GMAT Algebra & Arithmetic Set #1

1. –2 (– 4 – (– 3 + 5)) =
(A) – 16
(B) – 10
(C) 6
(D) 12
(E) 16

2. x ( x + 1 ) ( x + 2 ) + x ( x + 3 ) =
(A) x 3 + 4 x 2 + 5x
(B) x 3 + 3x 2 + 2 x
(C) x 3 + 6 x 2 + 3x
(D) 2 x 3 + 3x 2 + 5 x
(E) 2x 2 + 6x + 2

3.The value of which of the following expressions is equal to 2 ?

2
I. 2 + 2
2
2
II. 2 + 22
2
4
III. 2 + 24
24
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I, II, and III

4. There are how many hours between x minutes past 12 noon and 8:10 p.m. of the same day, where x < 60?

(A) 490 − x
60
(B) 480 −x
60
(C) 470 −x
60
(D) 60 (60 – x + 7)
(E) 60 (60 – x + 17)

5. If x = 4 and y = 16, then x + y is closest to which of the following ?

xy

(A) 1 (B) 1 (C) 3 (D) 7 (E) 1

3 2 4 8

6. Which of the following fractions, if written as a decimal, would have a 2 in the thousandths place ?

(A) 3 (B) 7 (C) 1 (D) 4 (E) 1

11 9 8 7 6
 ⎛ 1 ⎞⎛ 1 ⎞
⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟
7. ⎝ 2 ⎠⎝ 3 ⎠ =
1 1
÷
2 3

(A) 1 (B) 1 (C) 1 (D) 3 (E) 6

9 4 2

8. Of the following sums, which is greatest ?

(A) 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
2 3 4 5
(B) 1 1 1 1
+ + +
2 2 32 4 2 52
(C) 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
2 2 23 24 25
(D) 1 − 1 + 1 − 1
2 3 4
(E) + 1 + 1 + 1
1
2 3 4 5

9. A telephone call costs $1.25 for the first minute and $0.32 for each additional minute. What is the cost, in
dollars, of a telephone call that lasts for x minutes, where x is an integer?
(A) 0.32+ 1.25x
(B) 1.25+ 0.32x
(C) 0.32+ 1.25(x - 1)
(D) 1.25+ 0.32(x + 1)
(E) 1.25 + 0.32(x - 1)

10. If x and y are two-digit integers such that x > 40 and y<70, which of the following is closest to the
maximum possible value of xy ?
(A) 700
(B) 2,800
(C) 4,000
(D) 7,000
(E) 28,000

11. If xy ≠ 0 and 1 − 1 = cx . Which of the following is equal to c ?

x y

(A) x
y (1 − x 2 )
(B) 1
− x2 y
(C) y − x
x2 y
(D) y − x
y
(E) y
y−x
12. If P dollars is invested at an annual interest rate of 5 percent, which of the following gives the amount of
simple interest, in dollars, earned after n months ?
(A) 0.05P + n
(B) 0.05P + n
12
(C) 0.05P × n
(D) 0.05P × 1
12 n
(E) 0.05P × n
12

13. If x = 2u, then the average (arithmetic mean) of x and u, in terms of u, is

(A) u (B) u (C) 2u (D) 3u (E) 3u

3 2 3 4 2

14. A book dealer buys used books for prices ranging from $0.75 to $1.50 and then sells them for prices
ranging from $3.00 to $5.50. If the dealer were to sell 20 of these books, the minimum gross profit from
this sale would be
(A) $15
(B) $30
(C) $45
(D) $50
(E) $80

15. If x (a + b) = y, where y ≠ 0 and 2a = 3b = 1, then y =

x

(A) 1 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 5 (E) 6

6 3 3 6 5

16. If ⎛⎜ 3 x − 5 ⎞⎟ y = y and y ≠ 0, then x =

⎝ 2 ⎠

(A) 2 (B) 5 (C) 7 (D) 1 (E) 4

3 3 3

1 , and
17. If x = (0.08) 2 , y = z = (1 − 0.08) 2 − 1, which of the following is true ?
(0.08) 2
(A) x = y = z
(B) y < z < x
(C) z < x < y
(D) y < x and x = z
(E) x < y and x = z

