GRE/GMAT MATH REVIEW

WELCOME

If its been years since youve taken a math class, then you might feel that your computation skills and math knowledge are a little rusty. Its probably been some time since youve regularly done multiplication and long division without a calculator handy. You may not remember the precise denition of a prime number or how to solve an inequality. These sorts of skills and knowledge form the basis of whats tested in GRE and GMAT math sections. Many questions test your knowledge of math concepts, and even the most dicult questions involve math fundamentals. To do your best, you also need to be able to perform calculations quickly and accurately. In this seminar, we will help bring you back up to speed by reviewing math basics. We cant cover everything you need to know about math in just a few hours, so well focus on the most important core material. Well discuss: Number properties Fractions, decimals, and percentages Algebra Exponents and Roots

Rest assured that the prework and lessons in your course oer comprehensive coverage of all the math tested on your exam. Youll build on what you learn in this session, and you will be prepared for anything you might encounter on the GRE or GMAT.

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GMAT/GRE Math Review

NUMBER PROPERTIES
INTEGERS
Integers are whole numbers including negative numbers and 0. No fractions; no decimals. Examples of Integers 14, 5, 0, 39, 1438 Circle the integers below:
6 8 7.00

Examples of Non-integers 7 3 23.6, , , 59.475 3 4

12 4

EVEN AND ODD

An even number is divisible by 2. An odd number is not divisible by 2. Even and odd apply only to integers! Theres no such thing as an even or odd fraction.

Rules for Operations with Even and Odd Numbers

If you forget these rules, you can always gure them out by testing a pair of numbers. Note that there are no even/odd rules for division. Division often produces fractions, which are neither even nor odd.
Rule Even Even = Even Even Odd = Even Odd Odd = Odd Even Even = Even Odd Even = Odd Odd Odd = Even Example 4 6 = _______ 8 7 = _______ 3 5 = _______ 12 + 6 = _______ 17 6 = _______ 7 + 5 = _______

Indicate whether x is even, odd, or if its impossible to determine:

1. 4 x + 7 is odd Even Even Even Odd Odd Odd Cant determine Cant determine Cant determine

2. x = 32,455 2,021 3. x = even number even number

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POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

Negative numbers are less than 0. Positive numbers are greater than 0.

Rules for Multiplication and Division

If the signs are the same, multiplication or division produces a positive result.
Positive Positive = Positive Negative Negative = Positive 3 7 = _______ 30 10 = _______

If the signs are dierent, multiplication or division produces a negative result.

Positive Negative = Negative Negative Positive = Negative 6 7 = _______ 2 8 = _______

Indicate whether x is positive, negative, or if its impossible to determine.

1. x= 45 2 5.35

( )

Positive

Negative

Cant determine

3 2. 3 x 7 is even 3. 0 x = 0

Positive Positive

Negative Negative

Cant determine Cant determine

PROPERTIES OF ZERO
Zero has some special properties that are important to remember: 0 is an integer. 0 is an even number. 0 is neither positive nor negative. 0 times anything is equal to 0. 0 divided by anything is equal to 0. Anything divided by 0 is undened. Division by 0 is impossible.

Determine whether the following statements are true or false.

1. All odd numbers are positive or negative. True True True False False False

2. All even numbers are positive or negative. 3. 1 0 = 0

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ABSOLUTE VALUE

Remember the number line?

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 How many units away from 0 is the number 5? _______ This number represents the absolute value. The absolute value of any positive number is simply the number itself. How about negative numbers? Whats the absolute value of 5? How many units away from 0 is 5? _____ This is the absolute value. The absolute value of any negative number is the positive equivalent of the number. Absolute value is a term that represents how far a number is from 0 on the number line. The symbol for absolute value is . Thus, 5 = 5 and 5 = 5. Determine the value of x in the following:
1. x = 3

2. x = 244 3. x =6

FACTORS
Factors are numbers that divide evenly into a given number. For example, 6 is a factor of 18 because 6 divides evenly into 18 three times. 18 6 = 3. This also means that 3 is a factor of 18 because 18 3 = 6. We can say that 3 and 6 are both factors of 18. To nd all the factors of a number, start with 1 and the number itself. Move up in pairs until the numbers converge. Here are all the factors of 60. (In ordinary math and on standardized tests, we only concern ourselves with positive factors.) 1 and 60 2 and 30 3 and 20 4 and 15 5 and 12 6 and 10 Thats it. Notice that the pairs have gotten closer together. There are no factors between 6 and 10, so you know youve found them all.
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GMAT/GRE Math Review List all the factors of the following numbers:
36 45 72

MULTIPLES
A multiple is the result of multiplying two positive integers. To put it another way, a multiple is a number that is divisible by a factor. Multiples are the ip side of factors. Because 6 is a factor of 18, 18 is a multiple of 6. While you can list all the factors of a number, you cant list all the multiples, because they go on forever. The multiples of 6 are 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, ... never ending.
1. What is the rst multiple of 15?

