Knewton Weekly Quant Challenge – Week 1
We’re happy to introduce the Knewton Weekly Math Challenge. Every Wednesday we’ll post a very difficult quant question. The first person to answer correctly in the comment field below will win the new Knewton T-shirt. After the right answer appears in the comments (you can only post one answer, and you must explain how you arrived at your answer — so take your time), we’ll post a full explanation. Here’s the first question. Good luck!
In a certain game, a player begins with a bag containing tiles numbered 1 through 10, each of which has an equal probability of being selected. The player draws one tile. If the tile is even, the player stops. If not, the player draws another tile without replacing the first. If this second tile is even, the player stops. If not, the player draws a third tile—without replacing either of the first two tiles—and then stops. What is the probability that at the conclusion of the game, the sum of the tiles that the player has drawn is odd?
This is the latest in a series of “How To Analyze” articles that began with the general “
There are two types of interest problems on the GMAT, and they include simple interest and compound interest. Simple interest is the most basic and is a function of P, the principle amount of money invested, the interest rate earned on the principle, i, and the amount of time the money is invested, t (this is usually stated in periods, such as years or months). The resulting equation is:
Many business schools teach using the famous “case method”, in which you will analyze the real-world situation of a specific business at a time of crisis/transition/decision in order to gain practical knowledge of business theory as applied to an actual situation. The theory behind the case method is that, by analyzing how, for example, Kodak needed to transition from a conventional (film) to a new (digital) business model, you will gain large-scale comprehension of a business principle in general, and not just an intimate understanding of one business. With this experience, you can then apply your theoretical-and-practical understanding of a vast array of business principles to whatever situations will arise in your future role as a manager.
Everyone has their own strategies for these tests, but to me the GMAT quantitative test came down to two main components, i) knowing the underlying math and ii) question identification.
Data Sufficiency questions, which will comprise approximately half of your quantitative section, are a format unique to the GMAT. As you become familiar with this unique type of question, you’ll find it challenging, frustrating, confusing, infuriating, but hopefully in the end satisfying as you master the many challenges that these questions present.
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Over these past few months of writing articles for Beat The GMAT, you’ve probably noticed that I like to associate important GMAT concepts with common situations. Well, with regards to pacing on data sufficiency questions, the best way to approach them is to know the material and content through and through. However, while on the actual GMAT and as you practice with CAT tests, keep in mind the words of Kenny Rogers, The Gambler:
They say that “elephants never forget”, but, when you think about it, how much do elephants really have to remember? Aspiring graduate students, however, have quite a bit to keep track of: dozens of passwords, bank account and phone numbers, and years’ worth of academia that we’ve collected over time. Human ingenuity, however, has created computer memory – we carry gigabytes of storage space in our pockets everywhere we go – so that we don’t need to rely on our more-limited natural capacity for memory. (Note to elephants: Now who’s impressed?)