The Math Beast Challenge Problem of the Week – February 6th, 2012
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Each week, we 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 two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.
x, y, and z are three consecutive multiples of 3 such that x < y < z.
Quantity A Quantity B The remainder when the sum of x + 1, y “ 2, and z + 3 is divided by 9
2
Decision Fatigue on the GRE
A few months back, the New York Times published this fascinating article on the subject of decision fatigue. The article became a big topic of conversation here in the Manhattan GRE office. If you don’t have time to read the full article, I will give a quick summary: the more decisions a human makes in a row, the less will-power that person will have after each successive decision—this phenomenon is called decision fatigue (note: this is a vast oversimplification of the article, so you should give it a read if you have time). The test subjects weren’t asked to make big decisions—no marriage proposals, no career changes, no forced choice between Kirk and Picard—just simple everyday choices, such as what color of china they would prefer, or what specifications they would like in a new computer. The study found that making decisions, even small inconsequential ones, can significantly deplete a person’s willpower.
Idioms for Reading Comp: The Other Meaning of “Save”
We find that there are some words that people never look up because they are “unknown unknowns” — that is, you don’t even know what you don’t know!
Did you know that even the simple word save has another meaning?
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Test Day Tip: Mental Math Warm-Up
Come GRE test day, there isn’t much left to do in the way of studying. Cramming new material on the day of your exam is stressful and won’t give you much of a positive return on time invested. However, there are some things that you can do on test day to further your GRE success. One thing that I found very useful when I took my GRE was performing a math warm-up. Read more
Testing Center Dos and Don’ts
As we’ve mentioned before, the GRE testing center can be a stressful place. Showing up for the GRE is much like arriving at the airport. You will have to empty your pockets, present a photo ID, and maybe even go through a metal detector. Sometimes, students make the mistake of preparing for the test content without ever considering the test experience. To help you prepare for the full experience, we’ve put together this list of testing center dos and don’ts.
The Math Beast Challenge Problem of the Week – January 16th, 2012
Each week, we 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 two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.
Quantity A Quantity B x + 5 (x “ 2)2
Flashcard Sneak Peek: Martinet, Hawk, Chauvinist (Words You Probably Shouldn’t Use in Your OKCupid Profile Name)
Take a sneak peek into Manhattan Prep’s 500 Essential Words and 500 Advanced Words GRE flashcard sets!
When writing these cards, we wanted to make sure that everyone could get something out of every card — even if you already know the word on the front. So, you may know martinet, but do you know doctrinaire, hawk and the real meaning of chauvinist? Read more
The Myth of “Not Smart Enough”
Yesterday, Study Hacks pointed us to a Reddit thread titled I’m not as smart as I thought I was. In the initial post, a Redditor was concerned that poor standardized test scores had revealed he was really not that intelligent, and would keep him out of MIT. The responses came in vast numbers, and many of them crystallized around a unifying theme: academic success doesn’t depend solely on smarts but rather requires hard work and dedication.
We sometimes encounter student with similar concerns. Some students become dejected after struggling with an initial practice GRE, and start to feel that they just aren’t smart enough to succeed on the exam. And we’re here to say STOP! Don’t get discouraged. The GRE is not The Sorting Hat; it does not magically divine your intelligence and then dictate your academic future.
“130 Quant and 130 Verbal? Hufflepuff.”
Vocab in the Classics: To the Immortal Memory of the Halibut
I came across 18th century poet William Cowper in the Slate article “Why are William Cowper’s poems so witty?”
For instance, this one (source):
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The Math Beast Challenge Problem of the Week – January 9th, 2012
Each week, we 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 two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.
Per Serving of: Calories Cost Snack A 200 $1.70 Snack B 350 $0.60 Choosing from the snacks in the table above, a group consumes 3250 calories of snacks that cost a total of $11.
Quantity A Quantity B The number of servings of Snack A the group consumed 4