Problem Solving: Mind Jumble

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oquiella: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 164; Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 9:06 am; Thanked: 3 times

by oquiella » Tue Jul 21, 2015 4:33 am

Hi,

I've recently been studyn for the GMAT quant with Manhattan GMAT editions and find the word problem book very useful but the problem very hard. Once I read the question if the question gives too many varaibles and constraints my mind get boggled or if it is too simple i am not sure if I am writing out the right equation to solve the problem at hand (except when I look at the explanation I have the equations right but get stuck on how to solve the entire question using those 2 equations. It usually ends up being a question where I have to combine the 2 equations but It doesnt make sense to me why. Word Problems are the hardest for me to translate, is there better study material or a process that will help me? Other than "just focus more".

HELP

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Tue Jul 21, 2015 4:33 am

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16206; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:34 am

For starters, here's a free video on solving systems of equations: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... ing?id=966

As far as word problems go, our free GMAT course includes a 48-video module on the topic of word problems, starting with assigning variables all the way to advanced concepts: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-word-problems

Cheers,
Brent

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

by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:34 pm

I've recently been studyn for the GMAT quant with Manhattan GMAT editions and find the word problem book very useful but the problem very hard. Once I read the question if the question gives too many varaibles and constraints my mind get boggled or if it is too simple i am not sure if I am writing out the right equation to solve the problem at hand (except when I look at the explanation I have the equations right but get stuck on how to solve the entire question using those 2 equations. It usually ends up being a question where I have to combine the 2 equations but It doesnt make sense to me why. Word Problems are the hardest for me to translate, is there better study material or a process that will help me? Other than "just focus more".

You should feel free to post a specific example here. If you walk us through how you thought about a question you struggled with, we can better see where you went astray, and how you might make adjustments to avoid the pitfalls you find yourself stumbling into.

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