{"id":24486,"date":"2019-07-20T16:25:02","date_gmt":"2019-07-20T21:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=24486"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:41:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:41:34","slug":"7-tips-for-gre-quantitative-comparison-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/7-tips-for-gre-quantitative-comparison-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tips for GRE Quantitative Comparison Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The GRE Quantitative Reasoning section can be tricky for even the best math students. It assesses your ability to think critically about math and use foundational mathematical principles in a variety of scenarios.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Quantitative Reasoning section is made up of three question types: Quantitative Comparison, Problem Solving, and Data Interpretation. Each section type requires\u00a0different strategies and approaches. In this article we&#8217;ll discuss some tips for Quantitative Comparison questions.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nQuantitative Comparison presents two quantities, and sometimes additional information centered above the quantities\u2014often a graph, an equation, or a geometric shape. Check out\u00a0this example:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/05\/Image-5-14-19-at-8.28-PM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-24577\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/05\/Image-5-14-19-at-8.28-PM.jpg\" alt=\"quantitative comparisons\" width=\"512\" height=\"256\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The given\u00a0information is x &gt; 0. The problem then details the two quantities: A and B. Quantity A in this example\u00a0is x^2, and Quantity B is x^3. The answers on the Quantitative Comparison question will always be the same, no matter what the quantities or given information. They are as follows:<\/span><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A.\u00a0<\/span>Quantity A is greater.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>B. Quantity B is greater.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>C. The two quantities are equal.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>D. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.<\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trick is to figure out which option is correct based on the information you are given. Quantitative Comparison questions require more than simple problem-solving; it\u2019s important to bring skill and strategy to the section as well. Here are seven tips to help you nail the Quantitative Comparison section of the GRE.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong><strong>Aim<b> for efficiency, not thoroughness.<\/b><\/strong><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0You&#8217;ll have a little over an hour to complete the Quantitative Reasoning section, which will include Quantitative Comparison and other question types. Many test-takers get stuck trying to solve one problem meticulously. But unlike in some of your other math tests, nobody is checking your work; the point is that you find the right answer as quickly as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><b>Compare the quantities.\u00a0<\/b><\/strong>Because<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>answer choices are identical on all Quantitative Comparison questions, you can focus completely on the given quantities and the given information above, if applicable.<strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding all the information you&#8217;re given\u00a0is one way to improve your\u00a0speed and efficiency, which is paramount on this section.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><b>Pick numbers.<\/b><\/b>\u00a0Some Quantitative Comparison problems can be solved backwards. Pick some low-level numbers, like 2 or 3, and plug them into the problem where appropriate. By working backwards you can identify the correct answer quickly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Start with D.<\/strong>\u00a0You can make a lot of quick progress on a question by dealing with D, or\u00a0&#8220;The relationship cannot be determined from the information given,&#8221; first.\u00a0We have two methods of\u00a0approaching this: suspecting D and ruling out D. In suspecting D, we test out the equation. If either\u00a0value\u00a0<em>could<\/em>\u00a0be bigger, then we select D\u00a0and move on.\u00a0If one value is greater or the two values are\u00a0equal, we can rule out D.<\/li>\n<li><strong><b>Avoid the calculator.<\/b> <\/strong>Digital calculators are available on the GRE, and they will be tempting. But pulling up and using the calculator takes up\u00a0time and often distracts you from efficiently solving the problem.<\/li>\n<li><strong><b>Do the math.<\/b> <\/strong>Sometimes, simply solving is the best way to proceed. If you have exhausted all your tricks and other options, try to fully calculate the problem.<\/li>\n<li><b>Skip it, and come back.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This is the oft-overlooked virtue of the GRE: you can skip a\u00a0question and return later. Timing is of\u00a0critical importance on the Quantitative Comparison section. Don\u2019t be afraid to mark questions you aren&#8217;t sure about on the computer, and return later. Once you\u2019ve answered the other test questions in the section, you can easily return to the Quantitative Comparison questions\u00a0before submitting\u00a0your answers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-yes   avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\nNeed some help studying for the GRE? Check out Kaplan&#8217;s resources.<\/p>\n<\/div><div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-right ' ><a href='https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gre'  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color   avia-icon_select-no avia-size-large avia-position-right '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >GRE Study Resources<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The GRE Quantitative Reasoning section can be tricky for even the best math students. It assesses your ability to think critically about math and use foundational mathematical principles in a variety of scenarios. The Quantitative Reasoning section is made up of three question types: Quantitative Comparison, Problem Solving, and Data Interpretation. Each section type requires\u00a0different [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[68],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24486"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24486"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35063,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24486\/revisions\/35063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}