GMAT Math : Measurement Problems
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Example Questions
Example Question #21 : Understanding Measurement
A jar is 40% full of water. If 250 milliliters of water are added, the jar will be half full. What is the total capacity of the jar?
2 liters
0.5 liters
1.5 liters
3 liters
2.5 liters
2.5 liters
Since the addition of 250 milliliters of water changes the status of the jar from 40% full to half, or 50%, full, then 250 milliliters is 
Divide by 1,000 milliliters per liter to convert to liters:
Example Question #62 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning
Two jars have identical capacity. The first jar contains 200 milliliters of water. The contents of the second jar, which is 10% full, are poured into the first, after which the first jar contains 250 milliliters.
Give the capacity of the first jar.
0.25 liters
0.8 liters
1 liter
0.5 liters
0.4 liters
0.5 liters
The second jar was 10% full and contained 
Divide this by the conversion factor of 1,000 to convert to liters:
Example Question #21 : Understanding Measurement
Two jars each hold a quantity of water. The first jar is 20% full; the second jar, which has twice the capacity of the first, is 40% full. The total amount of water in the two jars is 600 milliliters.
How much more water will the first (smaller) jar hold before it is completely full?
2 liters
0.72 liters
1 liter
1.6 liters
0.48 liters
0.48 liters
Call the capacity of the first jar, in milliliters, 
The first jar is 20% full, so the amount of water in this jar is currently 
The first jar has a capacity of 600 milliliters. It is 20% full, so it has
Example Question #61 : Gmat Quantitative Reasoning
Two jars of identical size each hold a quantity of water; the first jar is 
How much more water can be poured into the first jar until it is full?
Since the two jars have the same capacity, which we will call 
The capacity of each jar is 
Divide by 
Example Question #61 : Problem Solving Questions
Two jars each contain a quantity of water. The first jar is filled to capacity. The second jar has 40% greater capacity than the first jar, and contains 20% less water. If the second jar is 
For the sake of simplicity, assume that the first jar holds 100 milliliters of water - this reasoning is independent of the actual capacity. The second jar holds 40% more water, which is
The first jar is filled to capacity, so it holds 100 milliliters of water. The second jar contains 20% less water, so it contains
The jar is 
Example Question #61 : Word Problems
An empty jar has capacity two liters. There are several other jars of equal capacity (to each other, but not necessarily to the first); each contains water to 25% capacity.
The contents of eight of the other jars are emptied into the two-liter jar when it is discovered that there is not enough space left in that jar to hold all of the contents of another of the other jars. What could the capacity of each of the other jars be?
0.7 liters
1.3 liters
0.5 liters
0.9 liters
1.1 liter
0.9 liters
Let 
This means each jar can be at most one liter in capacity.
The contents of nine such jars will not fit, however, so
This means that each jar must be at least about 0.88 liters in capacity.
The only choice that falls in this range is 0.9 liters, so this is the correct choice.
Example Question #61 : Word Problems
A really backward country does not use inches, feet, yards, or meters to measure distance, it uses units called flots, glots, and klots. It takes 17 flots to make a glot, and 7 glots to make a klot.
These units can also be used to form units of area and volume (i.e. square flots, cubic klots).
How many cubic flots make a cubic klot?
First, multiply to find the number of flots in a klot.
Cube that to find the number of cubic flots in a cubic klot.
Therefore, 1,685,159 cubic flots = 1 cubic klot
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