GMAT Math : Word Problems

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

All GMAT Math Resources

22 Diagnostic Tests 693 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Example Questions

Example Question #211 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{\underline{Item}}& \textrm{\underline{Price}}\\ \textrm{Beef} & \$5.89\\ \textrm{Turkey} &\$5.49 \\ \textrm{Ham} & \$5.19\\ \textrm{Chicken} & \$4.79\\ \textrm{Veggie} & \$ 4.39\\\textrm{Sm. Soda} & \$1.09\\ \textrm{Lg. Soda} & \$1.99\end{matrix}$

The above is the menu at Monorail Sandwich Shop.

Monorail is running a special today - for each sandwich you buy, you can purchase one large soda for ninety cents or get one small soda for free.

Kevin purchases three beef sandwiches, two large sodas, and two small sodas. Disregarding tax, how much will he pay?

Possible Answers:

$\$19.47$

$\$21.65$

$\$18.76$

$\$ 20.56$

$\$19.66$

Correct answer:

$\$ 20.56$

Explanation:

Kevin will pay $5.89 each for the three beef sandwiches. He will pay $0.90 for each of the two large sodas and get one of the small sodas for free; he will pay the full price of $1.09 for one small soda. Therefore, Kevin will pay

$\$5.89 \times 3 + \$1.09 + \$0.90 \times 2 = \$17.67 + \$1.09 + \$1.80 = \$20.56$

Report an Error

Example Question #211 : Word Problems

Five candidates ran for the office of student body president at Garfield High School. According to the rules, the student who gets the most votes wins the office, with ties resulting in a runoff. However, Garfield has an unusual rule that states that seniors' votes count double.

This table shows how freshmen, sophomores, and juniors voted:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&104 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 87\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 87\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 98\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 75 \end{matrix}$

This table shows how seniors voted:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&14 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 27\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 15\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 18\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 10 \end{matrix}$

Who won the election?

Possible Answers:

Crane and Jones will face each other in a runoff.

Smith

Crane

Trask

Jones

Correct answer:

Jones

Explanation:

For each candidate, add the number of freshman, sophomore, and junior votes to twice the number of senior votes:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&104+ 2 \times 14 = 132 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 87+ 2 \times 27 = 141\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 87+ 2 \times 15 = 117\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 98+2 \times 18= 134\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 75+ 2 \times 10 = 95 \end{matrix}$

Jones won the election.

Report an Error

Example Question #1 : Understanding Diagrams

Five candidates ran for the office of student body president at Buchanan High School. According to the rules, the student who gets a majority of the votes wins the office; if no student wins a majority, then there will be a runoff between the top two vote-getters. However, Buchanan has an unusual rule that states that seniors' votes count double.

This table shows how freshmen, sophomores, and juniors voted:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&104 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 87\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 87\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 98\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 75 \end{matrix}$

This table shows how seniors voted:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&14 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 27\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 15\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 18\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 10 \end{matrix}$

Who won the election?

Possible Answers:

Trask won outright.

Jones and Trask will face each other in a runoff.

Crane and Jones will face each other in a runoff.

Jones won outright.

Crane and Trask will face each other in a runoff.

Correct answer:

Jones and Trask will face each other in a runoff.

Explanation:

For each candidate, add the number of freshman, sophomore, and junior votes to twice the number of senior votes:

Jones got the most votes. However, he clearly did not win a majority, so he and the second-highest vote-getter, Trask, will face each other in a runoff.

Report an Error

Example Question #2 : Understanding Diagrams

Pie_graph

Light blue: Goodman

Orange: Ferris

Gray: Inman

Yellow: Jones

Dark blue: Harris

Refer to the diagram. If 3,145 people voted in the school board election, (the results of which are represented in the diagram), then approximately how many people voted for Inman?

Possible Answers:

910

790

630

390

1,050

Correct answer:

630

Explanation:

According to the legend, the gray sector represents the portion of the electorate who voted for Inman. This sector is about one-fifth of the circle, so, to find the best estimate of Inman's share of the vote, take one-fifth of 3,145 - or, equivalently, divide 3,145 by 5:

$3,145 \div 5 = 629$

630 is the best estimate of the choices given.

Report an Error

Example Question #215 : Problem Solving Questions

The above is the menu at Monorail Sandwich Shop.

Today, Monorail is running a special - buy any two sandwiches and get an additonal sandwich of equal or lesser value for free, with a limit of two free sandwiches per customer per day.

A father wants to buy some sandwiches for his family. He orders two beef sandwiches, three chicken sandwiches, and four veggie sandwiches. Disregarding sales tax, what is the least possible amount he will pay for them?