18. If the numbers 17 , 1 , 3 , 3 , and 9 were ordered from greatest to least, the middle number of the
24 2 8 4 16
resulting sequence would be

(A) 17 (B) 1 (C) 3 (D) 3 (E) 9

24 2 8 4 16
19. If x + y = 1 , then y =
xy
(A) x
x −1
(B) x
x +1
(C) x − 1
x
(D) + 1
x
x
(E) x

20. Kim purchased n items from a catalog for $8 each. Postage and handling charges consisted of $3 for the
first item and $1 for each additional item. Which of the following gives the total dollar amount of Kim’s
purchase, including postage and handling, in terms of n ?
(A) 8n + 2
(B) 8n + 4
(C) 9n + 2
(D) 9n + 3
(E) 9n + 4
0
21. Billy has 1/6 as much money as Dan, and Carol has 2/3 as much money as Dan. If Billy has $20, how
much money does Carol have?
(A) $80 (B) $90 (C) $120 (D) $150 (E) $180

22. An association of mathematics teachers has 1,260 members. Only 525 of these members cast votes in the
election for president of the association. What percent of the total membership voted for the winning
candidate if the winning candidate received 60 percent of the votes cast?
(A) 75% (B) 58% (C) 42% (D) 34% (E) 25%

23. A certain taxi fare consists of an initial charge of $1.25 and an additional charge of $0.25 for each 1 mile
5
traveled. What is the total fare for a trip of 2.4 miles?
(A) $4.25
(B) $3.00
(C) $2.25
(D) $1.85
(E) $1.75

24. If 4
= 1, which of the following must be true ?
a
5−
b
(A) a = 0
(B) b = 0
(C) a = 1
(D) b = 1
(E) a = b

25. y = kx + 3
In the equation above, k is a constant. If y = 17 when x = 2, what is the value of y when x = 4 ?

(A) 34 (B) 31 (C) 14 (D) 11 (E) 7

26. 1 1
− =
1 1
1+ 1+
3 2

(A) − 1 (B) − 1 (C) − 1 (D) 1 (E) 1

3 6 12 12 3

27. If 1 − 1 = 1 , then x could be

x x +1 x + 4

(A) 0 (B) –1 (C) –2 (D) -3 (E) -4

28. The employees of Smith Enterprises received wage increases ranging from 30 cents to 87 1 cents per hour.
2
What was the maximum wage increase for a 40-hour week?
(A) $12.00 (B) $23.00 (C) $34.80 (D) $35.00 (E) $35.20

29. If x = y + 4 and x = 20 – y, then x 2 − y 2 =

(A) 16 (B) 80 (C) 144 (D) 256 (E) 384

30. If a and b are integers and b ≠ 0，which of the following CANNOT equal 0 ?
(A) ab
(B) a - b
(C) a + b
(D) ab - b2
(E) a2 + b2

31. Three musical tones have frequencies x, y, and z, respectively. If x, y, and z are positive, x = y , and 2x = z,
y z
what is y in terms of x ?

(A) 2 (B) ( 2 ) x (C) 1 x (D) 1 x (E) 2 x

2 2 3

32. Which of the following fractions is equal to 0.16 ?

(A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 8 (E) 25

4 25 8 5 4

33. If x is a positive number less than 10, which of the following is least ?
(A) x – 20
(B) x
(C) 0
(D) –x
(E) 20 – x

34. A computer programmer needs to print 148 documents. The documents have an average (arithmetic mean)
length of 10 pages and the printer takes 15 seconds to print each page. Approximately how many hours will
it take to print all the documents if they are printed without interruptions?
1
(A) hr (B) 2 hr (C) 2 1 hr (D) 6 hr (E) 24 hr
2 2
35. A certain fraction is equivalent to 2 . If the numerator of the fraction is increased by 4 and the denominator
5
is doubled, the new fraction is equivalent to 1 . What is the sum of the numerator and denominator of the
3
original fraction?
(A) 49 (B) 35 (C) 28 (D) 26 (E) 21

36. Joe went on a diet 6 months ago when he weighed 222 pounds. If he now weighs 198 pounds and
continues to lose at the same average monthly rate, in approximately how many months will he weigh 180
pounds?
(A) 3 (B) 3.5 (C) 4 (D) 4.5 (E) 5

37. A plane was originally flying at an altitude of x feet when it ascended 2,000 feet and then descended 5,000
feet. If the plane's altitude after these two changes was 1 its original altitude, then the solution of which of
3
the following equations gives the plane's original altitude, in feet ?

