenue.
We’re asked to compare December’s revenue to the AVERAGE of November’s and January’s…. Averaging those two smaller numbers will
lead to a result that is SMALLER than November's. By extension December’s revenue will be far GREATER than double than average.
Looking at the answer choices, there’s only one answer that fits that description…. 4.
Now, consider how much actual work went into the 2nd and 3rd approaches to this prompt (especially relative to the work that went
into the 1st approach). Assuming that you had an equal ability to tackle this question using all 3 approaches, which one would be fastest
and easiest to implement? If you’re training to be a 760+ Assassin, then you know that it’s NOT the 1st approach.

Rich
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Finding Patterns in PS Questions When You Don’t Immediately See Them

Since the GMAT is a standardized Test, all of the questions that you’ll face are designed around one or more patterns. Sometimes the
patterns are obvious – such as math formulas or grammar rules. Sometimes the patterns are more subtle - such as number properties or
causality arguments.
With the proper study materials and Study Plan, you can learn all of the necessary patterns and train to properly use them. However,
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder sometimes the patterns are so rare that they’re not worth learning in advance and sometimes they are essentially ‘hidden’, meaning
that you won’t immediately see the pattern involved. However, the pattern is still there – and correctly answering some of the tougher
questions on the GMAT will be considerably easier IF you are comfortable with the idea that you can ‘play around’ with the prompt a bit
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
and define what the pattern is.
Posts: 10207
Kudos [?]: 3559 [3], given: 173 “Playing around” with a GMAT question is essentially about running little ‘experiments’ on it. In basic terms, you need to ask “what
Location: United States (CA) if….?” and then go about determining the result.
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
For example, here is a question from the PS Forums here. Your immediate task is NOT to calculate the result – it’s to figure out the first
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
4 terms in the sequence and THEN deduce a pattern within those 4 terms….
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For every integer K from 1 to 10, inclusive, the Kth term of a certain sequence is given by:
[(-1)^(K+1)] x [1/(2^K)].
If T is the sum of the first 10 terms in the sequence, then T is….
A. Greater than 2
B. Between 1 and 2
C. Between 1/2 and 1
D. Between 1/4 and 1/2
E. Less than 1/4
So… what have you deduced? The answer appears below:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
Now that you recognize this pattern, you should be able to quickly determine the value of the other three ‘pairs’:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
The question asks for the sum of the first 10 terms, but doesn’t provide exact answers – it provides RANGES, so you do NOT have to be
exact with your math. To answer this question, you really just have to ask...
[Reveal] Spoiler:
In the next post, I’ll list a few additional PS prompts for you to ‘play around’ with. Remember the immediate goal – decipher the
pattern first. Then, use whatever pattern you discover to answer the question.
GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

Rich
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Test Your Pattern-Finding Skills on These 3 PS Questions

For each of these three prompts, you should attempt to ‘play around’ with the question to define the pattern(s) involved – using the
same approach showcased in the prior post. An explanation for how to approach each prompt in such a way will be provided in the next
post.
1) How many positive integers, from 2 to 100, inclusive, are not divisible by odd integers greater than 1?
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat A. 5
B. 6
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
C. 8
D. 10
4 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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E. 50
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Kudos [?]: 3559 [2], given: 173
Location: United States (CA) 2) There are 20 doors marked with numbers 1 to 20 and there are 20 individuals marked 1 to 20.
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
An operation on a door is defined as changing the status of the door from open to closed or vice versa. All doors are closed to start
with.
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One at a time, one randomly picked individual goes and operates the doors. The individual operates only those doors which are a
multiple of the number he/she is carrying. For example, the individual marked with the number 5 only operates the doors marked
with the following numbers: 5, 10, 15 and 20.
If every individual in the group gets one turn, then how many doors are open at the end?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 4
E. 6
3) A test has 200 questions. Each question has 5 options, but only 1 option is correct. If test-takers mark the correct option, then
they are awarded 1 point. However, if an answer is incorrectly marked, the test-taker loses 0.25 points. No points are awarded or
deducted if a question is not attempted. A certain group of test-takers attempted different numbers of questions, but each test-
taker still received the same net score of 40. What is the maximum possible number of such test-takers?
A. 31
B. 33
C. 35
D. 40
E. 42

Rich
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Solutions: The Patterns Behind those Prior 3 PS Questions

While each of these three prompts might look complex, you CAN get to the correct answer by defining the patterns involved.
1) How many positive integers, from 2 to 100, inclusive, are not divisible by odd integers greater than 1?
In this prompt, we're asked to think about the numbers 2 to 100, inclusive. To start, there's NO way that the GMAT would ask us to truly
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder think about each of these numbers individually, so there MUST be a pattern involved.
Now to the specifics: which of these numbers are NOT divisible by an odd integer that is greater than 1???
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 Let's start at the first number and work our way "up" until the pattern becomes clear:
Kudos [?]: 3559 [2], given: 173
Location: United States (CA) 2 - this is NOT divisible by any odd integers, so this "fits" what we're looking for...
3 - this IS divisible by an odd integer (3), so it's out
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
4 - this is NOT divisible by any odd integers, so this "fits"
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
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8 - this is NOT divisible by any odd integers, so this "fits"
Now, looking at the numbers that "fit", we have 2, 4 and 8.....that's 2^1, 2^2 and 2^3....that MUST be the pattern involved, so we can
use this knowledge against the rest of the question to find the other values that "fit":
2^4 = 16
2^5 = 32
2^6 = 64
2^7 = 128, but that's outside the range that we were given. Thus, there are 6 values that "fit" what we're looking for.
2) There are 20 doors marked with numbers 1 to 20. And there are 20 individuals marked 1 to 20. An operation on a door is
defined as changing the status of the door from open to closed or vice versa. All doors are closed to start with. Now one at a time
one randomly picked individual goes and operates the doors. The individual however operates only those doors which are a
multiple of the number he/she is carrying. For e.g. individual marked with number 5 operates the doors marked with the following
numbers: 5, 10, 15 and 20. If every individual in the group gets one turn, then how many doors are open at the end?
It would take a LOT of time to work through all 20 people and all 20 doors, so I'm going to work through the first several so that we can
define the pattern involved...
Remember: All the doors start off CLOSED...

Door 1: Only Person 1 touches this door. So it IS OPEN at the end.
Door 2: Person 1 and Person 2 touch this door. So it is closed at the end.
Door 3: Person 1 and Person 3 touch this door. So it is closed at the end.
Door 4: Person 1, 2 and 4 touch this door. So it IS OPEN at the end.
Now, stop and look at the work that we've done so far... Which doors do we know for sure will be open? Door 1 and Door 4. What do
those two numbers have in common? They're both PERFECT SQUARES..... Let's see if that pattern continues...
5 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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Door 5: Person 1 and 5 touch this door. CLOSED.

Door 6: Person 1, 2, 3 and 6 touch this door. CLOSED.
Door 7: Person 1 and 7. CLOSED.
Door 8: Person 1, 2, 4 and 8. CLOSED
Door 9: Person 1, 3 and 9. OPEN.
Notice how the next door that we know will be open in the end is Door 9. It is ALSO a PERFECT SQUARE. Given the work we've done so
far, this MUST be the pattern, so we're ultimately looking for the number of perfect squares from 1 to 20. They are 1, 4, 9 and 16. That's
a total of 4 open doors at the end.
3) A test has 200 questions. Each question has 5 options, but only 1 option is correct. If test-takers mark the correct option, then
they are awarded 1 point. However, if an answer is incorrectly marked, the test-taker loses 0.25 points. No points are awarded or
deducted if a question is not attempted. A certain group of test-takers attempted different numbers of questions, but each test-
taker still received the same net score of 40. What is the maximum possible number of such test-takers?
From the answer choices, we can see that there are a lot of different ways to get a total of 160 points (at least 31 ways...), so there's
no way that the GMAT would require that we calculate each individual option. There has to be a pattern, so let's start off with the
easiest 'ways' to get 160 points and go from there... Remember - a correct answers get you 1 point, an incorrect answer gets you MINUS
1/4 point and a skipped question gets you 0 points. So, how can we get 160 points...
40 correct, 0 incorrect, 160 skipped

Etc.
To find all of the options, you can either "count up" (40+0 = 40, 41+4 =45, 42+8 = 50, etc.) OR you can "count down" from the number of
skipped questions. (160, 155, 150, etc.). With either option, you'll eventually run out of questions, then you'll be done.
Counting down from 160 is probably faster, as long as you don't forget the final option - the one with 0 skipped questions). Here, there
are 33 multiples of 5 (including the 0
'option').
As you continue to study, it's important to remember that most GMAT Quant questions are NOT 'testing' your knowledge of advanced
math, specialty formulas or complex ideas. The 'math' behind most Quant questions is actually rather straight-forward. As such, to
maximize your score, you have to be ready to 'play around' with 'tough-looking' prompts and find the simple math behind them.

Rich
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Acknowledge That “Your Way” is NOT Necessarily the Fastest Way (and Then CHANGE Your
Approach).
The GMAT is a remarkably consistent and predictable Exam, so improving your performance isn’t just about ‘fixing’ the things that you
are doing ‘wrong’ – it’s also in developing the proper skills to improve on work that you can already do.
Consider the following question. For many “math thinkers”, the approach would be “system algebra” – write out the appropriate
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder equations and then solve for whatever the question asks for. That approach will absolutely get you to the correct answer here – and I
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat suggest that you try it. Make sure to time yourself though - we need to know how long it would take you to solve this question using an
Joined: 19 Dec 2014 algebraic approach.
Posts: 10207
Andrew has a certain number of coins in his pocket. He has three times as many dimes as quarters and six times as many nickels
Kudos [?]: 3559 [1], given: 173
as dimes. A nick is worth $0.05, a dime is worth $0.10 and a quarter is worth $0.25. If he has a total of $10.15, then which of the
Location: United States (CA) following represents the number of dimes in Andrew’s pocket?
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170 9
10
FOLLOW SEND PM 18
20
21
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
How long did it take you? For most GMATers, this question would require 2-3 minutes (or more) of work. If you’re really great at algebra,
it might take you less time than that.
Now, I bet that I can show you a MUCH faster way to get to the correct answer – and it’s an approach that you’ll be able to use 2-3
times on the Official GMAT. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how it works and how to use it.

