One of the key things to remember with circles is that once you know one piece of information, you know everything about the circle itself. Additional angles and lengths inside are not always so simple, but it is possible to convert circumferences to areas, to radii and diameters without intermediate steps. This will save you time in Data Sufficiency questions.

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To start off, let’s quickly review the essentials. These are formulas/concepts you must know:

1. a² + b² = c², but only when a right triangle. If you don’t know it’s a right triangle, Pythagorean theorem does not apply!
2. Common special right triangles include 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17, 7-24-25 (and their multiples.)
3. 45-45-90 triangles are ALWAYS in the ratio 1:1:√2
4. 30-60-90 triangle are ALWAYS in the ratio 1:√3:2
5. Angles and opposite sides are in the same relative size order, but are NOT proportional.

Let’s continue with a standard diagram in which we have an equilateral triangle inscribed in a circle, which is inscribed in a square.

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For many, the GMAT study experience will take several months. These months take the form of figuring out what is on the test, doing many practice problems, perhaps taking a review class, taking practice tests and then mentally preparing for the tests in the final few weeks. This article suggests some pre-test routines and gives an idea of what people should be expecting and doing in the months leading up to their test.

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In this series, we will cover many types of geometric scenarios encountered on the GMAT. A basic knowledge of simple formulas (area, perimeter, etc.) is essential, but there are numerous shortcuts to geometry questions that will save you time. Today, we’ll explore circles inscribed in squares.

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The answer to yesterday's question.  Try the problem first if you haven't done so already and click more to see if you got the answer right.

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Really?  First they tell us we can’t use a calculator, then they tell us we should average 2 minutes per question, and then they give us this:

67.5% of 812 is 15% of what number?

This may seem impossible to solve in under two minutes without some outside help. In fact, there are many typical time saving tactics to perform “simple” arithmetic without belaboring the process and taking too long. Keep an eye out for common multiples, common fractions and decimals that seem too hard without a shortcut. For this question, we can convert from “English” to “Math” and ignore the percent signs since they cancel each other out.

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Get some great insights on how to tackle your GMAT studies with these favorite tips from Grockit tutors, including some cool tricks on data sufficiency and sentence correction problems!

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The best way to think of inequalities is as equations with slightly less specific information. Instead of providing an exact location, they provide a range of locations, all of which are satisfactory. With “=” instead of“<”, we can solve for the exact number. In an inequality, that number will be used as an endpoint.

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This is the last of a short series of articles on the short list of what are known as coordinating conjunctions, short words themselves that show up very frequently in the GMAT Sentence Correction questions. Learning them can save you time, allowing you to eliminate wrong answer choices quickly and confidently; understanding them will of course also help add style and clarity to your AWA and admissions applications.  These coordinating conjunctions are often remembered by the acronym FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So); their job in a sentence is joining two or more parallel  . . . well, things in a sentence.

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One area in which students often struggle is finding errors in the reasoning of an Analysis of an Argument prompt.  People have different ideas on how to write this essay, like any other, but for our purposes here we’re going to assume that you’re writing a classic 5-paragraph essay, with an introduction, a conclusion, and three different errors, each detailed in its own paragraph.

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GMAT questions are notorious for seeming harder than they actually are. The writers recognize time is short, and will give you ostensibly time-consuming calculations. One way to mitigate this is by retaining a rockstar aptitude in manipulating fractions, which occur in a large portion of the questions.

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This is the sixth of a short series of articles on the short list of what are known as coordinating conjunctions, short words themselves that show up very frequently in the GMAT Sentence Correction questions.  Learning them can save you time, allowing you to eliminate wrong answer choices quickly and confidently; understanding them will of course also help add style and clarity to your AWA and admissions applications.  These coordinating conjunctions are often remembered by the acronym FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So); their job in a sentence is joining two or more parallel  . . . well, things in a sentence.

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Grammar is, of course, an issue of concern on the Sentence Correction questions seen on the GMAT. But good grammar is also generally helpful and is of special importance on the writing sample, which is your chance to show the admissions committee that you are adept at communicating in written English. To improve your writing in general, sometimes it’s worthwhile to explore concepts in grammar that are only infrequently tested on the Verbal portion of the test.

One example of this kind of grammar issue is the possessive pronoun. Possessive pronouns are similar to their non-possessive cousins, regular pronouns. Both must have a clear antecedent, and both must agree with that antecedent in gender and in number. There are a few tricky rules that come into play with possessive pronouns that you don’t see elsewhere, however.

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What’s the difference between these two sentences?

He spoke clearly, articulating the points of his plan.

The points of his plan were articulated in his clear speech.

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