GMAT Math : GMAT Quantitative Reasoning

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #204 : Arithmetic

Which of the following cannot be expressed as the product of two distinct prime numbers?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 39

\displaystyle 35

\displaystyle 33

\displaystyle 37

None of the other responses gives a correct answer.

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 37

Explanation:

Three of the choices can be written as the product of two distinct primes:

\displaystyle 33 = 3 \times 11

\displaystyle 35 = 5 \times 7

\displaystyle 39 = 3 \times 13

However, 37, being a prime, has only one factorization - \displaystyle 1 \times 37= 37, and 1 is not a prime. 37 is the correct choice.

Example Question #42 : Understanding The Properties Of Integers

If \displaystyle x is an integer, which of the following is not necessarily true?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 1 < x < 2 is false.

All the other answers are true.

There exists some integer \displaystyle y such that \displaystyle xy =1

\displaystyle x(y+z)=xy+xz for all real numbers \displaystyle y,z

\displaystyle x \times 1 = 1 \times x = x

Correct answer:

There exists some integer \displaystyle y such that \displaystyle xy =1

Explanation:

For example, If \displaystyle x=6, the only way to multiply this to another number \displaystyle y and get \displaystyle 1 is if \displaystyle y =\frac{1}{6}, but \displaystyle \frac{1}{6} is not an integer, so this is impossible. (integers are the counting numbers \displaystyle 1, 2, 3, 4, ...., their negatives, and \displaystyle 0)

Example Question #1761 : Problem Solving Questions

Which of the following is true if the quotient of \displaystyle x by \displaystyle y is a negative number?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle x+y>-1

\displaystyle xy>-1

\displaystyle xy< 0

\displaystyle xy>0

\displaystyle x-y>0

Correct answer:

\displaystyle xy< 0

Explanation:

The quotient \displaystyle \frac{x}{y} is negative if x and y have opposite signs; that is if x is positive, y will be negative or if x is negative y will be positive.

In which case, the product of x and y must be negative, that is xy<0.

So the product of x and y cannot be positive in this case.

The other inequalities do not have to be true for the quotient of x and y to be negative.

 

Example Question #1762 : Problem Solving Questions

Below is a six-digit number. Three digits have been left out.

\displaystyle 7 \bigcirc 5 \bigcirc 6 \bigcirc.

How many ways can the three circles be filled with the same digit to yield an integer divisible by 6?

Possible Answers:

One

Two 

Three

Four

Five

Correct answer:

Five

Explanation:

An integer is divisible by 6 if and only if it is divisible by 2 and 3.

It is divisible by 3 if and only if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3. If we let \displaystyle A be the missing common digit, then the digit sum is

\displaystyle 7+A +5+A+ 6 + A = 18 + 3 A

\displaystyle 18 + 3 A divided by 3 is \displaystyle \frac{18 + 3 A }{3} = 6+A, an integer, so the digit sum - and the number itself - will be divisible by 3 regardless of the digit that is entered in all three circles. 

The number will be divisible by 2 if and only if the final digit - thiat is, the digit entered in all three circles - is 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8. 

Therefore, there are five possible digits that can be entered into all three circles to yield a multiple of 6.

Example Question #41 : Understanding The Properties Of Integers

Below is a six-digit number. Three digits have been left out.

\displaystyle 7 \bigcirc 5 \bigcirc 6 \bigcirc.

How many ways can the three circles be filled with the same digit to yield an integer divisible by 8?

Possible Answers:

Two

None

One 

Three

Five

Correct answer:

One 

Explanation:

For an integer to be divisible by 8, it must also be divisible by 2 and by 4.

The number is a multple of 2, so the last digit - and the common digit - can be narrowed down to 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8.

The number is a multple of 4, so the last two digits must form a multiple of 4; since 60, 64, and 68 are divisible by 4, and 62 and 66 are not, this narrows the choice to 0, 4, and 8.

We can now just try all three cases with straightforward division:

\displaystyle 745,464 \div 8 = 93, 183

Only 4 works, so the correct choice is one.

Example Question #42 : Understanding The Properties Of Integers

Which of the following must be an even number if \displaystyle m is an integer?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 2m+1

\displaystyle m^{2}

\displaystyle m+1

\displaystyle 2m+6

\displaystyle 3m

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 2m+6

Explanation:

An even number can be written as \displaystyle 2m where \displaystyle m is an integer. The expression \displaystyle 2m+6 is even since it is the sum of two even numbers (\displaystyle 2m and \displaystyle 6) and also can be written as \displaystyle 2(m+3)

\displaystyle 2m+6 must be even if \displaystyle m is an integer.

