Manhattan Review GMAT Prep Quantitative Question Types

Quantitative Section of the GMAT Question Types

There are two types of questions you will encounter on the Quantitative section of the GMAT – Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving. Whichever question type you are working on, it will require a basic knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. For the most part, these questions are written to analyze your reasoning and critical thinking skills with less of a focus on complex mathematical skills. That said, it is important to remember that you will not be able to use a calculator on the Quantitative section of the GMAT, so you will want to brush up on these skills. All practice questions you do should be done without a calculator to quickly highlight any deficiencies you may have before the day of the exam.

• Problem Solving Questions
  

  Problem Solving questions comprise of about half of the questions in the Quantitative section of the GMAT. These are more traditional logical and analytical questions in which you are presented with a question and five multiple-choice answers to choose from. Generally, they are presented as word problems, so you will first have to understand what the test makers are asking and translate the question into a mathematical expression. As mentioned above, these questions will require you to use either arithmetic, basic algebra, or basic geometry. It is possible you will be able to use more complex math to solve the problem, but you will not HAVE to. While preparing for exam day, you should be ready to use the simplest, and likely quickest, math tools to come up with the solution.

• Data Sufficiency Questions
  

  Data Sufficiency questions are not exactly asking you to solve a problem, rather, they are testing whether you can accurately assess for relevant information and decide if you have all the needed information to be able to solve a problem. You will be given two statements with data in them. Using your knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and/or geometry and the provided data, you will have to determine if you are able to answer the given question.