Hello..
I have been having trouble with questions on Absolute Values. I realize that I may not have grasped all the basics right, yet. Do you have any suggestions on good resources I could use to understand all that's required about Absolute Value concepts that get tested on GMAT?
Thanks
Bullzi
Understanding Absolute Values
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
- [email protected]
- Elite Legendary Member
- Posts: 10392
- Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
- Thanked: 2867 times
- Followed by:511 members
- GMAT Score:800
Hi Bullzi,
Taking an 'algebra-heavy' approach to Absolute values might be what's causing the 'trouble' that you're experiencing. Most (if not all) Absolute Value questions can be solved with a bit of 'brute force' and TESTing VALUES.
Do you have any examples of specific Absolute Value questions that are giving you trouble? If you do, then you should post them in the Forums.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Taking an 'algebra-heavy' approach to Absolute values might be what's causing the 'trouble' that you're experiencing. Most (if not all) Absolute Value questions can be solved with a bit of 'brute force' and TESTing VALUES.
Do you have any examples of specific Absolute Value questions that are giving you trouble? If you do, then you should post them in the Forums.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Thanks Rich for your response..
I went back to brush up my basics again and I figured I was doing two main things wrong,
1. I was forgetting or not realizing that there could be two values of x in the equation |x| = 1
2. I wasn't testing probable extraneous solutions back on the original equation thereby getting answer solutions wrong
Let me try some problems again and post a few troublesome ones on the forum. Thanks again..!
Thanks
Bullzi
I went back to brush up my basics again and I figured I was doing two main things wrong,
1. I was forgetting or not realizing that there could be two values of x in the equation |x| = 1
2. I wasn't testing probable extraneous solutions back on the original equation thereby getting answer solutions wrong
Let me try some problems again and post a few troublesome ones on the forum. Thanks again..!
Thanks
Bullzi
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
Not to plug my own company here, it's just the resource I know best... Manhattan's Foundations of Math guide takes you through the basics of all of these algebraic concepts, and gives you numerous drill sets to practice these. We also have additional online drill sets to help you to establish solid foundations.
More information here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/stor ... gmat-math/
More information here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/stor ... gmat-math/
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Good point. Thank you. This helped me too![email protected] wrote:Hi Bullzi,
Taking an 'algebra-heavy' approach to Absolute values might be what's causing the 'trouble' that you're experiencing. Most (if not all) Absolute Value questions can be solved with a bit of 'brute force' and TESTing VALUES.
Do you have any examples of specific Absolute Value questions that are giving you trouble? If you do, then you should post them in the Forums.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
It's not so hard to raise and train a dog as long as you know what exactly to do... A good community to read some good dog training tips where you can learn a lot.
-
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2630
- Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pm
- Location: East Bay all the way
- Thanked: 625 times
- Followed by:119 members
- GMAT Score:780
-
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2630
- Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pm
- Location: East Bay all the way
- Thanked: 625 times
- Followed by:119 members
- GMAT Score:780
Some of the crucial properties:
|x - y| is the distance between x and y on the number line
|x + y| is the distance between x and -y on the number line
|x| ≥ 0 for all x
|x| = 0 if and only if x = 0
|x| = √x²
|x| = y has two solutions: x = y and -x = y
|x - y| is the distance between x and y on the number line
|x + y| is the distance between x and -y on the number line
|x| ≥ 0 for all x
|x| = 0 if and only if x = 0
|x| = √x²
|x| = y has two solutions: x = y and -x = y