Rich
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Re: 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 01 May 2017, 16:41
EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Answer to the Prior Question: Long Math Approaches vs. Faster Tactical Approaches
In the prior post, I listed the following Quant PS question:
Andrew has a certain number of coins in his pocket. He has three times as many dimes as quarters and six times as many nickels
as dimes. A nick is worth $0.05, a dime is worth $0.10 and a quarter is worth $0.25. If he has a total of $10.15, then which of the
following represents the number of dimes in Andrew’s pocket?
9
10
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
18
Posts: 10207 20
Kudos [?]: 3559 [0], given: 173 21
Many GMATers will approach these types of questions algebraically, even though that type of approach often takes longer than other,
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
faster, more strategic options.
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
FOLLOW SEND PM The Long Math:

To start, here is how you can solve this algebraically. Let’s use the following variables:
N = number of nickels
D = number of dimes
Q = number of quarters
The second sentence allows us to create two equations using the above variables:
D = 3Q
N = 6D
The third and fourth sentences allow us to create a third equation:
(.05)N + (.10)D + (.25)Q = 10.15
Now we have a ‘system’ of equations – three variables and three unique equations, so we can solve for each of the individual variables.
The prompt asks us to determine the number of DIMES, so I’ll focus the work on solving for D.
D = 3Q …. Q = D/3
N = 6D
Substituting in for N and Q, we end up with…
(.05)(6D) + (.10)(D) + (.25)(D/3) = 10.15
.3D + .1D + (.25D/3) = 10.15
We can now multiply everything by 3 to get rid of the fraction…
.9D + .3D + .25D = 30.45
1.45D = 30.45
D = 30.45/1.45
D = 21
Final Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
Now, consider ALL of the work that I just did. Even if you took a slightly different approach to the algebra, how long would all of this
work take…? Two minutes? Three minutes? Longer?
Instead, let’s use the ‘design’ of the GMAT to our advantage. Here, the answer choices ARE numbers, and we’re asked to solve for just
one variable (the number of dimes), so let’s TEST THE ANSWERS.
Faster Tactics:
To start, we’re told that the number of dimes is 3 TIMES the number of quarters, so the number of dimes MUST be a MULTIPLE OF 3.
That helps us to immediately eliminate answers B and D (since 10 and 20 are NOT multiples of 3).
Let’s TEST Answer C: 18. If it’s the correct answer, then we’ll be done. If it’s “too high” or “too low”, then we’ll know exactly which of
the remaining two answers is the correct one.
IF… there are 18 dimes

Then there are 6 quarters (since there are three times as many dimes as quarters) and there are 108 nickels (since there are 6 times as
many nickels as dimes).
Given the respective values of the three coins, we would have a total of….
(108)(.05) = $5.40
(18)(.10) = $1.80
(6)(.25) = $1.50
Total = $8.70
However, we were told that the actual total value of the coins is $10.15. This total ($8.70) is TOO LOW, which means that we need
there to be more nickels, dimes and quarters. There’s only one answer left that ‘fits’ what we’re looking for, so that MUST be the
correct answer!
Final Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
At this point, you have to be honest with yourself. Which approach was faster and easier? Even if you “love” doing formal math, taking
that approach can only lead to problems later on (especially if you have pacing issues or are prone to making little mistakes when you
7 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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have to do a lot of work). The Tactical approach here (TESTing ANSWERS) is faster, easier and requires less overall work. GMATers who
score at the highest levels know when to use this approach and how to properly use this approach (and the basic ideas behind this Tactic
can also help you solve certain Verbal questions as well) so there are multiple benefits to mastering it.

Rich
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Using the Answers in a PS Question to Your Advantage

In a couple of prior posts in this thread – (Here) and (Here) - we’ve discussed how to taking advantage of the answer choices (by TESTing
THE ANSWERS or by thinking about what the answers choices 'mean') can be a really fast and easy way to get to the correct answer in
certain Quant questions. Beyond using the answers and doing the straight-forward arithmetic though, you will sometimes be given a
HUGE ‘hint’ from the GMAT question writers – the answer choices themselves will be designed in such a way that you can avoid doing a
lot of math altogether. One of the ‘keys’ to spotting (and using) those shortcuts is to be on the lookout for quirky clues in the wording
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder of the prompt.
Consider the following question:
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 A motorist averaged 40 miles per hour on his way to work. He averaged 70 miles per hour on his way home along the same route.
Kudos [?]: 3559 [1], given: 173 Which of the following is the closest to his average speed for the round trip?
A) 40
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
B) 51
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
C) 55
FOLLOW SEND PM
D) 59
E) 59.5
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
If you’d like to approach this question without any hints to start, then you absolutely should – and you can post your solution here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-motorist-a ... 39589.html
Now, let’s discuss the shortcut I alluded to earlier…
This prompt is a fairly common 'design' for a Weighted Average question. Here, a motorist travels a certain distance at one speed, then
travels back - the SAME distance - at a different speed. We're asked for the AVERAGE SPEED for the entire trip.
One of the key elements to these types of questions is that the answer will be closer to the slower speed than to the faster speed. The
exact 'middle' between 40 and 70 is 55, BUT since the motorist spends MORE time driving 40 mph, the average would have to be closer
to 40 (while not being 40 exactly). Given the available answer choices, there's only one answer that 'fits'...
Final Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
The 'takeaway' from all of this: when approaching GMAT questions, the best Test Takers use ALL of the information that they've been
given - including whatever is in the five answer choices.
Tomorrow, I’ll provide 3 additional prompts that you can solve by taking advantage of the answer choices.

