Revised_GRE_Manual_7.pdf

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Manual for the

GRE

®

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All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced for distribution to a third party in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information re-trieval system, without the prior express written consent of the publisher, The Princeton Review.

This manual is for the exclusive use of The Princeton Review course students, and is not legal for resale. 800-2Review

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Acknowledgments

Extra special thanks to Joy Grieco, Neill Seltzer, Curtis Retherford, Peter Hanink, Brian Singer, and Neil Thornton.

Special thanks to the following for their many contributions to this manual: Andrew Brody, Heather Brady, Jennifer Downey, Kim Howie, Liz Rutzel, Meave Shelton, and the staff and students of The Princeton Review.

The Princeton Review would like to acknowledge the question authors and quality control experts without whose invaluable work this manual and course would not have been possible:

Question authors:

Jennifer Amerkhanov, Stephanie Aylward, Brian Becker, Kevin Cook, Kirsten Frank, Mark Hellman, Jay Hilsenbeck, Beth Hollingsworth, Karen Hoover, Melissa Janae, Paul Kugelmass, Michael Levy, Aaron Lindh, Eliz Markowitz, Lisa Mayo, Amy Minster, Joshua Morris, Jerome J. O’Neill, Elizabeth Owens, Henry Price, Anthony Pumilia, Debbi Reynolds,

Tim Ricchuiti, Lisa Rothstein, Audra Rouse, Janet Stolzer, Emily Swenson, Scott Thompson

Quality control specialists:

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1 Lesson 1 Math

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15 Lesson 2 Math

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35 Lesson 2 Verbal

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49 Lesson 3 Math

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59 Lesson 3 Verbal

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77 Lesson 4 Math

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95 Lesson 4 Verbal

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127 Lesson 5 Math

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139 Lesson 5 Verbal

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159 Lesson 6 Math

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177 Lesson 6 Verbal

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201 Lesson 7 Math

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217 Lesson 7 Verbal

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237 Lesson 8 Math

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243 Lesson 8 Essays

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259 Verbal Practice

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267 Math Practice

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281

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Introduction

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DO YOUR RESEARCH

You can’t look at a GRE score in a vacuum; your score is just a number. In order to know how much work you need to put in over the next several weeks, you need to know your starting score, your target score, and the role of the GRE in the admissions process at your target programs. Here are some questions you should be asking of your desired programs:

1. How important are scores?

2. What else is required for admissions? 3. What do you do with multiple scores? 4. Are you looking at all parts of the score? 5. Will scores be used for anything else? 6. How competitive is admissions?

7. What was the average GRE score for last year’s incoming class? Admissions will ask you two questions that you should be asking yourself: Why this program and why now?

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3 INTRODUCTION

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3 INTRODUCTION

JUST WHAT IS THE GRE?

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized, multiple-choice test that is supposed to assess your ability in three general areas: math skills, verbal skills, and writing skills. The test is required by most university graduate programs. When considering you as a candidate, these programs weigh your GRE score in addition to your academic history, recommendations, and personal essays. Some programs also use the GRE as a determinant when awarding fellowships and grants.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE GRE?

Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to this question. Some graduate programs consider the GRE very important; others consider it a mere formality. Still other programs do not use the GRE in the admissions process, though they use it when awarding financial aid. Also, different departments look at different parts of the test. For example, if you are considering enrolling in a graduate program in English literature, the quantitative portion of the GRE may not matter at all to your prospective schools. Similarly, a program in applied mathematics may consider the verbal portion immaterial. Some programs will not care how you performed on individual sections but will ask for a minimum composite score (made up of your performance on all parts of the GRE). If you’d like more specifics, contact the schools in which you’re interested. Speak directly with someone in your prospective graduate department. Department secretaries and officers can often tell you precisely how their department will use your GRE scores when considering your application.

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WHAT DOES THE GRE TEST?

Th e Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section probably comes the closest to measuring what it actually purports to measure—namely your ability to support an opinion and to critically evaluate arguments made by others.

Th e test author, Educational Testing Service (ETS), claims that the GRE measures “certain developed ver-bal, quantitative (math), and analytic abilities that are important in academic achievement.” Okay. But what does that actually mean?

If you’ve already taken the GRE, you know that it covers such basic math skills as algebra and geometry, such writing skills as formulating and critiquing arguments, and such verbal skills as reading comprehension and vocabulary. By testing your abilities in these areas, ETS argues that “the test necessarily refl ects the opportunities and eff orts that have contributed to those abilities.”

Of course, that’s what ETS would say. ETS has a vested interest in maintaining its monopoly on this and other standardized tests. Whatever the GRE purports to measure, it does not test the skills you developed in college, nor is it in any way an intelligence test. Most important of all and regardless of ETS’s claims, the GRE has nothing to do with aptitude for graduate study. In fact, it has never been demonstrated that there is any correlation between performance on the GRE and ability to tackle graduate work in any fi eld. Th e bottom line is quite simple:

The GRE tests how well you take the GRE.

Why, then, do you have to take the GRE, and why do schools use it when considering your candidacy? Th e answer is simple. Given our diff erent undergraduate backgrounds, schools like having a way to compare everyone by a single measure.

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5 INTRODUCTION

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5 INTRODUCTION

WHO IS ETS?

As you may already know, ETS—the same folks who ruined your high school years with the PSAT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests—is responsible for the GRE.

