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Silly mistakes

Expert replies
by diegocuenca » Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:21 am
I have a problem with habitually making the same mistakes over and over. I keep seeing the same mistakes and make mental notes of the reoccurring mistakes, however I can't seem to stop making them. An example OG PS #127
To mail a package the rate is x cents for the first pound and y cents for each add'l pound, where x > y. Two packages weighing 3 pounds and 5 pounds, respectively, can be mailed separately or combined as one package. Which method is cheaper, and how much money is saved?

Here I picked values, x = 100, 100 and y = 90, 50

100 + 2(50) = 200 3lb and 100 + 4(50) = 300 5lb, 200 + 300 = 500
here is where I made the mistake, combined 100 + 6(50) = 400
Thus 500 - 400 = 100
Combined, with a savings of x cents

The correct answers is 100 + 7(50) = 450
Thus 500 - 450 = 50
Combine with a saving of x - y cents

Another mistake I made, PS # 124

In Town x, 64 percent of the population are employed, and 48 percent of population are employed males. What percent of the employed people in town x are females?

So here I sent up a box,
100 Male Female Total
Employed 48 16 64
Unemployed

So, of course, I choose 16. BUT, it asked for percent so it's actually 16/64 or 25%.

These are the types of mistakes I keep making, even after reading numerous articles on this forum on how to avoid these mistakes and yet I continue to fall into the test makers' traps. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm about ready to get a tazer gun to shock myself if I do not re-read the stem.
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:22 am
Hey Diego,

It's great to hear that you've identified this as a common mistake...that's a huge first step toward avoiding it!

You know, one thing that worked really well for me and that my students have said works well for them is to just put a question mark (?) at the top of your noteboard as a reminder to "double check the question stem". If you just plan to tap that question mark before you finish your work and submit your answer, that's a quick, routinized double-check procedure that can be helpful...
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
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by diegocuenca » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:05 am
By request answer for OG 127,

Shipping the 2 packages separately would cost 1x + 2y for the 3 pound package and 1x + 4y for the 5 pound package. Shipping them together (as a single 8 pound package would cost 1x + 7y. By calculating the sum of the costs for shipping the two packages separately minus the cost for shipping the one combined package, it is possible to determine the difference in cost, as shown.

((1x + 2y) + (1x + 4y)) - (1x + 7y) (cost for 3lb + cost for 5lb) - cost for 8 lb

= (2x + 6y) - (1x + 7y) combine like terms

= 2x + 6y - x -7y distribute the negative

= x - y combine like terms

Since x > y this value is positive which means it costs more to ship two packages separately. Thus it is cheaper to mail one combined package at a cost savings of x - y cents.
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by diegocuenca » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:06 am
Brian, I like the idea of mentally tapping the ? mark before you submit.
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by blackjack » Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:14 am
I think its a great idea too!
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:02 am
Thanks, guys! And since you like that idea I'll tell you exactly what I did - I had a five-point checklist of the easy-to-make mistakes that I figured were most likely to tank me. Shorthand, it was:

Positive
Integer
?
Sufficient
0

For:

1) Did you assume that any variables were positive?
2) Did you assume that any variables were integers?
3) Did you answer the right question?
4) On DS, did you remember that an emphatic "NO" is still "Sufficient"?
5) Did you consider the possibility of the number 0?

I had that checklist at the top of my noteboard and tapped each one with my pen before submitting an answer, and within the first 10 questions I caught myself once. And, honestly, by that point that checklist was so embedded in my mind that when I turned the page I didn't need to rewrite it...it was just a quick 3-5 second check that I'd do naturally, and after the first dozen questions or so I didn't even really need to do it consciously because it was all part of my routine.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Join the discussion

by diegocuenca » Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:07 pm
Awesome, I like the technique of tapping.
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by blackjack » Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:49 am
Thanks Brian, I have been reviewing my errors and most of them are careless mistakes. I'm going to start working on the checklist suggested by you right away!
Brian@VeritasPrep wrote:Thanks, guys! And since you like that idea I'll tell you exactly what I did - I had a five-point checklist of the easy-to-make mistakes that I figured were most likely to tank me. Shorthand, it was:

Positive
Integer
?
Sufficient
0

For:

1) Did you assume that any variables were positive?
2) Did you assume that any variables were integers?
3) Did you answer the right question?
4) On DS, did you remember that an emphatic "NO" is still "Sufficient"?
5) Did you consider the possibility of the number 0?

I had that checklist at the top of my noteboard and tapped each one with my pen before submitting an answer, and within the first 10 questions I caught myself once. And, honestly, by that point that checklist was so embedded in my mind that when I turned the page I didn't need to rewrite it...it was just a quick 3-5 second check that I'd do naturally, and after the first dozen questions or so I didn't even really need to do it consciously because it was all part of my routine.
Join the discussion