Articles published in Math

GRE Math for People Who Hate Math: Right Triangles

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - GRE Math for People Who Hate Math: Right Triangles by Chelsey Cooley Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


Geometry is one of the most polarizing topics on the GRE. If you think it’s great, this article isn’t for you! This set of tips and tricks is for those of us who would rather have a root canal than calculate the length of a hypotenuse.

Check out this Quantitative Comparison problem: Read more

GRE Percentage Problems – Part 2: Percent Increase and Percent Decrease

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - GRE Percentage Problems - Part 2: Percent Increase and Percent Decrease by Chelsey CooleyDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve probably read our article on how to handle GRE percentage problems. That article teaches you an ultra-simple approach for “percent of” Quant problems — that is, problems like the following:

xy is 20% of z. In terms of y, what percent of x is z? Read more

GRE Math for People Who Hate Math: Data Interpretation

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - GRE Math for People Who Hate Math: Data Interpretation by Chelsey CooleyDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


Math is unavoidable on the Quantitative sections of the GRE. But it isn’t all about math. By leveraging your strengths — and learning just a couple of ultra-simple math rules — you can gain the advantage over certain Quant problem types, even if you’re more of a Verbal person. Here’s how to apply that idea to Data Interpretation. Read more

Answer Any Weighted Average Problem in One Minute or Less

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Answer Any Weighted Average Problem in One Minute or Less by Chelsey CooleyDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


A group consists of both men and women. The average (arithmetic mean) height of the women is 66 inches, and the average (arithmetic mean) height of the men is 72 inches. If the average (arithmetic mean) height of all the people in the group is 70 inches, what is the ratio of women to men in the group? Read more

Easy Answers Are Lousy Answers on the GRE

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Manhattan Prep GRE - Easy Answers Are Lousy Answers on the GRE by Chelsey CooleyDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


There are a few different types of wrong answers on the GRE. Some wrong answers are just there in hopes that you’ll guess incorrectly: they actually don’t make much logical sense, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, they look just as good as any other option. Other wrong answers are meant to trick test-takers who make particular mistakes. If you pick an answer on a Text Completion problem that’s exactly the opposite of the correct one, because you missed a critical word like despite or although, this is the type of wrong answer you’ve fallen for. Read more

A Step-by-Step Guide to ‘Multiple Workers’ GRE Rates Problems

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - A Step-By-Step Guide to 'Multiple Workers' GRE Rates Problems by Chelsey CooleyDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


Nine identical machines, each working at the same constant rate, can stitch 27 jerseys in 4 minutes. How many minutes would it take 4 such machines to stitch 60 jerseys?

First, take a deep breath. In this article, you’ll learn a methodical approach that will work on GRE rates problems every single time. On test day, it’ll be tempting to throw away your new habits and go back to old ones. Try to do the opposite. You’ve done all of this studying for a reason!

On problems like this, don’t try anything fancy. A lot of GRE test-takers will try to logically reason their way through this problem, saying something like “well, if 9 machines stitch 27 jerseys in 4 minutes, then 3 machines stitch 9 jerseys in 12 minutes…” That approach is valid but dangerous. Whenever you choose not to write something down, you’re taking away your ability to check your work for mistakes. (By the way, where’s the mistake in the logic described above?)

To start the problem, make a table. Your scratch paper should look like this: Read more

Want to Do Better on GRE Discrete Quant? Put the Pen Down!

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Manhattan Prep GRE Blog - Want to Do Better on GRE Quant? Put the Pen Down! by Ceilidh Erickson

Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


Let’s do a GRE Discrete Quant experiment. This is one I do with all of my GRE classes and tutoring students. Grab a piece of paper, a pen, and a stopwatch (or use the stopwatch function on your mobile device).

When you’re ready, click “start” on the stopwatch and begin the following multiple-choice GRE Discrete Quant problem… Read more

GRE Smart Books with Neil: A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even if you Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley

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Manhattan Prep GRE Instructor Neil Thornton - Book Reviews to Ace the Test

Can’t get enough of Neil’s GRE wisdom? Few can. Fortunately, you can join him twice monthly for a free hour and a half study session in Mondays with Neil.


As a long-time instructor of all things standardized testing (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, SAT), I love reading books about math, logic, learning, skill acquisition, neurology, and psychology. Is important to me to stay up-to-date with anything that will help my students use their study time effectively. In this blog series, I’ll be bringing you book reviews and recommendations, as well as excerpts and summaries you can put into practice right away on your GRE journey. Read more

The Art of the GRE Sanity Check

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blog-sanityDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


You know what’s really frustrating? Making a ridiculous math mistake on a GRE Quant problem, totally by accident, and never noticing it. Add a three-second sanity check to your GRE Quant routine, and you’ll be more likely to catch small mistakes before they turn into huge disasters. Read more

Let’s Have Fun with GRE Exponents

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blog-exponentsYou may already know the basic rules of exponents for the GRE. These rules tell you what to do if you want to multiply or divide two exponential numbers, or raise an exponent to another power. Once you’ve memorized them, exponent problems become exponentially easier (I’m so sorry). But there are two types of exponent problems that many students find intimidating, because the basic rules just don’t seem useful. In this article, we’ll go over those two problem types, how to recognize them, and what to do if you see one. Read more