ETS writes the other exams for graduate study, including the GRE Subject Tests, as well as exams for CIA agents, barbers, golf pros, and travel agents. ETS is a private, nonprofi t corporation (though it does have highly profi table for-profi t divisions). It is not supervised by the government. It is not supervised by anyone, at any level. What gives ETS the right to administer this test? Th e fact that it gives this test. To summarize:

ETS has the right to administer the GRE, which tests how well

you take the GRE, because it administers the GRE.

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HOW DOES ETS WRITE THE TEST?

ETS—the Big Brother of standardized testing—knows how you think. Through extensive testing of indi-vidual problems, and by taking advantage of the ways in which we take standardized tests, ETS ensures that the GRE always produces the same results.

Unpaid Guinea Pigs

On nearly every test ETS administers there are experimental questions. These questions do not count toward your score. They are used by ETS to ensure that the questions that ultimately appear on real tests produce the results it desires. Any question that fails to do so is promptly rewritten or thrown out.

As unfair as it may be for ETS to have you pay it in order to do its research and development work, you don’t have any choice in the matter. The experimental questions are not optional. This is one way in which ETS guarantees that its tests produce perfect curves. Another way is by taking advantage of our test-taking tendencies.

Setting Traps

ETS is remarkably good at setting traps for the average test taker. For example, the worst thing you can do on the GRE is spend too much time on hard questions and rush through easy ones. Yet ETS makes it seem as if the only way to do well on the test is by putting the same amount of time into every question.

Naturally, there’s more to the GRE than simply a series of traps. However, even when dealing with a problem that seems quite easy, you may unwittingly stumble into an ETS pitfall. Utilizing the strategic techniques and comprehensive review covered in this course, you’ll avoid the GRE’s many traps and beat ETS at its own game.

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7 INTRODUCTION

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7 INTRODUCTION

ELEMENTS OF THE TEST

Section Number of Questions Time

Analytical Writing One Issue essay and one

Argument essay

30 minutes per essay 1 hour total No breaks between essays

Verbal Reasoning Two 20-question sections 30 minutes per section

Quantitative Reasoning Two 20-question sections 35 minutes per section

Experimental One 20-question section 30/35 minutes

Research Varies Varies

The Verbal, Quantitative, and experimental sections can occur in any order. ETS says that it reserves the right to slightly alter the number of questions.

The Essays

The first scored section of your test will be the two essay tasks. You will have a one-minute break after this section but no break between the essays.

Verbal and Quantitative

You will have two Verbal and two Quantitative sections. They could come in any order. After the essays and the subsequent two multiple-choice sections, you will have a 10-minute break. There is a one-minute break after each of the other sections.

Experimental

You will actually see three Quantitative sections and two Verbal sections, or three Verbal and two Quanti-tative. The extra Quantitative or Verbal is experimental. The experimental section does not count towards your score. Other than knowing that it is Quantitative or Verbal, there is no way to figure out which section is experimental, so you will have to take each section seriously.

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How “Adaptive by Section” Works

The GRE is adaptive by section. You will see at least two Quantitative and two Verbal sections. The more questions you get right on the first section, the harder the questions are that you will see on the second sec-tion. You have to do well on both sections to hit your target score.

ELEMENTS OF THE COURSE

1. Class—Classes will cover test skills, homework and drill questions, test review, and difficult

test content.

2. Tests—The course includes five full-length, online, GRE practice tests that simulate the actual

exam.

3. Test Review—A half hour before and after every class is reserved for one-on-one test review.

This is to be scheduled with your teacher and is available only to students who have completed all scheduled tests and drills.

4. Homework Drills—On your online student center you will find a series of drills designed to

reinforce key GRE skills. The first portion of each class is reserved for homework review. Each drill question has a “Review in Class” button so that any and all of your content questions will get covered in class.

5. Online Lessons—Some GRE concepts will be introduced in online lessons. These concepts

will be revisited and reinforced in class. Students who are already comfortable with a given concept can test out of a given lesson. Students who need more help with a concept will have access to extended practice drills and can also mark questions for review in class.

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9 INTRODUCTION

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9 INTRODUCTION

SCORE IMPROVEMENTS

Score Improvement Expectations

Class Only Class & Some Tests Class & All Tests Class, Tests, & Some Drills Class, Tests & All Drills

Results Come in Stages

Taking the GRE is a skill and, like any skill, it requires practice. You might understand how to play the piano the first time you sit down to play one, but that doesn’t mean you will be good at it. Mastering the piano requires long hours of practice. Mastering the GRE does too. The good news is that your score is entirely in your hands.

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TECHNIQUES

All of the questions on the test can be divided into two categories:

Category 1: Th e Questions You Are Supposed to Get Right. Th ese are the questions that involve math you are

comfortable with or vocabulary words you know.

Category 2: Th e Questions You Are NOT Supposed to Get Right. When the folks at ETS want you to get a

question wrong, they will fi nd a way. On the Verbal section, hard questions include arcane vocabulary words you’re not supposed to know; on the Math section, hard questions include wrong but tempting answer choices that you are supposed to pick.

The techniques do three jobs, all equally important.

First, they ensure that you answer correctly the questions that

you should get right. Second, they make hard questions easier.

