The first time I read the original sentence in the below SC problem, I thought to myself: wait, what? What are you actually trying to say? I knew immediately that this would be a good one to discuss with all of you. 🙂

Let’s try it out (1 minute 15 seconds) and then we’ll dive in. This question is from the free problem set included in the new GMATPrep 2.0 version of the software.

*  Displays of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, can heat the atmosphere over the arctic enough to affect the trajectories of ballistic missiles, induce electric currents that can cause blackouts in some areas and corrosion in north-south pipelines.

 

(A) to affect the trajectories of ballistic missiles, induce

(B) that the trajectories of ballistic missiles are affected, induce

(C) that it affects the trajectories of ballistic missiles, induces

(D) that the trajectories of ballistic missiles are affected and induces

(E) to affect the trajectories of ballistic missiles and induce

This was my thought process as I read that first sentence:

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We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

How many integer values of x satisfy the relationship x⁴ “ 4x³ “ 4x² +16x ≤ 0?

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If you asked me where I learned my countries in Africa, I’d tell you that it was from watching Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? My knowledge of state capitals? Animaniacs. My ability to find prime numbers while being hunted by cartoon monsters in a 6×5 grid? Number Munchers.

And while these and so many other skills that I learned in school also came largely from my grade school teachers, I think that there’s an underappreciated value to using videos and games to help supplement learning. Staring at a GMAT book for an hour isn’t helpful if you aren’t learning anything because your mind is checked out. But tricking your brain into getting faster at finding numbers that multiply to 24 might be, especially if you can make time to do so on your ride to work or while waiting for your dentist appointment. And for many of us, myself included, there’s no better place in the world to find 5-minute distraction than at the App Store. So if you have an iPhone or iPad (and many of these apps are also found on Android too) check out some of these apps below. And if you have any other apps that you use, type them up in the comments below!

Note: Listing here is not an endorsement by Manhattan GMAT.

Basic Computation Apps

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Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.

2/20/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 9:00PM-12:00AM (EST)

2/23/13– Online- Free Trial Class- 10:00PM-1:00PM (EST)

2/24/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 1:00PM-4:00PM (EST)

2/19/13– Online-Interview Workshop presented by mbaMission– 9:00PM-10:00PM (EST)

2/21/13– Online- Thursdays with Ron- 7:00PM-8:30PM (EST)

2/19/13– Atlanta, GA- Free Trial Class– 6:30AM-9:30PM

2/21/13– Boston, MA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM-9:30PM

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Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:

MBA Rankings: Top Schools for E-Business (Bloomerberg Businessweek)

Bloomberg Businessweek asked current business school students to rank their program’s coverage of  Internet commerce.

MBA Pay Growth: U.S. Business Schools Lag Behind (Business Week)

Business Week shares some recent research, which reveals that MBA pay growth at business schools in the U.S. has lagged significantly behind increases in Europe and Asia.

Relax! You’ll Be More Productive! (The New York Times)

Struggling to concentrate on your studies? The NY Times reports on growing research that shows how naps, longer sleep hours, time away from the office, and more vacations actually boost productivity and performance.
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The other week, we discussed the overall process for Data Sufficiency. This week, we’re going to test out the process using a GMATPrep question “ and take a look at a couple of very common DS traps.

Set your timer for 2 minutes. and GO!

*  A bookstore that sells used books sells each of its paperback books for a certain price and each of its hardcover books for a certain price. If Joe, Maria, and Paul all bought books in this store, how much did Maria pay for 1 paperback book and 1 hardcover book?

(1) Joe bought 2 paperback books and 3 hardcover books for $12.50.

(2) Paul bought 4 paperback books and 6 hardcover books for $25.00.

Note that I haven’t listed the answer choices for you. Because DS answers are always the same, we should memorize them. If you don’t have them memorized yet, look back at the How DS Works article linked in the first paragraph.

All right, let’s tackle this problem.

Step 1: Read the Question Stem

The first sentence tells us that each paperback book sells for the same price and each hardcover book also sells for the same price (but possibly a different price than the paperback books).

The question asks how much Maria paid for 1 of each type of book. Is this a value or a yes/no question?

They’re asking for a specific amount; this is a value question. We’ve also got lots of words; we’re going to have to translate.

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My title is a little odd there “ why the very specific timeframe? Well, we know that business schools aren’t using the Integrated Reasoning (IR) section much (if at all) this first year, for admission in the fall of 2013, but we also know that IR will probably become more important over time.

How much more important? Nobody knows, but it’s a good guess that the process will be fairly gradual. We have decades of data for the quant and verbal sections, so the schools can feel confident in interpreting that data to help make admissions decisions. After the first year of IR, we’ll still have only one year of data; as a result, it’s highly unlikely that IR will suddenly rise to the same level of importance as quant and verbal.

So what should you do if you’re taking the GMAT sometime this year in preparation for a fall 2014 start? How much attention do you really need to pay to IR and what kind of score will be good enough?

Here are the current percentile rankings for the 1 to 8 IR scoring scale:

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We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

A regular octagon (a polygon with 8 sides of identical length and 8 identical interior angles) is constructed. Next, an equilateral triangle (with sides identical in length to those of the octagon) is attached to each side of the octagon, such that each side of the octagon coincides exactly with the side of the triangle. Finally, each triangle is folded over that coincident side onto the octagon, covering part of the latter’s area. Approximately what proportion of the area of the octagon is left uncovered?

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Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.

2/11/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 8:00PM-11:00PM (EST)

2/12/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 12:00PM-3:00PM (EST)

2/17/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 7:00AM-10:00AM (EST)

2/13/13– Online- Assessing Your MBA Profile presented by mbaMission– 12:00PM-1:30PM (EST)

2/19/13– Online-Interview Workshop presented by mbaMission– 9:00PM-10:00PM (EST)

2/16/13– Boston, MA- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM-1:00PM

2/11/13– Boulder, CO- Free Trial Class– 6:30AM-9:30PM
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Catch up on some business school news with a few of this week’s top stories:

MBA Intern & Job Outlook Improving (Poets & Quants)

Good news for current and future MBA students! Poets & Quants reveals recruiting stats and shares how this year is shaping up to be a great year for b-school students.

Honesty Matters During the Business School Admissions Process (Graduate Guide)

Something that not every MBA applicant may be aware of is that he or she could be subjected to a background screening. Check out this post from Graduate Guide to find out more about the business school background check.

Mission Admission: Picking a Safety School (mbaMission)

Struggling to figure out which business schools to categorize as your safties? MbaMission has some great suggestions for what to consider when determining your safety schools.

Can Globalization be Taught in B-School? (The Wall Street Journal Careers)

This week WSJ published an interesting interview with Pankaj Ghemawat, a professor of global strategy at IESE Business School in Barcelona, who claims that schools must do a better job explaining globalization”and its many limits.

Don’t see your favorite article from the week? Share what you’ve been reading in the comments or tweet @ManhattanGMAT