12th EDITION REVIEW 12 th EDITION 12th EDITION The Offi cial GUIDE FOR GMAT ® REVIEW The only study guide with more than 800 past GMAT ® questions— and their answers—— by the creators of the test. THE OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR GMAT ® REVIEW, 12TH EDITION • Actual questions from past GMAT tests • Diagnostic section helps you assess where to focus your test-prep efforts • Insights into the GMAT exam that debunk test-taking myths From the Graduate Management Admission Council ® more than 1 million copies sold worldwide GMAT ® ® ~ The ~ OFFICIAL Guide ~ The ~ OFFICIAL Guide Trust the worldwide bestselling study guide TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR the GMAT! Visit www.mba.com to: • Get 2 free downloadable tests and practice questions • Sign up for the GMAT Teasers, a weekly practice question • Register to take the GMAT exam GMAT REVIEW Here’s what you’ll fi nd inside the only book on the market written by the creators of the exam. • More than 800 actual questions from past GMAT tests—300 of which have never before been published • Full answers and detailed explanations for all questions • Grammar review covering concepts tested on the GMAT Verbal section • Comprehensive math review of the topics tested on the GMAT Quantitative section • Actual essay topics, sample responses, and scoring information • Questions organized in order of diffi culty to save study time Study Aids/GMAT ® $36.95 USA/$43.95 CAN GMAT ® and THE OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR GMAT ® REVIEW are products of Graduate Management Admission Council ® Creating Access to Graduate Business Education SM 04_449745-ch01.indd 604_449745-ch01.indd 6 2/23/09 10:20:58 AM2/23/09 10:20:58 AM 12th EDITION REVIEW The only study guide with more than 800 past GMAT ® questions— and their answers—— by the creators of the test. THE OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR GMAT ® REVIEW, 12TH EDITION • Actual questions from past GMAT tests • Diagnostic section helps you assess where to focus your test-prep efforts • Insights into the GMAT exam that debunk test-taking myths From the Graduate Management Admission Council ® more than 1 million copies sold worldwide GMAT ® ~ The ~ OFFICIAL Guide 01_449745-ffirs.indd 101_449745-ffirs.indd 1 2/23/09 11:57:56 AM2/23/09 11:57:56 AM THE OFFICIAL GUIDE FOR GMAT ® REVIEW, 12TH EDITION Copyright © 2009 by the Graduate Management Admission Council®. All rights reserved. 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Composition Services Charles Forster, Designer Mike Wilson, Production Designer 01_449745-ffirs.indd 201_449745-ffirs.indd 2 2/23/09 11:57:56 AM2/23/09 11:57:56 AM Table of Contents 1.0 What Is the GMAT ® ? 6 1.1 Why Take the GMAT ® Test? 7 1.2 GMAT ® Test Format 8 1.3 What Is the Content of the Test Like? 10 1.4 Quantitative Section 10 1.5 Verbal Section 10 1.6 What Computer Skills Will I Need? 11 1.7 What Are the Test Centers Like? 11 1.8 How Are Scores Calculated? 11 1.9 Analytical Writing Assessment Scores 12 1.10 Test Development Process 13 2.0 How to Prepare 14 2 .1 H ow Can I Best Prepare to Take the Test? 15 2.2 What About Practice Tests? 15 2.3 How Should I Use the Diagnostic Test? 16 2.4 Where Can I Get Additional Practice? 16 2.5 General Test-Taking Suggestions 16 3.0 Diagnostic Test 18 3 .1 Quantitative Sample Questions 20 3.2 Verbal Sample Questions 27 3.3 Quantitative and Verbal Answer Keys 45 3.4 Interpretive Guide 45 3.5 Quantitative Answer Explanations 46 3.6 Verbal Answer Explanations 65 4.0 Math Review 106 4. 1 Ar ithmetic 108 4.2 Algebra 120 4.3 Geometry 127 4.4 Word Problems 140 5.0 Problem Solving 148 5 .1 Te st-Taking Strategies 150 5.2 The Directions 150 5.3 Sample Questions 152 5.4 Answer Key 186 5.5 Answer Explanations 188 6.0 Data Sufficiency 266 6 .1 Te st-Taking Strategies 268 6.2 The Directions 270 6.3 Sample Questions 272 6.4 Answer Key 289 6.5 Answer Explanations 290 7.0 Reading Comprehension 352 7 .1 W hat Is Measured 354 7.2 Test-Taking Strategies 356 7.3 The Directions 357 7.4 Sample Questions 358 7.5 Answer Key 408 7.6 Answer Explanations 409 02_449745-ftoc.indd 302_449745-ftoc.indd 3 2/23/09 10:20:14 AM2/23/09 10:20:14 AM 8.0 Critical Reasoning 482 8.1 What Is Measured 484 8.2 