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11 INTRODUCTION

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11 INTRODUCTION

Global Technique #1: Take the Easy Test First

Within a section, each question counts equally towards your score. However, some questions will be easy and others will be difficult. The beauty of the GRE is that you can answer questions in any order you like. A question you can nail in 25 seconds is worth just as much as a tough question. To maximize your score, leave the questions you don’t like for last. If you are going to run out of time (and, unless you are shooting for a 160 or higher, you should be running out of time), make sure the questions you end up bubbling in are the ones you didn’t want to work on anyway. We will practice this extensively throughout the course, but remember: Skip early and skip often.

Global Technique #2: Scratch Paper

One of the genuinely helpful tools ETS gives you on the GRE is scratch paper. Over a four‐hour test, your brain is going to get tired. Keeping your hand moving is a way to stay focused on the task at hand. If your brain is communicating with your hand, then your brain is engaged rather than preoccupied with reading the question three times in a row, thinking about what you’re going to do when the test is over, or any other random things. You won’t outthink ETS, but you can out-process them.

For each different question type you will learn a graphic set-up to organize information and answer all questions as efficiently and accurately as possible.

Put your set-ups in the upper left corner.

Reserve the right side for scratch work. Clearly number each problem so that

you can find your work if you return to the problem.

When you’re done with each problem, draw a line underneath it, across the page, so that you have a clean space upon which to work the next problem.

Note how every answer choice has been checked and every problem has its own distinct space.

A a b c d B 65 x = 1 y = 1 34 34 x = 2 y = 1 65 34 x = 2 y = 1 65 1. 2. 3. 4. x = 4 y = 6 56 32 2 64 8 x y 2 2 2 2 10 A 8 + 12 + 4 B 8 + 12 + 16 C 16 + 24 + 8 D 16 + 24 + 8 EE 3 • 2 80 - 24 56 7 16 24 8 48 32 24 56 A B C D EE 1030 ₂₅₀ ₃₂ 530 ₂30 _{2 5}_•_{1 0} _{1 6}_•₂ ₅_•₅_• ₂_•₅₄_•₄_•₂ 2 •₂•₂•₂•₂=25

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Questions 1–7 are Text Completions. 1 Blank

text completions.

3 Blank

text completions. text completions.2 Blank

Note that this student has come up with her own words for the blank and has considered and marked every

answer choice. “Marked” questions are clearly marked on scratch paper.

Questions 8–11/12 are Reading Comprehension. Each passage has been mapped. Each

answer choice has been considered.

Questions 12–15 or 13–16 are Sentence Equivalence. Note that this student has come up with her own words for every blank and consid-ered every answer choice.

Every question is clearly numbered so that the student can easily return to the question if needed.

There is appropriate space between each column of answer choices to avoid crowding and to leave room for notes and marks.

1. A 2. A B B C C D D E E 3. A x x B x C x false reflects 6. A B x x x C x x x 7. A B C D E 8. A B C D E 12. A B C D E F

care common taciturn lying 13. A B C D E F 14. A B C D E F 15. A B C D E F 9. A B C D E 10. A B C D E 11 A B C D E m fakes increased trend?

obvious wrong portray latch_onto 4. A x B x x C x 5. A x B x x C x — — Prob.

1. Sediment: Climate Hist. 2. Climate affects sediment 3. “

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13 INTRODUCTION

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13 INTRODUCTION

Global Technique #3: The Mark Button

Reading or calculation errors on a four-hour test are unavoidable. The problem is that a misread question or a calculation error will completely change the way you see the problem, and once you see a question wrong, it is almost impossible to see it correctly. As long as you stay with a misread question, you will continue to see it wrong. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and you’re not getting any closer to the answer. We call this “Quicksand.” Once you’re in Quicksand, it is very difficult to get out.

On the flip side, once you’ve spotted the error, solving the problem correctly is often a straightforward process. A question that bedeviled you for minutes on end may appear to be appallingly obvious later. The trick is to change the way you see the question while you still have the opportunity to fix it.

Here are a few signs that you are in Quicksand:

• You’ve found an answer, but it is not one of the choices they’ve given you. • You have half a page of calculations but are no closer to an answer. • You’ve spent more than four minutes on a problem.

• Your hand is not moving.

• You’re down to two answer choices and both seem correct. • You’ve eliminated all of the answers.

• There is smoke coming out of your ears.

• You’re beginning to wonder if ETS made a mistake.

If you find yourself in any of these situations, you are in Quicksand. Stop what you’re doing and get out.

Step 1

Recognize you are in Quicksand.

Step 2

Mark and move.

Step 3

Distract your brain by doing two or three other questions.

Step 4

Return to the problem and take a second look.

Ways to see the problem with fresh eyes:

• Use your finger on the screen to force yourself to read the problem word for word. • Ask yourself if there are different ways to express the information.

• Can you use the answer choices to help? • Can you paraphrase the answer choices?

• If the path to the right answer is not clear on a second viewing, guess and walk away again. Why stick with a problem you don’t know how to solve?

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Global Technique #4: Pacing

Speed kills on the GRE. The clock has a way of infecting your brain. Take a section untimed, and in addition to answering more questions, you’ll make fewer mistakes. The questions don’t get any harder when there is a clock, yet somehow most testers get more wrong. To make matters worse, the questions you get wrong are likely to have taken you far more time than the ones you got right.

The trick is to take each section as if there is no clock. As long as you are skipping the hard ones and skip-ping and coming back when you run into resistance on questions you’ve started, you should get very few questions in a section wrong.

