annabel398

The old info about the first xxx questions etc. NO LONGER APPLIES, as the test is now section-adaptive rather than question-adaptive. There are 20 questions, so just pace yourself accordingly. I timed out on the next to last question in both math sections and still got a 165 (93%tile).

Question 2 Given the equation below, which value is larger? [ (2x + 1) / 4 ] - [ (x - 1) / 8 ] = [ (x - 1) / 4 ] - [ (2x + 1) / 8 ] A. 2x + 1 ............. B. x - 1 Substitute N for (2x+1) and M for (x-1): N/4 - M/8 = M/4 - N/8 get a common denominator by multiplying the /4s by 2/2: 2N/8 - M/8 = 2M/8 - N/8 Multiply all by 8: 2N - M = 2M - N Add N and M to both sides: 3N - M = 2M 3N = 3M Hey, look... N = M. ** Substitute the original expression back into N and M: 2x + 1 = x - 1 x + 1 = -1 x = -2 Check that the original equation works (it does) and then answer: A = 2x + 1, B = x - 1, they both equal -3, so C is the answer (It was only at this point that I realized that A = N and B = M, so I could have stopped where I put the ** above...)

Or, you could try a few like this: 10 / 11 = R10 100 / 11 = R1 (99 + 1) 1000 / 11 = R10 (990 + 10) 10,000 / 11 = R1 (9999 + 1) It seems pretty clear that any multiple of 10 with an ODD number of zeros will be R10, and any multiple of 10 with an EVEN number of zeros will be R1. Therefore, since 10^32 has 32 zeros, R1 and answer is C

Not quite... both 0.13 and 0.16 would -> 0.15 0.19 would -> 0.20 You could think of a number line ticked off in units of 0.05, and ask yourself, which tick would be closest? .....0.0 ......0.05 .....0.10 .....0.15 .....0.20 . . . | . . . . | . . . . | . . x . | x . . x | . . . . ..... ..... ..... ..... ......./ .... | .... \ ..... ..... ..... ..... .....0.13 .. 0.16 .. 0.19 I hope you can see that both 0.13 and 0.16 are closer to 0.15 than any other multiple of 0.05...

Well, I got a 5.5 and I think my writing style is pretty straightforward, though not journalistic. I have read, and I tend to believe, that two things are critical for a high score: clear development of your ideas, and length! By clear development, I mean that anyone reading your essay could state your position and identify how you support it after reading through the essay once. "Signposting" is important: using words like "first," "then," "it follows that," "therefore," "to sum up," and so on. Signpost your support as well: "for example," "consider," "in the case of..." The OP, who wrote journalistically, might have lost points here, because signposting is not good style in journalism. As for length, I don't mean lengthy words so much as length of the entire essay. I hate to say it, but research seems to bear this out. All other things being equal, the longer essay will be seen as better.

ETS is a great place to start. The quant section now includes some math that wasn't on the old test (standard deviations...) so you should go to the source first.

Agreed. Mine were online 3 days earlier than they said, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Most schools will accept a GRE up to 5 years old. Check the specific schools you're interested in for their policy. Typically, when you take the test and give the school number, they will open up a file for you and wait for an application to follow. But again, check with the schools themselves.

or, since expenses and reimbursements are both fractions of $60 million... you could just say the percent of expenses NOT reimbursed are (6.8 - 4.9)/6.8 (total minus reimbursed = not reimbursed, not reimbursed/total = percent) I rounded to (7-5)/7 or 2/7 which is 28%

(2x)^2 = 4x^2 the only way 2x^2 = 4x^2 is if x = 0 hence, B (1) is larger

Nova, I'm sorry to say, is a book with terrible editing. Many typos, missing information, and wrong answers. I sent mine back unused.

This is why you should always DRAW A PICTURE. If you drew a 4 x 5 rectangle and tried to draw 2x2 rectangles inside it, you would instantly see why this is a trick question.

