Tips to Understand GMAT Inequalities   by John Christianson

in Education    (submitted 2010-11-19)

GMAT is an acronym for the Graduate Management Admissions Test. The abbreviation GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council, the body responsible for writing and administering the test. The GMAT is one of the selection tools most graduate business schools use to determine student admissions. The test includes a quantitative assessment and standard mathematical inequality statements form part of that assessment. This section may be referred to as GMAT inequalities.

The overall GMAT divides into three separate assessments. The first is an analytical writing test. The second is a quantitative test. The third is a verbal test. The time allowed for these three sections is 60 minutes, 75 minutes and 75 minutes respectively. These three tests total 3.5 hours. There is an optional 8 minute break allowed between the second and third test sessions. Students intending to take the GMAT are advised to memorize its broad format.

The quantitative test section consists of 37 questions. It divides into two components. The first is entitled problem solving and consists of about 22 questions. The second component is known as data sufficiency and involves about 15 questions.

The GMAT was initially a simple paper examination. Modern tools however has permitted it to raise in sophistication. It is currently a computer-based examination. Learners sit down at a personal computer in a closely watched assessment center. The computer-adaptive examination arrangement enables the difficulty in the questions to fluctuate or modify based on the test-results of the individual examinee.

As an example, if an examinee properly solves two questions based on linear equations, the third question presented might be more challenging, based conceivably on parallel linear equations. This adaptive practice is identified in the final scoring of the examination.

By definition, an inequality examines two independent expressions or statements with various values. For instance, x > 10 is an inequality whereas x is greater than 10.. You'll find five types of inequalities, namely, greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to and, finally, not equal to.

Just like you will find guidelines regulating operations with equations, so too are there guidelines regulating operations with inequalities. The fundamental guideline to consider is that if one action is conducted to one side of the inequality (addition, multiplication, subtraction, or division) then this identical action must be completed to the other side of the inequality.

Even so, there is one key exception that must be remembered; if both sides of an inequality are multiplied or divided by a negative number, then the inequality sign must be flipped. In that scenario, for example, a less than inequality becomes a greater than inequality and vice versa. This is a beneficial rule to remember, particular if you are taking the test and manipulating GMAT inequalities.

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