Remember that it is not the number of questions that you answer that gives you your score, it is the number of questions you answer correctly. Accuracy is everything. Ignore the clock. Slow down and work for accuracy only. If you run into a brick wall, don’t continue to spend time on the problem; go do an easier one and come back. The minute you try to go faster, however, your accuracy will go down and your score along with it.

There is only one exception to this, and that is the last two minutes of a section. A skipped question and a wrong answer count the same. In other words, there is no penalty for “guessing” on a question you don’t know. When two minutes remain on your clock, stop what you’re doing and bubble in answers to any remaining unanswered questions. A few lucky guesses will pay off. If you don’t get any of them right, no harm done.

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Lesson 1

Math

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Question 1 c = 2 d = 5 Quantity A Quantity B (d – 4c)6 _{(d – 4 c)}7 Quantity A is greater. Quantity B is greater.

The two quantities are equal.

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given. Question 2 32 2 m m = Quantity A Quantity B m 8 Quantity A is greater. Quantity B is greater.

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

Question 3

A B C C

On line C, the length of BC is 1.5 times the length of

AB. If the length of AC is 30, what is the length of BC ?

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17 LESSON 1 MATH

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Question 4

Four containers of ﬂour are on the table: The ﬁrst contains 1

3 of a pound, the second

contains 1

6 of a pound, the third contains 1 9 of a

pound, and the fourth contains 1

18 of a pound. If

each container can hold one pound of flour, how many additional pounds of flour are required to fill all four containers?

2 9 2 3 11 9 25 9 10 3 Question 5

Machine Units Made per Hour Percentage of Defective Units

A 2,800 12%

B 1,500 7%

C 750 6%

What is the ratio of the number of defective units created in an hour by machine A to the number of defective units created in an hour by machine B?

Question 6 n= 2 + + + + + + x 7 1 3 4 9 2 3 5 9 5 7

In the equation above, if n is an integer, which of the following could be a possible value of x ?

Indicate all such values.

.

0

.

2 63

.

1

.

65 63

.

4

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PLUGGING IN

Question 1

Doug is 3 times as old as Neill and half as old as Liz. If Doug is d years old, what is the sum of their ages?

5 3 d ⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟ 7 3 d ⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟ 10 3 d ⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟ 7 2 d ⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟ 9 2 d ⎛ ⎝ ⎜ ⎞ ⎠ ⎟

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 2 If f g

= 3, where g is not equal to 0 and f is not equal to 1, then which of the following is equal to g

f − − 3 1? g f g – f –f –g

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SCRATCH PAPER

1

1. A

B

d

=

C

n

=

D

l

=

E

2. A

B

f

=

C

g

=

D

E

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Recognize the opportunity: PLUG IN!

2. Set up your scratch paper.

3. Assign an easy number (e.g. 2, 5, 10, 100) to one variable.

4. Work through the problem.

5. Find the answer to the question. That’s your target number. Circle it.

6. Check all answer choices.

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Question 3

If a factory produces 1,500 light bulbs in one minute, how many light bulbs will it produce in t seconds?

1,500t 25t 25 t 750 t 90 000, t Question 4

For y ≠ 0 and y ≠ 1, which of the following represents the reciprocal of 1 1 y y − ? y y 2 1 − y y 2 1 + y y + 1 y y2 −1 y y2+1 Question 5

A group of 10 people decides to share equally in an apartment that costs r dollars to rent each month. If x people drop out of the group, how much more, in dollars, must each remaining person pay?

rx x 10 10( − ) 10r x r x 10 10( − ) r x 10− rx x 10−

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SCRATCH PAPER

1

Check your work. For every problem, you should have terms labeled, a target number circled, and all answer choices checked.

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Quant Comps

Question 6 y ≠ 0 Quantity A Quantity B –10y –y

Quantity A is greater. Quantity B is greater.

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Need a weird number? Try FROZEN:

F – Fractions R – Repeats O – One Z – Zero E – Extremes N – Negative Question 7 x > y > 0 Quantity A Quantity B 6x 7y

Quantity A is greater.

Quantity B is greater.

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SCRATCH PAPER

1

6. A a b c d B

y =

7. A a b c d B

x = y =

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Recognize the Opportunity: PLUG IN!

2. Draw your set-up.

3. Plug in an easy number (according to the problem’s rules).

4. Cross off answer choices.

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Question 8

3 < x < 6 < y < 10

Quantity A Quantity B

The greatest possible 7 value of y – x

Question 9

a, b, and c are consecutive even integers such that a < b < c.

a + c 2b + 2

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given. Question 10 a ≠ 0 Quantity A Quantity B |a – 1| |a| – 1

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Must Be

Question 11

If a, b, and c are odd integers, which of the following must also be odd?

(a + b)c ac + b (a + b) – (b + c) abc (b – a) + (c – b)

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 12

If p and q are integers, such that p < 0 < q, which of the following must be true?

Indicate all such statements.

.

2p < 2q

.

p2< q2

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SCRATCH PAPER

1 A

B

C

D

E

11. a =

a =

b =

b = b =

c =

c = c =

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Recognize the Opportunity: PLUG IN!