Possible Answers:

$\$34.13$

$\$35.93$

$\$34.53$

$\$33.03$

$\$ 31.93$

Correct answer:

$\$34.53$

Explanation:

In descending order of cost, he is ordering sandwiches that cost the following:

$\begin{matrix} \$ 5.89 & \\ \$ 5.89 & \\ \$4.79 & \textrm{Free}\\ \$4.79& \\ \$4.79 & \\ \$4.39 & \textrm{Free} \\ \$4.39& \\ \$4.39& \\ \$4.39& \end{matrix}$

Note that the father will get one chicken sandwich free with the two beef sandwiches, and that he will get one veggie sandwich free with the other two chicken sandwiches. Therefore, he will pay for the other seven sandwiches:

$\begin{matrix} \; \; \$ 5.89 \\ \; \; \$ 5.89 \\ \; \;\$4.79 \\ \; \;\$4.79 \\ \; \;\$4.39 \\ \; \;\$4.39 \\ \; \; \underline{ \$4.39} \\ \$34.53 \end{matrix}$

Report an Error

Example Question #212 : Word Problems

Venn

Define the universal set $U = \left \{ 1,2,3,4,...50\right \}$ .

Define to be the set of prime numbers, to be the set of integers that end in 2, 5, or 8, and $C = \left \{ 21,22,23,24,...40\right \}$ . If each number in the universal set were to be placed in its correct region in the above Venn diagram, how many integers would lie in the gray region?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The integers that go into the gray region are those that do not fall into any of the three sets , , or . We can eliminate the integers by taking the universal set and eliminating the elements that fall in any one of the three.

Out of the 50 integers from 1 to 50, we can eliminate the 20 that are in . This leaves 30 so far:

$\left \{ 1,2,3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,18, 19, 20, 41,42,43,44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50\right \}$

Now we can eliminate nine integers from - the ones that end in 2, 5, or 8. The 21 remaining numbers are

$\left \{ 1, 3,4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14,16, 17, 19, 20, 41, 43,44, 46, 47, 49, 50\right \}$ .

We now eliminate the primes from - 3, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 41, 43, 47. This leaves us with

$\left \{ 1,4, 6,9, 10,14, 16, 20, 44, 46,49, 50\right \}$ ,

a set with 12 elements.

Report an Error

Example Question #12 : Understanding Diagrams

The above is the menu at Monorail Sandwich Shop.

Today, Monorail is running a special - buy three sandwiches and get a large soda free. A boss treats her employees to lunch; she orders three beef sandwiches, two turkey sandwiches, two ham sandwiches, and seven large sodas. There is no sales tax. If the boss hands the clerk a $100 bill, how much change will she get back?

Possible Answers:

$\$60.97$

$\$48.98$

$\$41.07$

$\$ 51.02$

$\$53.01$

Correct answer:

$\$ 51.02$

Explanation:

The boss orders seven sandwiches, so two of the sodas will be free. Therefore, she will pay for three beef sandwiches, two turkey sandwiches, two ham sandwiches, and five large sodas. Their total price:

$\$5.89 \times 3 + \$5.49 \times 2 + \$5.19 \times 2 + \$1.99 \times 5$

$=\$17.67 + \$10.98+ \$10.38 + \$9.95$

$=\$48.98$

The change from a $100 bill is

$\$100.00 - \$48.98 = \$ 51.02$ .

Report an Error

Example Question #13 : Understanding Diagrams

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&124 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 87\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 87\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 98\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 75 \end{matrix}$

The above table shows the initial count of the votes for a school election. According to the rules, the students who finish first, second, and third become President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively. In the event of any tie, a runoff election will be held.

After the initial count, it is discovered that some ballots were left out of the count by mistake. These votes were distributed as follows:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&14 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 27\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 15\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 18\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 10 \end{matrix}$

Who was elected Vice-President?

Possible Answers:

Crane

Jones

Trask and Jones will face each other in a runoff.

Trask

Crane and Trask will face each other in a runoff.

Correct answer:

Trask

Explanation:

The revised vote count is as follows:

$\begin{matrix} \textrm{Crane}&124 +14 = 138 \\ \textrm{Jones}&\; 87+27=114\\\textrm{Smith} & \; 87+15=102\\ \textrm{Trask} & \; 98+18 = 116\\ \textrm{Wells} & \; 75+10 = 85 \end{matrix}$

Trask finished second with 116, so he was elected Vice-President.

Report an Error

Example Question #213 : Problem Solving Questions

The above is the menu at Monorail Sandwich Shop. The sales tax is 8%, and with the purchase of two sandwiches, a customer gets one free soda of any size.

Charlie wants to purchase four turkey sandwiches. He only has $30 on him and he has no checks, debit cards, or credit cards. How many large sodas can he get with the sandwiches and stay within his budget?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If is the maximum price of the sandwiches before tax, then the price after tax is N + 0.8N = 1.08 N . Charlie can spend at most $30 after sales tax of 8% is counted, so we can set up the equation:

$1.08 N =\$ 30$

$1.08 N \div 1.08= \$30 \div 1.08$

$N = \$ 27.78$

The four turkey sandwiches cost $\$5.49 \times 4 = \$21.96$ , leaving

$\$ 27.78 - \$21.96 = \$ 5.82$

to buy drinks.

$\$1.99$ buys one large soda.

$\$ 5.82 \div \$1.99 \approx 2.9$ , so $\$ 5.82$ allows for the purchase of two. Also, with the four sandwiches, he gets two free sodas, so he can get a total of four sodas.