2. Is 21 a multiple of 42? 3. What is the lowest common multiple of 6 and 8?

PRIME NUMBERS
A prime number is a number with only two factorsone and itself. The number 1 is not prime. The rst ten prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, and 29. Prime numbers only refer to positive integerstheres no such thing as a negative prime number or a prime fraction. Two is the rst prime number, and its the only even prime number. All other prime numbers are odd. Answer the following questions:
1. x is the product of an even single-digit prime number and an odd single-digit prime number. What are the possible values of x? _______

2. How many prime numbers are there between 30 and 50? _______ 3. Integer y has a factor n such that 1 < n < y. Is y prime? _______

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PRIME FACTORIZATION

Breaking a number down into its prime factors can be handy in a number of situations. To do so, create a factor tree and keep breaking the numbers into factors until you have prime numbers. 120 / \ 6 20 /\ /\ 23 45 /\ 22 Thus, the prime factorization of 120 is 2 3 2 2 5. Break down the following numbers into their prime factorizations.
28 72 154

When youre answering test questions, you must know in what order to perform calculations. The standard acronym for this is PEMDAS, which you can also be remember with the sentence: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. More properly it looks like this: P|E|M D|A S P stands for parentheses. Solve expressions in parentheses rst. E stands for exponents. Solve expressions with exponents next. M stands for multiplication, and D stands for division. Do all the multiplication and division together in the same step, going from left to right. A stands for addition, and S stands for subtraction. Do all the addition and subtraction together in the same step, going from left to right. Perform the following operations:
1. 2. 3. 6 150 3 2 + 3

ORDER OF OPERATIONS

7 3 15 8 4 + 82 44 4 =

(4 (10 25)) + 3

5+4=

2=

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FRACTIONS, DECIMALS, AND PERCENTAGES

Fractions, decimals, and percentages are simply dierent ways of expressing part-to-whole relationships. Its important to be comfortable working with all three.

FRACTIONS

2 Fractions are expressed with a fraction bar, which is also a division bar. When we write the fraction , were 3 really saying 2 3. 2 The top part of a fraction is called the numerator, and the bottom is called the denominator, so in , 2 is the 3 numerator and 3 is the denominator. Another good way of thinking about fractions is as a part relationship. whole

If there are 5 men in a room and 7 women, what fraction of the room is male? _______

When the numerator is greater than the denominatorand theyre both positiveyou have a fraction 5 greater than 1, also called an improper fraction. For example, is greater than 1. If you did the division, you 2 1 would get 2 . This is called a mixed number. 2
1. How would you express 4 2 3 as an improper fraction? _______

2. Express 16 as a fraction. _______

A reciprocal is what you get when you ip a fraction upside down.

1. What is the reciprocal of 16? _______ 1 2. What is the reciprocal of 5 5 1 4 ? _______

3. What is the value of

? _______

Any number divided by itself is equal to _______.

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Comparing Fractions
Answering test questions may require you to compare fractions and determine which quantity is greater.
Which is larger, 5 8 or 6 8 ? 12 5 or 13 5 ?

When the numerator of a fraction changes, and the denominator remains the same, the value of the fraction will go in the ______________ direction as the numerator.
Which is larger, 3 7 or 3 8 ? 7 2 or 7 3 ?

When the denominator of a fraction changes, and the numerator remains the same, the value of the fraction will go in the ______________ direction as the denominator. The Bowtie makes it easy to compare fractions. Multiply diagonally up (opposing denominators and numerators). The side with the larger product has a greater value.
Which is larger, Which is larger, 4 7 8 3 or or 5 9 5 ? ?

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Reducing Fractions
Reducing fractions means dividing the top and bottom of the fraction by the same number until no more division is possible. Reduce the following fractions:
18 126 12 60 23 56

Multiplication and Division

Multiplying fractions is a snap. Just multiply across the top and bottom. You can multiply and reduce, or you can cancel rst, then multiply.
1. 2. 3 4 6 4 2 5 5 9 = = 32 45 =

Dividing fractions is also simple. Just ip the second fraction upside down and multiply.
1. 3 5 9 5 5 8 3 10 =

2.