Rich
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Use the Answers to Your Advantage on These 3 Questions….

Each of the three questions listed here can be solved algebraically. However, if you pay attention to the five answer choices in each
question, then you can cut down on the amount of work that is needed and potentially save some time. Remember that the goal on Test
Day is to be correct AND be efficient, so while a shortcut that saves 5-10 seconds might not seem like much, if you could find that type
of shortcut on every question, then you would cut 3-7 minutes of work-time in each section.
1) A motorist averaged 40 miles per hour on his way to work. He averaged 70 miles per hour on his way home along the same
route. Which of the following is the closest to his average speed for the round trip?
A. 40
B. 51
Affiliations: EMPOWERgmat C. 55
Joined: 19 Dec 2014 D. 59
Posts: 10207 E. 59.5
Kudos [?]: 3559 [1], given: 173
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
FOLLOW SEND PM
2) Franny can type 80 words per minute and Matt can type 60 words per minute. If the two together must type up a 14,000-word
paper and each person can type for at most 2 hours, what is the least amount of time, in hours, that Matt must type?
A. 2
B. 5/6
C. 11/12
D. 11/9
E. 35/9
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
3) At a company meeting, M men and W women meet in a conference room. If there are twice as many men as women at the
meeting and the conference room can hold no more than 50 total people, then what is the maximum number of women who can
be at that meeting?
A) 15
B) 16
C) 17
D) 18
E) 19
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
Tomorrow, we'll discuss explanations to these questions so that you can see how to take advantage of the answers on each.

Rich
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Explanations to the Prior 3 Problem Solving Question….

1) A motorist averaged 40 miles per hour on his way to work. He averaged 70 miles per hour on his way home along the same
route. Which of the following is the closest to his average speed for the round trip?
A. 40
B. 51
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder C. 55
D. 59
E. 59.5
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 Correct Answer:
Kudos [?]: 3559 [0], given: 173
[Reveal] Spoiler:
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170 The answers to this question are 'spaced out' in such a way that you don't need to do much math at all to get to the correct answer. This
prompt is a fairly common 'design' for a Weighted Average question. Here, a motorist travels a certain distance at one speed, then
FOLLOW SEND PM travels back - the SAME distance - at a different speed. We're asked for the AVERAGE SPEED for the entire trip.
One of the key elements to these types of questions is that the answer will be closer to the slower speed than to the faster speed. The
exact 'middle' between 40 and 70 is 55, BUT since the motorist spends MORE time driving 40 mph, the average would have to be closer
to 40 (while not being 40 exactly). There's only one answer that 'fits'...
---------------
2) Franny can type 80 words per minute and Matt can type 60 words per minute. If the two together must type up a 14,000-word
paper and each person can type for at most 2 hours, what is the least amount of time, in hours, that Matt must type?
A. 2
B. 5/6
9 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
Author Message
C. 11/12
D. 11/9
E. 35/9
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
The answer choices to this question provide a really nice 'shortcut' that can help you to cut down on the amount of math that is
necessary to answer this question. To start, we're told that Franny and Matt can each type UP TO 2 hours, but we're asked for the LEAST
amount of time (in hours) that Matt would need to type. Thus, the answer is almost certainly going to be LESS than 2. Eliminate Answer
A and Answer E (this answer is almost 4 hours, which is simply not an option based on the information in the prompt).
Given Franny's rate (80 words/minute), we know that in 2 hours she would type (2)(60)(80) = 9600 words. This leaves 14,000 - 9,600 =
4,400 words for Matt.
Given Mat's rate (60 words/minute), the 4400 words would take 4400/60 = OVER 60 minutes. You don't need to calculate the exact value
- it's enough to note that Matt would need to spend MORE than 1 hour typing. Answers B and C are LESS than 1 hour, so there's only one
answer that makes sense...
---------------
3) At a company meeting, M men and W women meet in a conference room. If there are twice as many men as women at the
meeting and the conference room can hold no more than 50 total people, then what is the maximum number of women who can
be at that meeting?
A) 15
B) 16
C) 17
D) 18
E) 19
Correct Answer:
[Reveal] Spoiler:
This question can be approached Algebraically or by TESTing THE ANSWERS. Here is how you can get to the solution by TESTing THE
ANSWERS.
We're given a couple of facts to work with:

1) There are TWICE as men as women in a conference room
2) The conference room can hold UP TO 50 people.
We're asked for the MAXIMUM number of WOMEN that the room can hold.
Let's TEST Answer D: 18 women

IF... there were 18 women, then there would be 2(18) = 36 men.
18 + 36 = 54, but that is TOO MANY people (the room can only hold up to 50), so this answer is TOO BIG.
Eliminate D and E (that answer would be even BIGGER).
Answer C: 17 women
17 + 34 = 51, but that is TOO MANY people (although it's REALLY close), so this answer is TOO BIG.
Eliminate C.
Answer B: 16 women
16 + 32 = 48. This is the LARGEST answer that 'fits' all of the information that we've been given, so this MUST be the answer.
---------------
As you continue to study, remember to use EVERY piece of information that each prompt gives you. This idea is relevant in BOTH the
Quant and Verbal sections - and is 'key' to maximizing your performance on Test Day.