Report an Error

Example Question #31 : Data Interpretation

Flight map

Public domain map from The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency.

Flight 984 departed from London (green circle) when it was 6:12 PM there. It arrived in Chicago, IL (red circle) 8 hours, 30 minutes later. What time was it in Chicago upon the flight's arrival there?

(You may assume that Daylight Savings Time is not in effect.)

Possible Answers:

2:42 PM

2:42 AM

9:42 AM

9:42 PM

6:42 PM

Correct answer:

9:42 PM

Explanation:

Refer to the time zone differences printed at the top of the map. The time zone for Chicago is marked ; the time zone for London is marked 0. This means that London is 0 - (-6) = 6 hours ahead of Chicago, so we need to adjust accordingly.

The flight departed from London when it was 6:12 PM in London, so we subtract six hours from this to get 12:12 PM, the time it was in Chicago. Now we can add 8 hours, 30 minutes, first rewriting 12:12 PM as 0:12:

$\begin{matrix} 0:12\\ \underline{8:30}\\ 9:42 \end{matrix}$

The flight landed in Chicago when it was 9:42 PM there.

Report an Error

All GMAT Math Resources

22 Diagnostic Tests 693 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Popular Subjects

GMAT Tutors in San Francisco-Bay Area, LSAT Tutors in Washington DC, MCAT Tutors in Houston, Biology Tutors in Los Angeles, Physics Tutors in New York City, SSAT Tutors in Miami, GMAT Tutors in Phoenix, Statistics Tutors in Boston, Algebra Tutors in Los Angeles, ISEE Tutors in Seattle

Popular Courses & Classes

SAT Courses & Classes in Los Angeles, GMAT Courses & Classes in Los Angeles, MCAT Courses & Classes in San Francisco-Bay Area, GMAT Courses & Classes in Atlanta, LSAT Courses & Classes in Philadelphia, Spanish Courses & Classes in Phoenix, SAT Courses & Classes in San Francisco-Bay Area, LSAT Courses & Classes in San Diego, GRE Courses & Classes in San Diego, Spanish Courses & Classes in San Francisco-Bay Area

Popular Test Prep

ISEE Test Prep in New York City, MCAT Test Prep in Miami, GRE Test Prep in Los Angeles, GMAT Test Prep in San Diego, MCAT Test Prep in New York City, GRE Test Prep in Washington DC, GMAT Test Prep in Phoenix, GRE Test Prep in Houston, ACT Test Prep in San Diego, SAT Test Prep in Philadelphia

DMCA Complaint

If you believe that content available by means of the Website (as defined in our Terms of Service) infringes one or more of your copyrights, please notify us by providing a written notice (“Infringement Notice”) containing the information described below to the designated agent listed below. If Varsity Tutors takes action in response to an Infringement Notice, it will make a good faith attempt to contact the party that made such content available by means of the most recent email address, if any, provided by such party to Varsity Tutors.

Your Infringement Notice may be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties such as ChillingEffects.org.

Please be advised that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your copyrights. Thus, if you are not sure content located on or linked-to by the Website infringes your copyright, you should consider first contacting an attorney.

Please follow these steps to file a notice:

You must include the following:

A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf; An identification of the copyright claimed to have been infringed; A description of the nature and exact location of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright, in \ sufficient detail to permit Varsity Tutors to find and positively identify that content; for example we require a link to the specific question (not just the name of the question) that contains the content and a description of which specific portion of the question – an image, a link, the text, etc – your complaint refers to; Your name, address, telephone number and email address; and A statement by you: (a) that you believe in good faith that the use of the content that you claim to infringe your copyright is not authorized by law, or by the copyright owner or such owner’s agent; (b) that all of the information contained in your Infringement Notice is accurate, and (c) under penalty of perjury, that you are either the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on their behalf.

Send your complaint to our designated agent at:

Charles Cohn Varsity Tutors LLC
101 S. Hanley Rd, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63105

Or fill out the form below:

Do not fill in this field

Contact Information

* Full legal name

Company name

* Phone number

* Email address

Address

* Address1

Address2

* City

* State

* Zipcode

* Country

Complaint Details

* URL of copyrighted work (where your original material is located)

* Please describe the copyrighted work so that it may be easily identified

I am the owner, or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

This notification is accurate.

I acknowledge that there may be adverse legal consequences for making false or bad faith allegations of copyright infringement by using this process.

* Signature (your digital signature is legally binding)

Email address:
Your name:
Feedback:

GMAT Math : Word Problems

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Math

All GMAT Math Resources

Example Questions

Example Question #211 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning

Example Question #211 : Word Problems

Example Question #1 : Understanding Diagrams

Example Question #2 : Understanding Diagrams

Example Question #215 : Problem Solving Questions

Example Question #212 : Word Problems

Example Question #12 : Understanding Diagrams

Example Question #13 : Understanding Diagrams

Example Question #213 : Problem Solving Questions

Example Question #31 : Data Interpretation

All GMAT Math Resources

Report an issue with this question

DMCA Complaint

Contact Information

Address

Complaint Details