avataar

Can you post a few problems which you think you found time consuming, along with the methods you are using to solve the problems? It might be possible that the question you are solving are actually time consuming (with a lots of calculation etc). I am using Kaplan's CD, Barron's CD and Princeton Review's online CD companion and Powerprep CD for CAT practice. The question on these may be a little bit easy or a little bit harder than the actual test, but I believe all of them have a good mix of trivial and tricky questions. I believe 45 minutes is good enough for solving 28 questions. A few conventional advices: 1. It might be possible that you are writing everything on paper, where have have to write only a few thing. 2. Memorize multiplication tables upto 20, so that you don't have to solve them on the test day. 3. Similarly, memorize squares, cubes and other simple powers of first few natural numbers. 4. Memorize factorials of first few natural numbers. 5. After reading the question don't start solving it directly, take a look at the options first, sometimes the answer is obvious. 6. Avoid making silly mistakes like, calculating the area for circle when only area for semicircle is asked, using diameter instead of radius in calculations. 7. Finally, if you are stuck, then leave the question and move to next. If you think a question is hard then by first 1 1/2 minute it should be clear whether your approach will give you an answer or not, and should get the answer in next 1 minute. I have lots of things which I have learned from my experience but can't remember and write down all of them here as my test is approaching too.

Where did you get this question from?

My take on this type of questions is ETS wouldn't want you to calculate the whole thing. There is usually a pattern. Just like Irrational has given a detailed explanation, you could have arrived at the solution by quickly checking the remainder for first 4 term. 7^0 % 14 = 1%14 = 1 (7^0 + 7 ^1) % 14 = 8%14 = 8 (7^0 + 7^1 + 7^2) % 14 = 57%14 = 1 (7^0 + 7^1 + 7^2 + 7^3) % 14 = 400%14 = 8 So you got the pattern... For odd power the remainder is 1 hence for the series above the remainder will be 1.

instead of solving for x and y solve the equation for 1/x and 1/y. Assume a = 1/x and b = 1/y so that the equations look like: 50a+ 72b =9 70a + 90b = 12

Sorry, it should be B.

substitute 1 and 1/2 the answer would come out to be D.

I don't know how to rate your essay but I have a few comments: 1. At no point in the essay (except the last 2 lines), you have clearly mentioned your stand on the issue. The very first thing you should do is to make you stand clear to the reader. Otherwise, till the last line the reader will have to guess your stand. From what I have heard, good essay follows the following formats: a) the reasons-examples format. (3 reasons, well supported by examples are good enough for a >=5 essay). Intro. - your stand on the argument (in favor of it, against it, or in favor for some cases and against for others). Paragraph-1 - reason1, followed by example1. Paragraph-2 - reason2, followed by example2. Paragraph-3 - reason3, followed by example3. Conclusion - a summary of you stand and the reasons you have given. b) extended example format. If you can't think of a lot of reasons, but you have one concrete reason for/against then you can support it with 2-3 good examples (nicely elaborated) in following format. Intro - be clear about you stand on the issue. Paragraph1 - Reason + 1st example. Paragraph2 - 2nd, example. Paragraph3 -3rd example. Conclusion - summary of above. type a is preferred for obvious reasons, but if you can't think of various reasons you can fall back to type b. 2) Don't be vague at any point. Always stick to your stand. 3) Don't try to contradict yourself (at least in the same paragraph). E.g. if you are both in favor and against then use different paragraphs to elaborate each of them. You are contradicting yourself in the paragraph on genetic engg. 4) Don't leave your examples hanging in the mid. E.g. after "the discovery of double helical structure", you mention "It has helped us to find cure for many diseases.". At least give names of a disease or two. Similarly, "It has also helped us to understand our world more.", is very vague statement. No example given. 5) Grammar - I don't know, why did you use past participle in the first paragraph where a present participle or simple past could have done. There is nothing wrong with what you have done, but a past participle suggests that something happened before something else in the past and in your sentence the something else is missing. I may be nitpicking, but that is necessary if you want to write a good essay. Please go through the samples provided by ETS, they have were good guidelines.

1) Answer is D. If x is 1 then, there is no multiple for both 6 and 9. However if x is 2 then there is 1 multiple for 6 and 0 for 9. Hence a double case. 2. you are right its C. 3. Answer is D. |n - 1| can be represented in 2 ways depending upon the value of n-1. if n - 1 > 0, then the equation becomes n -1 = 62 => n = 63. if n - 1 n = -61. So the answer is D.

I usually go by the reviews. Read the reviews on Amazon. Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: GRE: Practicing to Take the General Test 10th Edition (Practicing to Take the Gre General Test)

You don't have to solve. You have to compare. So plugging is the best approach, unless you want to waste 22.5 minutes figuring out that D is the answer.

one more way: the series can be written as 1 + (7 + 7^2) + (7^3 + 7^4) + (7^5 + 7^6) + ... + (7^19 + 7^20) or 1 + 7(1 + 7) + 7^3 (1 + 7) + 7^5(1+7)+ ... + 7^19(1+7) or 1 + 7*8 + 7^3 *8 + 7^5 *8+ ... + 7^19 *8 all of the terms after first are divisible by 14 hence the remainder is 1.

1. Question is very confusing. P and Q are stated as two batches first and then again P has 7 batches. What does that mean? If we are able to make some sense out of the question then the answer should be (as you said) 7*4 , 5*5 and x > n. As far as I can say, there is no correct method. You just have make an equation and put the correct values (7n + 5x = 53 and second 7n + 5y + y + 1 = 53). From the two equations you will find that only n = 4, x = 5 and y = 4 satisfies both of them. 2. You got second right 4c2 * 5c4 = 30 3. Third 7p4 = 7! / (7-4)! = 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 = 42 x 20 = 840.

I have heard the quant questions are easy in that book, as the papers are from 1980s and 1990s.

I am not sure what your problem is. Data interpretation questions are usually not that difficult. Only thing you have to do is that you have to be a bit cautious and read the questions and graphs carefully. I had the same problem when I first started but then I started spending a bit of extra time and got all of them correct. I don't know any good books or any tactics that can help you. Only thing I can suggest is be extra cautious in reading the questions. Can you post the questions which you were not able to understand? I have done some questions from Barron's. We can discuss them here.

One more good series is Big Bang Theory. It is a hilarious TV series. There are four geeks, basically scientists. GRE words are essentially the vocab of scientists. You can at least prepare 600 GRE words if you watch the series.