2. Draw your set-up.

3. Plug in an easy number (according to the problem’s rules).

4. Cross off answer choices.

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DRILL

Question 1 of 7

Bill is twice as old as Heidi and six years younger than Mel. If Heidi is h years old, how old is Mel in terms of h ?

h – 4

h + 4

2h – 4

2h

2h + 6 Question 2 of 7 Quantity A Quantity B 6 + x 6 – x

The relationship cannot be determined from the information given. Question 3 of 7 0 < x < 10 0 < y < 1 Quantity A Quantity B x – y 9

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Question 4 of 7

Eleven years ago, Lauren was half as old as Mike will be in 4 years. If Mike is m years old now, how old is Lauren now in terms of m ?

4m – 11 1 2(m+ 4)+11 1 2(m–11) 4m + 11 2 2m – 7 Question 5 of 7 P < Q Quantity A Quantity B Q – P Q P– 3

Question 6 of 7

If the sum of three consecutive odd integers is k, then, in terms of k, what is the greatest of the three integers? k − 6 3 k− 3 3 k 3 k+ 3 3 k+ 6 3 Question 7 of 7

Item F costs three times as much as item G, and item H costs $4 more than one-third the price of item G.

The cost of item F The cost of item H

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T

R

IG

GE

R

Variables in the answer

choices

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. List A,B,C,D,E on scratch paper.

2. Replace variable with number.

3. Work the problem.

4. Identify and circle target number.

5. Check all answer choices.

T

R

IG

GE

R

Quant Comp with variables

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Draw

set-up.

2. Plug in an easy number.

3. Eliminate two answer choices.

4. Repeat using FROZEN.

TR

IG

G

E

R

“Must

be”

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Draw

set-up.

2. Plug in an easy number.

3. Eliminate answer choices.

4. Repeat using FROZEN.

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2 _{EXPONENTS & ROOTS}

Question 1 12 20 3 5 × = 9 25 3 21 5 20 1 3 5 3 3 5 5

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 2 x x x x 5 3 4 2 + + = –4x2 –x2 2x x x2

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SCRATCH PAPER

2 R

E

SP

ONSE

Find and cancel common factors.

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2

Question 3 Quantity A Quantity B 4 4 64 12 11 3 − 48

Question 4

126_{= 3}a₂b_{. What is the value of a + b ?}

Question 5

Which of the following statements must be true? Indicate all such statements.

.

( x)3 x 1 = −

.

(x2_{) = ( x)}2

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SCRATCH PAPER

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2 _{HIDDEN PLUG INS}

Question 1

Sarah pays 1

8 of her monthly income for food, 1

8 for utilities, 1

8 for student loans, and 4

5 of the

remainder for rent. If at the end of each month Sarah puts 1

2 of her remaining income into a CD

account, what portion of Sarah’s monthly income does she put into the account?

1 8 1 10 7 80 1 16 1 20

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 2

In a certain apartment building, 40 percent of the units have one bedroom, and the remaining units have two bedrooms. If 20 percent of the one-bedrooms and 10 percent of the two-one-bedrooms are vacant, what percent of the units in the building are vacant?

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SCRATCH PAPER

2 R

E

SP

ONSE

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2 _PITA

Question 1

Vicken, Roger, and Adam went to buy a $90 radio. If Roger agrees to pay twice as much as Adam, and Vicken agrees to pay three times as much as Roger, how much must Roger pay?

$10 $20 $30 $45 $65

TR

IG

G

E

R

Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 2

Mike bought a used car and had it repainted. If the cost of the paint job was one-ﬁfth of the purchase price of the car, and if the cost of the car and the paint job combined was $4,800, then what was the purchase price of the car?

$800 $960 $3,840 $4,000 $4,250 Question 3

Gerald is three times as old as his cousin Lucy and 14 years older than his parrot Polly. In 4 years Lucy

will be half as old as Polly will be then. How old is Gerald?

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SCRATCH PAPER

2

1. R A V A 10 B 20 C 30 D 45 E 65

R

E

SP

ONSE

1. Recognize the Opportunity: Plug In the Answers (PITA)!

2. List answer choices on your scratch paper.

3. Label the ﬁrst column.

4. Plug In (C).

5. Work the problem in bite-sized pieces, making a new column for each new step.

6. POE.

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2 _{Plugging In Drill}

Question 1 of 5

One-half the members of a team are juniors, one-third are sophomores, and the remainder are seniors.

The number of juniors on the team

The number of seniors on the team

Question 2 of 5

If –1 < x < 0, which of the following has the greatest value? x x3 −1 x 1 x 1 + x Question 3 of 5

In a high school pep band that consists of forty students, the number of seniors is ﬁve fewer than twice the number of juniors, and 30% of the students in the band are neither juniors nor seniors.

The number of juniors in the band

11

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2

Question 4 of 5

S is a sequence s₁, s₂, s₃…s_n in which every term after the ﬁrst is one less than three times the previous term. If s₅ – s₃ = 28, which of the following is the ﬁrst term in the sequence?

2 3 8 9 1 5 3 2 Question 5 of 5

If 20 percent of the trees in a certain park are evergreens, and 40 percent of the non-evergreens are maple trees, and there are 75 percent as many oak trees as maple trees in the park, what fraction of the trees in the park are not maples, oaks, or evergreens? 1 10 3 25 1 5 6 25 1 4

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2 _SUMMARY

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Exponents

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Find and cancel common factors.

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Numbers too big to calculate

R

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Convert large bases to their prime

numbers.

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GE

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The phrases “how much,” “how many,”

“what is the value of”

or

An urge to write your own algebraic

formula

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1. List answers on your scratch paper.