(A) x + 2,000 = 1 ( x − 3,000)

3
1
(B) ( x − 3,000) = x
3
(C) x + 3,000 = 1 x
3
(D) x − 7,000 = 1 x
3
1
(E) x − 3,000 = x
3

38. A certain electric-company plan offers customers reduced rates for electricity used between 8 p.m. and 8
a.m. weekdays and 24 hours a day Saturdays and Sundays. Under this plan, the reduced rates apply to
what fraction of a week?
(A) 1 (B) 5 (C) 9 (D) 16 (E) 9
2 8 14 21 10

39. A certain hotel has 1,400 single rooms and 420 double rooms. Each room is cleaned by one person. If one
person can clean a single room every 15 minutes and a double room every 20 minutes, how many cleaning
persons are needed to clean all the rooms if each person works for exactly 7 hours?
(A) 65 (B) 70 (C) 80 (D) 90 (E) 265

40. If the sum of two positive integers is 24 and the difference of their squares is 48, what is the product of the
two integers?
(A) 108 (B) 119 (C) 128 (D) 135 (E) 143

41. If x + y = a and x – y = b, then 2xy =

2 2 2 2 2 2
(A) a − b (B) b − a (C) a − b (D) ab (E) a + b
2 2 2 2 2

42. A certain ball was dropped from a window 8 meters above a sidewalk. On each bounce it rose straight up
exactly one-half the distance of the previous fall. After the third bounce the ball was caught when it reached
a height of exactly 1 meter above the sidewalk. How many meters did the ball travel in all?
(A) 21 (B) 19 (C) 17 (D) 15 (E) 13
43. The volume of a sphere with radius r is 4 πr 3 and the surface area is 4πr 2 . If a spherical balloon has a
3
volume of 972π cubic centimeters, what is the surface area of the balloon in square centimeters?
(A) 324 (B) 729 (C) 243π (D) 324π (E) 729π
1a
44. If Bob’s age is exactly twice Mike's age, what is Bob's age?
(1) Six years ago, Bob's age was exactly 3 times Mike's age.
(2) Twelve years from now, Bob's age will be exactly 1.5 times Mike's age.
0
45. In 1951, Mrs. Robinson was seven times older than Benjamin Braddock. In 1956, Mrs. Robinson was
four times older than Benjamin Braddock. In what year did Benjamin Braddock turn 18?
(A) 1946 (B) 1956 (C) 1961 (D) 1964 (E) 1967
0
46. What is the value of x2 - 2xy + y2?
(1) x2 – y2 = 72
(2) x2 + 2xy + y2 = 9
0
47. What is the value of x - y?
(1) x2 – y2 = 72
(2) x2 + 2xy + y2 = 9
0
48. If z = 2y, what is the value of x?
(1) 2x = 3y – 5z + 12
(2) x = 9y – 17
0
49. What is the value of z?
(1) 3x + 5y + 17z = 72
(2) 15x – 23 + 4z = 9 – 25y
0
50. If z = 2y and y = 3x, what is the value of x?
(1) 6x - 4y = 6 – 3z
(2) 4y + 8 = 2(4 + 6x)

bonus algebra factoring questions: solve for y in terms of x

1) (x-y)/xy = 2
2) (x2 + xy)/2y = 1
3) (3xy + 2x)/2x2 = y
4) 4x2 + xy + 3y = 7
5) (x2 + xy + 12)/x = 2y

answers, 1-25: DACAB AAAED CEEBD CCEAC AEAEB

answers, 26-50: DCDBE BBADE DECBE AADDD CECCA

bonus algebra answers:

x/(2x+1)
x2/(2-x)
2/(2x-3)
(7-4x2)/(x+3)
(x2+12)/x