Addition and Subtraction

When the denominators are the same, simply add or subtract the numerators.
3 11
8

5 11

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GMAT/GRE Math Review Addition and subtraction are a little trickier when you have dierent denominators, but using the Bowtie makes the calculation easy.
1. 2. 3. 2 9 5 4 7 9 + + 3 4 1 3 5 2 = = 5 6 + 2 3 =

On problems like the last one, youre best o nding common denominators. For other problems, you can use the Bowtie or common denominators, whichever allows you to solve problems more quickly and accurately.

Fraction Tricks
1. Multiplying a number by 1 7 1 5 is the same as dividing it by ______________.

2. Therefore, 3. What is 2 7

of 42 = ______________.

of 42? ______________

One way to take a fraction of a number is to divide by the ______________ and then multiply by the ______________.

part Decimals are another way of expressing a relationship. Any fraction can be converted into a decimal whole and vice versa.

DECIMALS

Adding and Subtracting Decimals

To add and subtract decimals, line up the decimal points, and add or subtract as you normally would.
1. 46.15 + 127.74 =

2. 8.654 3.27 =

Multiplying Decimals
Theres a neat trick for multiplying decimals. Ignore the decimals at rst and multiply the numbers as if they were just plain integers. Next, count how many decimal places were in your original numbers and add them back to the result.
1. 4.21 3.6 =

2. 12.9 25.8 =

3. 4.7 3.1 .44 =

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Dividing Decimals
Dividing decimals is a little dierent from multiplying them. Move the decimal points of both numbers until the divisorthe number youre dividing byis an integer.
1. 148.75 42.5 42.5 148.75

2. 12.8 6.25

6.25 12.8

3. 21.6 8

8 21.6

Place Value
Its useful to understand place value when dealing with decimals. What does each digit represent in the number 4368.3279?
4 3 6 8 3 2 7 9

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

.325 expressed as a fraction is __________. Which is larger, the hundreds digit of 10,674, or the hundredths digit of 1.438?

Decimal Tricks
One of the neat things you can do with decimals is multiply and divide numbers by 10 simply by moving the decimal point. Multiplying by 10 moves the decimal one place to the right, and dividing by 10 moves the decimal one place to the left.
1. 13.458 100 = __________

2. 142 10 = __________

part relationship. A percentage is a fraction of 100. Percent whole 35 literally means per cent per 100. So 35% is the equivalent of . Its also equivalent to the decimal .35. 100 Percentages can thus be converted easily into decimals and fractions, and vice versa. Percentages are one more way of expressing a To convert a percentage into a decimal, move the decimal point two spaces to the __________. To convert a decimal into a percentage, move the decimal point two spaces to the __________.
1. 1 12 % = __________ 2 2. 1.36 = __________%

PERCENTAGES

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Percent Translation
Many word problems involving percentages can be translated into math equations, which you can then solve. Heres a quick English-Math dictionary.

English percent of what is

1. What is 15% of 60?

Math 100 x, y (any variable)

2. 20 is what percent of 125? 3. 30% of 50% of 60 is equal to __________.

Percent Change
To calculate percent change, use the formula: Percent change = difference 100 original

If the problem asks for a percent increase, or what percent greater, then the original number is the _______ one. (You can only increase if you started smaller than you ended up.) If the problem asks for a percent decrease, or what percent less, then the original number is the __________ one. (You can only decrease if you started larger than you ended up.)
1. In 1995, only 2,400 homes in Belmont County had high-speed internet access. In 1999, 3,000 homes had high-speed internet access. What was the percent increase in Belmont County of homes with high-speed internet access?

2. Jasons music collection contains 600 CDs. Sandras music collection contains 500 CDs. Sandras music collection is what percent smaller than Jasons?

3. Which is larger, the percent increase from 4 to 5, or the percent decrease from 5 to 4?

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GMAT/GRE Math Review

Percentage Tricks
Be careful whenever youre asked to compare, add, or subtract percentages. There are some sneaky pitfalls you must avoid.
1. If you increase the price of an item 25% and then reduce the new price by 25%, the resulting price is lower than/higher than/the same as (circle one) the original price.

