Manhattan GMAT - chapter 4 - backup approaches for quants

[archu.mohan]

Hi all , I read thru the backup strategies and seem to understand them well. Although, I do not have it memorized. Is it important that I have these tricks memorized at this point before proceeding with the math chapters? Or will I have enough practice problems to try these tips out as the chapters unfold? Thanks!

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

You may need to tell us what the backup strategies are before anyone can comment.

Cheers,
Brent

[archu.mohan]

Hello,
I am referring to the backup approaches for problem solving and data sufficiency.
The PS backup approaches that have been stated are: Back solving, Smart Numbers, Estimation, Number Properties and Brute Force.
The DS approaches stated are 1) One statement clearly insufficient, 2) the statements together are clearly sufficient 3) statements do not cooperate 4) Statements provide equivalent info 5) statements don't cooperate, but not in a way that makes the solution obvious.

I am about one third's done with the content of the MGMAT Quant books (I just got started a couple of weeks ago). What would be the best way to consciously incorporate these techniques into my studies? Can someone please help shed light on any specific techniques that worked for them? Thank you!

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Hi archu.mohan,

Many questions on the GMAT can be approached in a variety of ways, so it's beneficial to you if you know more than one way to approach a question. In simple terms, you have two goals for any question that you're going to attempt to answer:

1) Get the question correct
2) Do so as quickly as possible

You can certainly use a "math" approach to answer most Quant questions, but in many cases, THAT way of thinking takes too much time to implement. So you should keep an open mind to all of the various tactics that are available to you. Sufficient practice (including re-attempting past questions using different tactics) should help you to gain familiarity with all the options (and help you to figure out the right approach for any given question).

You'll find that many posts in these forums will showcase a variety of approaches, so you have a great reference here to see the options.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich