Great answer, Phoenix! Exactly right - the GMAT isn't testing your ability to "know" those concepts that Tega listed, but rather your ability to make decisions using them. I think it's pretty telling that it's not labeled "Math" as a noun but rather "Quantitative" as an adjective - it's not a math test, but rather a test that uses numbers!!
One other suggestion right in line with your point - as you do problems that involve math rules, try to learn the rule before you look it up. Just looking up rules falls in to that "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetimes" logic. If you look up a math rule, you can solve that problem. But if you struggle through it and ultimately prove it to yourself, you'll never forget it, and even if you do you'll know that you can prove it again. So for the 45-45-90 triangle ratios, yeah, it's x, x, xsqrt 2. But if you blank on that, think it through:
Pythagorean theorem says that a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
But in an isosceles right triangle, a = b, so we actually have:
a^2 + a^2 = c^2
2a^2 = c^2
a*sqrt2 = c
And you've just proven that rule...now you OWN it, you're not just hoping to remember it.
Like Phoenix says, do fewer problems but dig in and really learn from them and you'll find that you develop the kind of flexible, analytical knowledge that's really powerful on this test!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep
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