2. If you discount an item 10% and then reduce the price by another 10%, the total discount is 20%. True False 3. If 32% of the boys in a school are honor students and 32% of the girls in a school are honor students, then there are an equal number of male and female honor students at the school. True False

Tip Calculation
The technique you use to calculate a 15% or 20% tip can be used in other situations with percentages.
Restaurant check = $52.40 Desired tip = 15% 10% of 52.40 = __________ 5% of 52.40 = __________ 15% of 52.40 = __________

Now try these:

1. 30% of 75 =

2. 12% of 1,200 =

Ballparking, or estimating, is a very important skill for standardized tests. Not only does this technique save you from considering answer choices that, with a little thought, are clearly too large or too small to be correct, but it also allows you to use easier numbers in your calculations.
1. expressed as a decimal is approximately 7 . 2. 4 is approximately equal to . 3 .

BALLPARKING

3. .247 40 is approximately equal to

How to Round Numbers

In order to know whether its safe to round a number, consider the size of the number youre starting with and by how much youre rounding. As a rule of thumb, never round by more than 10 percent and try to keep it to 5 percent or less.

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GMAT/GRE Math Review Are the following roundings are safe to use?
1. 225 to 300?

2. 246,000 to 250,000? 3. 53 to 50? 4. 13 to 10? 5. .343 to .35?

ALGEBRA

If its been a long time since you had algebra in high school, you might be a little rusty, but with a little practice youll be back in the swing of things.

WORKING WITH EQUATIONS

The most basic part of algebra is manipulating equations. Often the goal is to solve for a variable, but sometimes you simply need to shift terms around. Manipulating equations starts with the following fundamental rule. Whatever you do to one side of the equation, you must do to the other side. Lets start with some basic equations.
1. 5 y 4 = 8 + 2y

2. 10 + z = 3 z + 6

3. 6 x 9 = 5

Clearing Fractions
When an equation contains a fraction, you usually need to clear the fraction in order to solve the equation. Remember that a fraction bar signals division. Therefore, to clear a fraction, you need to multiply.
1. x 3 + 9 = 16

2.

8 5z

= 16

3.

2 3

y4=8
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Cross Multiplication
When you have two fractions set equal to each other, you can cross-multiply.
1. 3 2y = 2 5

2.

5x x 1

4 3

Simultaneous Equations
Can you solve for the value of x in the following equation? What about the value of y ?
2 x + 7y = 22

What if we have a second equation?

2 x 4y = 11

To solve a linear equation with two variables, you need two equations. Lets look at those last two equations again, this time stacked:
2 x + 7y = 22 2 x 4y = 11

Solve these pairs of equations for x and y.

1. 2 y 3x = 2 9 y + 3x = 75

2. 3 x + 2y = 8 12 x + 5 y = 47

Pay attention to what youre being asked to nd. Sometimes you dont need to solve for the individual variables.
If 3 w + 3 z = 13, and 4w 4 z = 6, then what is the value of 7w z ?

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Inequalities
For the most part, you can manipulate inequalities as you do equations. There is one extra rule to remember. Whenever you multiply or divide an inequality by a negative number, you have to ip the direction of the inequality sign.
1. 4 x 5 > 43

2. 6 x 9 < 8 x + 11

3. If x <

3 z

, is xz < 3 ?

EXPONENTS
x2 i x3 =

Exponents are shorthand for multiplication. Instead of writing 3 3 3 3, we write 34 . This means that you can always expand an exponent into a multiplication problem if you need to. When you multiply with the same base, you __________ the exponents.
y4 y2 =

When you divide with the same base, you __________ the exponents.

(z )
2

When you raise an exponent to another power, you __________ the exponents. Together, these rules give you the acronym MADSPM. Try these problems.
1. 2. 3. w4 w = z7 z6
4

=
4

(y )

=
3

4.

x5 i x7 = 4 x

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Special Exponent Rules

Any number raised to the rst power is __________. 1 raised to any power is __________. 0 raised to any power is __________.* Any number raised to the 0 power is __________.* *00 is undened, but this isnt tested on standardized tests.
What is the value of 3 2 ? __________ What is the value of 3 ? __________

( ) ( )

Any negative number raised to an even power is __________. Any negative number raised to an odd power is __________.
Which is larger, 5

( )

32

or 6

( )

31

If x 2 = 16 , what is the value of x? __________

Be careful. Variables raised to even powers have two solutions.

If y 2 25 , what is the value of y? __________

Watch out for inequalities that contain variables. Make sure you consider the negative solution as well as the positive one.
1 1 Which is larger, or ? 2 2
2

When you apply exponents to proper fractions between 0 and 1, they become __________.