2. Label the ﬁrst column.

3. Assume (C) to be correct.

4. Use (C) to work the problem.

5. POE.

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Answer choices expressed as fractions or

percentages

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Plug In for the unknown value or amount:

If fractions, plug in common

denominator.

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2

1 Text Completion Section A Section B Text Completion Reading Comp. Reading Comp. Sent. Equivalence Sent. Equivalence Reading Comp. Reading Comp. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Although the Math sections test the same rules over and over again, the Verbal sections have passages from many diff erent disciplines and an incredible variety of vocab. Th e time required to complete verbal prob-lems can also vary much more than the time required for math probprob-lems. So, as important as they are on the Math sections, proper pacing and POE are paramount on the Verbal sections.

• Don’t sacriﬁ ce accuracy for speed:

• Get more effi cient at Text Completions and Sentence Equivalence so that you have more time for Reading Comprehension.

• Four NOs = a YES:

• Find the wrong answers.

Using the Mark Button

Th e Mark button is particularly important on the verbal side of the test. As your brain gets tired, you are more likely to misread questions or passages. Once this happens, no matter how many times you reread it, you will continue to misinterpret it in the exact same way. Click the Mark button and move on, and return after several questions.

When taking the GRE, the inexperienced test taker will take the

the test in the order in which it is given, ignoring the level of

difﬁ culty, the number of questions, and the ability to change the

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51 LESSON 2 VERBAL

2 SCRATCH PAPER

All Verbal scratch paper looks the same. It looks like this:

Proper pacing and efficient use of POE require effective use of one’s scratch paper. For instance, for Reading Comprehension questions, you’ll write out A, B, C, D, and E on your scratch paper for each problem, so you can mark each answer choice. Use a two-pass approach to POE so that you do not get bogged down on any one answer choice: 1) Eliminate the answer choices that are clearly wrong. 2) Take your second pass through the remaining choices using the strategies you’ll learn in the upcoming lessons.

Use these symbols:

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2

States has held that bigger is better. This tra-Until recently, corporate ideology in the United ditional view of the primacy of big, centralized companies is now being challenged as some of the giants of American business are being outper-formed by a new generation of smaller, stream-lined businesses. If it was the industrial revolution that spawned the era of massive industrialized companies, then perhaps it is the information revolution of the 1990s that is spawning the era of the small company.

For most of this century, big companies domi-nated an American business scene that seemed to thrive on its own grandness of scale. The expansion westward, the growth of the railroad and steel industries, an almost limitless supply of cheap raw materials, plus a population boom that provided an ever-increasing demand for new products (although not a cheap source of labor) all coincided to encourage the growth of large companies.

But rapid developments in the marketplace have begun to change the accepted rules of business and have underscored the need for fast reaction times. Small companies, which lack huge overhead and inventory, can respond quickly to a technologically advanced age in which new prod-ucts and technologies can become outmoded within a year of their being brought to market.

Of course, successful emerging small compa-nies face a potential dilemma in that their very success will tend to turn them into copies of the large corporate dinosaurs they are now supplant-ing. To avoid this trap, small companies may look to the example of several CEOs of large corpora-tions who have broken down their sprawling organizations into small, semi-independent divisions capable of making their way into the twenty-ﬁrst century. Line 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Question 1

The primary purpose of the passage is to present evidence that resolves a

contradiction in business theory discuss reasons an accepted business

pattern is changing

describe a theoretical model and a method whereby that model can be tested

argue that a traditional ideology deserves new attention

resolve two conﬂicting explanations for a phenomenon

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

A conventional model is described and an alternative is introduced and evaluated. An assertion is made and a general

supporting example is given.

Two contradictory points of view are presented and evaluated.

A historical overview is given to explain a phenomenon.

An organizational trend is described and then criticized.

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Genre (What) Purpose (Why) Structure (How)

• Problem • Question • Conflict • Paradox • Change • Innovation • Discovery • Predict • Recommend • Inform/Explain • Correct • Evaluate • Cause/Effect • Chronology • Classification • Comparison/Contrast • Steps/Stages

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2

the psychology of animals is generally done Though application of evolutionary theory to without controversy, evolutionary psychology as it is applied to human psychology is quite contentious. Proponents of evolutionary psychol-ogy believe that psycholpsychol-ogy must be rooted in biology. Just as the body’s circulatory, diges-tive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems are evolved adaptations result-ing from natural selection or sexual selection, so too must the seemingly inherent psychological mechanisms be the result of evolution. These psychologists believe that natural selection has engendered many cognitive modules in the brain, ranging from language-acquisition modules to cheater-detection modules. Survivability and sexual selection determine which modules are passed on.

Some critics offer several objections to extend-ing this application to humans. For instance, humans evolved during a period—the Pleisto-cene—about which very little essential demo-graphic information on humans is known. Addi-tionally, some accuse evolutionary psychologists of proffering “just-so stories”—internally consis-tent hypotheses that, nevertheless, have no other supporting evidence. This, skeptics argue, can lead to contradictory conclusions. For example, such behaviors as monogamy can perpetuate genes, but so too can inﬁdelity. Lastly, some crit-ics accuse evolutionary psychology of ethnocen-trism since many traits once considered universal have turned out to be culturally dependent.

Though evolutionary psychology remains con-troversial, many detractors confess their inexperi-ence and lack of firsthand knowledge with the discipline. Admittedly, the quality of work in this field has been uneven, but, as Edouard Machery stated, “the heuristics and the strategies of con-firmation used by evolutionary psychologists are on a firm grounding.“ Line 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Question 1

The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the origins of evolutionary

psychology

resolve a dispute regarding acceptable forms of evidence

reconcile the differences between two methods seeking to explain the same phenomenon

describe a ﬁeld of research and caution against its dismissal

argue the importance of a debate between scientists regarding the application of one methodology to another

Question 2

It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following?

Evolutionary psychology has some merit but has failed to bridge the divide between the social sciences and the natural

sciences.

Evolutionary psychologists should be admonished for failing to justify their hypotheses with more than “just-so stories.”

Evolutionary psychology should be restricted to non-human animals. Evolutionary psychology should not be

uniformly rejected.

The debate between proponents of evolutionary psychology and its detractors is intractable.

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2

in childhood obesity that has occurred in the Some have attributed the dramatic increase United States from the 1990s throughout the 2000s to increased consumption of high fructose corn syrup—also called maize syrup or glucose-fructose syrup—by members of this demographic. When oligosaccharides, which are produced by treating cornstarch with alpha-amylase, are broken down into simple sugar glucose by glucoamylase and are then converted into 42% fructose and 50-52% glucose by mixing some other sugars along with xylose isomerase, HFCS—high fructose corn syrup—is created. Increases in consumption of HFCS have been accompanied by a huge spike in obesity rates among children and adolescents.

However, studies by the American Medical Association reveal that absorption by the body of HFCS is not relevantly dissimilar to the body’s absorption of sucrose, commonly known as table sugar. While further epidemiological studies are needed to test the long-term effects of such sweeteners, other studies do show that increased consumption of sugar in general is a leading cause for the spike in obesity among children. In the last 20 years, sugar consumption in the U.S. has increased from 26 pounds per person per year to 135 pounds per person per year.

Given the analyses, which suggest that substantial increases in sucrose consumption may have negative effects on metabolic

control, it is very likely that these increases are signiﬁcantly responsible for the rise in childhood obesity. Thus, children should be discouraged from consuming in large quantities any type of reﬁned sugar, whether it be table sugar or HFCS. Accordingly, in an effort to promote public health, especially among our youth, government policy makers need not consider removing the corn subsidies that make HFCS a cheaper alternative to sucrose for food manufactures but instead should consider limiting the sale of all foods with high concentrations of sucrose to children.

Line 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Question 1

The primary purpose of the passage is to argue against a failed policy

recommend a change in HFCS consumption

correct a faulty methodology consider the implications of a study advocate for the amelioration of children’s

health

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

An explanation is provided, a reason for its rejection is offered, and further studies are recommended.

An explanation is put forth; a possible objection is raised and then dismissed. An incomplete explanation is revised and a

recommendation based on that revision is proffered.

A phenomenon is explained; that explanation is defended and forms the basis for a policy recommendation.

A point of view is defended against critique but then dismissed in favor of a more effective policy.

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3 PERCENT CHANGE

Question 1

A dress that originally sold for $120 now sells for $96. The new price is what percent less than the original price ? 8% 12% 20% 24% 33 1 3%

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Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 2

If x is the percent increase from 3 to 4, for which of the following does x = y ?

Indicate all such answers.

.

y is the percent decrease from 4 to 3

.

y is the percent decrease from 12 to 8

.

y is the percent increase from 6 to 8

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Write the percentage change formula: Percent change =

difference

original

×100

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3 RATIOS

Question 3

A can of nuts has almonds and cashews in a ratio of

x : y. If there are z almonds in the can, which of the

following represents the number of cashews?

y(x + z) y(z − y) xy z yz x x yz

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Question 4

A certain jar contains pennies and nickels in a ratio of 7 : 4, respectively. After three pennies are removed, the ratio of pennies to nickels is 3 : 2.

12 The number of

nickels in the jar

Question 5 The ratio of a to b is 3 to 4. Quantity A Quantity B a b + + 1 1 4 5

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3 AVERAGES

Question 6

The average salary of 12 employees at a certain ﬁrm is $35,000. If the average salary of 8 of the employees is $40,000, what is the average salary of the other 4 employees?

$25,000

$27,000

$27,500

$28,000

$30,000

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Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 7

The average score for half of the students in a class on a certain test was 90. The average score for another fourth of the students was 80. If the average (arithmetic mean) score for all of the students was 78, what was the average score for the remaining students?

52 58 64 70 78

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3

Question 8

Hours Spent Text Messaging

Hours per teenager Number of teenagers

6 1

8 2

10 3

12 3

14 4

The table above shows the number of hours spent text messaging in a week by a group of 13 teenagers. What is the median number of hours of text messaging per teenager?

9 10 11 12 13

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Question 9 Set A = {5, 5, 4, 4, 1, 6, 3, x, y}

The mode of set A, above, is 5 and the median is 4. If x > y, and x and y are both integers, what is the greatest possible value of y ?

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3 RATES

Question 10

Rob and David live 200 miles apart. Deciding to have a picnic, they both start driving at 9:00 a.m., traveling in a straight line towards each other. Rob and David drive at an average speed of 30 and 50 miles per hour, respectively. At what time do they meet for their picnic?

11:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 3:40 p.m.

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Trigger: _______________________________________________________________

Question 11

Working at a constant rate, Machine A produces

x donuts in 12 hours. Working at a constant rate,

Machine B produces x donuts in 6 hours.

