<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Value Questions – GMAT</title> <atom:link href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/tag/value-questions/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat</link> <description>GMAT Prep Course, Best GMAT Class & Study Books | Manhattan Prep GMAT</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:53:53 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2</generator> <item> <title>Why Do We Care about Yes/No Data Sufficiency Questions?</title> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/why-do-we-care-about-yesno-data-sufficiency-questions/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chelsey Cooley]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 08 Jun 2017 15:44:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Data Sufficiency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[For Current Studiers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Prep]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Strategies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Study Guide]]></category> <category><![CDATA[How to Study]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Quant]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Data Sufficiency Questions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Value Questions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yes/No Questions]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/?p=13858</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. GMAT Data Sufficiency questions can seem a little mysterious. (If you’re just getting started, or if you need a refresher, here’s a great article on […]</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/why-do-we-care-about-yesno-data-sufficiency-questions/">Why Do We Care about Yes/No Data Sufficiency Questions?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-13979" src="//cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2017/06/why-we-care-yes-no-data-sufficiency-questions-chelsey-cooley.png" alt="Manhattan Prep GMAT Blog - Why Do We Care about Yes/No Data Sufficiency Questions? by Chelsey Cooley" width="1200" height="628" srcset="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2017/06/why-we-care-yes-no-data-sufficiency-questions-chelsey-cooley.png 1200w, https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2017/06/why-we-care-yes-no-data-sufficiency-questions-chelsey-cooley-300x157.png 300w, https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2017/06/why-we-care-yes-no-data-sufficiency-questions-chelsey-cooley-768x402.png 768w, https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2017/06/why-we-care-yes-no-data-sufficiency-questions-chelsey-cooley-1024x536.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p> <p><b><i>Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! </i></b><a id="bloglink" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><b><i>Check out our upcoming courses here</i></b></a><b><i>.</i></b></p> <hr /> <p><b><i></i></b><span style="font-weight: 400;">GMAT Data Sufficiency questions can seem a little mysterious. (If you’re just getting started, or if you need a refresher, </span><a id="bloglink" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/2013/01/24/how-data-sufficiency-works/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here’s a great article on the basics of Data Sufficiency</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.) These problems are more like logic puzzles than math questions. That makes Data Sufficiency a good opportunity for those of us who want to score well on Quant, but don’t like doing math! However, you might have some questions about Data Sufficiency as you start to understand the problem type a little better. Here’s one of them: </span><b>why do we categorize Data Sufficiency questions into “yes/no” and “value”?</b><span id="more-13858"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Data Sufficiency problem always includes a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">question</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which appears at the top. The question is always unfair: you can never answer it without getting more information first. For instance, these could be Data Sufficiency questions:</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the median weight, in pounds, of the 17 students in a certain class? </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Claire rolled a fair 6-sided die 4 times. How many times did the die show a value of 4 or greater? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All three of those are examples of “value” questions. A value question is a question that could be answered with a number. On the other hand, yes/no Data Sufficiency questions can be answered with a “yes” or a “no”:</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> greater than 10?</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is the median weight of the students in Classroom A equal to the median weight of the students in classroom B? </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Claire rolled a fair 6-sided die 4 times and totaled the values that she rolled. Was the total of all of her rolls divisible by 10? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before you start trying to solve any Data Sufficiency problem, you should </span><b>notice whether you’re answering a yes/no question or a value question</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Doing this can make the difference between confidently giving a right answer, and falling for a trap. Here’s why. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In order to answer a value question, you need to be able to calculate a specific number. You don’t actually have to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">do</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the calculation—that’s what’s so great about Data Sufficiency questions—but you do need to be </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">able</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to do it. For instance, in this </span><b>value</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Data Sufficiency problem, Statement 1 would be sufficient: </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(1)</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 1,945,732<sup>156</sup></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, here’s a </span><b>yes/no</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> problem that uses the same statement:</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> greater than 10?</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(1)</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 1,945,732<sup>156</sup></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This problem is pretty similar to the previous one. You can calculate the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, so you can answer the yes/no question about whether it’s greater than 10. The statement is sufficient. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s where things get weird. In order to answer a value question, you have to know the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. So, the statement in this problem is insufficient:</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(1)</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a positive multiple of 100.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But in order to answer a yes/no question, </span><b>you might not need the value at all</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This statement is sufficient:</span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> greater than 10? </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">(1)</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> x </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is a positive multiple of 100. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are an infinite number of positive multiples of 100. You definitely can’t calculate the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—you can’t even get close. However, </span><b>you can still answer the question</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. You don’t know what </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is, but you do know something about it: </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, or some other positive multiple of 100. In other words, you know that whatever </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is, it’s definitely bigger than 10. You know that the answer to the question is “yes”! So, even though the statement doesn’t let you find the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it’s still sufficient. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In other words, when you’re dealing with yes/no Data Sufficiency questions, a statement doesn’t have to give you a specific value to be sufficient. As long as it gives you enough info to answer either “yes” or “no” to the question, it’s good enough. If it </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">does</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> give you a specific value, that’s nice, but it doesn’t have to. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, don’t look at a question like “is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> greater than 10?” and think to yourself “okay, I need to figure out what </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is.” That’s a common cause of mistakes on Data Sufficiency questions. Instead, ask yourself </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">whether the answer to the question is yes or no</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">—without worrying about what </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Give this tricky yes/no Data Sufficiency question a try. Focus on answering the question with a “yes” or a “no,” not on finding specific values! </span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are positive integers, is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x<sup>y</sup></span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> equal to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y<sup>x</sup></span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">? </span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> > </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are prime</span></span></li> </ol> <hr /> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Answer: C. Statement 1 is insufficient: if </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 2 and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 4, the answer to the question is ‘yes’, while if </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 1 and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> = 3, the answer to the question is ‘no.’ Statement 2 is insufficient as well: if </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are equal, the answer to the question would be ‘yes,’ while otherwise, it would be ‘no.’ Combining both statements, however, lets you answer the question—the two values will never be equal if </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are distinct primes. That’s true even though you can’t find the value of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">x</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">y</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at all! ?</span></p> <hr /> <p><b><i>Want more guidance from our GMAT gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free! We’re not kidding. </i></b><a id="bloglink" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><b><i>Check out our upcoming courses here</i></b></a><b><i>.</i></b></p> <hr /> <p><b><i><em><strong><a id="bloglink" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/chelsey-cooley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chelsey Cooley</a><a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/chelsey-cooley/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgre%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=CooleyBioGREBlog&utm_campaign=GRE%20Blog" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft" title="Chelsey Cooley Manhattan Prep GRE Instructor" src="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gre/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/11/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg" alt="Chelsey Cooley Manhattan Prep GRE Instructor" width="150" height="150" /></a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.</strong> </em></i></b><i><em>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170/170 on the GRE. </em></i><i><em><a id="bloglink" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/classes/#instructor/48" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GRE prep offerings here</a>.</em></i></p> <div class="share-and-tag add"></div> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/why-do-we-care-about-yesno-data-sufficiency-questions/">Why Do We Care about Yes/No Data Sufficiency Questions?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>