All GMAT Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Functions/Series
Define .
Evaluate .
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
If you know that , then you can calculate:
Knowing the -values of that are paired with -value 9, however, is neither necessary nor useful here.
Example Question #2 : Functions/Series
The first term of an arithmetic sequence is 100. What is the second term?
Statement 1: The sum of the third and fourth terms is 320.
Statement 2: The tenth term subtracted from the twelfth term yields a difference of 48.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Let be the common difference of the sequence. Then the third and fourth terms are, respectively, and . If their sum is 320, then
If the difference between the twelfth term and tenth term is 24, then
From either statement, the common difference can be calculated, then added to 100 to get the second term, 124.
Example Question #1 : Functions/Series
What is the first term of a geometric sequence?
Statement 1: The product of the second and third terms is 4,096.
Statement 2: The product of the first and fourth terms is 4,096.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
Let be the first term and be the common ratio. Then the first four terms are:
The two statements are equivalent to the equations and . But they turn out to be equivalent as can be seen here:
This (common) statement alone is not enough to allow us to calculate .
Example Question #2 : Functions/Series
This relation has five different ordered pairs: is it a function?
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
To prove that a relation is a function, you must prove that no -coordinate is matched with more than one -coordinate. Statement 2 proves that this is false, since 5 is now matched with both and , which are different numbers regardless of . Statement 1 is irrelevant, since it does not prove or disprove this condition.
Example Question #3 : Functions/Series
Evaluate .
Statement 1: The graph of includes the point .
Statement 2:
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
If , then , so this question is equivalent to evaluating .
If the ordered pair is on the graph of , then , so .
Knowing that is of no help, as this just tells us .
Example Question #4 : Functions/Series
What is the first term of the geometric sequence?
Statement 1: The sum of the second and third terms is 90.
Statement 2: The sum of the third and fourth terms is 450.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Let be the first term and be the common ratio. Then the first four terms are:
.
The two statements below are equivalent to and , respectively. Neither, alone, will help you figure out or . If you know both, you can use algebra to deduce their values:
Divide both sides of the first equation by both sides of the second:
Substitute this value into either equation. We'll use the 2nd equation:
Example Question #5 : Functions/Series
is defined to be the greatest integer less than or equal to .
Evaluate
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 is not enough to answer this question.
Case 1:
Then
Case 2:
Then
If Statement 2 is true, however:
Example Question #6 : Functions/Series
This relation has the following five ordered pairs: is it a function?
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
To prove that a relation is a function, you must prove that no -coordinate is matched with more than one -coordinate. Statement 1 proves that this is true. Statement 2 is irrelevant; it is possible for more than one -coordinate to be matched with the same -coordinate in a function.
Example Question #6 : Dsq: Understanding Functions
This relation has five different ordered pairs: is it a function?
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question.
BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.
Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.
To prove that a relation is a function, you must prove that no -coordinate is matched with more than one -coordinate. Statement 1 proves that this is false, since 3 is now matched with both 7 and 9. Statement 2 is irrelevant, since it does not prove or disprove this condition.
Example Question #7 : Dsq: Understanding Functions
Define an operation as follows:
For any real numbers ,
Evaluate
Undefined