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Negative and Fractional Exponents

Negative and fractional exponents look much scarier than they really are.
1. 2. 3. x 2 = __________ 23 = __________ y2 y6 = __________

Negative exponents have nothing to do with negative numbers. When you see a negative exponent, ip the number upside down to get the reciprocal.
1

1. 2. 3. 4.

x 2 = __________
1

4 2 = __________
1

8 3 = __________
2

8 3 = __________

If you see a fractional exponent, remember that the bottom of the fraction is the root, and the top is the exponent. One last thing to remember is that negative and fractional exponents obey all the MASDPM rules that we looked at a little while ago.
y 2 y 2 = _______
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Factoring and Canceling Exponents

Since exponents are all about multiplication, you can break an exponent problem into factors that produce your original number.
1. 2. 3. 129 36 = __________ = __________

105 53 2 154 252

= __________

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SQUARE ROOTS
The sign. sign denotes the positive square root only. The sign is also sometimes called the radical

25 = __________ x 2 = 9 gives the same information as x = 9. True False

Combining Square Roots

The only time you can add or subtract square roots is when you have the same number under the square root sign.
2 5 + 4 5 = _______

Multiplying and dividing square roots, however, is easy.

1. 12 3 = 75 3 75 3 = 12 3 =

2.

= 3 15 5

3.

3 15 5

Factoring Square Roots

Because you can combine square roots with multiplication, you can also split them apart by factoring. This is important for simplifying square roots, because you have to pull out any perfect square factors from the square root sign. Keep an eye out for the following perfect squares: The Perfect Squares up to 12 2
12 = 1 52 = 25 92 = 81 22 = 4 62 = 36 102 = 100 32 = 9 72 = 49 112 = 121 42 = 16 82 = 64 122 = 144

Lets simplify a few square roots by factoring out the perfect squares.
1. 2. 3. 75 = 48 = 2 45 =

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Estimating Square Roots

You can estimate the value of square roots by looking for the nearest perfect squares to the number under the radical sign. Lets work with 44 .
44 lies between which two perfect squares? __________ and __________ Therefore, 44 44 lies between which two numbers? __________

Estimate the value of the following square roots:

1. 2. 3. 72 3 18 6 24

Rationalizing Square Roots

Sometimes you nd a fraction with a radical in the denominator, such as 10 . Theres nothing wrong with 2 this if youre going to do something with the fraction, for example, multiply it, add to it, or compare it to something else. However, the fraction is not considered fully reduced. In order to reduce it, you need a little trick called rationalizing the denominator. Rationalize a root in the denominator of a fraction by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the root. Because youre multiplying the fraction by 1, you wont change the value. x x = y y y y = x y y

10 2

10 2

2 2

Try one yourself:

5 3 =

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Comparing Square Roots

To compare two numbers that contain square roots, square both numbers to clear out the radicals.
Which is larger, 3 6 or 5 2 ? 3 6 = 5 2 = Which is larger, 8 2 or 6?
2 2

THE DISTRIBUTIVE LAW

The distributive law states:
a b + c = ab + ac

When solving problems, its often useful to rearrange expressions. The distributive law allows you to factor common terms from expressions.

For example, 3( 2 + 5) = (3 2) + (3 5) = 21.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

3 4+5 = 3 xz 9 zw = 5 xy + 10 x y +2 x2 + x3 = 4y5 2y5 2y3 = =

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KEEP WORKING

We hope youve found this session useful. Here are some ideas for how to continue to build your math knowledge.

MAKE FLASHCARDS

When you encounter a term or formula, create a ashcard. Put the term or formula on one side and the denition or explanation on the back. Carry a few cards at a time, and quiz yourself whenever you have a few free minutes.

USE YOUR MATH SKILLS

Practice the techniques youve learned here in your everyday life. If youre shopping and an item is advertised as 20 percent o, quickly calculate the discount. When youre at the grocery store, try Ballparking your total bill. At work, add up the budget numbers without a calculator, and then use the calculator to check your results when youre done. The more you practice math skills, the more procient youll become.

ANALYZE TEST QUESTIONS

When youre doing homework, analyze problems before you solve them. Ask yourself: What concepts is this problem testing? What rules do I have to apply to solve the problem? What kinds of calculations do I have to perform?

The better you get at spotting what a question is testing, the better and faster you will become at solving math problems.

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