Let's look at the other answers:

\displaystyle 2m+1 is odd whether \displaystyle m is odd or even. Therefore, it is not true that \displaystyle 2m+1 must be even.

\displaystyle m^2 is even only if \displaystyle m is even and odd if \displaystyle m is odd. Therefore, it is not true that \displaystyle m^2 must be even.

\displaystyle m+1 is even if \displaystyle m is odd and odd if \displaystyle m is even. Therefore, it is not true that \displaystyle m+1 must be even.

\displaystyle 3m is even if \displaystyle m is even and odd is \displaystyle m is odd. Therefore, it is not true that \displaystyle 3m must be even.

Example Question #1762 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning

The remainder of \displaystyle m divided by \displaystyle n is 7. \displaystyle m and \displaystyle n are both positive numbers and \displaystyle m is at least twice the value of \displaystyle n but less than three times the value of \displaystyle n. What is the value of \displaystyle n if the difference between \displaystyle m and \displaystyle n is 16?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 10

\displaystyle 7

\displaystyle 8

\displaystyle 11

\displaystyle 9

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 9

Explanation:

We know that the remainder of \displaystyle m divided by \displaystyle n is 7.

So we can write \displaystyle m=nq+7 , where \displaystyle q is the quotient of \displaystyle m divided by \displaystyle n.

The next piece of information tells us that \displaystyle m is at least twice the value of \displaystyle n but less than three times the value of \displaystyle n. We can then write the following expression:

\displaystyle 2n \leq m< 3n

This expression reveals that the quotient of \displaystyle m divided by \displaystyle n is 2 since \displaystyle m is greater than \displaystyle 2n but less than \displaystyle 3n.

Therefore:

\displaystyle m=2n+7

The last piece of information is that \displaystyle m-n=16, So, \displaystyle m=n+16.

Replacing \displaystyle m in the previous equation gives:

\displaystyle n+16=2n+7

\displaystyle n+7=16

\displaystyle n=9

Example Question #1768 : Problem Solving Questions

The number of students in a class is more than 15 but less than 50. The students can be divided into 6 groups with the same odd number of members. If each group has more than 6 members, what is the number of students in the class?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 48

\displaystyle 36

\displaystyle 42

\displaystyle 24

\displaystyle 30

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 42

Explanation:

Let \displaystyle x be the number of students in the class. The students can be divided into 6 groups of \displaystyle n members, with \displaystyle n being an odd integer greater than 6.

\displaystyle x=6n and \displaystyle 15< x< 50

First, find an odd integer \displaystyle n such that \displaystyle 15< 6n< 50 and \displaystyle n>6.

(1) Try \displaystyle n=7

\displaystyle x=6\times7=42

If \displaystyle n is 7, then \displaystyle x is 42 and \displaystyle 15< x< 50.

If each group has 7 members, there are 42 students in the class.

(2) Try \displaystyle n=9

\displaystyle x=6\times9=54

If \displaystyle n is 9, then \displaystyle x>50 and does not satisfy the condition of being between 15 and 50.

Therefore, the students can be divided in 6 groups of 7 members. There are 42 students in the class.

Example Question #51 : Properties Of Integers

Which of the following cannot be expressed as the product of two distinct prime numbers?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 15

\displaystyle 55

\displaystyle 75

\displaystyle 35

\displaystyle 95

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 75

Explanation:

\displaystyle 15 = 3 \times 5

\displaystyle 35 = 5 \times 7

\displaystyle 55 = 5 \times 11

\displaystyle 95 = 5 \times 19

\displaystyle 15, \displaystyle 35, \displaystyle 55, and \displaystyle 95 can all be expressed as the product of two primes. 

However, \displaystyle 75 can be factored as the product of two integers in the following ways:

\displaystyle 75 = 1 \times 75 = 3 \times 25 = 5 \times 15

In each factorization, at least one number is composite (\displaystyle 75, \displaystyle 25, \displaystyle 15). \displaystyle 75 is the correct choice.

Example Question #211 : Arithmetic

Which of the following cannot be expressed as the sum of prime integers?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 78

None of the other responses gives a correct answer.

\displaystyle 74

\displaystyle 76

\displaystyle 72

Correct answer:

None of the other responses gives a correct answer.

Explanation:

Each of the four numbers can be expressed as the sum of two primes. For example:

\displaystyle 72 = 5+ 67

\displaystyle 74 = 3+ 71

\displaystyle 76 = 5+71

\displaystyle 78 = 7+71

Tired of practice problems?

Try live online GMAT prep today.

1-on-1 Tutoring
Live Online Class
1-on-1 + Class
Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors