GMAT Math : GMAT Quantitative Reasoning

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #211 : Geometry

Give the radius of a cylinder with volume 1,000 cubic inches.

1) Its height is 40 inches.

2) The area of its base is 25 square inches.

Possible Answers:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are 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.

EITHER Statement 1 or Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is not sufficient.

Correct answer:

EITHER Statement 1 or Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The two statements are actually equivalent; if  is its volume,  is the area of its base, and  is its height, then , or . So if we know the first statement, that is, , then , which is the second statement. 

 

To find the radius, use , or, equivalently, 

The answer is that either statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

 

Example Question #212 : Geometry

A factory makes two sizes of cylindrical barrels. How many small cylindrical barrels full of liquid would it take to fill a large barrel?


Statement 1: A large cylindrical barrel is twice as high as a small cylindrical barrel.

Statement 2: A large cylindrical barrel is three times as wide as a small cylindrical barrel.

Possible Answers:

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2  ALONE is NOT 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.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are 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.

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The question is essentially this: if  are the volumes of the barrels, then find  such that 

,

or

Equivalently, 

or

This means that knowing both the ratio of the heights and the ratio of the radii (and subsequently, the widths) is necessary and sufficient. Therefore, you need both statements, and both together are sufficient.

Example Question #44 : Rectangular Solids & Cylinders

Which of Cylinder 1 and Cylinder 2, if either, has the greater volume?

Statement 1: The height of Cylinder 1 is equal to the radius of the base of Cylinder 2.

Statement 2: The height of Cylinder 2 is equal to twice the radius of the base of Cylinder 1. 

Possible Answers:

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.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 1 ALONE is NOT sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

BOTH statements TOGETHER are insufficient to answer the question. 

Explanation:

Assume both statements. We show that insufficient information is provided using two cases.

Case 1: Cylinder 1 has height 10 and radius 20. Then Cylinder 2 has height 40 and radius 10.

The volume of Cylinder 1 is 

The volume of Cylinder 2 is 

Case 2: Cylinder has height 40 and radius 10. Then Cylinder 2 has height 20 and radius 40.

The volume of Cylinder 1 is 

The volume of Cylinder 2 is 

In one case, Cylinder 1 had greater volume; in the other, Cylinder 2 did. This makes the two statements insufficient.

Example Question #213 : Geometry

How many identical cans can be packed in a certain box?

(1) The box is  centimeters wide and  centimeters high.

(2) Each can is  centimeters high.

Possible Answers:

C: BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient

E: Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are not sufficient

D: EACH statement ALONE is sufficient

A: Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) ALONE is not sufficient

B: Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) ALONE is not sufficient

Correct answer:

E: Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are not sufficient

Explanation:

(1) does not give us any information about the cans' dimension or the length of the box, so it is not sufficient alone.

(2) does not give us box dimensions or any information about the cans' diameter, so it is not sufficient alone.

Both statement taken together give more information but we still dont have complete dimensions for the box or each can.

Therefore the right answer is E.

Example Question #46 : Rectangular Solids & Cylinders

Jenkins has a poster tube which he is using to carry his posters to college.

I) The poster tube has a volume of .

II) The poster tube is  inches long.

What is the radius of the poster tube?

Possible Answers:

Either statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Neither I nor II are sufficient to answer the question. More information is needed.

Statement II is sufficient to answer the question, but statement I is not sufficient to answer the question.

Both statements are necessary to answer the question.

Statement I is sufficient to answer the question, but statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Correct answer:

Both statements are necessary to answer the question.

Explanation:

Recall the formula for volume of a cylinder:

Statement I gives us V

Statement II gives us h

We can then use both of them to find our "r." We cannot do it without both of them.

Example Question #24 : Cylinders

How much water, in cubic feet, can a cylindrical water tank whose bases have radius 6 feet hold?

Statement 1: The lateral area of the tank is 125.66 square yards.

Statement 2: The tank is 30 feet high.

Possible Answers:

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 sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER 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.

Correct answer:

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

We are given the radius; if we know the height, we can use the formula

to calculate the volume of the tank.

The second statement gives us that the tank is 30 feet high. But the first statement gives us the way to find the height by using the lateral area formula.

First we have to convert square yards to square feet by multiplying by 9.

Either way, we now have both radius and height, and we can find the volume:

The answer is that either statement alone is sufficient to answer the question.

Example Question #217 : Geometry

What is the length of the edge of a cube?

1) Its volume is 1,728 cubic meters.

2) Its surface area is 864 square meters

Possible Answers:

EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.

Statements 1 and 2 TOGETHER are not sufficient.

Statement 2 ALONE is sufficient, but Statement 1 alone is not sufficient.

BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but neither statement ALONE is sufficient.

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient, but Statement 2 alone is not sufficient.

Correct answer:

EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.

Explanation:

Call the sidelength, surface area, and volume of the cube , , and , respectively.

Then 

or, equivalently, 

So, given statement 1 alone - that is, given only the volume, you can demonstrate the sidelength to be

Also,

or, equivalently,

 

Given statement 2 alone - that is, given only the surface area, you can demonstrate the sidelength to be

 

Therefore, the answer is that either statement alone is sufficient.

Example Question #2441 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning

A sphere is inscribed inside a cube. What is the volume of the sphere?

Statement 1: The surface area of the cube is 216.

Statement 2: The volume of the cube is 216.

Possible Answers:

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. 

Statement 1 ALONE is sufficient to answer the question, but Statement 2 ALONE is NOT 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.

Correct answer:

EITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question.

Explanation:

The diameter of a sphere inscribed inside a cube is equal to the length of one of the edges of a cube. From either the surface area or the volume of a cube, the appropriate formula can be used to calculate this length. Half this is the radius, from which the formula  can be used to find the volume of the sphere.

Example Question #331 : Data Sufficiency Questions

What is the length of edge  of cube

(1) .

(2) .

Possible Answers:

Statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient.

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Each statement alone is sufficient.

Statement 2 alone is sufficient.

Both statements together are sufficient.

Correct answer:

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Explanation:

In order to find the length of an edge, we would need any information about one of the faces of the cube or about the diagonal of the cube.

Statement 1 gives us the length of the diagonal of the cube, since the formula for the diagonal is  where  is the length of an edge of the cube and  is the length of the diagonal we are able to find the length of the edge. Therefore statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Statement 2 alones is insufficient, it gives us something we can already tell knowing that ABCDEFGH is a cube.

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Example Question #54 : Rectangular Solids & Cylinders

 is a cube. What is the length of edge ?

(1) The volume of the cube is .

(2) The area of face  is .

Possible Answers:

Both statements together are sufficient.

Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Each statement alone is sufficient.

Statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient.

Statement 2 alone is sufficient.

Correct answer:

Each statement alone is sufficient.

Explanation:

Like we have previously seen, to find the length of an edge, we need to have information about the other faces or anything else within the cube.

Statement 1 tells us that the volume of the cube is , from this we can find the length of the side of the cube. Statement 1 alone is sufficient.

Statement 2, tells us that the area of ABCD is , similarily, by taking the square root of this number, we can find the length of the edge of the cube.

Therefore each statement alone is sufficient.

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