Rich
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Reading Comp: Learning to Read GMAT RC at the Perfect Pace

Many GMATers make the mistake of thinking that ‘skimming’ is the proper way to deal with Reading Comp passages. By its nature,
skimming is often a desperate way of trying to quickly deal with a (frequently lengthy) passage. Unfortunately, it sacrifices all manner
of comprehension and note-taking for speed. That is a TERRIBLE trade-off – and often causes serious problems for Test Takers as they
practice RC during their studies. By extension, those same Test Takers often fail to perform at a really high level on RC on Test Day,
which keeps them from scoring at a really high level overall.
Proper reading speed for GMAT Reading Comp is probably not what you think it should be. As an experiment, we’re now going to test
YOUR natural reading speed.
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 Here is an RC passage from the Diagnostic Test of the OG, formatted in the same way that it appears in that book. We’re not going to
Kudos [?]: 3559 [2], given: 173 focus on answering the questions; this is just about reading the prompt. For this exercise, I want you to keep track of how long it takes
Location: United States (CA) you to complete the passage (and you should try to mimic your typical reading speed when you take your practice CATs). We’re going to
use that piece of information to assess your default way of dealing with RC.
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
All right. Ready? Start your timer and begin…
10 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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Women’s grassroots activism and their vision

FOLLOW SEND PM of a new civic consciousness lay at the heart of
social reform in the United States throughout the
Progressive Era, the period between the depression
of 1893 and America’s entry into the Second
World War. Though largely disenfranchised except
for school elections, white middle-class women
reformers won a variety of victories, notably in
the improvement of working conditions, especially
for women and children. Ironically, though,
child labor legislation pitted women of different
classes against one another. To the reformers,
child labor and industrial home work were equally
inhumane practices that should be outlawed, but,
as a number of women historians have recently
observed, working-class mothers did not always
share this view. Given the precarious finances of
working-class families and the necessity of pooling
the wages of as many family members as possible,
working-class families viewed the passage and
enforcement of stringent child labor statutes as a
personal economic disaster and made strenuous
efforts to circumvent child labor laws. Yet
reformers rarely understood this resistance in terms
of the desperate economic situation of working-
class families, interpreting it instead as evidence
of poor parenting. This is not to dispute women
reformers’ perception of child labor as a terribly
exploitative practice, but their understanding of
child labor and their legislative solutions for ending
it failed to take account of the economic needs of
working-class families.
How much time did you spend? Be honest.
0 – 40 seconds: You’re either amazing at RC or probably really terrible at it. Since you’re reading this article, it’s probably the latter.
The time that you would have spent rushing through this prompt has been wasted. You will almost certainly need to go back to reread
the prompt repeatedly as you work through the questions – and that’s a big waste of overall time and effort.
41 – 65 seconds: You may have caught some of the ideas/meaningful words in the prompt, but you probably won’t be able to
accurately summarize them and you’ll end up rereading the prompt each time you have to deal with a new question about it.
66 – 89 seconds: Depending on your level of comprehension, you might have absorbed some of what’s here. What’s the point of the
article? What is the article really discussing? Does the author have an opinion on the subject matter? At this speed, you probably missed
out on some of the relevant points that were made, so most of the questions will require that you reread the prompt.
90 - 100 seconds: Proper reading speed for Reading Comp on the GMAT is about 150 words per minute. This prompt is roughly 230
words, so if you engaged with the prompt, then this is just about the perfect amount of time for this passage. Any ‘detail’ questions
will require that you reread a small section of the prompt (but that’s often the case for those types of questions regardless of the
length of the prompt or the subject matter).
101 – 120 seconds: Not too bad. You might have gotten hung up on some of the vocabulary, but you didn’t let it keep you from moving
on to the parts of the passage that did understand.
121 – 140 seconds: We’re now getting to a point in which you’re probably rereading small chunks of the passage. You’re allowing
yourself to get distracted by dense sentences and big vocabulary – and almost none of that will be relevant when it comes time to
answering the questions.
141+ seconds: You might have broader ‘comprehension issues’, or you’re reading each sentence more than once. Training to learn what
‘matters’ in a passage and what doesn’t matter will be essential for you to score at a high level in the Verbal section.
Adapting one’s reading speed and ‘default way’ of reading is one of the specific challenges that most GMATers face. Since many of those
habits are ingrained – they can take some serious time and commitment to change (you’ve been reading this way for most of your life,
so you have to embrace the training if you want to improve). Thankfully, the style and logic behind GMAT RC is remarkably predictable –
as are the question types and common wrong answers to RC questions – so you CAN train to score at a higher level. If your current study
materials aren’t helping you to make those improvements, then it might be time to invest in materials that will.

