# prashanth

DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x, y are integers, is x+y an odd number? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“You could also pick numbers. Just make sure to pick both even and odd values for x. Statement 1: x = 1, y = 8, x + y = 9. That''s ODD so we have a YES x = 2, y = 11. x _ y = 13. Another YES. We''ve already tried an even and an odd for x - no matter what we pick, we''ll get a YES. Sufficient. ...”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to It is theoretically possible that bacteria developed in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The gist is that the bacteria on earth are too similar to have originated on different planets. Meaning: they all originated on one planet. So they could all have originated on Earth. Or they all could have originated on another planet and then been transported here. This is what D gives us”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mayor A: In 1982 the courthouse that Roseville in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Mayor A claims the courthouse could have relieved overcrowding. Mayor B insists the courthouse would have been "underused." They disagree about whether this courthouse will actually be used! Captured in D”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When positive integer x is divided by 20, the remainder is 8 in the Problem Solving forum
“Note that in these types of questions, x can always equal the remainder. (8/20 is the same thing as 0 + 8/20.) You can see this if you take Brent''s equation and plug 0 into the Q. If x = 8, then 8/5 = 1 + 3/5, giving us a remainder of 3. The answer is B”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is 1/(x - y) < y - x in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Let''s rephrase the question. If x > y, then x - y > 0 and y -x < 0. The left side of the inequality would be larger than the right side. If x < y, then x - y < 0, and y - x > 0. Now the left side of the inequality would be smaller than the right side - this is exactly what ...”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many prime numbers exist between 200 and 220? in the Problem Solving forum
“Vincen has an excellent explanation here. The one thing I''ll add is that if you find it difficult to see that 209 is divisible by 11, you can start with a number in the neighborhood that we know is divisible by 11, such as 220, and extrapolate. If 220 = 11*20, then 209, or 220 - 11, would contain ...”
March 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If p, q, r, and s are consecutive integers, with in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Interesting question. We could do a little algebra here. If the numbers are consecutive, and p is the smallest, we can designate the other values as p + 1, p + 2, and p + 3. Our rephrased question: Is p(p +2) < (p+1)(p+3)? Simplify: p^2 + 2p < p^2 +4p + 3? 2p < 4p + 3? -2p < 3? Is ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the volume of a cube with side of length 6 is equal in the Problem Solving forum
“There''s no getting around needing the equations that both Vincen and Erika used in their elegant solutions. If you were hoping to avoid doing arithmetic, once you were here: 6*6*6 = 12*9*h, you could proceed like this 6*6*6 = 2*3 * 2*3 * 2*3 = 2*2*2*3*3*3 12*9*h = 2*2*3*3*3*h Now we have ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Tap A can fill a tank in 10hrs,Tap B can fill it in 20hrs in the Problem Solving forum
“If the tank is 1/4 full, we want to know how long it will take to fill 3/4 of the tank. Rate for A = 1 tank in 10 hours, or 1/10 Rate for B = 1 tank in 20 Horus or 1/20 Rate for C (emptying the tank, so will be negative)= - 1 tank in 30 hours or -1/30 So let''s see what would happen over ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A committee of 2 people is to be selected out of in the Problem Solving forum
“You can also go pick by pick. We want 1 - P( no preachers) P(no preachers) = P(pick 1 not a preacher) * P(pick 2 not a preacher given that pick 1 was not.) P(pick 1 not a preacher) = 3/7 P(pick 2 not a preacher given that pick 1 was not) = 2/6 P(pick 1 not a preacher) * P(pick 2 not a preacher ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A committee of 2 people is to be selected out of in the Problem Solving forum
“Yes! (You can think of probability as a ratio of combinations or permutations.) Useful equation P(x) = 1 - P(not x) P( at least 1 preacher) = 1 - P(no preachers) P(no preachers) = # ways we can select committee with no preachers/# ways we can select committee total # ways we can select no ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the ratio of apples to bananas is 4 to 3 and the ratio... in the Problem Solving forum
“Your approach is great! But you could also pick numbers. Say apples = 4 and bananas = 3. If the ratio of bananas: cucumbers I 1 to 5, and there are 3 bananas, there''d have to be 3*5 = 15 cucumbers. apples: cucumbers = 4:15, or A”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The rectangle A has a (width) and b (height) and another... in the Problem Solving forum
“You could also just pick numbers. If a/c = 3/2, say a = 3 and c = 2 If b/d = 3/2, say b = 3 and d = 2 If the first rectangle has sides of a and b, or 3 and 3, it will have an area = 3*3 = 9 If the second rectangle has sides of b and d, or 2 and 2, it will have an area = 2*2 = 4. The ratio ...”
March 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to According to a recent study, fifteen corporations in the Critical Reasoning forum
“We''re given info about 15 corporations. We know they follow a credo of social responsibility. We know they''re very profitable. Given this, B has to be true. If profitable companies with credos of social responsibility exist, it surely follows that what they''ve done is possible.”
March 14, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Health insurance Plan A requires the insured to pay $1000... in the Problem Solving forum “You could also try back-solving. Say you tested B, 1000 Plan A would require the insured to pay$500, leaving the insurance to pay $500. Plan B would require the insured to pay 300. If the insurance is covering 80% of the remaining cost, then the insured is covering 20% of that cost. 20% of ...” March 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A grocery store sells apples by the pound. If the price per in the Problem Solving forum “And as a public service announcement, if you are in a grocery store that''s charging$5/pound for apples, you should leave this store at once. :)”
March 13, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A grocery store sells apples by the pound. If the price per in the Problem Solving forum
“You could also back-solve. Typically, you want to test B, C, or D first, and then adjust accordingly. Because C is the only integer of the bunch, it would make sense to start there. If the price/pound = $5, then$12 would buy 12/5 = 2.4 pounds of apples. If the price/pound increased by $1, it ...” March 13, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When a dentist surveyed her 250 patients, 82% reported that in the Problem Solving forum “Just be careful about what your calculations represent. For example, when you did 82 + 64 - 52, you correctly calculated the percentage of patients who had done at least one of the two types of cleaning, not the percentage who had done both kinds. (That''s given to us.) Given your subsequent ...” March 13, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 20 marbles were pulled out of a bag of only white marbles... in the Problem Solving forum “We know that 20 marbles were painted black after the first selection. We know that 1 of the 20 marbles from the second selection was black. If this represents the proportion of black marbles in the whole bag, it means that 1/20 of the marbles in the bag are black. Well, if we have 20 black marbles ...” March 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the ratio of y to x if (x + 3y) / ( x - y) = 3/4? in the Problem Solving forum “Well, I see ''15'' coming up repeatedly in the answer choices. So let''s say I make x = 15. We''d have. (15 + 3y)/(15 - y) = 3/4; Now I''d just solve for y 4(15+3y) = 3(15 - y) 60 + 12y = 45 - 3y 15 = -15y -1 = y If x = 15 and y = -1, then y/x = -1/15. The answer is C” March 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a certain game, you perform three tasks. you flip a... in the Problem Solving forum “This is a very strange game, indeed. So the idea is that you "win" if exactly one of the three contests is a success. Meaning: there are three ways you can win. 1) Coin = success/ die = fail / card = fail - 2) Coin = Fail / Die = success / card = Fail 3) Coin = Fail/Die =fail / card = ...” March 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Within 20 years it will probably be possible to identify in the Critical Reasoning forum “It''s also useful to try negation here. The correct answer, when negated, should undermine he argument. C negated: NOT all humans sicknesses are in part the result of individuals'' genetic susceptibilities. Well, if that''s true, we can no longer assume that people will no longer get sick simply ...” March 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Within 20 years it will probably be possible to identify in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: once strategies are found to counteract genetic susceptibility to illness, people who use them won''t get sick. Premise: Within 20 years it will be possible to identify genetic susceptibility to any illness. D doesn''t follow from this argument. Just because people with ...” March 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Although the pesticides used in nearby fields are the primar in the Critical Reasoning forum “Researcher''s hypothesis: pollution (in Ellenville River) from vehicle emissions > pollution from pesticides We''re trying to strengthen the hypothesis, so we want concrete evidence that vehicular pollution is more prevalent in this river than pesticide pollution. The only answer choice that ...” March 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Steve traveled the first 2 hours of his journey... in the Problem Solving forum “Mitch''s and Dan''s approach is probably simplest. But here''s a fun alternative: If Steve had spent the same amount of time traveling at each speed, his average would have been right in the middle of 40 and 80, or 60mph. We know he spent more time traveling at the faster speed, and thus, his ...” March 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the figure below, AB is the chord of a circle... in the Problem Solving forum “This question is a variation on an official problem. I''d suggest going through this thread and then reattempting: https://www.beatthegmat.com/geometry-ds-gmatprep-t117171.html#507922” March 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the least possible product of 4 different . . . in the Problem Solving forum “If we''re trying to minimize the value, we want an ODD number of negative values to guarantee that our product will be negative. One way to do this: include one negative term and three positives. Make the negative term as negative as possible and then make the positive terms as large as ...” March 6, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x is a positive number and 1/2 the square root in the Problem Solving forum “We could also back-solve. First, we know that if we''re taking the square root of a number, and then cutting that number in half, the only way we''d end up with a larger than what we started with is if we start with a fraction between 0 and 1. (Otherwise taking the square root would reduce the ...” March 6, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which one of the following most logically completes the argu in the Critical Reasoning forum “The argument''s assertion: advertisers can creative positive impressions of products by linking those products to visual images viewers already find positive. E is essentially a paraphrase of this strategy.” March 6, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A newly discovered painting on wooden panel by Michelangelo in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: the Michelangelo painting in question was completed between 1507 and 1509 Premise: It contains a coin minted in 1507. It contains pigment M. didn''t use after 1509. Try negation: the correct answer, when negated, will undermine the argument. B negated: Michelangelo DID work on ...” March 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If P is a set of integers and 3 is in P, is every positive m in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: If we know that 3 is in the set, and that for every integer in the set, the sum of 3 plus that integer is also included, we know that 3 + 3 = 6 is in the set too. Similarly, we''d know that 6 + 3 = 9 is in the set and so forth. (More abstractly, if x is in the set, then x + 3 is in the ...” March 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 9^y + 3^b = 10*3^b, then 2y =' in the Problem Solving forum “This could have been depicted a little more cleanly. Let''s assume the initial equation is 9^y + 3^b = 10 * (3^b) Say b = 1. We get 9^y + 3^1 = 10 * (3^1) 9^y = 27 3^(2y) = 3^3 2y = 3. 3 is our target. When we plug 1 in for b, only E gives us 3.” March 1, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain truck uses 18 gallons of diesel fuel in traveling. in the Problem Solving forum “Initial miles per gallon = miles/gallon = 270/18 = 15 New miles per gallon that we aspire to = 270/10 = 27 So we need an increase of 27-15 = 12. The answer is C” March 1, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If k is a positive integer and m is the product of . . . . in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Case 1: k = 1. I0^1 is.a factor of 1*2*3...40, because 1*2*3...40/(10^1) = integer. Put another way, the product contains at least one 10, and thus 10^1 is a factor of the product. Case 2: k =2. 10^2 is a factor of 1*2*3...40, because 1*2*3...40/(10^2) = integer. Put another way, the ...” March 1, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Who types at a faster rate, John or Bob in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Knowing the difference doesn''t tell us who''s faster --> not sufficient Statement 2: nothing about John --> not sufficient Together: We know Bob types at 80 wpm, and that there''s a difference of 1 wpm. So John could type at either 79 or 81 wpm --> not sufficient. The answer ...” March 1, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A men's basketball league assigns every player in the Problem Solving forum “If there were no restrictions, and you had 5 options for the first digit and 5 options for the second digit, there''d have been 5*5 = 25 unique numbers. But we know we can''t have repeated numbers, so now we have to eliminate 11, 22, 33, 44, 55 --> 5 numbers we have to eliminate. 25 - 5 = 20. ...” March 1, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The ratio of local and international calls made by Amy... in the Problem Solving forum “You could also back-solve and use a little logic. First, we know that local calls must be a multiple of 5, so only B, C, and D are options. Next, we can see quickly that B doesn''t make sense - if there had been exactly 5 local calls and 2 international calls, if 3 more international calls had been ...” February 28, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to During the first two weeks of January, the total rainfall... in the Problem Solving forum “Rain the first week: x Rain the second week: 1.5x Total = 15 x + 1.5x = 15 2.5x = 15 x = 6 Second week rainfall: 1.5x = 1.5 * 6 = 9. The answer is C” February 25, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The speed of a subway train is represented by the equation.. in the Problem Solving forum “You''re exactly right. Her speed at 7 seconds: 7^2 + 2*7 = 49 + 14 = . 63 Her speed at 3 seconds: 3^2 + 2*3 = 9 + 6 = 15 The difference 63-16 = 48. The answer is D” February 25, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Leon, Billy, and Jim ate an astounding total of 78 hot... in the Problem Solving forum “Say Leon ate ''L'' hotdogs. If Jim ate four times as many, Jim ate 4L. If Jim ate half as many as Billy, then Billy ate double the number Jim ate, or 8L. To summarize: Leon: L Jim: 4L Billy: 8L (And Billy - Leon = 8L - L = 7L, so Billy ate 7L more than Leon ate, and our target is 7L.) We ...” February 25, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Agela has 15 pairs of matched socks. If she loses 7... in the Problem Solving forum “You could also think about it like this: She starts with 15 pairs, or 15*2 = 30 socks. She loses 7 leaving her with 23 socks. In order to have 12 pairs, she''d have to have 12*2 = 24 socks. But she''s only got 23!. So the answer is E” February 25, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Five drainage pipe, each draining water from a pool... in the Problem Solving forum “If 5 pipes drain a pool in 12 days, then to drain a full pool, we require a total of 5*12 = 60 pipe-days. In other words the number of pipes * days must equal 60. 1 pipe could do the job in 60 days, or 2 pipes could do the job in 30 days, etc. If the job is completed in 4 days, we can solve the ...” February 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to At least how many grams of pure bronze must be... in the Problem Solving forum “A bit of logic eliminates most of the answer choices. Clearly, D and E would yield a mixture with much less than 90% copper. And if we estimate, we can see the same is true of C - if a mixture were 400 grams copper and you added 100 grams of bronze, the total mixture of 500 grams would be only 80% ...” February 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Pat invested x dollars in a fund that paid 8 percent... in the Problem Solving forum “The compound interest formula: Total Value of Investment = P * (1 + r)^t P: Principal r: interest rate for period in question t: number of times compounded In this case: P = x r = .08 t = 5 Plug ''n chug: x * (1.08)^5. That''s D” February 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Three pounds of raisins and 4 pounds of corn flakes... in the Problem Solving forum “Cost of three pounds of raisins: 3 * 1.11 = 3.33 Cost of four pounds of cornflakes: 4 * .90 . = 3.60 Total cost of 7 pounds of cereal = 3.33 + 3.60 = 6.93 Cost per pound = 6.93/7 = .$99 To make a profit of $.21, they''d have to charge .99 + .21 =$1.20. The answer is D”
February 23, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Last month, John rejected 0.5% of the products that... in the Problem Solving forum
“Alternatively, you could use more conventional algebra. If Jane inspected "A" items, she''d have rejected .8A If John inspected "N" items he''d have rejected .5N Total rejections: .8A + .5N Total items inspected: A + N If 75% of the total were rejected, then: .75(A + N) = ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Last month, John rejected 0.5% of the products that... in the Problem Solving forum
“Plot the relevant figures on a number line .5------------.75----.8 Gap-----.25----.05--- So the ratio of Jane''s inspections to John''s inspections is .25/.05 = 25/5 = 5/1. (The average is much closer to Jane than John, so we know that she did a disproportionate number of the inspections.) ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A reduction in the price of petrol by 10% enables... in the Problem Solving forum
“And there''s always good-old-fashioned back-solving. Test B. If the old price were $5, the old quantity would have been 180/5 = 36 gallons. If the price decreased by 10%, the new price would be$4.50, and the new quantity would be 180/4.5 = 40 gallons. Thus, the motorist could have purchased ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A reduction in the price of petrol by 10% enables... in the Problem Solving forum
“Aside: I cleaned up the wording of the question to make it clearer. Note that the unit cost and quantity will have a reciprocal relationship. If the unit cost were to double, you could buy half as much gas for the same total outlay. Thus, if the cost decreased by 10%, the new cost would be ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are three different hoses used to fill a pool: hose... in the Problem Solving forum
“Two of the three statements are fairly straightforward. Clearly the hoses together will fill the pool more quickly than the hoses individually, and thus the time together, or d, will be smaller than any of the individual times. Thus I is true and II is false. We also know that if each of the ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An incredible punch is composed of buttermilk... in the Problem Solving forum
“Call the Brandy amount ''B.'' If there''s three times as much orange juice, there''d be ''3B'' gallons. And if there were twice as much buttermilk as orange juice, there''d be 6B gallons of bulltermilk. To summarize: Brandy: B Orange Juice: 3B Buttermilk: 6B Total: 10B We know this should ...”
February 22, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to m and n are both positive. Pump A pumps n liters of water in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: No need to do any math here. Use a little logic. If B is pumping water into a container while A is pumping water out of the container, in order for that container to ever be filled, B has to be faster. Otherwise, A would empty out everything B pumps in! So the fact that the container ...”
February 20, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to At the neginning of a certain job, the counter of a... in the Problem Solving forum
“Sure. Just note that once you have 1080/1800, you know the answer is less than 1. Only A will work. No need to do any more arithmetic than necessary.”
February 20, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the area of the circle? in the Problem Solving forum
“First, the area of the circle has ti be greater than the area of the inscribed triangle. So that kills A and B. Next, if you see that triangle ABC is a right triangle - an inscribed angle that cuts off the diameter is always a right angle - you know we''re dealing with a 30:60:90 triangle, ...”
February 20, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A worker can load 1 full truck in 6 hours. A second worker.. in the Problem Solving forum
“Well, if it were the case that we had two people, each of whom could perform a task individually in 6 hours, we know that if they worked together, they''d do the job in half the time, or in 3 hours. So because one of the individuals does the job in 7 hours, the answer has to be a little more than 3, ...”
February 20, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is |x-1| < 1? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“You can evaluate statement 2 using the number line and a little logic. Remember that the absolute value is the distance from 0 on the number line. If you were start at (-1), you''d be 1 unit from 0. If you were to add a negative number to (-1), you''d move further to the left of 0, thus increasing ...”
February 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is z an odd integer in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Pick simple numbers. Statement 1 - Case 1: z = 9. YES, z is odd. Case 2: z = 36. NO z is not odd. Statement 2. We can use the same two values again. So statement 2 is not sufficient and the statements taken together are not sufficient. The answer is E”
February 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is m positive? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Quick hint: don''t forget about 0, which is neither positive nor negative.”
February 16, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The ratio of R to S is 3 to 5, what ........ in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Rephrase the original question. If R/S = 3/5, then S/R = 5/3 and S = (5/3)R. Replace S with (5/3)R in the original expression to get our new question: What is the value of (R + K)/((5/3)R + K)? Statement 1: nothing about K. Not sufficient. Statement 2: nothing about R; Not sufficient. ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is f < g? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Test easy cases. Case 1: g = 1 and f = .5; (This satisfies both statements together) .5 is less than 1, so this yields a YES. Case 2: g = -2 and f = -1.5. (Again, this satisfies both statements together) -1.5 is not less than -2, so this yields a NO. Together the statements are not ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Robert can assemble a model car in 30 minutes... in the Problem Solving forum
“Note that the formula (A*B)/(A + B) = T is really the same one that Erika used. If the first rate is 1/A and the second rate is 1/B the combined rate is 1/A + 1/B, which comes out to (A+B)/A*B. Because rate and time have a reciprocal relationship, a rate of (A+B)/A*B is equivalent to a time of ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Robert can assemble a model car in 30 minutes... in the Problem Solving forum
“If ''A'' is the amount of time for one entity to complete a job, and ''B'' is the amount of time for a second entity to complete the same job, then the time for the two to complete the job together is (A*B)/(A + B) A= 30 minutes B= 20 minutes A*B/(A+B) = 30*20/(30+20) = 30*20/50 = 30*2/5 = ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Anthony covers a certain distance on a bike. Had he moved... in the Problem Solving forum
“Note: this question appears to have been modeled on this official problem: https://www.beatthegmat.com/speed-distance-problem-t294188.html#788767”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Anthony covers a certain distance on a bike. Had he moved... in the Problem Solving forum
“Call the original rate ''r'' and the original time ''t.'' The distance Anthony covers is rt. If he moved 3 mph faster, his new rate is r + 3. If he took 40 minutes, or 2/3 of an hour less, his new time is (t - 2/3). So his distance is (r + 3)(t - 2/3). Of course, the distance hasn''t ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Cindy paddles her kayak upstream at m kilometers per hour... in the Problem Solving forum
“You could pick some numbers. m = 10 km/h n = 20km/h Let''s say it was a trip of 20 km. The upstream portion will take 2 hours at 10km/h and the downstream portion will take 1 hour at 20km/h, giving us a p of 2 + 1 = 3. Our target is 20 km. A) mnp = 10*20*3 --> nope B) mn/p = ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to People should avoid in the Critical Reasoning forum
“We''re told that calcium carbonate has the "capacity to neutralize stomach acids." We''re also told that half a gram and stimulate production of a hormone that triggers acid secretion. That''s what D gives us.”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Whorfian tubules in the Critical Reasoning forum
“This question doesn''t feel terribly representative of GMAT, CR questions, but here''s the gist. A physicist isolated an entity with the following characteristics - it is less dense than water - is has insufficient mass to measure - it has a length equal to its diameter We''re told that ...”
February 15, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to For nearly a century in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Can you repost this with the bolded portions? :)”
February 14, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to On Saturday night, each of the rooms at a certain motel... in the Problem Solving forum
“You''re almost there. We know that this $200 reduction represents 25% of the original value. Algebraically, .25x = 200 --> x = 800. The answer is B” February 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Gustav ran 32 meters uphill at a constant speed... in the Problem Solving forum “You could always back-solve. Say we tested C, 4 meters per second. If he ran downhill for 36 meters at that speed, it would take him 36/4 = 9 seconds. If he ran downhill at 2 meters/sec faster than he ran uphill, he''d have run 32 meters uphill at a speed of 4-2 = 2 meters per second. This ...” February 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The function p(n) on non-negative integer n is... in the Problem Solving forum “The key here is to see that so long as no prime base is raised to an exponent greater than 9, that number could be expressed as p(n). 2^3 * 3^4 * 5*7, for example would be p(743), right? But there''d be no way to express, say 2^11, as each digit in n represents an exponent for one prime base. Put ...” February 13, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Jack has a total of b hardback and paperback books in his... in the Problem Solving forum “Algebraically: If there are three times as many paperbacks as hardbacks, then 3/4 of the books will be paperback and 1/4 of the books will be hardbacks. (3/4 is three times the value of 1/4.) Paperbacks: (3/4)b Paperback biographies: (3/4)*(3/4) b = (9/16)b. E is the correct answer.” February 13, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Jack has a total of b hardback and paperback books in his... in the Problem Solving forum “Call the number of paperbacks 12. (A multiple of the denominators in the given fractions.) Hardbacks: 1/3 of 12 = 4 b: 12 + 4 = 16 Paperback biographies: (3/4) * 12 = 9 --> this is our target. (Presumably, there are no hardback biographies. The prompt could have been a little clearer on ...” February 13, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If list S contains nine distinct integers, at least one of w in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: if the nine integers are distinct, this can only be true if the median = 0. (To see this algebraically, imagine the nine elements are the variables a - i, in ascending order. So the median is e. Now we''d know that a * b * c * d * e * f * g * h * i = e. If e weren''t 0, then we could ...” February 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a, b and c are integers, what is the value of a? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: If we''re summing two values to get an ODD result, we know that one of the values must be EVEN and one must be ODD (assuming they''re both integers.) The only way we can get an odd value when raising 2 to some exponent is if the exponent is 0, so either a or b is equal to 0. Case 1: ...” February 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Two players Lampard and Essien had a certain number of in the Data Sufficiency forum “Just as an aside: What do Lampard and Essien play? Does the game itself have something to do with chocolate? (If so, how do I find a league to participate in?) :)” February 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Two players Lampard and Essien had a certain number of in the Data Sufficiency forum “Designate the values algebraically: Essien''s chocolates: E Lampard''s chocolates: 10 + .5E The question: Is E > 20? Statement 1: Case 1 Say E = 10. Lampard: 10 + .5E = 10 + .5*10 = 15. This gives us a NO, E is not greater than 20. Case 2: Say E = 30 Lampard: 10 + .5E = 10 + .5*30 ...” February 12, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John sold 100 shares of stock for$96 per share. For half hi in the Problem Solving forum
“You can also immediately see that he must have suffered a loss. In order to have earned a profit, the cost must be less than the revenue, so the profit is 20% of some number less than 96. Call this value P. In order to have incurred a loss, the cost be greater than the revenue, so the loss is ...”
February 7, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John sold 100 shares of stock for $96 per share. For half hi in the Problem Solving forum “If he made a 20% profit, then we know that the selling price, 96, was 20% greater than the cost, which we can call C. Algebraically: 96 = C + .2C --> 96 = 1.2C ---> 96/1.2 = C --> 960/12 = C --> 80 = C So, for half the shares, he earned a profit of 96 - 80 = 16. If he incurred a ...” February 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a classic causality argument. The initial argument is, in essence that differing energy levels causes marital problems. If, however, it were true that marital problems caused differing energy levels - that cause and effect were reversed - the argument would no longer be valid. This is what ...” February 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Clearly, the second bold is the main conclusion of the argument. The sentence begins with, "it can be concluded." So that leaves only A and C as options. (You could maybe hold on to D to be safe.) So let''s look at the first bold. the new overseas offices opened this year will sell no ...” February 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “The argument boiled way down: Conclusion: US manufacturers of solar-power generators will maintain significant production levels. Premises: US manufacturers are losing European market share to European competition. The US government is encouraging more domestic use The assumption here is ...” February 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Try negation - the correct answer, when negated, will undermine the argument. E negated: Districts of the city from which police officers are removed DO experience significant crime increases shortly after the removal of those officers. Well, if districts experience a crime spike once police ...” February 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of (x+3y)/(3x-y)? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: x - 2y = 1 --> x = 1+ 2y Substituting, we get: (1 + 2y + 3y)/B” February 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “The basic logic: Our Eco-paint is the least toxic of all our paint lines. Therefore it is one of the least toxic paint lines on the market. Well, just because the Eco-paint is less toxic than the other paint lines this company produces doesn''t mean that Eco-paint is safe compared to the rest ...” February 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: The average number of on-the-job-accidents per employee should be lower when demand is high Premise: When demand is high, more money is spent on safety precautions. We''re trying to weaken the conclusion. B looks good, as the safety investment could well be offset by inexperienced ...” February 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Try negation: The correct answer, when negated, will undermine the conclusion. C negated:A person whose growth was affected by weight training CAN grow to such a height that people consider him tall. The whole argument is predicated on the notion that because Arnold is considered tall and began ...” February 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A test maker is to design a probability test from a list... in the Problem Solving forum “I''m guessing the question writer intended to write something akin to "The 21 questions are classified into three categories: hard, intermediate and easy. There are 7 questions in each category. The test maker is to select exactly two questions, but both questions must be from the same ...” February 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Don’s in the Critical Reasoning forum “The plan summarized: -- Don''s receives discount PC''s from Rose -- Don''s agrees to buy equipment from Rose or Omicron -- A school that purchases$100,000 of equipment from Don''s gets a free PC -- no need for an ad campaign -- Don''s will offset expenditures by making charitable donations ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A study in the Critical Reasoning forum
“These questions are always more challenging without the bolded portion :) Can you repost?”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Betting on sports in the Critical Reasoning forum
“C doesn''t address why police officers, specifically, should not bet on sports. Moreover it does nothing to foster the connection between gambling and betting on sports, the link the entire argument is predicated on. (It''s also helpful to mentally translate "some" to "at least ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Betting on sports in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Conclusion: No officer should bet on sports Premise: Betting on sports is a form of gambling The conclusion only makes sense if officers shouldn''t gamble. (If it were acceptable for them to gamble, why would it matter if they bet on sports?) This is what we get from D”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Retired poker in the Critical Reasoning forum
“conclusion: Karet''s claim that he wouldn''t travel more than 30 minutes for a tournament is not credible Premise: he was at a tournament 90 minutes from his hometown of Guerra. We want to weaken the argument. Anything suggesting that he wasn''t traveling from Guerra to the tournament would ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The goal of mining in the Critical Reasoning forum
“If profits are largely dependent on prices of ore, one can deduce that simply discovering ore won''t necessarily lead to more profits. This is what A is after. (And notice how squishy and noncommittal the language is. "could" result for "some" companies.) E is far too ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The public is sufficiently served when the Securities Regula in the Critical Reasoning forum
“C is wrong because there''s nothing in the argument about whether there should be a no tolerance policy when it comes to violations. D is wrong because the argument doesn''t address how difficult it is to enforce security law.”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The public is sufficiently served when the Securities Regula in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The argument boiled down: The Securities Regulation Dept should recruit specialists with a thorough understanding of finance. These specialists will improve the quality of investigations. In essence, the author is positing a link between knowledge and application of that knowledge. Captured in B”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is the standard deviation of the set of measurements x1, x2, in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: All you need to know here is that there''s a mathematical relationship between the variance and the standard deviation of a set. If you have the variance, you can find the standard deviation. (You may recall from Stat class that when you''re computing standard deviation, the last step ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to People's television-viewing habits could be monitored by hav in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Consider the argument from the perspective of someone exposes to these electromagnetic waves. You want to know if this exposure is going to make you sick, right? Well, if the total amount of radiation you''re exposed is less than the amount of radiation you''re exposed to when having a chest x-ray, ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If set T was derived from set S when all elements of set S w in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: Case 1 Set S: {1, 2, 3} Median = 2 Set T: {2, 4, 6} Median = 4 The answer is YES, T''s median is greater. Case 2: Set S: {1/4, 1/3, 1/2} Median = 1/3 Set T {2/4, 2/3, 2/2} Median = 2/3 Again, the answer is YES, T''s median is greater. Now see the logic - if we''re ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Peter, Mary, and Edna took the same examination. Which of th in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: we know nothing about Edna''s score, so this can''t possibly be sufficient on its own Statement 2: we know nothing about Mary''s score, so this can''t possible be sufficient on its own Together: Case 1: Peter gets a 10, Mary a 0, and Edna, an 18. Edna received the highest score ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A computer equipped with signature-recognition software, whi in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The gist of the prompt: the signature-recognition software is so sophisticated as to be invulnerable to forgers. (Even the most adept forgers...) Captured in C”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to At the beginning of 2010, 60% of the population of Town X li in the Problem Solving forum
“Imagine that 50% of the population lived in the south and 50% lived in the north. If that were true, each region would exert an equal weight in determining overall population growth. Put another way, if the overall growth were 5.5% and the south grew at 4.5%, the north would have grown at 6.5%, as ...”
February 4, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is |a| > |b|? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: note that if a -b> 0 then b -a < 0, and vice versa. So if 1/(a-b) > 1/(b-a) that tell us that a -b > 0, and a > b. Case 1: a = 2 and b = 1. The answer is YES |2| > |1| Case 2: a = -1 and b = -2. The answer is NO |-1| is not greater than |-2| Not sufficient ...”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the charge of staying in a student youth hostel in the Problem Solving forum
“Note, also, that once you get to this equation: 18*7 + 10*16, there''s no need to actually solve, so we can save a little time. 18*7--> units digit of 6; 10*16 --> units digit of 0 Adding one term with a units of 6 to another with a units of 0 will give us a sum with a units digit of 6. ...”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is a < b? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: pick easy numbers. Case 1: a = -2 and b = -1. This gives us a YES, a<b Case 2: a = 4 b = 3, This gives us a NO, a is not less than b. 1 alone is not sufficient. Statement 2: We can use the same numbers, as -2/-1 > 1 and 4/3> 1. So we already know that we can get a YES ...”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Do you mind posting the original question - it looks like you inadvertently posted someone''s explanation rather than the prompt itself.”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The paradox we''re trying to explain: usually when the price of a product increases, sales decrease. For wine, when price increases, sales increase too. This would make sense if price itself is considered an indication of quality. If I think a $30 bottle of wine will taste better than a$15 bottle ...”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x and y in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1 is clearly not sufficient, as we have nothing about y. If x = 7 and y = 2, we get a YES, if x = 7 and y = 11, we get a NO. Statement 2: 105 = 3 * 5 * 7. We know that between x and y, there must be a 3 and a 5 and a 7. And neither can have more than one of these prime bases within ...”
February 1, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Frank and Georgia started traveling from A to B at... in the Problem Solving forum
“Let''s say Georgia''s speed is 30 mph and Frank''s is 20 mph. (We could have picked any numbers so that Georgia''s speed was 1.5 times that of Frank''s.) And say they travel for t hours. Georgia''s total distance = 30t Frank''s total distance = 20t Now we know that Georgia will have covered ...”
January 30, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the length of MP? in the Problem Solving forum
“You''re exactly right. First, we can find the area of MNP. If triangle ABC has an area of 7*4/2 = 14, then MNP will be exactly half that, or 7. Now, because we know that ABC and MNP are similar triangles, the ratio of their respective sides will be the same. If the Height/Base of ABC is 4/7, ...”
January 30, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An engine moves at the speed of 48 kmph without any... in the Problem Solving forum
“Call the number of coaches ''c''. If the reduction in speed is proportional to the square root of the number of coaches, we know the reduction is proportional to √ c, meaning we''ll find the reduction by multiplying √ c by some constant. We''ll call that constant ''k.'' Now we have: ...”
January 30, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 1≥ y ≥0 and z ≤ -2 , then which of the following... in the Problem Solving forum
“Sure, you can think of it that way. Algebraically, you can think of it like this. We know y is non-negative, or y >=0. If we multiply the second inequality by (-1), the inequality sign will flip, giving us -z >= 2. Now add them: y >= 0 -z >=2 _______ y -z >= 2. So ...”
January 30, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John's car dealership contains m cars, 20% of which... in the Problem Solving forum
“(Notice, that this question is conceptually nearly identical to this one: http://www.beatthegmat.com/need-help-with-this-one-t292111.html#780012”
January 28, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John's car dealership contains m cars, 20% of which... in the Problem Solving forum
“# of minivans at John''s dealership: .20m # of minivans at Kevin''s dealership: .40n # of minivans at Larry''s dealership: ..50p Total# minivans: .25(m + n + p) Thus, .20m + .40n + .50p = .25(m + n + p) 20m + 40n + 50p = 25m + 25n + 25p 15n + 25p = 5m 3n + 5p = m The correct answer is B”
January 28, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Standard deviation depends on deviation. in the Problem Solving forum
“This question seems to be lacking a... question. The concept invoked here is that if you add the same value to each element of a set, the standard deviation remains unchanged.”
January 28, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to While collecting a fund in the Problem Solving forum
“Not unreasonable - the question could have been worded more precisely to avoid any ambiguity. For my interpretation, it probably should have read "Jason received $200 each..." For your interpretation, "Jason received$200 total..."”
January 26, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A herd of 33 sheep is sheltered in a barn with 7 stalls in the Data Sufficiency forum
“Statement 1: Clearly insufficient. You could have exactly 2 sheep in C, exactly 3 sheep in E and the remaining 28 sheep in A, in which case, NO, there''s not one sheep in every stall. Or you could have 2 sheep in C, 3 sheep in E, 1 each in A, B, D, and F, and the remaining sheep in G, in which case ...”
January 25, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Tom Bradley was mayor of Los Angeles in the Sentence Correction forum
“C has a logic problem - this option makes it sound as though "the era" were an active agent that changed Los Angeles, as opposed to the time frame in which the change occurred.”
January 25, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Even though only 5 percent in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Conclusion: Some with a gun is more likely to commit a robbery Premise: People with guns are disproportionately likely to be arrested for robbery. Notice the language shift. We''re using data about robbery arrests to draw a conclusion about the likelihood of committing robberies. For this line ...”
