Probabability and Combinatorics problems / DS

This topic has expert replies
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:40 pm
Thanked: 1 times
Hello All,
I am facing two problems in Quants.

i) I am hardly able to solve Probability and combination problems. I can solve the easy one but not medium to difficult level. What are the different sources which can help me to learn this topic?
ii) In DS, i am not able to correct more than 7 out of 10. It is not that i do not understand the problem, I am just overlooking the problem at least 2 out of 10. Every time i complete the exercise of 10 questions, i will make similar mistakes. How can i improve on this part? I am doing these exercise with time test and taking 20-24 minutes for 0 questions.
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1035
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 474 times
Followed by:365 members

by VivianKerr » Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:35 pm
1) If you really want to attack this area, Veritas makes a book on Combinatorics that you can order online.

BTG has 21 articles on Probability/Combinatorics here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/category ... mbinations

I'd start with mine since it's a simple overview: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... d-counting

2) I would slow down and plan a more methodical approach for DS.

Step 1: Write down the Question Type. Data Sufficiency questions come in two forms. They either ask for a specific "value" or have a "yes/no" format. Determine which type of question it is, and write it down. Ask yourself: what kind of information will I need to answer the question? For "value" questions, a statement must provide a single numerical solution to be sufficient. For "yes/no" questions, either a firm "yes" or a firm "no" is acceptable but a single statement cannot be answered both ways. For "yes/no" questions, it doesn't matter how the question is answered, just that it can only be answered in one way. Spend a few seconds brainstorming what kind of information would provide sufficiency before you move on to the Statements.

Step 2: Write down 12TEN to stand in for ABCDE on your scratch paper. You will be eliminating as you go.

Step 3: Evaluate Statement 1. What information does this statement give you? For a "value" question, is it enough to determine a single value? For a "yes/no" question, does it answer the question in one way only? If the statement allows you to answer "sometimes yes and sometimes no," then it is NOT sufficient.

If Statement 1 is sufficient, cross off choices B, C and E.

If Statement 1 is NOT sufficient, cross off choices A and D.

Step 4: Refresh the "Q" Before Moving on to "2." Re-read the question and reconsider the question type. Is it "value" or "yes/no"? What information would determine sufficiency? It's important to take this "breather" before reading Statement 2 to allow yourself to "forget" about the information in Statement 1. Make sure not to mentally carry any information from Statement 1 into you evaluation of Statement 2.

Step 5: Evaluate Statement 2. Based on the question type, determine whether Statement 2 is sufficient. Does it allow you to answer either "yes" or "no" confidently? Does it give a single possible solution?

If Statement 2 is sufficient and Statement 1 is sufficient, the answer is D.

If Statement 2 is sufficient but Statement 1 was NOT sufficient, the answer is B.

If neither Statement 2 nor Statement 1 sufficient, cross off B and, move on to Step 6.

Step 6: Combine the Statements. At this step, the answer will be either C or E. Check to see if Statement 2 provides the information missing from Statement 1. What was lacking from Statement 1? Why was it not sufficient by itself? What information does Statement 2 provide?

If together Statements 1 and 2 together provide sufficiency, the answer is C.

If together Statements 1 and 2 do NOT provide sufficiency, the answer is E.
Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"! :-)