Rich
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Reading Comp: Practice Your Reading Pace on 3 Passages

In the prior post, we discussed proper reading pace for when you deal with GMAT RC passages (as a reminder, that pace should be about
150 words per minute). Unfortunately, simply knowing that fact won’t necessarily lead you to adjust your reading speed. So here are
three practice prompts – taken from the OG12 – for you to practice on. Use a timer and make sure to note how long it took you to read
each passage. The proper (goal) amount of reading time is listed in inviso-text beneath each prompt.
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder Passage 1:

Traditionally, the first firm to commercialize a
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
new technology has benefited from the unique
Posts: 10207 opportunity to shape product definitions, forcing
Kudos [?]: 3559 [0], given: 173 followers to adapt to a standard or invest in
Location: United States (CA) an unproven alternative. Today, however, the
largest payoffs may go to companies that lead in
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
developing integrated approaches for successful
11 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
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mass production and distribution.

GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
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Producers of the Beta format for videocassette
recorders (VCRs), for example, were first to develop
the VCR commercially in 1975, but producers of the
rival VHS (Video Home System) format proved to be
more successful at forming strategic alliances with
other producers and distributors to manufacture
and market their VCR format. Seeking to maintain
exclusive control over VCR distribution, Beta
producers were reluctant to form such alliances and
eventually lost ground to VHS in the competition for
the global VCR market.
Despite Beta's substantial technological head

start and the fact that VHS was neither technically
better nor cheaper than Beta, developers of VHS
quickly turned a slight early lead in sales into a
dominant position. Strategic alignments with
producers of prerecorded tapes reinforced the VHS
advantage. The perception among consumers that
prerecorded tapes were more available in VHS
format further expanded VHS's share of the market.
By the end of the 1980s, Beta was no longer in
production.
Reading Time Goal:

[Reveal] Spoiler:
Passage 2:
A recent study has provided clues to

predator-prey dynamics in the late Pleistocene
era. Researchers compared the number of tooth
fractures in present-day carnivores with tooth
fractures in carnivores that lived 36,000 to 10,000
years ago and that were preserved in the Rancho
La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. The breakage
frequencies in the extinct species were strikingly
higher than those in the present-day species.
In considering possible explanations for this

finding, the researchers dismissed demographic bias
because older individuals were not over represented
in the fossil samples. They rejected preservational
bias because a total absence of breakage in two
extinct species demonstrated that the fractures
were not the result of abrasion within the pits.
They ruled out local bias because breakage data
obtained from other Pleistocene sites were similar
to the La Brea data. The explanation they consider
most plausible is behavioral differences between
extinct and present-day carnivores—in particular,
more contact between the teeth of predators and
the bones of prey due to more thorough
consumption of carcasses by the extinct species.
Such thorough carcass consumption implies to

the researchers either that prey availability was
low, at least seasonally, or that there was intense
competition over kills and a high rate of carcass
theft due to relatively high predator densities.
Reading Time Goal:

[Reveal] Spoiler:
Passage 3:
Many United States companies have,

unfortunately, made the search for legal protection
from import competition into a major line of
work. Since 1980 the United States International
Trade Commission (ITC) has received about 280
complaints alleging damage from imports that
benefit from subsidies by foreign governments.
Another 340 charge that foreign companies
“dumped” their products in the United States at
“less than fair value.” Even when no unfair practices
are alleged, the simple claim that an industry has
been injured by imports is sufficient grounds to
seek relief.
Contrary to the general impression, this quest

for import relief has hurt more companies than
it has helped. As corporations begin to function
globally, they develop an intricate web of marketing,
production, and research relationships. The complexity
of these relationships makes it unlikely that a system
of import relief laws will meet the strategic needs of
all the units under the same parent company.
Internationalization increases the danger that

foreign companies will use import relief laws against
the very companies the laws were designed to
protect. Suppose a United States-owned company
establishes an overseas plant to manufacture
a product while its competitor makes the same
product in the United States. If the competitor can
prove injury from the imports—and that the United
States company received a subsidy from a foreign
government to build its plant abroad—the United
States company’s products will be uncompetitive in
the United States, since they would be subject to
duties.
Perhaps the most brazen case occurred when

the ITC investigated allegations that Canadian
companies were injuring the United States salt
industry by dumping rock salt, used to de-ice roads.
The bizarre aspect of the complaint was that a
foreign conglomerate with United States operations
was crying for help against a United States
12 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM
Author Message
company with foreign operations. The “United

States” company claiming injury was a subsidiary
of a Dutch conglomerate, while the “Canadian”
companies included a subsidiary of a Chicago firm
that was the second-largest domestic producer of
rock salt.
Reading Time Goal:

[Reveal] Spoiler:
Good GMAT ‘habits’ take time to hone, so you have to continue to train at this proper reading speed. Combined with the proper note-
taking and Tactical knowledge about RC question types (and the types of common wrong answers that often appear), you’ll find that
dealing with any passage – regardless of length or subject matter – will become a standard process.

Rich
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Re: 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 12 Jul 2017, 21:09
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Your Big Problem With the Verbal Section is Based on a “Probability Problem”
Many Test Takers tend to find the Quant section of the GMAT to be easier than the Verbal section. Quant is based on more ‘obvious’
rules and patterns and you can often pinpoint the correct answer without having to consider (and then eliminate) each of the other 4
incorrect answers first.
By default, many GMATers work through Verbal questions with the idea that they should eliminate the four incorrect answers… and the
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder answer that remains will be the correct one. While you should often be able to eliminate a couple of ‘obvious’ wrong answers from each
Verbal question (even if you don’t know what the correct answer actually is), if THAT is how you handle every Verbal question, then
there is a BIG problem with your overall approach - and you’re probably limiting how high you will score in the Verbal section.
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 The big issue here is ultimately a “math” problem. If you consistently narrow the answers down to two choices (the correct one and one
Kudos [?]: 3559 [2], given: 173 of the four incorrect ones), then probability dictates that you will likely answer just half of those questions correctly. While you can
Location: United States (CA) certainly afford to miss lots of hard/weird questions and still score at a high level, you cannot afford to miss HALF of the 41 Verbal
questions and still expect to earn a high score. Without having the proper content knowledge and Tactical abilities, you’ll effectively be
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
“winging it” through the Verbal section – and the GMAT doesn’t often reward that type of approach with a 700+ score.
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
FOLLOW SEND PM Knowing all of this, you now have to define how much this issue actually applies to YOU… but you’ll have to put in the necessary work
to analyze your CATs. Starting with your most recent CAT, you have to review each Verbal question AND your notes for each question. We
need to know how many questions you “narrowed down to 2 choices” (ALL questions, regardless of whether you got the question correct
or incorrect). You have to be honest with this assessment – if you didn’t “know” what you were looking for when you worked your way
through the answers, then you were essentially trying to ‘eliminate your way’ to the correct answer.
It’s worth noting that some GMATers are naturally strong in the Verbal section – the questions just “make sense” to those Test Takers, so
they don’t need a more formal process for dealing with the Verbal section. Since you’re reading this post though, then you are probably
not one of those people. So, how many of the 41 questions did you deal with during your last CAT by narrowing the answers down to 2
choices?
0-10 questions: You either really know what you’re doing (and scoring at a really high level) or you have no idea what you’re doing and
you’re misinterpreting most of the questions that you’re dealing with.
11-15 questions: You’re probably performing above average overall, but you’re missing out on enough points that you still have some
work to do to get to the 700+ level.
16 – 20 questions: You’re unsure of how to handle almost half of the questions, which means that you’re missing serious points in at
least 2 of the 3 major Verbal categories (SC, RC and CR). At this level, you might not be clear on what you actually have to do to
correctly answer certain questions.
21 – 25: questions: “Your way” of dealing with the Verbal section is likely problematic and you will almost certainly need to invest in
some new study materials and focus on learning/practicing proper Verbal Tactics to score higher.
26 – 30 questions: You’re almost certainly losing serious points in all 3 major Verbal categories (SC, RC and CR) and simply doing more
practice questions will NOT get you to your score goal.
31 – 41 questions: Your work across most of the Verbal section is imprecise and you’ll need to invest a significant amount of time,
money and energy to raise your Verbal score up to a high score level.
Regardless of how you’re performing now, it’s important to remember that the Verbal section of the GMAT is just as consistent and
predictable as the Quant section is, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. The key word there is “train” – you cannot expect to
just work your way through 100s of additional practice questions on your own and hope to hit your goal score. You will need help, so you
have to do the necessary research and invest in some new practice materials and Tactics.

Rich
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Re: 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 14 Aug 2017, 15:43
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Defining Your Pacing Problem in the Quant and/or Verbal Sections (Part 1)
Over the years, one of the most common concerns that I’ve heard from GMATers is about their pacing – specifically, the fact that they
have to rush through a number of questions at the end of a section just to finish on time. “How do I fix my pacing problem?” they ask
(and you might be asking it too!).
First, you have to understand that a pacing problem doesn’t exist on its own – it’s the result of OTHER issues. In simple terms,
Status: GMAT Assassin/Co-Founder something about how you handle the Quant and/or Verbal sections is CAUSING this pacing issue. To better define that cause (or causes),
we have to analyze how you’re handling questions on your CATs. To properly do that, we need to look at one of your recent CATs and
your NOTES for that CAT.
Joined: 19 Dec 2014
Posts: 10207 Certain practice CATs include information on how much time you spent on each question – and we need a CAT result that includes that
Kudos [?]: 3559 [1], given: 173 information. THAT data is remarkably important, but we need more than just some numbers to solve your pacing issue. We also need to
Location: United States (CA) see what you wrote down, the ‘steps’ that you went through to try to answer each question, etc. For review purposes, you should
always keep your notes from each CAT. At the very least, you’ll be able to reattempt questions that you originally got wrong. – which is
GMAT 1: 800 Q51 V49
a great way to measure your progress as you study and define how well you are improving. In addition, you can go back and see how you
GRE 1: 340 Q170 V170
successfully answered certain questions (as those Tactics and patterns will likely be helpful on future questions.) At deeper levels, you
FOLLOW SEND PM
can define WHY you got questions wrong in the first place – and that information can help you to change your tactics, improve your
work and hone your skills.
QUANT
“On a CAT, no Quant question is worth more than 3 minutes of your time - not even the first question.”
Say that quote out loud. Right now. Then say it again. I don’t care where you are (and I don’t care if anyone looks at your strangely).
Say it a third time. Now start living by that rule.
Believe it or not, 75 minutes IS enough time to work through the Quant section, but NOT if you’re making silly mistakes (that you then
have to go back and fix) or wasting time by staring at the screen and hoping that an idea comes to you.
If you had to rush through even a couple of questions at the end of the Quant section, then you ‘over-committed’ to certain questions
earlier on and wasted a bunch of time. If you have a pacing issue in the Quant section, then here’s what we have to specifically look for
in your CAT results:
1. Count up the number of times that you spent 3 or more minutes on a question. Write all of those ‘times‘ down in a row.
2. What fraction of those questions did you get WRONG? Circle the times associated with the ones that you got wrong.
Over time, for most GMATers, the long-term fraction of wrong answers on questions that took 3+ minutes is about ½… meaning that
when you spend THAT much time on a Quant question, there’s a really good chance that you’re going to get that question WRONG
anyway! So in addition to getting a bunch of questions wrong, you end up wasting a bunch of time AND you end up not having enough
time for the questions at the end of the section (which you mostly get wrong too). In effect, you’re getting killed twice for the same
mistake… so you need to stop making that initial mistake. To figure out how to do that, we have to start with your notes…
3. Take a look at your notes for the first question from your list of “3+ minutes” questions. If you were to hand that section of your
notes to someone else, would that person be able to answer the following questions:
A) What information did the prompt include?

B) What question were you attempting to answer?
C) What ‘steps’ did you go through?
D) Were the numbers that you wrote down “labeled”?
If any of those 4 questions cannot be answered, then you’ve defined the first (and probably the BIGGEST) issue – you don’t take the
proper notes. The GMAT will NEVER ask you to do work ‘in your head’ – that’s why you’re given a note pad and marker to work with.
4. Now, review each question that you spent 3+ minutes on. How many of those questions had ‘insufficient’ notes attached to them? By
extension, how hard would it have been to write down those notes?
5. Try redoing each question, from scratch. Write down all of the notes (as defined above). How long did it take to JUST write down the
notes? Not too long, I bet. Now, try to solve the problem. If you decide it’s too hard, then that’s fine… now dump it (take a guess and
move on). Physically do it. Choose an answer. Accept that making that choice is in your best interests– there are questions at the end of
the section that you almost certainly CAN correctly answer if you have enough time.
With this newfound perspective, you can start making changes to how you work through practice questions and how you take your CATs.
Next time, we’ll talk though how to apply similar ideas to how you handle the Verbal section.

Rich
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Re: 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels [#permalink] 14 Aug 2017, 15:43
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760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

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15 of 15 11/27/2017, 5:03 PM

760+ - What GMAT Assassins Do To Score at The Highest Levels - General GMAT Questions and Strategies

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760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels : Gener... https://gmatclub.com/forum/760-what-gmat-assassins-do-to-score-at-the...

By Kaplan 2017 November 28

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760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

FOLLOW THIS TOPIC Print v iew

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Last edited by EMPOWERgmatRichC on 14 Aug 2017, 15:45, edited 15 times in total.

GMAT Assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

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1st Approach: Algebra

We’re then asked to calculate (D) / [(N+J)/2]

2nd Approach: TESTing VALUES

Now, we just have to place D = 20, N = 8 and J = 2 into the question….

(20) / [(8 + 2)/2] = (20) / (5) = 4

GMAT Assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

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Finding Patterns in PS Questions When You Don’t Immediately See Them

If T is the sum of the first 10 terms in the sequence, then T is….

So… what have you deduced? The answer appears below:

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

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Test Your Pattern-Finding Skills on These 3 PS Questions

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

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Last edited by EMPOWERgmatRichC on 22 Apr 2017, 11:37, edited 1 time in total.

Solutions: The Patterns Behind those Prior 3 PS Questions

Remember: All the doors start off CLOSED...

Door 5: Person 1 and 5 touch this door. CLOSED.

40 correct, 0 incorrect, 160 skipped

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

Official GMAT Exam Packs + 70 Pt. Improvement Guarantee

***********************Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!***********************

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

Official GMAT Exam Packs + 70 Pt. Improvement Guarantee

***********************Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!***********************

FOLLOW SEND PM The Long Math:

The third and fourth sentences allow us to create a third equation:

(.05)N + (.10)D + (.25)Q = 10.15

Substituting in for N and Q, we end up with…

(.05)(6D) + (.10)(D) + (.25)(D/3) = 10.15

.3D + .1D + (.25D/3) = 10.15

We can now multiply everything by 3 to get rid of the fraction…

.9D + .3D + .25D = 30.45

IF… there are 18 dimes

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

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Using the Answers in a PS Question to Your Advantage

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-motorist-a ... 39589.html

Now, let’s discuss the shortcut I alluded to earlier…

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

Official GMAT Exam Packs + 70 Pt. Improvement Guarantee

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Use the Answers to Your Advantage on These 3 Questions….

GMAT assassins aren’t born, they’re made,

Official GMAT Exam Packs + 70 Pt. Improvement Guarantee

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!

Select EMPOWERgmat Courses now include ALL 6 Official GMAC CATs!