January 25, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Obra drove 160π meters along a circular track.... in the Problem Solving forum
“We''re given: r^2 * π = 57,600 * π r^2 = 57,600 r = 240. (Hopefully, you recognize that 24^2 = 576.) If r = 240, then the circumference = 2πr = 2*240*π = 480π. She''s gone 160π, or 160π/480π = 1/3 = 33.33...%. The answer is E”
January 25, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to While collecting a fund in the Problem Solving forum
“Let''s say Jason has 5 classmates. If he receives $200 from 2/5 of them, or from two classmates, he''ll have 2*200 =$400. If $400 is 1/4 of what he needs, then he requires a total of 4*400 = 1600, leaving him 1200 short of his goal. So, from the remaining 3 students, Jason needs to raise ...” January 25, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A spaceship that is traveling 3,600 kilometers per hour... in the Problem Solving forum “I''ll both second Brent''s assessment of the question''s difficulty level and caution you against devoting too much energy to assessing how the algorithm might rate a particular problem. Better to use your practice tests to determine which content areas that give you difficulty, and then address ...” January 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A gardener is going to plant 2 red rosebushes and 2... in the Problem Solving forum “You could also just start by selecting bushes for the middle of the row. Probability that the first bush in the middle will be red = 2/4. Probability that second bush in the middle with also be red given that the first bush was red = 1/3. (2/4) * (1/3) = 2/12 = 1/6. The answer is B” January 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The toll for crossing a certain bridge is$0.75... in the Problem Solving forum
“Alternative approach. If you see that the driver will spend $1.50 on crossing days without the sticker and$.60 on crossing days with the sticker, then we see that she''s saving $.90 on each crossing day. So the question becomes: For how many days must she save$.90 until she''s made up for that $13 ...” January 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The toll for crossing a certain bridge is$0.75... in the Problem Solving forum
“Cost not using the sticker: number of crossings = 2x. Cost per crossing: $.75. Total cost = 2x * .75 = 1.50x Cost using the sticker: Cost per crossing:$.30. Number of crossings: 2x. Cost for crossings: .30*2x = .60x. But there''s a $13 fee, so the total cost for this option is 13 + .60x. ...” January 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A spaceship that is traveling 3,600 kilometers per hour... in the Problem Solving forum “Sure. Your solution is valid. You could also, once you''ve determined that the circumference is 240km, use the answer choices and a little logic. We want the radius. Obviously the radius must be less than the circumference. That kills A, B, and C. Now, if you recognize that the circumference is ...” January 23, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Train A and B, 455 miles apart, are traveling toward... in the Problem Solving forum “If train A travels for t hours at 60 mph, it will cover 60t miles. If train B leaves 1 hour 45 min, or 1 3/4 = 7/4 hours after train A, then it will travel for 7/4 hours less than A does, or t - 7/4. If B travels at 45 mph for t -7/4 hours, it will cover 45(t - 7/4) miles Together they cover 455 ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “The phenomenon: compact cars are disproportionately represented in the population of cars getting tailgated. So we want a. reason why it might be more desirable for tailgaters to target compact cars. This is what A gives us . If tailgaters are less worried about getting into an accident with a ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: In people with cystic fibrosis, it''s the high salt concentration that renders the antibiotic ineffective. If it''s the salt concentration, and not some other factor, that''s the culprit, then presumably, if we were to normalize the salt content, the antibiotic would then be effective. ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical Reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “Sharon points out that Roland''s statistic isn''t that alarming at all - unemployment can be modest (5%) and it can still be true that most people know someone who''s unemployed. Captured in A” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a product test of a common cold remedy . . . . . in the Data Sufficiency forum “You can ignore the variables here. There are four categories: 1) Only relief 2) Only side effects 3) both relief and side effects 4) neither relief nor side effects We want the number for category 3. Statement 1: This gives us category 4. (15% or 150 patients.) But now all we know that is ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How to improve from V37 to v40+ in the GMAT Verbal & Essays forum “Yep. The algorithm is incredibly sensitive on the verbal side, so the difference between a 37 and a 40 may very well have come down to those few questions at the end. (Just bear in mind that you can''t predict your score solely on the basis of number of incorrect answers - the questions aren''t all ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Some manufacturers of computer software in the Critical Reasoning forum “Proposal: Stop printing instruction manuals. Put the instructions on a computer disk instead. We''re looking for a reason not to adopt the proposal, so we''d like the correct answer to offer a benefit from those printed instruction manuals. Look at answer choice C If the printed manuals ...” January 18, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Coach hunting in the GMAT Strategy forum “The first thing you should do, before you even have that preliminary conversation with a tutor about crafting a plan, is take a practice test from mba.com: https://www.mba.com/us/store/download-free-gmatprep-software.aspx Your performance on that first exam will provide important information ...” January 16, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Does x = y? in the Data Sufficiency forum “The key is to recognize that the statements are identical: Statement 2: x = (40 + y)/2 Multiply both sides by 4: 4x = 2(40 + y) 4x = 80 + 2y 4x - 2y = 80 Clearly, neither statement alone is sufficient, so if the statements are identical, the answer must be E (If it doesn''t feel intuitive ...” January 16, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The number m yields a remainder p when divided by 14 . . . . in the Problem Solving forum “We could back-solve. A) m = 45. 45/14 = 3 + 3/14, so the remainder, p, would be 3. Clearly this is out, as we''re told p is 7 more than q, and thus p has to be at least 7. B)m = 53. 53/14 = 3 + 11/14, so the remainder, p, would be 11. Now we''ll find q. 53/7 = 7 + 4/7, giving us a ...” January 16, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 6 workers can build 4 cars in 2 days, then how many days in the Problem Solving forum “Another way to think about it: First, if 6 workers can do 4 cars in 2 days (or 2 cars in 1 day), we know they can do 6 cars in 3 days. Next, know that Time and # of workers will have a reciprocal relationship. If we have twice as many workers, it will take 1/2 the time, etc. So if we have 8/6 as ...” January 15, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the last decade, the country of Alumba has undergone a ma in the Critical Reasoning forum “Notice the scope shift from the first sentence to the second. We learn that the country of Alumba has experienced a massive construction boom. Then we learn about the consequences of new buildings in one city. Well, if there''s a similar level of construction/increase in ambient light in other ...” January 15, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The length of a rope, by which a cow is tied... in the Problem Solving forum “Yep. So you could actually calculate the values. 22^2 * Pi = 484 * Pi 14^2 * Pi = 196 * Pi 484* Pi - 196* Pi = 288* Pi But it''s enough to see that 22^2 will have a units digit of 4 and 14^2 will have a units digit of 6. Thus, we can see that difference must have a units digit of 8. Only A ...” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John traveled the entire 60 miles trip. If he did the... in the Problem Solving forum “But you can see that if John spent the same amount of time traveling at 24mph and at 48mph, he''d have traveled at (24 + 48)/2 = 72/2 = 36 mph. So long as you see that he spent more time traveling at 48mph than at 24 mph, we know his average would have been pulled towards the faster speed, and thus ...” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John traveled the entire 60 miles trip. If he did the... in the Problem Solving forum “Well, you could do the math. First part of trip: it''ll take 1/2 hour to go 12 miles at 24 mph. Second part of trip: There are 60-12 = 48miles remaining. It''ll take 1 hour to cover those 48 miles at 48mph. Total distance:60 Total time: 1/2 + 1 = 1/5 hours Avg rate: 60/1.5 = 40 mph. The ...” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain bushel of wheat generates one-third the profit of in the Problem Solving forum “Notice your fractions are 1/3 and 5/4. So let''s pick a value for the profit from truffles that''s a multiple of the denominators, 4 and 3. Profit from truffles = 12 Profit from corn = (5/4) * 12 = 15 Profit from wheat = (1/3) * 15 = 5. Wheat/truffles = 5/12. The answer is A” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x is a positive even integer, and n and m... in the Problem Solving forum “You can also use some simple number properties. Because we''re raising both expressions to an even exponent, we know both numerator and denominator must be non-negative. We also know that the difference of two consecutive numbers will always be 1 or -1. If they can''t be negative, we know both ...” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x is a positive even integer, and n and m... in the Problem Solving forum “Pick easy numbers. Say x = 2, n = 4 and m = 3. We want (4-3)^2 /(3-4)^2 = 1^2 / (-1)^2 = 1/1 = 1. The answer is D” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If it is 6:27 in the evening on a certain day... in the Problem Solving forum “Don''t overthink this. It''s 6:27. We''re subtracting a certain number of minutes, and that number ends in 7. Thus, whatever time it was, must have ended in 0. Only D works.” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a local school district, the high school and middle... in the Problem Solving forum “Alternatively, you can say that each school receives$600 to start. (So r = 600.) If the middle school gives the high school s dollars, the middles school will have 600 -s dollar sand the high school will have 600 + s dollars. Average funding for middle school. = (600 -s)/200 Average funding ...”
January 14, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a local school district, the high school and middle... in the Problem Solving forum
“If the high school received r dollars, and it has 300 students, then the funding per student would be r/300 If the middle school received r dollars, and it has 200 students, then the funding per student would be r/200. If the middle school transfers s dollars to the high school, the total ...”
January 14, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John bought 2 shares and sold them for $96 each... in the Problem Solving forum “Note also that when John earns a profit, it means that the initial cost of the stock would have been some value less than the 96 he sold it for. So he''s earning 20% of some value LESS than 96. When John incurs a loss, it means the initial cost of the stock would have been some value greater than ...” January 14, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to John bought 2 shares and sold them for$96 each... in the Problem Solving forum
“Say the cost of the shares on which John had a 20% profit was ''C.'' Thus the cost was C and the profit was .20C. If we add the profit to the cost, we''ll have our revenue, thus .20C + C = 96 1.2C = 96 C = 96/1.2 = 80. Profit = 96 - 80 = 16 Similarly, if the shares on which John had a 20% ...”
January 14, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep Question in the The 60-Day GMAT Study Guide forum
“You''re more likely to get a response in the Problem Solving section: https://www.beatthegmat.com/problem-solving-f6.html Also, please make sure to transcribe the question correctly. I believe it should read as follows: A certain taxi company charges $3.10 for the first 1/5 of a mile plus$0.40 ...”
January 12, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Sea turtle hatchlings in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The argument summarized: the direction baby turtles swim seems to determined by magnetic fields. Well, that would only make sense if the turtles can actually sense those aforementioned fields. The answer is C”
January 12, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The Securities and Exchange Commission of USA in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Boris Wertz''s conclusion: startups attract the wrong kind of investors - people who think putting money into a startup is comparable to putting money into a mutual fund. We''re looking for evidence that there is, in fact, a shift among risk-averse investors from traditional investment vehicles ...”
January 12, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A man walks at a rate of 10 mph... in the Problem Solving forum
“As Brent noted, your approach is perfectly valid. Alternatively, you could think about it like this If you''re walking at 10mph, it''ll take you 5 hours to go 50 miles without stopping. 5 hours =5*60 = 300 minutes. If you stop every 10 miles, you''ll stop 4 times. At 6 minutes of resting per ...”
January 12, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Nanotechnology may pose risks in the coming decades in the Critical Reasoning forum
“The argument boiled down: Tiny robots might be scary because we can''t see them. But we can''t see germs, and we''ve been able to deal with the threat germs pose. So we have this scary unknown thing: tiny robots; But we shouldn''t be frightened because of how well we''ve dealt with a known ...”
January 12, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The lobbyist accused of offering a large cash bribe to the s in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Claim 1: I had no money with me all day Claim 2: I spent all my money on lunch If the lobbyist had no money on him, how could he have used money he didn''t have to buy lunch? The second claim is inconsistent with the first. This is what B gives us. D is wrong because while the two claims may ...”
January 11, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to last year a global disturbance of weather patterns in the Critical Reasoning forum
“Remember that an answer cannot contradict a premise. In the argument we were told, "Worldwide production of soyabeans, an important source of protein for people and livestock alike, was not adversely affected," so we have to take that assertion at face value. B provides information about ...”
January 11, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A machine, working at a constant rate... in the Problem Solving forum
“We could also use our trusty R * T = W formula. R = 36 staplers/28 minutes. 36/28 = 9/7. T = 1 hour 45 minutes = 105 minutes 9/7 * 105 = W 9*15 = W 135 = W The answer is C”
January 11, 2018
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the month of August, Pentheus Corporation made $200,000.. in the Problem Solving forum “First, 6% of 200,000 is 12,000, so that''s the profit earned on the second Wed of August. We''re told that this value is 14.5% of the revenue for the day. Meaning that 12,000/Revenue = 14.5%. So when 12,000 is divided by the correct answer, we should get 14.5%. Clearly, you''d want to test D ...” January 11, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mike and Emily need to build 2 identical houses. Mike . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Executive decision: I''m changing the names here. First, rephrase the question. If Amy can do 1 house in 6 weeks, she can do 2 in 12 weeks. If Emily can do 1 house in 8 weeks, she can do 2 in 16 weeks. Neither alone can do 2 houses in 7 weeks. Together: Amy''s rate is 1/6 and Emily''s ...” January 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of x^2+y^2? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: $$x^2 -2xy + y^2 = 1$$ $$(x-y)^2 = 1$$ Clearly not sufficient. Case 1: x = 3 and y = 2 --> x^2 + y^2 = 9 + 4 = 13 Case 2: x=5 and y = 4. --> x^2 + y^2 = 25 + 16 = 41 Statement 2: $$x^2 + 2xy + y^2 = 4$$ $$(x + y)^2 = 4 Clearly not sufficient Case 1: x = 0 and y = 2 ...” January 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The number of rooms at Hotel G is 10 less ..... in the Problem Solving forum “Number of hotel rooms in Hotel H: H Number of hotel room ins Hotel G: 2H - 10 Total = 425 H + 2H-10 = 425 3H = 435 H = 145 2H - 10 = 280 --> the answer is E” January 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The traditional treatment of strep infections has been a sev in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion; Strep reinfection will be less common in patients who are prescribed the new antibiotic. Premises: Old antibiotics require a seven-day course of treatment. Many patients stop taking the old drugs within three days. We can see that the conclusion is true if patients who would have ...” January 9, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A magician holds one six-sided die in his left hand... in the Problem Solving forum “P(x) = # Desired Outcomes/# Total possible outcomes # Total possible outcomes when rolling 3 dice = 6^3 = 216. Notice that for the single die to be greater than the sum of the other two, the single die must be at least 3. Single die: 3; Two other dice sum to less than 3: B” January 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Canadian mining company Bre-X had soil samples from its Busa in the Critical Reasoning forum “Try negation. The correct answer, when negated, should undermine the argument. E negated: Gold WAS added to the soil samples collected by Bre-X before the samples were examined. Well, if gold was added to the samples, then the technology detecting gold wasn''t flawed at all. The problem ...” January 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to No one who has a sore throat need consult a doctor in the Critical Reasoning forum “The argument makes two claims: Claim #1: Don''t bother going to the doctor if you have a sore throat - it''ll get better on its own. Claim #2: If you have a particular kind of sore throat, you better go to the doctor, as you might die if you don''t. These two claims are not exactly ...” January 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The state legislature has proposed a law in the Critical Reasoning forum “Auto industry''s conclusion: Airbags would prevent a small percentage of serious injuries Premise: Seat belts can prevent serious injuries. We want to weaken the argument that the airbags aren''t necessary. The auto-industry is arguing, in essence, that the air bags aren''t necessary because ...” January 8, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Permutations and Combination in the Problem Solving forum “And if you''re a fiend for algebra, if we say there are ''x'' people in the room, there will be (x-1) people for each to shake hands with. Because the two people engaged in a shake are interchangeable, we need to divide by 2!. So x*(x-1)/2! = 66 x*(x-1) = 132 x^2 - x - 132 = 0 (x-12)(x+11) = ...” January 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Permutations and Combination in the Problem Solving forum “Use the answer choices. Test ''C.'' Say there were 11 people in the room. There''d be 10 people left for each of those people to shake hands with. But bear in mind that when Dave shakes hands with Roland, it''s not a different scenario than Roland shakes hands with Dave. So we need to divide by 2! ...” January 7, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A satellite is composed of 30 modular units, each of... in the Problem Solving forum “Or pick an easy number. Total # of upgraded sensors on 30 units. = 5. # of non-upgraded sensors on one unit = (1/5)*5 = 1 # of total non-upgraded sensors on 30 units = 1*30 = 30 Total # of sensors = 5 + 30 = 35. Upgraded/Total = 5/35 = 1/7- The answer is D” January 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A satellite is composed of 30 modular units, each of... in the Problem Solving forum “Call the total # of upgraded sensors ''u.'' The # of non-upgraded sensors on one unit = (1/5)u # of non-upgraded inits on 30 units = (1/5)u * 30 = 6u If there are ''u'' upgraded sensors and 6u non-upgraded sensors, then there would be 7u sensors in total. Upgraded/Total = u/7u =1/7. The answer ...” January 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A work crew of 4 Men in the Problem Solving forum “You could also just use a bit of logic and the answer choices. If we doubled the number of men working, we''d halve the time it takes to complete the job. So if 4 Men could do half a job in 5 days, 8 men could do half a job in 2.5 days. But we''ve got 10 men! So clearly, they can do the job faster ...” January 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Speed and Distance. in the Problem Solving forum “I''d probably solve this the same way Erika did, but here''s one alternative: fFirst, note that if he''d spent the same amount of time traveling at each respective speed, his average speed would have been 60mph. But we know he spent more time traveling at the faster speed, so we know he traveled at ...” January 5, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the volume of the cylinder? in the Problem Solving forum “Imagine rolling that square of paper into the cylinder. The top side of the square will be the same as the circumference of the circle once you form the cylinder. If the circumference of the circle is 4, then we can simply solve C = 2πr = 4 --> r = 2/π. From there, it''s just plug and chug with ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Last year Manfred received 26 paychecks... in the Problem Solving forum “You could also use the number line. We know that the ratio of 750 checks to 780 checks is 6:20 or 3:10. So let''s call the distance from each check to the overall average 10x and 3x. (We know that the overall average will be far closer to 780 than 750 as there are far more 780 checks, so the 3x ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Last year Manfred received 26 paychecks... in the Problem Solving forum “You could just do simple arithmetic. The first 6 paychecks were750, for a total of 6*750 = 4500. The next 20 paychecks were all for 780 for a total of 20*780 = 15600. In all, the paychecks were worth 4500 + 15600 = 20,100. On average, the 26 checks would be worth 20,100/26 = about 773. The answer ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When Jack picks olives for two hours... in the Problem Solving forum “Say Jack''s regular rate = J and Mac''s regular rate = M. If Jack works for two hours at three times his regular speed (3J) then he''ll pick 2 * 3J = 6J pounds If Mac works for five hours at 80% of his regular speed (.8M) he''ll pick 5*.8M = 4M pounds. We''ve told that the first quantity is 10 ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Roses can be purchased individually for 4.30... in the Problem Solving forum “If we''re trying to maximize the number of roses, we want to purchase as many roses as possible in bundles of two dozen, as that''s the best deal. If we''re paying 50 for each bouquet of two-dozen, then the most we can spend on these bouquets is 650, as this is the largest multiple of 50 under ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Annie took a trip consisting of three segments... in the Problem Solving forum “Set D = 6 and v = 1 First leg Distance: 5D = 30 First leg speed = 2v = 2 First leg Time: 30/2 = 15 Second leg Distance: 4D = 24 Second leg speed: 3v = 3 Second leg Time: 8 Third leg Distance: 6 Third leg speed: 6v = 6 Third leg Time: 6/6 = 1 Total distance: 30 + 24 + 6 = 60 Total ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is my quant score high enough for top tier schools? in the The Application Process forum “A few thoughts here: first, the number I hear from admissions consultants for a quant score that makes you competitive at top programs is 45. Generally speaking, if you''re below that, it''s recommended that you have some other component in your application that demonstrates quant proficiency, and ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Maxwell leaves his home and walks toward Brad's house at the in the Problem Solving forum “If they were walking at the same speed for the same amount of time, they''d each cover half the distance, or 25 km. Because Brad is walking faster, he must cover more than 25 km. Only E works.” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An increase in blood flow in the Critical Reasoning forum “E is incorrect because of the word "only." It''s possible that biking or meditation or eating healthier could decrease the risk of stroke. A regimen of regular walking isn''t the only way. D, on the other hand is air-tight. If regular walking can increase blood flow and lower the resting ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of the integer k in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: k > -3. k could be -2 or -1 or 0, etc. Not sufficient Statement 2: Any number raised to an even exponent must be nonnegative. If k^4 is less than or equal to 0, and it can''t be less than 0, then k^4 must, by definition, be equal to 0. Because we know definitively that k = 0 ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Jerome's refrigerator contains 4 cans of cola in the Problem Solving forum “Alternatively, we can go selection by selection. Say we pick a root beer can followed by a cola can P(selecting root beer first) = 4/12 = 1/3 P(selecting cola after having selected a root beer) = 4/11 P(selecting root beer first) * P(selecting cola after having selected a root beer) = 1/3 * ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Jerome's refrigerator contains 4 cans of cola in the Problem Solving forum “P(x) = # ways x can occur/# Total possibilities; # Total possibilities: There are 12 cans, and we''re selecting 2, so we want 12C2 = 12*11/2! = 66. (We can select any of the 12 cans with our first selection and any of the 11 remaining cans with our second selection. We divide by 2! because the ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Sentence Correction in the Sentence Correction forum “Generally speaking, "comma + and" is used to either 1) Connect two independent clauses: (I went to the circus, and later I went for a run.) 2)Complete a list of 3 or more elements: I bought apples, oranges, and pears. Here, "in 1984 forty-four percent" is not an ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is xy > 0? in the Data Sufficiency forum “You pick numbers to quickly prove that each statement alone is not sufficient. When testing together, we can multiply the second inequality by -1 to make it -x + 2y > 6. Now we can add them x - y > -2 -x + 2y > 6 y > 4 So we know y is greater than 4. Now we can add this new ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain bank charges a maintenance fee on a standard. . . in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Nothing about how much is deposited or withdrawn in account. Not Sufficient. Statement 2: Nothing about the starting account balance: Not Sufficient. Together. We know the starting balance was 1500. We know that 2000 was withdrawn. The problem is that we know nothing about deposits. ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of x ? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Get the x terms on one side: x^3 + x^2 - 6x = 0 x(x^2 + x - 6) =0 x(x+3)(x-2) = 0 x = 0 or x = -3 or x = 2. Not Sufficient. Statement 2: x^3 + 5x^2 - 14x = 0 x(x^2 +5x - 14) = 0 x(x + 7)(x - 2) = 0 x = 0 or x = -7 or x = 2. Not Sufficient. Together: x = 0 and x = 2 are ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An equitaleral triangle is inscribed in a circle... in the Problem Solving forum “Well, we know the answer is going to be the area of the circle - area of the equilateral triangle, so it has to be 2 - something. Eliminate E. Notice that A and B would both yield negative answers, as we''re calculating 2 - some value greater than 2, so those are out. Last, if the area of the ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are 10 points on a circle. A hexagon . . . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Mathematically, this question is identical to asking, "In a group of 10 students, 6 must be chosen to form a sub-comittee. How many 6-person subcommittees are possible." The upshot is that we''re selecting 6 elements from a population of 10 and order doesn''t matter, so we''re looking for ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Carrie, Lisa, and Betty in the Data Sufficiency forum “Think about it algebraically: call the cost of one record "R" and the cost of one CD "C." The cost of one record and two CD''s would be R + 2C. Statement 1: 3R = 22.50. Allows us to solve for R, but nothing about C. Not Sufficient. Statement 2: 2R + 4C = 55.00 Divide ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mayor: the commuters from the nearby in the Critical Reasoning forum “The mayor is responding to complaints about a. difficult commute. His solution is to install high-speed toll-collectors. His assumption is that congestion in the toll plazas is the primary reason for the difficult commute. The civil engineer rebuts the mayor by providing a statistic (evidence) ...” January 4, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to apple is 40 cents and the price of each orange is 60 cents. in the Problem Solving forum “Alternate approach: Because the average cost (.56)is much closer to oranges than to apples, we know there are initially more oranges among the 10 purchased pieces of fruit. Plotting on a number line 40------------------------------56---------60 Gap--------------16------------------4------ So ...” January 3, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Percents in the Problem Solving forum “An alternative approach: effectively, we''re combining a 7.5 liter solution that''s 60% sugar with a 1.5 liter solution (water) that''s 0% sugar. If there''s 5 times as much of the 60% solution as the 0% solution (7.5 is five times the value of 1.5), then we can represent the distances of the ...” January 3, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If and b are positive integers in the Data Sufficiency forum “If you set x and y equal to 0, we can make ''a'' and ''b'' anything we want, so long as they''re positive integers. 0 raised to any positive integer will always be 0. The answer is E. If you''re uncertain, you can always list out a few scenarios: Case 1: x=0, y = 0, a = 1, b = 1; a-b = 1-1=0 ...” January 3, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Because plants have more nutrients in the Critical Reasoning forum “Here''s our scenario: Sunshine usually leads to healthy growth for plants. For hosta, a lot of sunshine leads to minimal growth and some leaf decay. To summarize, plentiful sunshine is good for most plants and bad for hosta. So we''re looking for some negative consequence of excessive sunshine ...” January 2, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Modifier in the Sentence Correction forum “A) less apt to become nervous... than a classic piece Illogical comparison. Seems to imply a classic piece could become nervous B) less... as to Nope. The idiom is "less than." C) Same problem as A. D) less apt to become nervous before performing Looks good. Appropriate comparison. ...” January 2, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Today Joelle opened an interest-bearing savings account... in the Problem Solving forum “First, you could so the actual math. During the first year, Joelle will generate 4% interest on 6000. 4% of 6000 = 240. Her total investment at this point = 6240. During the second year, Joelle will generate 4% interest on 6240. 4% of 6240 = 249.60. Her total investment at this point = 6240 ...” January 2, 2018 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following could be the sides of an obtuse... in the Problem Solving forum “This question is an application of the "third side" rule of triangles: The third side of a triangle must be less than the sum of the other two sides and it must be greater than the difference of the other two sides. (Algebraically: If you have a triangle with sides x, y, and z, we know ...” December 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The game of blackjack is played with a deck consisting... in the Problem Solving forum “We know that first card is a spade. So imagine a deck consisting solely of this suit. There''d be 13 cards. 1 of them would be an ace. So the probability of selecting an ace, given that we''ve selected a spade, would be 1/13, or C You may have inadvertently rewritten the question in your head. If ...” December 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Lower-level management function in the Sentence Correction forum “The problem with E is the usage of "one another." Though there''s a bit of debate about this among usage guides, "one another" typically refers to interaction involving more than two people. In other words, if there were three managers, those managers could conceivably ...” December 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a certain mathematical activity, we start with seven... in the Problem Solving forum “Box #1 (four cards) We''ve got 7 numbers to select from. We want to select 4 of them. So we want 7C4 = 7*6*5*4/4*3*2*1 = 35 options for the first box. Box #2 (two cards). If we started with 7 numbers, and we''ve selected 4, we only have 3 cards remaining. Of these 3, we want to select 2, so we ...” December 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In his ranch, Doug Bo can place a loop of rope, called a... in the Problem Solving forum “First, P(x) = 1 - P(Not x) So, P(at least one success in five attempts) = 1 - P(no successes in five attempts) If Doug Bo succeeds once every two tosses, we know the probability is 1/2 that each attempt is successful. (And the probability of failure is also 1/2) P(no successes in five ...” December 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of x? in the Problem Solving forum “You''re exactly right. The total area of the square is$$ 3^2 + 6^2 + 76 = 9 + 36 + 76 = 121$$We know each side of the square must be 11, as 11*11 = 121 If a side is 11, then 2x + 1 = 11 --> 2x = 10 ---> x = 5. The answer is A” December 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a bottle is to be selected at random in the Data Sufficiency forum “P(Choosing a defective bottle) = # Defective bottles/# Total Bottles Statement 1: # Defective Bottles: 3x # Non-defective Bottles: 500x # Total Bottles: 3x + 500x = 503x P(Choosing a defective bottle) = 3x/503x = 3/503. Because we can get a definitive unique value, we know this statement ...” December 22, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The price of 5 kilograms of premium fertilizer is the... in the Problem Solving forum “Pick a simple number that''s a multiple of 5 and 6. In this case, say 5 kilograms of premium and 6 kilograms of regular, each cost 30 cents. Premium unit cost = 30/5 = 6 cents Regular unit cost = 30/6 = 5 cents. If y is the difference, then y must be 6-5 = 1. We want the premium unit ...” December 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A worker for a power company in the Critical Reasoning forum “Think about the initial argument as abstractly as possible - replace the concrete details with variables. A worker typically does X to prevent some type of negative consequence. Because Y might happen in one instance, he deems X unnecessary. (X would be trimming the branches and Y would be the ...” December 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A new electronic security system will only allow a single pe in the Critical Reasoning forum “We know that the security system decides whether to open the door on the basis of visual clues. And we know that it never fails - meaning it only allows those with clearance to unlock the doors. Based on that, would B have to be true? Not necessarily. If an unauthorized person is simply walking by, ...” December 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Rabbits were introduced to Tambor Island in the nineteenth c in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: The government''s plan serves the interests of agriculture but will increase the threat to wildlife Premise: Virus will kill rabbits. Small chance virus infects bilby an endangered herbivore. Try negation. The correct answer, when negated, will undermine the conclusion. B negated: ...” December 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following does NOT have a decimal equivalent... in the Problem Solving forum “Important rule: a fraction can expressed as terminating decimal if, when reduced to simplest form, the denominator can be expressed as 2^n * 5^m, where n and m are non-negative integers. Out another, if, when a fraction is reduced to its simplest form, there is something in the denominator other ...” December 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to a, b, c, and d are positive integers. If the remainder... in the Problem Solving forum “Important Rule: The divisor is always greater than the remainder. If the remainder is 9 when a is divided by b, then we know that b, the divisor is greater than 9, so the minimum value is 10. If the remainder is 5 when c is divided by d, we know that d, the divisor, is greater than 5, the minimum ...” December 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the number of red marbles is three . . . . in the Problem Solving forum “If there are 3 times as many red marbles as green marbles, then we can designate the red marbles as 3x and the green marbles as x. Red marbles: 3x Green marbles: x Total: 4x Ratio of Green: Total = x:4x = 1:4.. The answer is B (''A'' would be the ratio of Green:Red not Green:Total)” December 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If n is a positive integer, is 10^n - 1 divisible by q? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 - Case 1: n = 1; q = 1. 10^n - 1 = 9; 9 is divisible by 1, so we have a YES Case 2: n = 1; q = 7 . 10^n - 1 = 9; 9 is not divisible by 7 so we have a NO. Statement 1 is not sufficient. Statement 2: We can use the same cases we used for statement 1, as neither 1 nor 7 is ...” December 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain gallery is hanging a series in the Problem Solving forum “If there are two paintings on panel, and there are two spots were we can place them, then there are 2! = 2 ways we can place those paintings. If there are five paintings on canvas, and there are 5 remaining spots where these paintings can be placed, there are 5! = 120 ways we can place those ...” December 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Bruno and Sacha are running in the same in the Problem Solving forum “If Sacha runs at 6 meters/sec and Bruno runs at 5 meters/sec, then when they''re both running, Sacha pulls away from Bruno at a rate of 6-5 = 1 meter/second 1 minute, or 60 seconds, after pulling even, Sacha will be 1 * 60 = 60 meters ahead of Bruno Once Sacha stops, Bruno will have to cover ...” December 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Work/Rate in the Problem Solving forum “Not a bad one to back-solve. Test B: If A can do 80 pages in 18 minutes, then we know it can do 40 pages in 9 minutes. If it takes B 4 fewer minutes to do 40 pages, then B can do 40 pages in 5 minutes. A''s rate: 40/9 = 4 4/9 = About 4.4 pages per minute. B''s rate: 40/5 = 8 pages per ...” December 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to At Funston Stores, a salesperson's salary in the Critical Reasoning forum “Think of it this way. The revenue generated from sales = Quantity * Unit Price. Thus, the commissions earned = Commission % * Quantity * Unit Price If the above product decreases, but the commission % and the quantity are unchanged, then the unit price had to have decreased. The answer is D” December 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the United States, of the people who moved in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Local business in Florida will suffer negative economic consequences Premise: Of retirees moving from one state to another, the percentage moving to Florida has decreased by 3% over the last 10 years Think about this with concrete numbers. Let''s say that 10 years ago, 10% of all ...” December 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Herbed Wellness, a manufacturer of herbal products, wants it in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Herbed Wellness should add caffeine to its headache treatment Premise: In one study 58% of headache sufferers experienced relief when consuming caffeine. Herbed''s customers don''t drink coffee Well, if a lot of the folks in the study who experienced relief were going through ...” December 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A recent report determined that although only three percent in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Drivers who equip their vehicles with radar detectors are more likely to exceed the speed limit. Premise: 3% of drivers use radar detectors. 33% of vehicles ticketed for speeding were equipped with radar detectors. Try negation. The correct answer, when negated, will undermine the ...” December 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are two main manufacturers of light plains in this reg in the Critical Reasoning forum “This question could have been a little cleaner, but here''s the gist: Conclusion: Number of passengers who refuse to ride Lightning built planes will increase Premises: There are two manufacturers of light planes in the region. The crash rate of SpeedStar planes has decreased over the last five ...” December 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Pat's parents invested 5,000 in the Problem Solving forum “(And I wrote a post about a similarly themed question here: https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2016/02/all-you-need-to-know-about-using-interest-equations-on-the-gmat/” December 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Pat's parents invested 5,000 in the Problem Solving forum “If the investment doubles every 70/r years, and r = 8, then we know the investment will double every 70/8, or approximately 9 years. In 18 years, the investment will double twice. After 9 years: 5000*2 = 10,000 After 18 years: 10,000*2 = 20,000 The answer is A” December 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The price of an item is discounted 10 percent . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Note that the algebra is virtually identical. Say the starting price is P. Day 1: discounted 10%. Sale Price = .9P Day 2 discounted 10%. New Price . = .9*.9P = .81P Day 3: discounted 20%. New Price = .8 * .81P = .648P Price Day 3/Day 1 = .648P/.9P = .72P” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The price of an item is discounted 10 percent . . . in the Problem Solving forum “You could pick an easy number to be the starting price: 100 Day 1: discounted 10%. 10% of 100 is 10, so sale price = 100 - 10 = 90 Day 2 discounted 10%. 10% of 90 is 9, so new price . = 90 - 9 = 81. Day 3: discounted 20%. 20% of 81 is 16.20. 81 - 16.20 = 64.80. We''re asked what % the price ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is PQ > 1? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Case 1: P = 1; Q = 1. PQ = 1, and so is not greater than 1. The answer is NO. Case 2: P =1; Q = 50. PQ = 50, so is greater than 1. The answer is YES. Because we can answer YES or NO, this statement alone is not sufficient. Statement 2: Nothing about P, so not sufficient. ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are 100 employees in a room. 99% are managers. in the Problem Solving forum “Careful. To start, we have 99 managers and 1 non-manager. If 1 manager left the room, we''d have 98 managers and 1 non-manager, meaning that 98/99 employees would be managers. 98/99 is not 98%. (Also, it must be incredibly demoralizing to be the one person at this company who isn''t a manager, but ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 1/3 +1/2 - 5/6 + 1/5 + 1/4 - 9/20 = in the Problem Solving forum “Split it into two pieces, each of which allows for an easy calculation for your common denominator Piece One: 1/3 + 1/2 - 5/6 3/6 + 2/6 - 5/6 = 5/6 - 5/6 = 0 Piece Two: 1/5 + 1/4 - 9/20 4/20 + 5/20 - 9/20 = 9/20 - 9/20 = 0 0 + 0 = 0. The answer is A” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the mean of the set S is 14 then find the Median of the s in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: If the mean of a 6 element set is 14, we know the sum = 6*14 = 84. So 2 + 5 + 14 + 30 + x + y = 84 51 + x + y = 84 x+ y = 33 Case 1: x = 15, y = 18. Our set ( 2, 5, 14, 15, 18, 30) Median = (14 + 15)/2 = 29/2 Case 2: x = 16, y = 17. Our set (2, 5, 14, 16, 17, 30) Median = (14 + ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain country had a total annual expenditure in the Problem Solving forum “Expenditure per capita = Total expenditure/Total population = (1.2 * 10^12)/240,000,000 Rewrite the numerator: 1.2 * 10^12 = 1.2 * 10 * 10 * 10^10 = 120 * 10^10 Rewrite the denominator: 240,000,000 = 24 * 10^7 (120 * 10^10)/(24 * 10^7) = 5 * 10^3 = 5000. The answer is E” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of x? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Notice that there are 5 elements in the set. Because there are an odd number of elements, the median must be in the set. (If there had been an even number of elements the median would be the average of the two middle terms.) The only way the median of the set can be 0 is if x = 0. ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many integers n are there such that a > n > b ? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 - Case 1: a = 5 and b = 1. The integers between 1 and 5 are: 2, 3, and 4, giving us a total of three integers. Case 2: a = 5.5 and b = 1.5. The integers between 1.5 and 5.5 are: 2, 3, 4, and 5, giving us a total of four integers. Because there could be three or four values of n, this ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Darcy lives 1.5 miles from work. She can walk to work in the Problem Solving forum “If she walks to work at 3mph, and she lives 1.5 miles away, it will take her 3t = 1.5 --> t = .5 hours, or 30 minutes to walk. We know it takes her 15 more minutes to walk than to take the train, so it must take her 30 -15 = 15 minutes to take the train. If she weren''t waiting for an ...” December 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain bag of gemstones is composed of two-thirds... in the Problem Solving forum “Note that you could also skip the algebra and just play with scenarios. If we know that there are twice as many diamonds as rubies, we can try: Scenario One: 2 diamonds and 1 ruby. P(selecting two diamonds) = (2/3)(1/2) = 2/6 --> not 5/12 Scenario Two: 4 diamonds and 2 rubies. P(selecting two ...” December 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain bag of gemstones is composed of two-thirds... in the Problem Solving forum “We''re told that there are twice as many diamonds as rubies in this bag, so let''s designate the number of diamonds as ''2x'' and the number of rubies as ''x,'' giving us a total of 3x. Probability that the first pick is a diamond = # diamonds/# tot gems = 2x/3x Probability that the second pick ...” December 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The beer industry is still very profitable in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re looking for the answer choice that doesn''t resolve the following: beer sales are up the number of beer-drinking adults is down. A is useless. Why would it matter that the number of new women beer-drinkers is greater than the number of men who have stopped drinking beer? It seems as ...” December 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Harry: Airlines have made it possible in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re trying to determine what Judith believes Harry''s statement implies. (This could have been worded a little more clearly.) Harry''s statement doesn''t imply that most people can''t afford to fly - Harry doesn''t consider costs at all, suggesting that he thinks cost is a non-issue.” December 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An estate of 216,000 in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: This tells us that each recipient will get 216,000/4, or 54,000. But it doesn''t tell us what percent of that 54,000, they''ll then have to give to the lawyer. Statement 2: If we don''t know how many recipients there are, we can''t determine what percent each is giving to the ...” December 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Given that 1 + 3x > 4 and 2x - 3 < 5, all values of x in the Problem Solving forum “You can simply isolate x in each inequality. 1 + 3x > 4 3x > 3 x > 1 And 2x -3 < 5 2x < 8 x < 4 Together 1 < x < 4. The answer is B” December 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The city’s center for disease control reports in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re trying to resolve the following paradox: 1) the percentage of raccoons infected with rabies has gone up 2) the number of rabid raccoons has gone down What could account for this? Well, if there are fewer total raccoons, then even if a higher percentage of them are infected, the number of ...” December 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A retail store employs only clerks in the Problem Solving forum “Plot the initial wages on a number line: 11.50-------13------------------19 Gap:----1.5------------6-------- First notice that the average is much closer to the low end than the high, so we know there are more clerks than managers. Next, if we examine the difference between each respective ...” December 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Elana was working to code protocols for computer... in the Problem Solving forum “Note also that once you get to this step: x =''154 *18/4 = 693, you can just estimate, as the answer choices are nicely spread out. Call it 150 * 20/4 = 150 * 5 = 750. So the answer would be a tad less than this.” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Elana was working to code protocols for computer... in the Problem Solving forum “If Elana completed 11/18 of the job, then Andy must have completed the other 7/18. Thus, the gap between the amount of work each performed would be 11/18 - 7/18 = 4/18. We know that Elana was paid 154 more for this this 4/18 gap, so if ''x'' represents what she''d have made if she''d completed ...” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to xx is a two digit integer, the first term of a sequence of c in the Problem Solving forum “I like Regor''s approach of using the answer choices and a bit of logic here. Alternatively, we can think about it like this: first, notice that the sample space is fairly small. xx is an ODD number, So only 11, 33, 55, 77, and 99 are possibilities to start. Moreover, it''s the first term in the ...” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the units digit of x? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 - If a = b = c = 0, then x = k, so x and k can be integer we want. Not sufficient. Statement 2 - Nothing about x; not sufficient Together: If$$x/(5^2 * 2^3 * 3^4) = k $$, and k is an integer, then we know that x will have to be a multiple of 5^2 * 2^3 * 3^4. Any number that ...” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Many winemakers use cork stoppers in the Critical Reasoning forum “These are always more challenging without the bold :) Could you repost?” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Let P = (x + y)k. If P = 10 and k = 3 in the Problem Solving forum “Ultimately, we want to solve for the average of x and y, or (x + y)/2. Initially, we''re given 10 = (x + y) * 3 10/3 = x + y 1/2 * (10/3) = (x + y)/2 5/3 = (x + y)/2 The answer is C” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT scoring in the GMAT Strategy forum “Certainly possible. You''d likely need a Verbal score in the high 30''s to hit 650 with a Quant score in that range. A very rough, totally unscientific metric: if your quant + verbal raw scores sum to about 80, you''re likely in the 650 neighborhood.” December 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to paradox in the Critical Reasoning forum “See here for an official question that tests a similar concept: http://www.beatthegmat.com/weaken-problem-percentage-retire-in-fl-t152334.html” December 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to paradox in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re presented with the following: ABC''s revenues are up, but its market share is down. How can that happen? Well, if the overall market increased dramatically, then it''s possible to increase revenues as you lose market share. This is what C gives us.” December 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x and y are positive, is x > y^2? in the Data Sufficiency forum “We can also address statement 2 algebraically. If y = x + 1, we can rephrase the initial questions from "Is x > y^2 to Is x > (x +1)^2? Is x > (x +1)^2? Is x > x^2 + 2x + 1? Is -x > x^2 + 1? Notice that the value on the left side of the equation must be negative, as x is ...” December 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x and y are positive, is x > y^2? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Pick some easy numbers Case 1: x = 1, y = 2. In this case, 1 is not greater than 2^2, so we have a NO Case 2: x = 1/2, y = 1/2. (These numbers are eligible to test because 1/2 > (1/2)^2, and therefore y > x^2.) In this case, 1/2, or x, is greater than (1/2)^2, or y^2, so we ...” December 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The frequently expressed in the Critical Reasoning forum “The key sentence: No written constitution is more than a paper with words on it until those words are both interpreted and applied. In other words, before a written constitution is both interpreted and applied, we can''t arrive at any definitive conclusions about its nature. This is why B is ...” December 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the remainder when the positive integer n is divided in the Data Sufficiency forum “Useful takeaway for remainder data sufficiency questions. If I want to know what the remainder will be when x is divided by y, anytime a statement tells me what the remainder is when x is divided by a multiple of y, that statement will be sufficient. (In this case, we were looking for the remainder ...” December 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the remainder when the positive integer n is divided in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 Case 1: n = 1. When 1 is divided by 6, the remainder is 1 Case 2: n = 13, When 13 is divided by 6, the remainder is 1. Case 3: n = 25. When 25 is divided by 6, the remainder is 1. Not matter what we pick, the remainder will always be 1. This statement alone is sufficient. ...” December 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A basketball team composed of 12 players scored 100 points i in the Problem Solving forum “If we want to maximize the number of points one player could have scored, we want to minimize the number of points that everyone else scored. We''re told that the least anyone could have scored is 7 points. If 11 players scored exactly 7 points, they''d have produced a total of 11*7 = 77 points, ...” December 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Unable to activate GMAT Prep 2 software in the Ask the Test Maker forum “The default advice is usually to delete the application from your hard drive and reinstall it. Worth trying, but if the license number is in the system as having been used, I''m not terribly optimistic that this will work. Here''s what I''d do if I were in your situation and the above doesn''t ...” December 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The writing styles in works of high literary in the Critical Reasoning forum “Boiled way down: - Works of high literary quality can be misinterpreted. - Judicial decisions determine laws, and so lack this quality, so they won''t be misinterpreted - Dissenting opinions are often high literary quality What accounts for this? Well, if dissenting opinions don''t ...” December 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A particular type of nail is sold in the Problem Solving forum “Total cost of 4 containers of 128 nails each = 4 * 7.75. = 31. Cost per nail = 31/512 Total cost of 2 containers of 256 nails each = 2 * 9.75 = 19.50. Cost per nail = 19.50/512 The difference = 31/512 - 19.50/512 = 11.50/512, Who wants to do that? Let''s approximate. Call it 10/500 = 1/50 ...” December 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a polluted area around the Great Lakes in the Critical Reasoning forum “The scientists'' conclusion: The herring gulls have a higher survival rate because they''ve found alternative food sources. The premise: The fish that gulls and terns feed on has been adversely impacted by pollution. The tern population has decreased by more than the gull population So we want ...” December 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Elite Official SC 31 While studying the genetic makeup of co in the Sentence Correction forum “In D "a discovery" functions as a summative modifier - a noun phrase that summarizes the idea of a preceding clause. (The clause in this case is "Barbara McClintock discovered a new class of mutant genes.") Another example, "Dave tore his meniscus, an injury that will ...” November 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following is equivalent to the statement... in the Problem Solving forum “First, we''re given the following inequality: 2/n < 1/2 < 3/n. (Note that n would have be positive here, otherwise, 1/2 would not fall between the inequality''s endpoints.) Let''s multiply through by n, which we know is positive, to get: 2 < n/2 < 3 Multiply through by 2 to get 4 ...” November 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a is an integer greater than 4 but less than 21... in the Problem Solving forum “This question could have been worded a little more clearly - in effect, it seems to be asking us to find the range of possible values for a/b, or rather (greatest a/b) - (smallest a/b) Greatest a/b: Here we''d want to maximize a and minimize b. Max possible a: 20. Min possible b: 15. Max a/b = ...” November 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Exam Pack confusing CR question Some species of Arctic birds in the Critical Reasoning forum “Boiled way down the argument is as follows: - The snow geese displace other Arctic birds. - There is currently a law that ends hunting season once the snow geese population is decreased by 5%. - Conclusion: If we eliminate the law, the displaced Arctic bird species will recover The ...” November 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to According to the chart, how many of each toy would have to.. in the Problem Solving forum “Could you repost the question so that the image is a little larger? As it is, it''s tough to make out the figures in the table.” November 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the area of rectangle ABGH? in the Problem Solving forum “If the figure is a cube, we know that all the sides are equal, (and each face is a square) so if the surface area of ABFE is 16, each side must be 4. We also know that the diagonal of a square splits the square into two 45:45:90 triangles. If triangle ADH is a 45:45:90 triangle, and AD = 4, then ...” November 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the figure, x =? in the Problem Solving forum “You might want to repost this one with slightly better resolution. In any event, in the larger triangle, we have three angles: 90, x + 15, and 50. Those three angles must sum to 180. 90 + x + 15 + 50 = 180 155 + x = 180 x. = 25. The answer is B” November 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If k^(xy)=1, where k≠0, which of the following must be tru in the Problem Solving forum “Test the statements and see if you can falsify them. The only restriction we have is that 2^(xy) = 1. So long as we meet that condition, we have valid numbers to test. I. Say k = 2. Well, 2^0 = 1, so clearly, k doesn''t have to be 1. I is out. II Say k = 2, x = 1, and y = 0. We''d have 2^(1*0) ...” November 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If −1 < x < 0 and 0 < y < 1, which of the foll in the Problem Solving forum “Well, yes, -3 > (-3)^3, but given the constraints of the question, x can''t be -3! If x is between 0 and -1, then when we cube it, the result will be less negative. If x = -1/2, for example, then (-1/2)^3 = -1/8, and (-1/2) < (-1/8) To summarize, if we cube a number less than negative ...” November 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The function f is defined for all integers n by the... in the Problem Solving forum “The idea is that f(n) = the number of integers that share no common factors with n other than 1. For example, you invoked f(5). So how many integers share no common factors with 5, aside from 1? Well, the integers that share no common factors with 5 would be 1, 2, 3, and 4, giving us a total of 4 ...” November 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep QP1 : The region of Norden is comprised in the Sentence Correction forum “First, the subject "each" is singular, so we need a singular verb. Eliminate A and B. Next, in D and E, the plural pronoun "they" seems to refer to the singular antecedent "each," so we can eliminate D and E. That leaves C” November 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many questions did Joey attempt in a math test... in the Data Sufficiency forum “This question is problematic - in the stem, it would have to be made clear that test-takers would receive an unspecified number of points for correct answers and incur an unspecified penalty for incorrect answers. (And presumably, questions not attempted would have no impact on the overall score or ...” November 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In right triangle ABC, AC is the hypotenuse. If AC is 40... in the Problem Solving forum “We have a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 40, and whose sides sum to 50. We want the area. Let''s call the two sides of the triangle x and y. The area will be xy/2. We know x + y = 50, and if 40 is the hypotenuse x^2 + y^2 = 40^2. Let''s take x + y = 50 and square both sides to get (x ...” November 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Everyday Ashwin starts at 3:00 pm from his house to pick... in the Problem Solving forum “If Ashwin drives at 55 km/hour and his roundtrip drive takes 2 hours, then each leg of the trip takes one hour, and is exactly 55km. If they arrive home 20 minutes, or 1/3 hour early, we know he must have saved 10 minutes or 1/6 hour on each leg of the trip. Put another way, to pick up his son, ...” November 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are Congressmen who say that the development in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: A space based missile defense system will, in time, benefit civilian businesses. B is irrelevant. Just because the defense system doesn''t require the development of any new technologies doesn''t mean the system will benefit civilian businesses. ''A,'' on the other hand, provides a ...” November 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Several movie versions of Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Citie in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: The 1939 movie version of Tale of Two Cities is the best. Premise: The 1939 movie is closest in spirit to the original novel Assumption: Best movie version of a book = movie that is closest in spirit to original book. The answer is E - this is basically a paraphrase of our ...” November 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 0A library bought b books for its collection. in the Data Sufficiency forum “The amount of money required to buy the b books = b * cost per book. Statement 1: we''ve got 40 books, but we have no idea how much each book costs. Not sufficient. Statement 2: Nothing about the number of books. Not sufficient. Together: We know there are 40 books, but the cost per book ...” November 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If p and r are integers, and p^2=28r, then r must be... in the Problem Solving forum “$$28 = 2^2 * 7$$So we can rewrite our initial equation as$$p^2 = 2^2 *7r$$The only way the above can be expressed as a perfect square is if r = 7, (or 7 raised to some odd exponent. You can think of a perfect square as an integer whose prime factorization will yield a scenario in which every ...” November 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Gasoline varies in cost from 0.96 to 1.12 per gallon... in the Problem Solving forum “Highest cost = 1.12 per gallon for the worst gas mileage, or 16 miles/gallon. A 480 mile trip will consume 480/16 = 30 gallons, for a total cost of 30 * 1.12. = 33.60 Lowest cost = .96 per gallon for the best gas mileage of 24 miles/gallon. A 480 mile trip will consume 480/24 = 20 gallons, for ...” November 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x = 3y = 4z, which of the following must equal 6x? in the Problem Solving forum “If x = 3y = 4z, then 6x = 18y = 24z I. Well, we can see above that 6x = 18y, so this is in. II. 3y + 20z can be rephrased as 3y + 5* (4z), if 3y = 4z, then we can substitute, and get 3y + 5 *(3y) = 3y + 15y = 18y. So this one is also in. No need to test III, as we don''t have the option of ...” November 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Fish currently costs in the Critical Reasoning forum “We know that city seafood stores and suburban seafood stores buy their food from the same wholesalers and have similar expenses. We know that the fish costs the same in both locations. So, to start, the stores should have similar profit margins. We''re told that the city seafood stores are going to ...” November 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In the figure above, triangle abc is similar to triangle ABC in the Problem Solving forum “Think of a very simple case in which one triangle has twice the area of another, and the triangles are similar. Triangle One: Base = 2 and Height. = 2. Area = 2*2/2 = 2. (Effectively, we''re setting x = 2, and arbitrarily picking an equal height to make the calculation simple. It doesn''t matter ...” November 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to ab = 0? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 - Case 1: a = 0 and b = 0. YES ab = 0 Case 2: a = -2 and b = -2. NO ab is not 0. Not sufficient. Statement 2: If a- b =0, then a = b. Notice that we can reuse both cases from statement 1, giving us a YES and a NO, both for statement 2 and together. Not sufficient. The answer is E” November 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Safety consultant: Judged by the number in the Critical Reasoning forum “We know that minivans have the fewest injuries per vehicle. Two explanations are offered. First, there''s the possibility that the vehicles are inherently safer, an argument the consultant rejects. Second, there''s the possibility that the drivers of minivans are just better. This is an argument ...” November 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Three friends Alan, Roger and Peter in the Problem Solving forum “This question could use some cleaning up. It seems to be asking what the probability is that at least one of the friends answers the question correctly, so long as that friend is not Roger, the cheater. (It wouldn''t make much sense to assume that the friends are working together and answering the ...” November 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 50% of the factory workers in the Data Sufficiency forum “Think of the workers as divided into three age groups: - Those 30 or younger - Those between 30 and 40 - Those 40 or older If we want the percent 40 or younger, then we want the sum of the first two groups. Statement 1. Now we know: - Those 30 or younger: 50% - Those between 30 ...” November 22, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Market researchers recently reported that ninety percent in the Critical Reasoning forum “Try negation. The correct answer to an Assumption question, when negated, will undermine the conclusion. B negated: The people who buy this detergent are NOT familiar with its advertisement. Well, if the people who bought the detergent aren''t familiar with the ad, then the fact that 20% of ...” November 22, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When 5 in the Problem Solving forum “Fun factoid: If$$T = a^x * b^y * c^z$$, where a, b, and c are distinct prime bases, then we can find the number of factors in T, by calculating (x + 1)(y +1)(z+1). Put another way, we can find the number of factors of any number by first taking the prime factorization of that number, then adding ...” November 22, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Steve gets on the elevator at the 11th floor of a building in the Problem Solving forum “If Steve is moving at 57 floors/minute and Joyce is moving in the opposite direction at 63 floors/minute, then we know they''re moving towards each other at 57+63 = 120 floors/minute. If they''re starting 40 floors apart (51-11) and they''re traveling at 120 floors/minute, it will take them 1/3 ...” November 21, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of x in the figure? in the Problem Solving forum “The total degrees of a polygon with n sides is (n-2)* 180. Total degrees in a pentagon = (5-2)*180 = 3*180 = 540. If all the angles are equal (as they are in a regular pentagon), then each angle is 540/5 = 108. Now we know that the angles FEA and FAE will each be 180-108 = 72. If we have two ...” November 21, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If for any number N, f(N) is defined as in the Problem Solving forum “Say we had f(1.3) If f(N) is defined as the least integer that is greater than or or equal to N^2, then f(1.3) would be the least integer greater than or equal to 1.3^2, or 1.69. The least integer greater than or equal to 1.69 is 2. Or say we had f(.5). The least integer greater than or equal to ...” November 21, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Dave and Matt were among those people... in the Data Sufficiency forum “If ''D'' is the number of tickets Dave sells and ''M'' is the number of tickets Matt sells, then we know that D + M = 90. We want M. 1) This tell us D = M + 30. Along with D + M = 90, we have 2 linear equations and 2 variables, so we know we can solve for both variables. No need to actually do ...” November 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Sarah receives 10z coins in addition to what she already... in the Problem Solving forum “And there''s always good old-fashioned algebra. Say she starts with T coins. After she receives 10z more, she''ll have T + 10z. And we know that her new number of coins (T + 10z) is ''5y +1'' times the old value of coins, T. Algebraically, we''d get (T + 10z) = (5y + 1)(T) T + 10z = 5yT + T 10z ...” November 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Sarah receives 10z coins in addition to what she already... in the Problem Solving forum “We could try some easy numbers. Say y = 1. That means that after she receives more coins, she''ll have 5*1 + 1 = 6 times as many coins as she had originally. Let''s say she started with 1 coin. Then we know she''ll end up with 1*6 = 6 coins, meaning she must have received 5 more coins. If she ...” November 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Does (x + a)^2 = y^2? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: x = y - a Add ''a'' to both sides to get x + a = y Square both sides to get (x + a)^2 = y^2. So the answer is a definitive yes, S1 alone is sufficient. Statement 2: Case 1: x = 1, y = 1, and a = 0. (1+0)^2 = 1^2, we have a YES to the initial question. Case 2: x = 2, y = 1, and a ...” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The integer K is positive, but less than 400. in the Problem Solving forum “Pick the easiest possible number, If K = 180, clearly 12*180 is a multiple of 180. 180 =$$2^2 * 3^2 * 5$$Prime bases: 2, 3, and 5. The answer is C” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is ab < 12? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 - Case 1: a = 2 and b = 3. ab = 6, and the answer is YES ab < 12. Case 2: a = -5 and b = -6. ab = 30, and the answer is NO ab is not less than 12. S1 alone is not sufficient. Statement 2: We could pick numbers here as well, but we could also use a little logic. If b^2 < 169 ...” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is square root of a positive integer x an integer? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: x could be 2, as 1 + 2 = 3, which is odd; The square root of 2 is not an integer, so we have a NO. x. could be 4, as 1 + 2 + 4 = 7, which is odd. The square root of 4 is an integer, so we have a YES. S1 alone is not sufficient. Statement 2: A perfect square, by definition, has an ...” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the units digit of 18^47 ? in the Problem Solving forum “When we''re dealing with a units digit question, we need not worry about anything other than the units digit. In other words, the units digit of 18^47 is the same as the units digit of 8^47. 8^47 = (2^3)^47 = 2^141 Now all we have to do is establish the units digit pattern for base 2. ...” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When positive integer W is divided by 4233 in the Problem Solving forum “Test an easy number. Say W = 61. (61/4233 is the same as 0 + 61/4233, where the remainder is 61.) If W = 61, then 2W = 122. 122/83 = 1 + 39/83, giving us a remainder of 39. The answer is C” November 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the price of coffee, p, doubles every week for 4 weeks in the Problem Solving forum “And there''s always good old-fashioned algebra. Start: p After one week: 2*p After two weeks: 2*2*p After three weeks: 2*2*2*p After four weeks: 2*2*2*2*p =$$2^4*p$$Next week if triples (so it''s multiplied by 3):$$3*2^4*p$$The last week it quadruples (so it''s multiplied by 4) ...” November 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The three competitors on a race have to be randomly... in the Problem Solving forum “One approach: find the number of ways three competitors can be chosen without restriction and then subtract out the number of undesirable outcomes. Total # of ways to select 3 people from a group of 8 with no restrictions: 8C3 = 8*7*6/3! = 56 An undesired outcome, if we want at least one ...” November 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a mayoral election, Candidate X received 1/3 . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Fun little shortcut: Reducing a value by 1/4 is the equivalent of multiplying it by1 - 1/4, or 3/4. Increasing a value by 1/3 is the equivalent of multiplying it by 1 + 1/3, or 4/3. If we multiply some value by 3/4 * 4/3, then we''re going to end up right back where we started.” November 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a mayoral election, Candidate X received 1/3 . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Candidate Z received 24,000 votes. If candidate Y received 1/4 fewer votes than Z, we know Y received (1/4)*24,000 = 6000 fewer votes, or 24,000 - 6000 = 18,000 votes. If X received 1/3 more votes than Y, then X received (1/3)* 18,000 = 6000 more votes than Y, or 18,000 + 6000 = 24,000 vote. ...” November 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of non-negative integer m? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statment 1: The only way m *( Positive Integer) < 1, given that m is nonnegative, is if m = 0. Sufficient. Statement 2: All this tells us is that m is even. m could be 2 or 4, etc. Because there are multiple possibilities, this statement alone is not sufficient. The answer is A” November 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If it takes 50 workers 8 hours to build . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Alternatively, the # of workers and # of hours worked will have a reciprocal relationship. (If we doubled the number of workers, they''d do the job in 1/2 the time, etc.) If we started with 50 workers, then 30 workers would mean we''d have 30/50 = 3/5 the number of workers. So 3/5 the number of ...” November 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If it takes 50 workers 8 hours to build . . . in the Problem Solving forum “If it takes 50 workers 8 hours to build a cabin, it takes a total of 50*8 = 400 worker-hours to complete the job. In other words, if # workers * # hours worked = 400, we''ve got ourselves a cabin. If there are 30 workers, we just need to solve 30 * # hours worked = 400 ---> # hours worked = ...” November 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Peter rolls two dice at the same time. What is . . . in the Problem Solving forum “You found the probability that Peter would roll two of one particular number. If, for example, we wanted the probability that Peter rolled two 1''s, you''d have been right. But he could have rolled two 2''s or two 3''s, etc. Put another way, the total number of possible outcomes is 6*6 = 36. ...” November 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the total income of a family per month is 6000 and. . . in the Problem Solving forum “You''d typically want to test the easiest possible scenario that satisfies the conditions of the problem. Here, the incomes could be 2000, 2000, 2000. And you''ve got 3 members. So you''re done. The answer is B However, this question should have been worded more precisely. If, for example, the ...” November 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Advice for 1 Month GMAT 2nd Try in the GMAT Strategy forum “The quickest way to make the jump from your current 690 to 720 is to add a few raw points on the verbal side of things. Very doable in a month. Here''s my verbal crash course: Read voraciously everyday for 10 days. (Anything challenging will do.) There''s research suggesting that the physiology ...” November 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Statistics. in the Problem Solving forum “Set A: -9, J, 3, 8, 10,. We know R is the median here; We''re dealing with a scenario in which J is negative, so 3, must be the median. If R^W is a factor of 34, then W must be 0, as 3 is itself not a factor of 34. Set B: -6, -2, 0, 5, 7, and T. If the mode of set B is W, and W = 0, then T ...” November 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The table above shows the number of days worked by... in the Problem Solving forum “Oddly, it only shows in the "preview" window before I type a response - I believe the site is having some technical problems.” November 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The arithmetic mean of four distinct integers is... in the Data Sufficiency forum “If the arithmetic mean of four integers is 30, then we know that those integers sum to 4*30 = 120. Statement 1 - Case 1: C” November 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Determining the authenticity of purported in the Critical Reasoning forum “There are two methods described for determining the age of the pre-Columbia artifacts. 1) assessing scratch patterns and 2) finding evidence of darkening So those techniques would be least helpful when such physical changes would be hard to detect on an object. D looks good. A black feather ...” November 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is k^2 + k – 2 > 0? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: k > 0 Pick easy numbers. Case 1: k = 1.$$ k^2 + k -2$$becomes$$1^2 + 1 - 2 = 0$$. So the expression is not greater than 0, and we have a NO. Case 2: k = 2;$$ k^2 + k -2$$becomes$$2^2 + 2 - 2 = 4$$The expression is greater than 0, and we have a YES. Statement 1 alone is ...” November 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How can I solve the equation? in the Problem Solving forum “Pick easy numbers. If x = 3 and y = 1, then (x-y)/x = (3-1)/3 = 2/3. The answer is D” November 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h represent any . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Notice that among the answer choices, only the units digit varies. So effectively, the question is asking us what a possible units digit is when we divide a 5-digit number ending in 9 by a 3-digit number ending in 7. Let''s say XXXX9/XX7 = q, where q is the quotient. Put another way XXXX9 = XX7 ...” November 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If the function f is defined for all x by f(x) = . . . in the Data Sufficiency forum “It''s helpful to think of functions in terms of inputs and outputs. For instance, f(3) is what we get when ''3'', our input, is plugged into some expression If$$f(x)=ax^2+bx-43$$then f(3) =$$a3^2+3b-43,$$= 9a + 3b - 43. Rephrase: what is the value of 9a + 3b - 43? Statement 1: If f(4) ...” November 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to There are 5 competitors in a race (John, mary and... in the Problem Solving forum “Well, if we assume that the outcomes are all random, then there are only 2 possibilities: Mary finishes ahead of John or John finishes ahead of Mary, so there''s a 1/2 chance that Mary finishes ahead of John. (Of course, if one of them is actually faster than the other, well that would create a bit ...” November 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In how many ways can the letters of word "EDUCATION&quo in the Problem Solving forum “First, link the vowels together and treat them as a single letter, so we have E-U-A-I-O as one letter and then four more: D, C, T, N, giving us a total of 5 "letters." The number of ways that we can arrange 5 letters is simply 5!. But now we can also change the order of our vowels. ...” November 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Given that a and b are positive, is the ratio a:b... in the Data Sufficiency forum “Rephrase the initial question: Is a/b > 5? Multiply both sides by ''b,'' to get "Is a > 5b?" (Note that we can do this because b is positive, and thus we know that the inequality sign doesn''t change.) 1) a > 5b + 3; Well if ''a'' is greater than 3 more than 5b, then it ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 2,600 has how many positive divisors? in the Problem Solving forum “Neat shortcut for finding the number of divisors of a given value. First, take the prime factorization of the number in question: 2600 = 26 * 100 = 2 * 13 * 2^2 * 5^2 = 2^3 * 5^2 * 13 Next, add one to the exponent of each prime base and multiply the results. (Note that 13 is the same as 13^1): ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following are/is prime? in the Problem Solving forum “Break the numbers down into more manageable/recognizable values. I: 143 = 130 + 13 --> clearly divisible by 13, as both 130 and 13 are multiples of 13, so 143 is not prime. II: 147 --> 1 + 4 + 7 = 12. If the sum of the digits of the number is a multiple of 3, then the number itself is a ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Kim purchased n items from a catalog for 8 each. in the Problem Solving forum “You could also pick an easy number. Say n = 5. If she bought 5 items for 8 each, she''ll spend 5*8 = 40. The first item carries a postage charge of 3. The other 4 carry a charge of 1 each for a total postage charge of 3 + 4 = 7 Total spent: 40 + 7 = 47. This is our target. Now just plug ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Kim purchased n items from a catalog for 8 each. in the Problem Solving forum “Cost of Items: If Kim purchases n items for 8 each, then she spends a total of 8n on those items. Postage and Handling: We know that the first item carries a charge of 3. If there are a total of n items purchased, after the first item, there will be an additional n -1 items. If the charge is ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Regular polygon X has r sides, and each vertex has... in the Problem Solving forum “If we want to find the maximum possible angle measure for the interior angles of Q, we first need to find the max possible angle measure for X, as Q will have 1/4 as many sides as X. Equation for finding the sum of all interior angles of a polygon with ''n'' sides: (n-2) * 180 Equation for ...” November 8, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Low IR score - Will it impact? in the Ask Admissionado forum “Alas, I don''t think anyone can answer this question with certainty. On the one hand, the IR score still doesn''t seem to be nearly as important as your quant/verbal scores, both in terms of what we see anecdotally from applicants, and in terms of how schools are ranked. (In fact, it seems to have ...” November 7, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In order to reduce classroom overcrowding in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a causality argument. The conclusion is that the online class caused the students to pass the statewide exam. In condensed form: Taking online class ---> pass exam One way to weaken the argument is to find an alternative cause that could account for why all the students in the ...” November 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Need advice for verbal - 610 Q50 V23 in the GMAT Strategy forum “Here''s my verbal crash course: - Read voraciously everyday for 10 days. (Anything challenging will do.) There''s research suggesting that the physiology of our brains changes when we read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/study-reading-a-novel-changes-your-brain/282952/ ...” November 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT tips for a beginner in the GMAT Strategy forum “The first thing you''ll want to do is take a practice test to get a benchmark - your starting position will help determine what kind of study plan might work best for you: https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/prepare-for-the-gmat-exam/test-prep-materials/free-gmat-prep-software.aspx Once you ...” November 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to is x/3 < x ? in the Data Sufficiency forum “A rephrase is helpful here. Start by multiplying both sides of the inequality in question by 3. " Is x/3 < x?", becomes Is x < 3x? Subtract ''x'' from both sides Is 0 < 2x? Divide both sides by 2 Is 0 < x? Statement 1: Well if x < 0, we know it''s not greater ...” November 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of q? in the Data Sufficiency forum “See here for another official question in which knowing the x-intercept formula is helpful: http://www.beatthegmat.com/in-the-xy-plane-a-line-has-slope-3-and-x-intercept-3-t292142.html” November 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of q? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Notice that ''q'' is the x-intercept - the value of x when y = 0, or when the line crosses the x-axis. If the equation of the line is y = ax + b, then we can find the algebraic expression for the x-intercept by setting y = 0 and solving for x. 0 = ax + b --> -b = ax ---> -b/a = x. ...” November 5, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 0 < a/b < 1 and 0 < a, what is the value of inte in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 Case 1: a =1 and b = 2. (the LCM of 2 and 5 is 10.) Case 2: a = 3 and b = 10 (the LCM of 5 and 10 is 10.) We can get more than one value for a, so this statement alone is not sufficient to answer the question. Statement 2: If a/b < 1, we know that if b = 2, a/2 < 1 and a ...” November 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the sum of the terms in a sequence of consecutive... in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: Clearly not sufficient. Case 1: {3, 6, 9} --> sum. = 18 Case 2: {3, 6, 9, 12, 15} --> sum = 45 Statement 2: We know that Sum = Average * Number Terms. If the Average = 0, then we have Sum = 0 * Number Terms = 0. So the Sum must be 0. We have a unique value. Sufficient. ...” November 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Airplanes A and B traveled the same 360-mile route... in the Problem Solving forum “Time and rate have a reciprocal relationship. For example, if you run twice as fast I do, you''d cover the same distance in 1/2 the time. If you ran 4/3 as fast as I did, you''d cover the same distance in 3/4 the time, etc. If plane B''s rate is 1/3 less than A''s rate, then B''s rate is 2/3 of ...” November 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Word problems in the Problem Solving forum “Not a bad one to back solve. Test C. Say Jack answered 10 questions incorrectly. This means he answered 10 questions correctly. Had he answer two more questions correctly, we''d have answered 12 questions correctly and 8 questions incorrectly, for a score of 12*4 + 8*(-2) = 48 - 16 = 32. But we know ...” November 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Probability in the Problem Solving forum “Total: There are 8 balls total. If we want to select 5, there are 8C5 = 8*7*6*5*4/5*4*3*2 = 56 total possible selections. Desired: We want to select 1 red ball from 2, so there''s 2C1 = 2 ways to select a red ball. We want to select 2 green balls from 3, so there''s 3C2 = 3 ways to select a ...” November 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Word problems in the Problem Solving forum “Say d = 100. After increasing by 40% the value of the investment = 100 + 40 = 140. Each of 20 friends will receive 140/20 = 7. Now plug 100 in for d and see what gives us 7. Only E works.” November 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the greatest value of x such that 5^x is a factor... in the Problem Solving forum “Effectively, we want the number of 5''s in the prime factorization of 25!. So, let''s examine all the multiples of 5 in 25! 5 ---> one 5 10 --> one 5 15---> one 5 20 ---> one 5 25 = 5^2 ---> two 5''s Add ''em up: and we''ve got 6 total. The answer is E” November 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to G(x) is the greatest integer less than or equal to x... in the Problem Solving forum “L(1.1): the smallest integer greater than or equal to 1.1 is 2 G(1.1): the greatest integer less than or equal to 1.1 is 1 If L(1.1) = 2 and G(1.1) = 1, then L(1.1) - G(1.1) = 2 -1 = 1. The answer is D” November 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x, y and z are positive integers, then... in the Problem Solving forum “Take the easiest possible case: x = 1, y = 1, and z = 1.$$x^2y^3z^4$$= 1.$$I.\ \ x^2+y^3+z^4$$--> 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. 1 is not divisible by 3. I is out.$$II.\ \ xy+xz$$--> 1 + 1 = 2. 1 is not divisible by 2. II is out.$$III.\ \ xyz+z$$--> 1 + 1 = 2. 1 is not divisible by 2. ...” November 1, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x/(x+y)=6 then . . . in the Problem Solving forum “You could pick some easy numbers. Say x = 6. Well, if x/(x+y) = 6, and x, the numerator, is 6, then the denominator will have to be 1, so y would have to be - 5, as 6 + (-5) = 1. Now take our values: x = 6 and y = -5 and plug them into y/(x+y) = -5/(6 + -5) = -5/1 = -5. The answer is A” October 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a certain rural town, 250 households contain... in the Data Sufficiency forum “Matrix! Notice that within this population of 250, everyone has a pet - either they''ve got a dog or a cat or both. So the No Cat/No Dog cell will be ''0.'' We''re also told that 75 homes don''t have a dog, so we know that all 75 of those homes must have a cat. Our initial matrix: ...” October 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If A = 10! + 12! + 14! + 16! +..........+100!... in the Problem Solving forum “This question isn''t terribly well-worded, but the gist seems to ask, if 2^n is a factor of the sum, what is the greatest possible value of n? First, we know that every term in the series contains 10! for example: 12! = 12*11*10!, and 14! = 14*13*12*11*10!, etc. So we can re-write the sum as ...” October 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a and b are integers, is ab divisible by 24? in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1: We''re told that a is a multiple of 12. If a = 12 and b = 1, then ab = 12, and NO, ab is not divisible by 24 If a = 24 and b =1, then ab = 24, and YES ab is divisible by 24 Not Sufficient Statement 2: We''re told that b is a multiple of 8. If a = 1 and b = 8, ab = 8, and NO ab is ...” October 31, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the greatest prime factor in the Problem Solving forum “Notice that (2^4)^2 - 1, can be written as 16^2 - 1^2. This is the difference of squares. So if x^2 - y^2 = (x+y(x-y), then 16^2 - 1^2 = (16 + 1)(16 -1) = 17*15 = 17*5*3. So the largest prime factor is 17. The answer is D” October 30, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following most logically completes the argument in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: salt not necessarily culprit for high blood pressure Premises: people in rain-forest communities eat low-salt diet, don''t have high blood pressure. When they move to cities and eat high salt diets, they develop high blood pressure. This is a causal argument. We''re trying to debunk ...” October 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In how many ways can you sit 8 people on a bench if 3 of the in the Problem Solving forum “This question could have been worded a little more clearly, but we''ll take it to mean that there''s enough room for all 8 people on the bench and that the 3 who wish to sit together does not change from scenario to scenario. Call the people A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. Say A, B, and C insist on ...” October 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many strings of 6 letters can be made... in the Problem Solving forum “Number of ways we can make a 6-letter code using only A, B, and C: Well, we have 6 letters we need to select. For each selection, we''ll have 3 options. So the number of codes we can make would be 3 * 3 * 3 * 3 * 3 * 3 = 3^6. If we wish to make a 6-letter code using only D, E, and F, the math ...” October 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How to increase verbal from v34 to v40+? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Here''s my verbal crash course: - Read voraciously everyday for 10 days. (Anything challenging will do.) There''s research suggesting that the physiology of our brains changes when we read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/study-reading-a-novel-changes-your-brain/282952/ ...” October 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mr. Goldstein decides to buy a new car... in the Problem Solving forum “10% of 45,500 = 4550. 20% of 45,500 = 4550*2 = 9100 So if we''re getting a 20% discount, the new cost would be 45,500 - 9100 = 36,400. This is taxed at 5%. 5% of 36,400 = 1820. (10% of 36,400 = 3640, so 5% is half of this value.) The answer is D” October 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In year X, 12.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product... in the Data Sufficiency forum “Call the GDP in Year X: ''G''. Year X: .122G comes from tourism-related activities Previous Year: .126G comes from tourism-related activities Rephrase: What is the value of G? S1: .122G = .126G - 12; Clearly we can solve this for G - Sufficient. S2: This tells us that G = 3 billion - ...” October 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many trailing Zeroes does 53! + 54! have? in the Problem Solving forum “I''d use the exact same logic Jay employed here. Here''s a neat shortcut you can use, once you know you''re looking for the number of 5''s in the prime factorization of 53! * 5 * 11: Number of terms in 53! with at least one five in its prime factorization:: 53/5 = 10 + 3/5, so there are 10 ...” October 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Steve traveled the first 2 hours of his journey at 40 mph... in the Problem Solving forum “Total time = 2 + 3 = 5 hours. Next, find the total distance First part of trip: 2*40 = 80 miles Second part of trip 3*80 = 240 miles Total Distance = 80 + 240 = 320 miles. Average Speed = Total Distance/Total Time = 320/5 = 64 The answer is D. .” October 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The wages earned by Robin is 30% more than... in the Problem Solving forum “Let''s say Erica earned 100. If Robin earned 30% more than Erica, then Robin earned 130. If Charles earned 60% more than Erica, then Charles earned 160 Effectively, we want to know the percent increase from 130 to 160; plug and chug into our trusty %-change formula: (New-Old)/Old * 100, and ...” October 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Salt Water Pools in the Critical Reasoning forum “Sure. You''re absolutely right that a pool could be both more expensive to install and less expensive to maintain. There''s no contradiction there. But the more salient point, so far as we''re concerned, is that the bolded assertion regarding costs is unrelated to the bolded assertions regarding ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The ratio of water and ammonia in the Data Sufficiency forum “Solution A water: 1x ammonia: 4x total: 5x. So A is 1/x/5x = 20% water Solution B water: 3y ammonia: y total: 4y. So B is 3y/4y = 75% water (Notice that if we had equal amounts of A and B, the percentage of water in our overall solution would be exactly halfway between 20 and ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Music industry executives in the Critical Reasoning forum “B doesn''t work because we''re told that sales increased after file-sharing became more popular. The fact that people using file-sharing networks had purchased a lot of music in the past doesn''t tell us how file-sharing could have contributed to an increase in sales going forward.” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain company has 255 employees. If an employee is to be in the Data Sufficiency forum “1/2 of 255 is 127.5. Rephrased question :Among the 255 employees, are there fewer than 128 women with a college degree? 1) If 130 employees do not have a college degree, then the other 125 employees do have a degree. So the maximum number of women with a college degree is 125, which is less ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Advice needed - Apply with 610 or try harder? in the I just Beat The GMAT! forum “Well, if you want to avoid 3rd party CATs, here''s what I''d suggest. When you reset the GMATPrep exams, diligently do the following 1) Any time you see a repeat question, allow a full two minutes to tick off, even if you think you''d solve a similar problem quickly 2) If you''re not 100% ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to It is illegal to advertise prescription medications in Hedla in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Inappropriate prescriptions will not become more common Premises: A proposed law will allow general ads for prescription meds - opponents fear the new law will lead to inappropriate prescriptions, as general public lacks expertise - physicians have final say about prescriptions ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many different subsets of the set {10, 14, 17, 24} are t in the Problem Solving forum “There''s only two ways that a subset can contain an odd number of elements here (assuming that each element can only be selected once): if the set contains 1 element and if the set contains 3 elements. 1 element sets: {10}, {14},{17}, {24} ---> 4 sets 3 elements sets: {10, 14, 17}, {10, 14, ...” October 24, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Father's age is 1 less than twice the son's age in the Data Sufficiency forum “Side note: Ideally, you''d like to be able to prove whether a statement is sufficient. If you can''t, and you have a scenario similar to the one we see here, in which statement 2 is clearly not sufficient on its own, and statement 1 so complex that you feel you need to guess, supposing that the ...” October 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If Father's age is 1 less than twice the son's age in the Data Sufficiency forum “Son''s Age: S Father''s Age: 2S - 1 Statement 1: If the digits of the father''s age are the reverse of the digits of the son''s age, then we can call the father''s age: 10m + n and the son''s age 10n +m. Notice that the difference of their ages would be 10m + n - (10n +m) = 9m - 9n = 9(m -n) = ...” October 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Guillemots are birds of Arctic regions in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: If warming continues, guillemots'' range will be enlarged. Premises: Guillemots feed on fish beneath frozen ice Need 80-consecutive snow-free days to raise chicks; range previously limited to Southern Arctic We''re trying to weaken the conclusion that the guillemots'' range will ...” October 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to It costs g cents a mile for gasoline and m cents a mile for in the Problem Solving forum “Gasoline cost: g cents/mile for 100 miles = 100g cents Other costs: m cents/mile for 100 miles = 100m cents Total cost: (100g + 100m) cents, or g + m dollars. (There are 100 cents in 1 dollar) The answer is C.” October 23, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A telecom company charges in the following manner each call in the Problem Solving forum “Cost for first 3 minutes: .50 Cost for next 15 minutes (Three 5-minute intervals): .20*3 = .60 Cost for remaining 32 minutes: .02 * 32 = .64 Total Cost for 50 minutes: .50 + .60 + .64 = 1.74 Answer is D” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When a is divided by b the remainder... in the Problem Solving forum “Rule: The remainder must be less than the divisor. If a/b yields a remainder of 13, then b, the divisor, must be greater than 13. So the smallest possible value of b is 14. If c/d yields a remainder of 12, then d, the divisor, must be great than 12. So the smallest possible value of d is 13. ...” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If X is the set of prime... in the Problem Solving forum “Set X D” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to How many positive integers... in the Problem Solving forum “If an integer isn''t divisible by any even numbers, then this integer must be odd. So the question is just asking how many odd values there are between 1 and 100, inclusive. The answer is E, 50.” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is z an integer? in the Data Sufficiency forum “S1: We can set z/3 equal to any integer. Case 1: z/3 = 1; z = 3. That''s an integer, so YES Case 2: z/3 = 2; z = 6; Again an integer, so YES. No matter what we pick, we''ll get a YES. More abstractly, if z/3 = integer, then z = 3* integer; 3 multiplied by an integer will always yield an integer ...” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG 18, question-364 in the GMAT Math forum “S1: pick some numbers in the range Case 1: x = -1/2; If {-1/2] denotes the least integer greater than or equal to -1/2, then {-1/2] would be 0. So we get a YES. (Effectively, if x isn''t an integer, we''re just rounding up to the closest integer.) Case 2: x = 1/2; If {1/2] denotes the least ...” October 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If m and n are positive integers... in the Data Sufficiency forum “S1: Pick some easy numbers If m = 1, then n > 16 Case 1: m =1 and n = 17. √ (17-1) = √ 16 = 4; YES, we have an integer Case 2: m =1 and n = 18. √ (18-1) = √ 17, NO, we don''t have an integer. S1 alone is not sufficient. S2: n = m^2 + m. so √ (n - m) = √( m^2 + m - m) = √ ...” October 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG 18, question-211 in the Problem Solving forum “A popular Q-Type. See here for another good example: http://www.beatthegmat.com/statistics-problem-2-median-t62108.html” October 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Advice needed - Apply with 610 or try harder? in the I just Beat The GMAT! forum “There''s really no reason not to give the test another shot. You noted that you had to rush through the last 5-6 questions of each section, and the fact that quant felt easier than your earlier exams virtually guarantees that you made some careless mistakes on some questions that the algorithm ...” October 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Simplify$$(4^y+4^y+4^y+4^y)\cdot(3^y+3^y+3^y)$$in the Problem Solving forum “4^y + 4^y + 4^y + 4^y = 4 * 4^y = 4^(y+1) 3^y + 3^y + 3^y = 3 * 3^y = 3^(y + 1) 4^(y+1) * 3^(y+1) = 12^(y+1) The answer is B” October 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Ringtail opossums are an Australian wildlife species in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conservationists'' conclusion: ringtail opossums are endangered by non-native predator species the opossums haven''t developed natural defenses against Premise: 75% of opossums raised in captivity and returned to the wild were killed by foxes, which are not native to Australia. Notice the ...” October 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re looking for an answer choice that shows how tax policy can induce people to increase their savings. E is the only answer choice that even mentions savings! Everything else is outside the scope of what we''re looking for.” October 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to United Lumber will use trees from its forests in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re trying to determine what is true based on the facts provided in the argument. The argument summarized: Cost of conversion - same at logging site and at factory; wood chips occupy less than half the volume of the branches A doesn''t have to be true. Why would the wood-chipping machine ...” October 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Traditionally, candidates for elected offices have concentra in the Critical Reasoning forum “The conclusion: candidates should forgo early spending and save the money for TV ads late in the campaign Premise: Polls revealed that races can be decided in the days before the election Try negation. The correct answer, when negated, will undermine the argument. E negated: The losing ...” October 17, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 7 < m < 11 and −2 < n < 5 in the Problem Solving forum “Using the above ranges, it''s possible that m = 10.99999 and that n = -1.99999. If we multiply a number slightly less than 11 and a number slightly greater than -2, we''ll get a product that is slightly greater than -22. This is why -22 marks the lower bound of the interval.” October 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a sequence a1,a2,a3,… in the Problem Solving forum “First find the pattern: A1 = 2 A2 = -2 + 1 = -1 A3 = -(-1) + 1 = 2 A4 = -1 So our sequence looks like this: 2, -1, 2, -1, 2... All the ODD terms = 2. # of ODD terms from A1 - A99 = 50. So 50 terms equal to 2 will give us 2*50 = 100. All the EVEN terms = -1. # EVEN terms from A2 - A98 = 49. ...” October 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of n in the list above? in the Data Sufficiency forum “S1: Clearly not sufficient. n could be 13 or 14 or 100, etc. S2: If there are an odd number of elements, the median is the middle term, meaning the median has to be present in the set. In this set, there are 5 elements, so the median must be in the set, and must be the third term when the values ...” October 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Set X consists of all two-digit primes and set Y in the Problem Solving forum “Smallest two-digit prime: 11 Largest two-digit prime: 97 Smallest positive ODD multiple of 5: 5 Largest ODD multiple of 5 (under 100): 95 In the combined set - Largest value: 97 Smallest value: 5 Range: 97-5 = 92; The answer is D” October 16, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to percent, interest and word problems in the Problem Solving forum “200% of$200 is $400, so if her investment increased by$400, her investment will be worth $600 in 7 year. Put another way, her investment is tripling every 7years. So in 7 more years, she''ll have 600*3 =$1800. And in 14 years, she''ll have have 1800*3 = 5400. Well, if she''s gone from $600 ...” October 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to root in the Problem Solving forum “99^2 = (100-1)^2 = 100^2 - 200 + 1 = 10^4 -200 + 1 101^2 = (100+1)^2 = 100^2 + 200 + 1 = 10^4 + 200 + 1 So 99^2 + 100^2 = 10^4 - 200 + 1 + 10^4 + 200 + 1 = 2*10^4 + 2 And D” October 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Remainder in the Problem Solving forum “Call the integers that give a remainder of 3 when divided by 16: 16x + 3 Smallest number in the range that gives a remainder of 3 when divided by 16: 3; (when x = 0) Largest number in the range that gives a remainder of 3 when divided by 16: 995; (when x = 62) note: it''s easy to see that ...” October 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Arithmetic- roots in the Problem Solving forum “√98 = √49 * √2 =. 7√2 √72 = √36 * √2 =. 6√2 √98+√72 = 7√2 + 6√2 = 13√2 = √(2 * 13^2) = √(2 * 169) =√338. The answer is D” October 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to speed/distance in the Problem Solving forum “Rate and Time have a reciprocal relationship, so if someone walks at 3/4 their normal speed, they''ll take 4/3 as much time as they typically do. If Mike took 16 minutes longer than he typically does, and he typically takes T minutes, then we know that T + 16 = (4/3)T, and T = 48. The answer is B.” October 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG All the cells in a particular plant in the Reading Comprehension forum “The second and third sentences of the first paragraph: How then can these cells differentiate and form structures as different as roots, stems, leaves, and fruits? The answer is that only a small subset of the genes in a particular kind of cell are expressed, or turned on, at a given time. The ...” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG All the cells in a particular plant in the Reading Comprehension forum “The first line of paragraph 3: The pleiotropy of the five well-studied plant hormones is somewhat analogous to that of certain hormones in animal. We then get a discussion of hypothalamic hormones in animals. The answer is D” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG All the cells in a particular plant in the Reading Comprehension forum “In paragraph 2, we get this sentence about plant hormones: The five have so many simultaneous effects that they are not very useful in artificially controlling the growth of crops. The answer is B” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to RC questions in GMAT Prep - are they realistic? in the Reading Comprehension forum “The passages you see in the GMATPrep software are retired passages from old GMAT exams, so yes, they are representative of the kinds and difficulty levels of passages you''re likely to encounter on the test.” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to job-related accidents in the Critical Reasoning forum “You''re right that the answer choice doesn''t specify that Company reports one type of injury as a job-related accident, but it does say that P specifies more types of injury as job-related accidents than O does. So I used at example in which P had 2 types of job-related injuries and O just had 1, ...” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the in the Problem Solving forum “I''m making an official request that we all make a more concerted effort to make more GMAT-Misfit connections on these boards :)” October 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A real estate developer in Florida in the Critical Reasoning forum “The Plan to protect high-rise from hurricanes: Plant sea oats to encourage the development of sand dunes between the water and the building. If we''re trying to weaken this plan, we''re looking for an answer choice that suggests that dunes will not protect the building in the event of a ...” October 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Many people blame hunters in the Critical Reasoning forum “"Circumstances" is a pretty open-ended term, so I wouldn''t waste much energy trying to determine if a bolded portion should be labeled this way, but sure, circumstances can be a kind of evidence. (Think of the phrase ''circumstantial evidence.'')” October 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In a certain economy, C represents the total amount of con in the Problem Solving forum “Say the initial consumption was 0. We can find the initial national income by solving 0 = 90 + 9y/11; and y = -110 If the new consumption is 99, we can find the new national income by solving 99 = 90 + 9y/11; now y = 11 So the national income increased from -110 to 11, for a net increase of 121. ...” October 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG 38 in the Sentence Correction forum “E in its entirety: Bengal - born writer, philosopher, and educator Rabindranath Tagore had the greatest admiration of Mohandas K.Gandhi not only as a person and as a politician, but Tagore had also been skeptical of Gandhi''s form of nationalism and his conservative opinions about India''s cultural ...” October 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Address the concern in the Critical Reasoning forum “The health advocates are worried that patients, after seeing these commercials, will demand medications that are inappropriate for them. If doctors aren''t susceptible to pressure from patients, that''s a good thing! It means that when a patient a demands medication X, and the doctor knows that ...” October 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The climbing season of 2006 in the Critical Reasoning forum “The scenario: 2006 was the deadliest climbing season on record for Mount Everest; more people attempted to reach the summit than in any other year; most deaths occurred above 26,000 feet; the weather was exceptionally good We''re trying to explain how the good weather could have accounted for the ...” October 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction in the Reading Comprehension forum “B is wrong because the passage isn''t about what''s causing the extinctions. (No mentioned of meteorites or climate change, etc.) Rather, it''s about how the rate of extinction changes over time and spikes during major events. ''Historical occurrence'' simply refers to something that happened in ...” October 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction in the Reading Comprehension forum “The correct answer doesn''t have to capture the gist of the entire passage. Rather, it''s best to simply go through the answer choices one by one and find one that has textual support somewhere. In the last paragraph we could these two sentences: 1) Since life began on Earth, the five major mass ...” October 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction in the Reading Comprehension forum “There will always be textual evidence to support the correct answer for this kind of question. In the first sentence of paragraph 2, we see this clause: extinction occurs at a very uneven rate. This notion is best encapsulated in D.” October 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The recent construction of the chemical plant in the Critical Reasoning forum “There''s no reason to assume that the chemical plant in Lake Blue is the only source of toxidil in the world. If there are other plants in other parts of the world that produce the pollutant, the conclusion could still hold, provided that the people near Lake Blue were eating the contaminated fish.” October 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The recent construction of the chemical plant in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Population in vicinity of Lake Blue will suffer health problems. Premise: Toxidil in water; plants absorb; fish eat plants; If humans eat fish they get sick Notice that the last piece of the premise is conditional. We don''t know that humans will eat the fish. We just know that ...” October 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to weakening argument in the Critical Reasoning forum “The conclusion: unemployed people will have no financial incentive to accept jobs that entitle them to the government supplement. The premise:$ received from unemployment benefits = $received from job + supplement We''re trying to weaken the conclusion that unemployed people won''t bother to ...” October 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Sviatovin is a medieval Moringian text whose author and exac in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: The Sviatovin was written between 1165 and 1167 Premises: - text describes events from 1165 - diagram with text identifies his father as living; the father died in 1167 Because this is an assumption question we can try negation - the correct answer, when negated, will undermine ...” October 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Assumption in the Critical Reasoning forum “Try negation: the correct answer, when negated, should undermine the argument. ''A'' negated: Of all the drivers and front-seat passengers in the survey, NO more than 20 percent were wearing seat belts at the time of their accidents. If no more than 20% of accident victims were wearing ...” October 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Bold face CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “Can you repost this with the proper sections bolded? :)” October 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Strengthen in the Critical Reasoning forum “The farmers'' plan: to increase production by using techniques for water conservation Premise: Many areas have encountered water scarcity problems The biggest question we should have for these farmers is: do they need to improve water conservation? Sure, many areas have encountered water ...” October 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Preparation guide for starters in the Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting forum “Are you asking about a guide for help with GMAT prep, or one for help with applications?” October 9, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Working alone, Manuel finishes cleaning in the Problem Solving forum “Two important points to remember when solving work problems 1) rates are additive. If your rate is ''x'' and my rate is ''y'' our combined rate is x + y 2) rate and time have a reciprocal relationship. If you can do a job twice as fast as I can, you can do it in 1/2 the time. If Manuel can ...” October 6, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The most economically efficient way to reduce emissions in the Critical Reasoning forum “Pay close to attention to details in the language: Policy makers in Country Y oppose all new taxes equally strongly, regardless of any benefits they may provide. They oppose all new taxes equally? So they''re just as opposed to taxes on liquor as taxes on, say, diapers? How could we possibly ...” October 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A collection of books went on sale. . . . in the Problem Solving forum “Yep. If 36 is 1/3 of the total, then 2/3 of the total would be double 36, or 72. So we want 72* 2.50. Well, 72*2 is 144, so we know the answer is more than that. Has to be A” October 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A school has a total enrollment of 90 students in the Problem Solving forum “The students taking physics or English can be placed in 3 categories: physics only/English only/both physics and English If 30 students take physics and 13 take both physics and English, then 30-13 = 17 take only physics. If 25 students take English and 13 take both physics and English, then ...” October 4, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Many people blame hunters in the Critical Reasoning forum “Strictly speaking, there''s not much difference between a conclusion and a judgment. Both can be some type of belief or opinion. In this instance, the judgment is a belief expressed by entities within the argument (many people), and the conclusion (bears played an important role) is the opinion of ...” October 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A large number of customers will pay in the Critical Reasoning forum “If we don''t consider the manager''s concern, the plan is still a good one if more customers are inclined to come into the coffee shop in response to the new policy. If the shop is making large profits on pastries and it''s not losing money on coffee as a result of this new plan, wouldn''t that ...” October 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the in the Problem Solving forum “(Worth noting that 11^2 + 4^2 + 1^2 would also get us to 138, but because 11 + 4 + 1 = 16 isn''t an option, we can discard this possibility without testing to see if the second condition would be met.)” October 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the in the Problem Solving forum “This is kind of an odd question. You could mix and match perfect squares until you find numbers that work. 8^2 + 7^2 + 5^2 = 64 + 49 + 25 = 138. There''s actually no reason to use the second piece of information here (which could have been worded a bit more clearly), but if we took 8, 7, and 5, ...” October 3, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to job-related accidents in the Critical Reasoning forum “Imagine that we have two types of accidents: 1) Dropping a stapler on your foot and 2) Slipping on the tile in the bathroom Let''s say the stats for the two companies look like this Company O: 20 employees drop a stapler on their foot; 30 employees slip in the bathroom Company P: 20 ...” October 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Many people blame hunters in the Critical Reasoning forum “Well, a finding would be some kind of fact or premise. The notion that black bears are responsible for the decrease in the deer population is an alternative that''s informed by two facts. 1) The black bear population is up 2) black bears feed on deer The author isn''t trying to explain those ...” October 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG 11 Question in the Critical Reasoning forum “There''s no contradiction in claiming that something "often" happens and then pointing out an instance in which the phenomenon did not occur. Imagine you''re an archaeologist. You find pottery that''s 4500 years old. It''s stylistically different from what came before. Moreover, the new ...” October 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A certain mayor has proposed a fee of five dollars per day in the Critical Reasoning forum “A cause and effect argument will typically involve an observed correlation between two elements. This observation will lead to the conclusion that one of the aforementioned elements is causing the other. In this argument, we have a plan predicated on logic (commuters avoid the bus because of cost), ...” October 2, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Many people blame hunters in the Critical Reasoning forum “The judgment is the first line: the notion that hunters are to blame for the drop in the deer population. Some common terms often use to identify components of a "Role of Bold" question: opinion/conclusion/position/prediction/belief and premise/evidence/conditions/support. That list ...” September 29, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Noble Sissle in the Sentence Correction forum “The sentence begins with "while," which is a subordinating conjunction. If I write, Tim is in my class, I have never spoken to him. I have two independent clauses joined by a comma, and thus have a run-on sentence or comma splice. If, however, I start the sentence with a subordinating ...” September 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Critical reasoning in the Critical Reasoning forum “This is a causal argument. The claim is that cleaner water ---> decreased diagnoses of intestinal disease. One way to weaken a causal argument is to introduce a different cause. This is what C gives us. If new diagnostic test ---> decreased diagnoses of intestinal disease, then it isn''t ...” September 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If x y and z are positive is xz = 7xy ? in the Data Sufficiency forum “You made that substitution into a question. So what you have is the rephrased question: "Is z = 7y?" When you''re looking at statement 2 alone, you have no information about z, so there''s no way you could know this. If y = 1, and z = 7, the answer would be YES, z = 7y; but if y = 1 and z ...” September 28, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Conodonts, the spiky phosphatic remains in the Reading Comprehension forum “The key is this sentence in the third paragraph: The lack of any mineralized structures apart from the elements in the mouth indicates that conodonts were more primitive than the armored jawless fishes such as the ostracoderms. If the conodonts were primitive than the ostracoderms, then the ...” September 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Conodonts, the spiky phosphatic remains in the Reading Comprehension forum “The second paragraph first gives us the traditional belief. The structural clue that we''re going to get a competing belief is the transition, "however." However, other paleontologists argued So we''re getting two sides of an argument. The answer is E” September 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Conodonts, the spiky phosphatic remains in the Reading Comprehension forum “In the second paragraph we''re first given what the traditionalists believe: Thus, traditionalists argued, these animals developed coverings of bony scales or plates, and teeth were secondary features In other words, scales or plates came before teeth. The discovery of the conodonts undermined ...” September 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Conodonts, the spiky phosphatic remains in the Reading Comprehension forum “The gist is of this passage is that there''s a debate between two camps regarding the evolution of vertebrates. The traditionalists believe that bony scales (protection) came first. The alternative view is that teeth (predation) came. The new discovery favors the teeth (predation) hypothesis. ...” September 27, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep QP1 : Sol Citrus, a small orchard that produces in the Critical Reasoning forum “The scenario: Sol Citrus sells organic/ more expensive fruit Mega Citrus sells non-organic cheaper fruit Why might Sol Citrus continue to dominate the market? Well, the choice is between cost-savings (Mega Citrus) and getting organic produce (Sol Citrus.) If consumers care enough about ...” September 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Strengthen CR in the Critical Reasoning forum “The pilot''s argument is that crash-avoidance systems should not be implemented until they''re fully tested. Essentially, in the argument between using old fully-tested