Okay, this took me a while to understand, but I think I have it. 10 out of 500 students scored 56 or below 80 out of 500 students scored 92 or above Draw a bell curve. In a normal distribution, the median and mean are about the same (middle of the bell curve), and the standard deviation is about 15% in each direction. 80 students is roughly 1 standard deviation of 500 (500 * 15% = 75), so 1 standard deviation away from the mean on the plus side 10 students is roughly 2 standard deviations (500 * 15% * 15% = 11), so 2 standard deviations away from the mean on the minus side. That would mean our range (from 56 to 92) covers 3 standard deviations. 92 - 56 = 36, and 36 / 3 = 12. So I'm going to guess that our mean (middle of the bell curve) is at 80 (which would make it 12 away from 92, and 24 away from 56, so yeah, that fits). choice A = mean = 80, choice B = 87. Therefore B is larger. I'm really rusty on standard deviations, but I took a quick glance at the GRE math review PDF and I think I'm on the right track with this explanation.

Yeah, I think this is wrong in two ways: if the Xs are the supposedly correct answer, then they a) aren't considering cars with no options, and b) meant 50 instead of 60. Slayerz is right... the question AS WRITTEN does not exclude the possibility of cars with none of the three options. All six choices are possible under this scenario. Throw out the book you got this question from!

Let it be a warning to you... even from "official" sources, always check the date. Internet info (can) outlive its usefulness...

Let's spell it out. We know two things: Volume = x m^3 and Surface Area = x m^3 given a cube of side S, the volume is calculated by S^3 (huh, that's why we call it a cube...) given a cube of side S, the surface area is S^2 (that is the area of one face) * 6 (because a cube has 6 faces) so... S^3 = 6 * S^2 That must mean S = 6

Yes, it will help you to solve this problem if you start by making a diagram... draw a circle, put 6 points on it, and letter them A, B, C, D, E, F. As soon as you start making quadrilaterals, you will realize--hey, this isn't a geometry problem at all, it's a combination problem! You're looking for 4 points from a possible 6 (4 points because it's a QUADrilateral). You would use combinations rather than permutations because order doesn't matter: quadrilateral ABCD is the same as quadrilateral CDAB. (Remember, permutations = order matters, combinations= order doesn't matter). The formula for finding combinations is N!/(N - k)!/k! , where N is the total number of possibilities (6) and k is the number you want to select (4). 6! / (6-4)! / 4! = 6! / 2! / 4! = 720 / 2 / 24 = 360 / 24 = 15

A little wordy, but otherwise an excellent analysis! I think this would earn at least 4.5 The first paragraph, for example, could combine the first two sentences, kill the third completely and change the fourth to: "The Economic Minister has overlooked several factors, including..." Other factors you might have mentioned: Do the current crops produce good income? (if paucia's current crops are lucrative, changing would be unwise) Do Paucians even like rice? Paucia is a small country... Is its population small too? Consider how labor-intensive rice is to raise. Also, what is the total area of arable land for rice-growing? Perhaps the current crops have higher yield per acre.

Oops, I just noticed this was posted weeks ago. I hope the OP had faith in his/her ability and did not use a foolish strategy...

I agree with cherub, this would be a terrible strategy! Read the questions, eliminate the choices you can, and do your best in selecting from what is left. There's a reason everyone is tested on verbal comprehension--it is absolutely necessary for graduate work. Even if you are in a science/engineering field, you will have to read and understand journal articles, discuss theories with your peers and professors, and so forth. If I were on an admissions committee, I would reject any applicant who answered all As, all Bs, etc. It shows the applicant was not confident of their ability to use graduate-level English. Please consider this as you think about your GRE prep. Very best of luck, you can do well if you do the work to prepare!

Estimated: verbal 750-800, quant 750-800 Actual: verbal 170 (99% below), quant 165 (93% below), AW 5.5 (96% below) I think the percentiles give you the best clues for "reading scores backwards."

Daphne, have you looked online for your scores yet? Mine were posted a week before the "official" date. My ranges after testing were the same as your--750-800 in both sections. Pretty happy about my final scores (which I'll post in my own thread so as not to hijack any further). P.S. What's your field of study?

Call the GRE help line and ask! I had to do that cos I lost my reg email. They were very helpful. 1-609-771-7670

Computer based will supply you with EVERYTHING. You must know your ETS login, that's it. Know where your schools are located, because you look them up by state.

Well done, lykos! I agree that memorizing thousands of words is not going to be as helpful on the new test as it was in the past. (Not that it's a BAD idea, just that the return-on-investment is low. Definitely do it if you have the time!)