Hedge Fund Interview Question (with implications for GMAT)

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DavidG@VeritasPrep: Legendary Member; Posts: 2663; Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:25 amFollowed by: 128 members; Location: Boston, MA; Thanked: 1153 times; GMAT Score:770

by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:52 am

In Michael Lewis' book Flash Boys he relates an anecdote about the following question an applicant is asked during an interview for a hedge fund:

Is 3599 prime? (And why or why not?)

See if you can answer using a bit of fun GMAT quant logic...

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Quantitative Reasoning | Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:52 am

MartyMurray: Legendary Member; Posts: 2135; Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 amFollowed by: 140 members; Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/; Thanked: 955 times; GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:31 am

DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:In Michael Lewis' book Flash Boys he relates an anecdote about the following question an applicant is asked during an interview for a hedge fund:

Is 3599 prime? (And why or why not?)

See if you can answer using a bit of fun GMAT quant logic...

Well, David, [spoiler]3600 is 60Â².

So 3599 is 60Â² - 1 = 60Â² - 1Â² = (60 + 1)(60 - 1)

So 3599 = 61 * 59. Not prime.[/spoiler]

Nice question.

Last edited by MartyMurray on Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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DavidG@VeritasPrep: Legendary Member; Posts: 2663; Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:25 amFollowed by: 128 members; Location: Boston, MA; Thanked: 1153 times; GMAT Score:770

by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:27 am

Well played, Marty.

For those interested in applying the concept to an official GMAT question, hit #117 in the Official Guide: https://gmatclub.com/forum/if-n-3-8-2-8- ... 32874.html

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jamesjogi08: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:47 am

by jamesjogi08 » Thu Apr 16, 2015 10:27 am

I have to assume that you are comfortable enough with DS questions and most of the Quant concepts that appear on the Test. Do you have a formal "process" for dealing with DS questions? Are you looking for one? You mentioned something in your last post that I'd like you to explain further. When you say that you get DS questions wrong because of a "lack of understanding", what do you mean? Since you've been studying for about 2.5 months, and you scored a Q46 on your Official GMAT......!!!!

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