systems and newer untested systems, the pilots prefer the former. The question of whether crashes are caused by exhausted pilots ...” September 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Urgent: Doubt related to verbal ques difficulty leve in the GMAT Strategy forum “This is a good question. I wish there were an easy answer. First, while the test is adaptive in the sense that if you''re doing well the questions will generally get more difficult, it''s not going to feel perfectly linear. In other words, it''s not strictly true that If you get the first five ...” September 26, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Got 610 in GMATPrep; GMAT after 10 days. What to do? in the GMAT Strategy forum “Here''s my verbal crash course: - Read voraciously everyday for 10 days. (Anything challenging will do.) There''s research suggesting that the physiology of our brains changes when we read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/study-reading-a-novel-changes-your-brain/282952/ ...” September 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If 25% of a company's employees are in the Data Sufficiency forum “Set up your double-set matrix and designate the total ''T.'' We''ll start with this: https://s26.postimg.org/4bpkgbs2t/Screen_Shot_2017-09-25_at_10.10.07_AM.png Statement 1 tell us that half of the women are 30 or younger. Well, that means there are the same number of women 30 or younger as ...” September 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep Book in the Ask a Veritas Prep representative forum “Try here: https://www.amazon.com/Veritas-Critical-Reasoning-Version-2012-1/dp/B00OWIOMAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506347250&sr=8-2&keywords=veritas+prep+critical+reasoning If that doesn''t work, PM me, and we''ll figure out an alternative.” September 25, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A pizza with diameter of 12 inches is split into 8 equally s in the Problem Solving forum “If the diameter is 12, the full circumference of the circle would be 12π. Because half the pieces are removed, half the circumference remains, so we''ve got 6π. We''ve got four slices left, and the length of each edge of a slice will be the radius, or 6. Each of the 4 slices has two edges, ...” September 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When limitations were in effect . . . in the Critical Reasoning forum “Or use negation: the correct answer, when negated, should undermine the argument. C negated: people’s perception of the threat of nuclear catastrophe DOESN''T depend on the amount of nuclear -arms testing being done Well, if there''s no link between the perceived threat of nuclear ...” September 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to When limitations were in effect . . . in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe decreases people''s willingness to save Premise: When arms testing increases people save less So we''re assuming a link between arms-testing and the perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe. This is what C gives us.” September 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which one of the following most accurately . . . in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re told that the auto industry resisted regulation in 1970 (despite the fact that technology existed that allowed automakers to adhere to the new standards) We''re also told that the auto industry resists regulation currently. So we''ve got a comparison between their current position ...” September 20, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mooreville’s subway in the Critical Reasoning forum “We have to take the language of the answer choice at face value. All we know is that the bus routes connect to the train routes - we don''t know that they travel along similar paths. Moreover, we don''t know that train commuters would use these additional bus trips as substitutes for train trips. ...” September 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The country of Ertland has never imported apples in the Critical Reasoning forum “Plan: Kosolia wants to sell its apples to Ertland at a reduced cost. The hope is that the price will offset the advantage that Ertland''s local growers have: the people of Ertland prefer the taste and texture of their domestic apples. C is at best irrelevant. The fact that Ertland has exported ...” September 19, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Archie, Betty and Coach bought a radio. Archie paid the leas in the Problem Solving forum “You can think of it like that. Because we know that the total hasn''t changed, we can either rewrite "6A + 70" for the second total, as I did, or you can sum up the expressions and set the new total of 7A + 50 equal to the original 6A + 70. Ultimately, you''re doing the same thing - ...” September 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Archie, Betty and Coach bought a radio. Archie paid the leas in the Problem Solving forum “If Coach paid twice as much as Archie, and we designate Archie as ''A'' then Coach is ''2A.'' We know that Archie paid 70 less than the difference between Betty and Coach, so we know that A = Betty - 2A - 70 Or Betty = 3A + 70 Now we have everyone in terms of ''A.'' Archie: A Betty: 3A + ...” September 18, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Public health will improve more quickly in the wake. . . in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Public health will improve more quickly if researchers alert media about new discoveries before publishing in peer-reviewed journals Premise: Peer-review process is slow Try negation here. The correct answer, when negated, should undermine the argument. C negated: People would ...” September 15, 2017 September 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Veritas Prep CAT in the GMAT Strategy forum “The questions from the Question Bank and the CAT are distinct. Let us know how you make out!” September 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Time speed and distance in the Data Sufficiency forum “This question appears to be missing some important facets, such as answer choices, and, well, a question. I''m assuming the question is supposed to be "How long does it take A to run one kilometer?"” September 15, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In Gandania in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Gandania cannot afford to implement anti-smoking regulation Premises: Gandania gets 10% of its revenue from tobacco sales; smoking-related health problems have risen If we''re trying to weaken the conclusion, we want to show that Gandania can afford the regulation. Well, if the ...” September 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to One variety of partially biodegradable plastic beverage cont in the Critical Reasoning forum “First, we''re trying to show that the partially biodegradable container produces no less plastic when it''s discarded, not when it''s produced, so D is outside the scope. Moreover, the point of the argument is that the biodegradable container is no better than the alternative, whereas D does the ...” September 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to No Preparation for IR Yet -- 5 days to exam in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum “See here for a nice little IR primer/crash course: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/integrated-reasoning-sample-questions/” September 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If y is 80% greater than x, than x is what % less than y? in the Problem Solving forum “We could pick a simple number for x. Say x = 100. If y is 80% greater, y = 180. Now we want to know how much less 100 is than 180. If we plug our values into our trusty % change = (New-Old)/Old * 100 formula, we get (180-100)/180 = 80/180 = (4/9) * 100 = 44.44%. The answer is D (And once we ...” September 14, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Fact 1 & 2 in the Critical Reasoning forum “We''re trying to reconcile two facts: 1) people remember fewer brand names from commercials; 2) people are more likely to remember the brand name from the first and last commercial than they are for one somewhere in the middle of a string. So imagine a simple scenario. Say you had three ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In New Zealand, the grape is a long-established crop, bu in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum “The second question asks us to project the income for grapes at the end of year 12, assuming that income would grow at the same rate it had from years 8 to 11. So we''re tracking those white circles now. In Year 8, it looks like the income for grapes was around -$7000. In Year 11 it looks to be ...”
September 13, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In New Zealand, the grape is a long-established crop, bu in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum
“The first question asks us to find when the cumulative income for truffles was at its lowest level. So we''re tracking those black squares. The lowest level appears to be at about -$35,000 at the end of Year 5.” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep: A farm used two harvesting in the Problem Solving forum “You might find this post helpful: https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2016/05/gmat-rate-questions-tackling-problems-with-multiple-components/” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep: A farm used two harvesting in the Problem Solving forum “Let''s call K''s rate ''k'' and H''s rate ''h.'' We know h = 40 acres/8 hours = 5 acres/hour. If h does 40 acres on its own, then there are 60 acres left to do. If those 60 acres are completed by both machines in 5 hours, then the combined rate is 60 acres/5 hours = 12 acres hour. Because ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to In 1986, the city of Los Diablos had 20 days ... in the Critical Reasoning forum “The key here, as it often is with CR questions, is detail in the language. B: In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented. Well, that''s interesting that . more accurate spectrometer was invented. Was it actually used? We don''t know. Maybe post-invention there''s ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The World Health Organization (WHO) has produced a comprehen in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum “Consider an individual boy from a model population. Suppose that from age 2 through age 5, this boy''s weight is at the 50th percentile for his height and his height is at the 50th percentile for his age. Which one of the following statements must be true of the boy at age 5 years 0 months? A) ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMATPrep QP1 : Officials at the United States Mint believe in the Sentence Correction forum “One split: we have a choice between "than the dollar bill" and "than for the dollar bill." If we write, "The Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill," then, at best, there''s an ambiguity. It could mean that the ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Machine A and B in the Problem Solving forum “Another approach. If Machine A has worked for 8 hours, and it takes Machine A 24 hours to complete the job, it would take Machine A an additional 16 hours to finish the job alone. Rate and Time have a reciprocal relationship. If B''s rate is 2/3 of A''s rate, then it would take B 3/2 of A''s Time ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Machine A and B in the Problem Solving forum “If machine A can complete the job in 24 hours, and it works for 8 hours, then it has completed 8/24 or 1/3 of the job, leaving 2/3 of the job for B to complete. If Machine A''s rate was 1 job/24 hours, or 1/24, and B''s rate is 2/3 of this, then B''s rate is (2/3) * (1/24) = 1/36. If Machine ...” September 13, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Santa Clara island is home to a large. . . in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Spanish settlers introduced horses to Santa Clara island. Premises: Spanish settlers arrived in 1650, there continuously until 1740. Horse bones were found dating to early 1700''s. We want a question whose answer will shed definitive light on the conclusion, either that it was ...” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Which of the following most ... in the Critical Reasoning forum “We have three associations here: volunteering --> endorphin release endorphin release ---> longevity volunteering ---> longevity We''re asked why it might be the case that those who volunteer might, on average, live longer, than those who don''t, even if the volunteering itself ...” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to A marketing expert in the Critical Reasoning forum “Do you mind reposting this with the bolded portions bolded? :)” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to People who have a college degree tend to live in the Critical Reasoning forum “We know that people who attended college live longer. We''re told that the reason for this is that people who attended college have healthy life-styles. Well, the only way this could account for the discrepancy between the lifespan of college grads and the lifespan of non-grads is if non-grads ...” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The function f is defined for each positive three-digit inte in the Problem Solving forum “Would you mind reposting this one with some clearer formatting?” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to On days 1 through 4 of a recent week, product X was out of s in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum “For the second question, let''s say there were 10 shoppers there on Day 1. We''ll say that the item in question costs$1, so if all 10 bought the item, they''d have paid a total of $10. We know that 60% purchased a separate item, so 6 of the 10 purchased a substitute item. We also know that those ...” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to On days 1 through 4 of a recent week, product X was out of s in the GMAT Integrated Reasoning forum “For the first question, we''re trying to determine what % of the shoppers from the first day, returned on the third. Well, we know from the bar graph that only 25% of the shoppers returned on Day 2, and 75% didn''t come back at all that week. Of the 25% who returned on Day 2, 19% came back on ...” September 12, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The average hourly wage of television assemblers in Vernland in the Critical Reasoning forum “Alternatively, you could do the negation test. The correct answer to an Assumption question, when negated, will undermine the argument. C negated: The average number of hours it takes a Borodian television assembler to assemble a television HAS decreased significantly during the past three ...” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to The average hourly wage of television assemblers in Vernland in the Critical Reasoning forum “Conclusion: Stats will show that Borodia is importing more TV''s from Vernland Premises: - fewer TV assemblers in Borodia - # of TV''s sold in Borodia unchanged after tariff on TV''s imported from Vernland dropped If the # of TV''s sold in Borodia is unchanged, and the number of TV assemblers ...” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to At 15:00 there were 20 students in the Problem Solving forum “The number of 3 minute intervals between 15:03 and 15:44 will be the number of multiples of 3 between 3 and 42 inclusive. (42 is the greatest multiple of 3 that is less than 44.) There are 14 of those, so 14*3 =42 students enter the lab. Between 15:10 and 15:44, there were 4 intervals of 10 ...” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Online content manager in the Critical Reasoning forum “The conclusion here is that premium content is a bargain. We''re trying to weaken that position, and thus are searching for an answer choice that shows hidden costs of premium content, as D does. Answer choice C, if anything, offers evidence of benefits from premium content.” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Court records from medieval France(Non OG)-weakener in the Critical Reasoning forum “Here''s the logic this argument seems to be going for: Imagine that there are two time periods, Period A and Period B. We have the following statistics from court records: Period A: 1 people arrested for committing violent crimes Period B: 2 people arrested for committing violent crimes So ...” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Need only practice questions and practice Tests in the GMAT Strategy forum “Check out our free question pack: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/gmat-question-bank/ And a free practice test: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/free-gmat-practice-test/” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG2015 PS John has 10 pairs in the Problem Solving forum “Make a little visual to help conceptualize what''s going on here. We have ten pairs of socks, Let''s designate them with letters: AA, BB, CC ...JJ I we lose 7 socks and we want to have the greatest number of pairs remaining, we''d rather lose paired socks, right? (If we lost A, B, C, D, E, F, and ...” September 11, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to What is the value of k? where k is an integer. in the Data Sufficiency forum “Statement 1 you can toss pretty quickly. k > -3, so k could be -2 or -1, etc. The key to statement 2 is recognizing that if you take a base and raise it to an EVEN exponent, the value can never be negative. So if k^4 is less than or equal to 0, and it can''t be less than 0, then it has to be ...” September 10, 2017 DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 1000 dollars were converted into pounds in the Data Sufficiency forum “(You could also test some numbers to prove that S2 is alone sufficient. Say that the exchange rate is 1 dollar: 2 pounds. Initially, that$1000 will be charged a 5% fee when changed to 2000 pounds, reducing the amount to 1900 pounds. Then we''ll go back to dollars, so we''ll have 950 dollars, but ...”
September 8, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 1000 dollars were converted into pounds in the Data Sufficiency forum
“I''m assuming the exchange rate is x pounds per dollar, rather than x%, so I adjusted the question accordingly. This can be treated as a pure logic problem. If the dollars are being converted into pounds and then back into dollars, the exchange rate doesn''t matter. Imagine the exchange rate is ...”
September 8, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to PLEASE HELP!!!! PRIMARY 4 MATHS in the Problem Solving forum
“I''m going to go out on a limb and posit that this is not a GMAT question. Folks, please try to post the answer choices. The point of many problems is that we can logically deduce the correct without having to grind through any formal algebra.”
September 8, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Engine A can work 5 hours on 10 liters of fuel in the Problem Solving forum
“Note, also, that it''s often the case that a question will have both the correct answer and a trap answer among the answer choices. In this case, because we''re dealing with reciprocals, it stands to reason that there''s a good chance 2/5 and 5/2 represent a correct answer and a trap. (Of course, ...”
September 8, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Engine A can work 5 hours on 10 liters of fuel in the Problem Solving forum
“You can think of any rate as "task/time period." So here the fuel consumption rate for A is 10 liters/5 hours = 2 liters/hour and the consumption rate for B is 15 liters/3hours = 5 liters per hours. If the engine efficiency is the reciprocal of this figure, then the engine efficiency ...”
September 8, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Let''s go through them one by one. Four will be located in the passage, and one will not. A: Yep - encouraging firms to assign temporary jobs primarily to employees who explicitly indicate that preference. B: Yep - promoting pay equity between temporary and permanent workers C: Yep - ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The relevant line: Given the analyses, which reveal that growth in temporary employment now far exceeds the level explainable by recent workforce entry rates of groups said to prefer temporary jobs, firms should be discouraged from creating excessive numbers of temporary positions. So ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The first sentence suggests a direct correlation between the number of people entering the work force who desire temp jobs and the number of such jobs available. It stands to reason that if it''s the case that when more people enter the work force seeking temp jobs, the number of these jobs ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The key line: growth in temporary employment now far exceeds the level explainable by recent workforce entry rates of groups said to prefer temporary jobs If the number of people taking temp jobs is greater than the number of people who want them, well, it stands to reason that some of the ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The relevant factors impacting temporary employment are listed in paragraph one. About midway through the paragraph we get the following: Another factor is labor’s reduced bargaining strength, which allows employers more control over the terms of employment. The answer is E”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“The point of the passage is that the observers who believe the growth in temporary employment can be attributed to shifting demographics are wrong. Rather, it''s the factors affecting employees that is more likely to account for the phenomenon. The answer is B”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to OG Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in the Reading Comprehension forum
“Consider how the first and last sentences are introduced: First: Some observers have attributed the dramatic growth in temporary employment Last: Government policymakers should consider So we''re trying to understand why there was an increase in temporary employment, and then we''re given ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to GMAT Prep CR in the Critical Reasoning forum
“It might be helpful to consider a simpler version of the logic. Imagine there''s an epidemic in a particular neighborhood of small children getting hit by cars. The proposed solution: lower the speed limit. Now someone in the neighborhood insists that this solution will make the problem worse, ...”
September 7, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Is xy> x/y ? in the Data Sufficiency forum
“S1: Nothing about x; not sufficient S2: Case 1: x = 2 and y =1: 2*1 is not greater than 2/1, so we get a NO. Case 2: x = 1 and y = 2: 1*2 is greater than 1/2, so we get a YES; not sufficient Together: Case 1: y = 1/2 x = 2: (1/2) * 2 is not greater than 2/(1/2), so we get a NO. We could ...”
September 6, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Mayor Delmont's claim! in the Critical Reasoning forum
“You''re right that we don''t know how the average salary of the new jobs compares to the average salary of the eliminated jobs. Think of it this way: If we introduce new jobs whose salary is higher than the overall average, and no jobs were eliminated, the overall average has to go up, right? ...”
September 6, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to possessives in the Sentence Correction forum
“Interesting question. So far as I know, there is no formal rule forbidding such usage. Phrases such as "the house''s facade," or "the room''s lighting" seem fine. I was able to dig up this interesting essay about why the misconception about possessives and inanimate objects ...”
September 6, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Elite Official Revision SC Q # 25 in the Sentence Correction forum
“That certainly seems right to me. Consider the following sentences: "The gun is a damning piece of evidence for the prosecution." (Whom is the evidence for? The prosecution.) However, if we swapped "of" for "for" we''d change the meaning. "The gun is a ...”
September 5, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to If a 30%-solution of alcohol was mixed with in the Problem Solving forum
“If we plot the solution percentages on a number line, we''ll get: 30----------------45-----50 Gap:------15--------5------ Notice that we have a 15:5 or 3:1 ratio of the two components, so we can call them 3x and x. Notice also that we must have more of the 50% solution than the 30% solution ...”
September 5, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to 47 Verbal/40 Quant- Retake? Gmat Advice in the Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting forum
“Three relevant questions here: 1) How strong is the rest of your application? 2) How does that 700 compare to old practice tests? 3) Does it feel as though you''re missing some low-hanging fruit when you take the test? If the rest of your application is strong, you were averaging 680 on ...”
September 5, 2017
DavidG@VeritasPrep posted a reply to Elite Official Revision SC Q # 25 in the Sentence Correction forum
“For the sentence to parallel/logical, we need simultaneously with but independently of. ("Simultaneously" and "independently" are adverbs, while "with" and "of" are prepositions, giving us the construction: adverb + preposition but adverb + preposition) ...”
September 5, 2017