Hi stephny,

Mitch has showcased one of the hidden Algebra patterns that you could see on Test Day: Classic Quadratics. If you find yourself looking at a question and thinking "it will take forever to do all of this math", then there's likely to be a more elegant/faster way of solving the problem.

Another thing to consider is that you would have 5 answer choices to look at (which you did not provide); the formatting of the answer choices might give you an idea of what the "pattern" is behind the question. They might also give you a way to quickly estimate (and eliminate) answers since they're either too big, too small, or simply not possible.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich