Quant: Algebra

Question 1

what does “clearing fractions” from an equation mean?

Answer 1

To remove fractions by multiplying both sides of the equation by the denominator so that everything is an integer

Question 2

how do you cross multiply

Answer 2

multiply 2nd fraction’s denominator by 1st fractions numerator

multiply 1st fractions denominator by 2nd fraction’s numerator

Question 3

what are the steps in the MADSPM rules for exponents

Answer 3

Multiply-add
divide-subtract
power-multiply

Question 4

Multiply-add exponent rule

Answer 4

(x^a)(x^b) = x^a+b

Question 5

divide-subtract exponent rule

Answer 5

(x^a)/(x^b) = x^a-b

Question 6

power multiply exponent rule

Answer 6

(x^a)^b = x^ab

Question 7

power multiply exponent rule corollary

Answer 7

(x^a)^b = (x^b)^a

Question 8

what do do when none of the MADSPM rules seem to apply when dealing with an exponent problem

Answer 8

try rewriting them using common bases
OR
look for a common factor

Question 9

because of power multiply rule, (x^a)(y^a) can also be written as….

Answer 9

(xy)^a

Question 10

generally, how many solutions will an equation have?

Answer 10

as many as the value of the greatest exponent in the equation

Question 11

When GMAT asks to solve for a variable in an exponent do you need to use logarithms?

Answer 11

No, you can solve them using the MADSPM Rules

Question 12

if a variable is in a root, and the answer of the equation is negative, can the variable be even when you try and solve for it?

Answer 12

No, it has to have an odd exponent

Question 13

What does FOIL stand for (binomials)

Answer 13

First, outside, inside, last

Question 14

write down quadratic formula and lookup to see if you’re correct

Answer 14

(look up and compare)

Question 15

What part of the quadratic formula is known as the discriminant?

Answer 15

b^2 - 4ac

Question 16

if the discriminant (quadratic formula) is > 0, the number of real roots is:

Answer 16

2

Question 17

if the discriminant (quadratic formula) is = 0, the number of real roots is:

Answer 17

1

Question 18

if the discriminant (quadratic formula) is < 0, the number of real roots is:

Answer 18

0

Question 19

How do you simplify √2 + √2

Answer 19

2√2

Question 20

How do you simplify √2 + √3

Answer 20

you can’t they have to have the same bases

Question 21

how could you simplify (x^a)(y^a)?

Answer 21

(xy)^a

Question 22

how could you also write x^(m/n)

Answer 22

write down and google it to look. it’s called fractional exponents

Question 23

how to take the root of a fraction?

Answer 23

write down as a test and look it up

Question 24

how many equations do you need in simultaneous equations?

Answer 24

typically one equation for each variable. However, some equations can be solved if there’s only one way to combine the variables to get the answer (contextually variables have to be positive)

Question 25

what are two methods for solving simultaneous equations?

Answer 25

Substitution

Gaussian Elimination

Question 26

How to you handle combining ranges for inequality problems?

Answer 26

Create and fill out a table with all possible values for the variables and the relationships between the variables

Question 27

tip for handing inequality problems with numberlines

Answer 27

test the answers by pulling values from the answer choices and checking if they satisfy the inequality in the question stem

OR

take the values that satisfy the question stem and check to see if they’re included in the solution sets offered by each answer choice

Question 28

tip for sequence questions

Answer 28

list out the terms in the sequence instead of try to come up with a fancy solution

Question 29

What to do when you encounter symbols like #@θΔ*, etc

Answer 29

follow directions and plug in the numbers, they are just function equations trying to look more scary than they are

Question 30

what is sequence notation

Answer 30

when there is a sub script that says (n-1) it means that to incorporate the previous answer in that formula as the variable. (look it up if this is confusing)