The number of hours it will take both machines working together to pro-duce x

2 donuts

The number of hours it will take Machine B to produce x

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3 DRILL

Question 1 of 8

Q is a set of consecutive odd integers.

The average of set Q The median of set Q

Question 2 of 8

At a certain factory, each worker either drives to work or takes the bus. The ratio of workers who take the bus to work to those who drive to work is 2 : 5. If 120 workers drive to work, how many workers are there at the factory?

300 240 168 48 24 Question 3 of 8

The average age of the members of club K is 22 years. The average age of the members of club Q is 29 years. The average age of the members of both clubs combined is 27 years.

Quantity A Quantity B The number of members in club K The number of members in club Q

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Question 4 of 8

If Dan had increased his average speed by 20 miles per hour, he would have decreased the time it took him to drive from his job to a certain restaurant by 25%. What was Dan’s actual average speed, in miles per hour, when he drove from his job to the restaurant?

30

40

45

50

60 Question 5 of 8 Depth of W

ater (in inches)

Depth of Smith Pond

May _June July

August

September

October

November

During a drought, the depth of a pond was

measured each month from May through October. Each unit on the vertical axis represents 1 inch. If the depth of the lake decreased 20 percent from July to August, what was the depth of the lake in August?

5 inches

20 inches

25 inches

30 inches

40 inches

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3

Question 6 of 8

Stan drives at an average speed of 60 miles per hour from Town A to Town B, a distance of 150 miles. Ollie drives at an average speed of 50 miles per hour from Town C to Town B, a distance of 120 miles.

Amount of time Stan spends driving

Amount of time Ollie spends driving

Question 7 of 8

The average of 2 numbers is x. If the average of x and y is z, which of the following is y in terms of x and z ? x+ z 2 x+ z 3 2z − x z x 3 − 2 3z − 2x Question 8 of 8 Earthquake Fault Zones Average Annual Frequency of Earthquakes 1986-1993 Zone One Zone Two Zone Three Zone Four Zone Five x 8.7 5.3 5.7 y

In the chart above, if the mean frequency of earthquakes in Zones One, Two, and Three is 8.0, and the mean frequency of earthquakes in Zones Four and Five is 5.5, then how much less than the mean of the ﬁve annual earthquake frequencies is the mode of the ﬁve annual earthquake

frequencies?

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3 SUMMARY

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“…percent

change…”

“…percent

decrease/less…”

“…percent

increase/more…”

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Write

formula:

Percent change =

difference

original

×100

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“…ratio…”

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Draw ratio box on scratch

paper.

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“…average…”

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Draw an Average Pie every

time the word average appears

in the question.

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“…median…”

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Identify the list and put the

numbers in order.

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“…speed…”

“…rate…”

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Write formula: D

= R × T

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Lesson 3

Verbal

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3

Question 1

Bob is well known for being _________ because he frequently gives money to charities.

.

critical

.

stingy

.

cunning

.

munificent

.

famous

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Your word/phrase:

Ignore the answer choices. Don’t plug the words into

the sentence.

Steps for Sentence Equivalence Questions

1. Find the Story.

2. Come up with your own word or phrase for the blank. Write that word or phrase down on your scratch paper.

3. Check each answer choice and use your scratch paper:

✓

an answer that sort of matches your word × an answer that does not at all match your word ? any word you don’t know

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3 GET A CLUE

Who or what is the blank talking about?

What information does the sentence give you about that person or thing?

The clue is the word or phrase in the sentence that indicates

what word or idea must go in the blank.

His greatest talent was his _________ : his ability to lie to anyone.

Suddenly he _________ , and no one could tell where he had disappeared to.

Acclaimed by several important artists as a prodigy, Van Vliet was a sculpting _________ .

Th e _________ professor was so talkative that his rambling lectures would continue long after the students had left the lecture hall.

Tamson was so gifted a singer that her colleagues were often dazzled by her _________ and failed to appreciate her other talents.

Art critics have characterized Jackson’s latest work as a _________ of diff erent ideas, all thrown together with little thought of any unifying theme.

Th e _________ stories in Brown’s novels, which were written in the early years after the founding of the United States of America and are frequently the subject of contextual analysis by historians, are noted for their dark, forbidding tone.

Revised_GRE_Manual_7.pdf

Manual for the

GRE

®

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

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Introduction

DO YOUR RESEARCH

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JUST WHAT IS THE GRE?

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE GRE?

WHAT DOES THE GRE TEST?

The GRE tests how well you take the GRE.

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WHO IS ETS?

ETS has the right to administer the GRE, which tests how well

you take the GRE, because it administers the GRE.

HOW DOES ETS WRITE THE TEST?

Unpaid Guinea Pigs

Setting Traps

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ELEMENTS OF THE TEST

The Essays

Verbal and Quantitative

Experimental

How “Adaptive by Section” Works

ELEMENTS OF THE COURSE

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SCORE IMPROVEMENTS

Results Come in Stages

TECHNIQUES

The techniques do three jobs, all equally important.

First, they ensure that you answer correctly the questions that

you should get right. Second, they make hard questions easier.

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Global Technique #1: Take the Easy Test First

Global Technique #2: Scratch Paper

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Global Technique #3: The Mark Button

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Global Technique #4: Pacing

Lesson 1

Math

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PLUGGING IN