Test-Taking Strategies 484 8.3 The Directions 485 8.4 Sample Questions 486 8.5 Answer Key 525 8.6 Answer Explanations 526 9.0 Sentence Correction 650 9 .1 B asic English Grammar Rules 651 9.2 Study Suggestions 656 9.3 What Is Measured 656 9.4 Test-Taking Strategies 656 9.5 The Directions 657 9.6 Sample Questions 658 9.7 Answer Key 684 9.8 Answer Explanations 685 10.0 Analytical Writing Assessment 758 10 .1 What Is Measured 759 10.2 Test-Taking Strategies 760 10.3 The Directions 761 10.4 GMAT ® Scoring Guide: Analysis of an Issue 762 10.5 Sample: Analysis of an Issue 764 10.6 Analysis of an Issue Sample Topics 769 10.7 GMAT ® Scoring Guide: Analysis of an Argument 790 10.8 Sample: Analysis of an Argument 792 10.9 Analysis of an Argument Sample Topics 796 Appendix A Percentile Ranking Tables 828 Appendix B Answer Sheets 834 Dia gnostic Answer Sheet 835 Problem Solving Answer Sheet 836 Data Sufficiency Answer Sheet 837 Reading Comprehension Answer Sheet 838 Critical Reasoning Answer Sheet 839 Sentence Correction Answer Sheet 840 02_449745-ftoc.indd 402_449745-ftoc.indd 4 2/23/09 10:20:14 AM2/23/09 10:20:14 AM Dear Future Business Leader, By using this book to prepare for the GMAT® test, you are taking a very important step toward gaining admission to a high-quality business or management program and achieving a rewarding career in management. I applaud your decision. e Graduate Management Admission Council® developed the GMAT test more than 50 years ago to help leading graduate schools of business and management choose the applicants who best suit their programs. Today, the test is used by more than 1,800 graduate programs and is given to test takers daily in more than 110 countries around the world. Programs that use GMAT scores in selective admissions have helped establish the MBA degree as a hallmark of excellence worldwide. Why do GMAT scores matter so much? Other admissions factors—such as work experience, grades, admissions essays, and interviews—can say something about who you are and what you have done in your career, but only your GMAT scores can tell schools how you are likely to perform academically in the business school courses that are fundamental to the MBA degree. In fact, the test has been proven reliable as a predictor of academic performance for more than half a century. In other words, business schools that require you to take the GMAT really care about the quality of their student body. And excellent MBA students mean a stronger MBA program, a more enriching learning environment, and a more valuable degree for you to take into the business world. By enrolling in a school that uses the GMAT test for your graduate business degree, you will maximize the value of your degree, and that value will pay off in many ways, throughout your career. I wish you great success in preparing for this important next step in your professional education, and I wish you a very rewarding management career. Sincerely David A. Wilson President and CEO Graduate Management Admission Council® 03_449745-flast.indd 503_449745-flast.indd 5 2/23/09 10:20:41 AM2/23/09 10:20:41 AM 6 1.0 What Is the GMAT ® ? 04_449745-ch01.indd 604_449745-ch01.indd 6 2/23/09 10:20:58 AM2/23/09 10:20:58 AM 7 1.0 What Is the GMAT ® ? e Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®) is a standardized, three-part test delivered in English. e test was designed to help admissions officers evaluate how suitable individual applicants are for their graduate business and management programs. It measures basic verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills that a test taker has developed over a long period of time through education and work. e GMAT test does not a measure a person’s knowledge of specific fields of study. Graduate business and management programs enroll people from many diff erent undergraduate and work backgrounds, so rather than test your mastery of any particular subject area, the GMAT test will assess your acquired skills. Your GMAT score will give admissions officers a statistically reliable measure of how well you are likely to perform academically in the core curriculum of a graduate business program. Of course, there are many other qualifications that can help people succeed in business school and in their careers—for instance, job experience, leadership ability, motivation, and interpersonal skills. e GMAT test does not gauge these qualities. at is why your GMAT score is intended to be used as one standard admissions criterion among other, more subjective, criteria, such as admissions essays and interviews. 1.1 Why Take the GMAT ® Test? GMAT scores are used by admissions officers in roughly 1,800 graduate business and management programs worldwide. Schools that require prospective students to submit GMAT scores in the application process are generally interested in admitting the best-qualified applicants for their programs, which means that you may find a more beneficial learning environment at schools that require GMAT scores as part of your application. Because the GMAT test gauges skills that are important to successful study of business and management at the graduate level, your scores will give you a good indication of how well prepared you are to succeed academically in a graduate management program; how well you do on the test may also help you choose the business schools to which you apply. Furthermore, the percentile table you receive with your scores will tell you how your performance on the test compares to the performance of other test takers, giving you one way to gauge your competition for admission to business school. 1.0 What Is the GMAT ® ? – If I don’t score in the 90th percentile, I won’t get into any school I choose. F – Very few people get very high scores. Fewer than 50 of the more than 200,000 people taking the GMAT test each year get a perfect score of 800. Thus, while you may be exceptionally capable, the odds are against your achieving a perfect score. Also, the GMAT test is just one piece of your application packet. Admissions offi cers use GMAT scores in conjunction with undergraduate records, application essays, interviews, letters of recommendation, and other information when deciding whom to accept into their programs. -vs- FACT 04_449745-ch01.indd 704_449745-ch01.indd 7 2/23/09 10:20:58 AM2/23/09 10:20:58 AM 8 The Offi cial Guide for GMAT ® Review 12th Edition Schools consider many diff erent aspects of an application before making an admissions decision, so even if you score well on the GMAT test, you should contact the schools that interest you to learn more about them and to ask about how they use GMAT scores and other admissions criteria (such as your undergraduate grades, essays, and letters of recommendation) to evaluate candidates for admission. School admissions offices, school Web sites, and materials published by the school are the best sources for you to tap when you are doing research about where you might want to go to business school. For more information about how schools should use GMAT scores in admissions decisions, please read Appendix A of this book. For more information on the GMAT, registering to take the test, sending your scores to schools, and applying to business school, please visit our Web site at www.mba.com. 1.2 GMAT ® Test Format e GMAT test consists of four separately timed sections (see the table on the next page). You start the test with two 30-minute Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) questions that require you to type your responses using the computer keyboard. e writing section is followed by two 75-minute, multiple-choice sections: the Quantitative and Verbal sections of the test. e GMAT is a computer-adaptive test (CAT), which means that in the multiple-choice sections of the test, the computer constantly gauges how well you are doing on the test and presents you with questions that are appropriate to your ability level. ese questions are drawn from a huge pool of possible test questions. So, although we talk about the GMAT as one test, the GMAT test you take may be completely diff erent from the test of the person sitting next to you. Here’s how it works. At the start of each GMAT multiple-choice section (Verbal and Quantitative), you will be presented with a question of moderate difficulty. e computer uses your response to that first question to determine which question to present next. If you respond correctly, the test usually will give you questions of increasing difficulty. If you respond incorrectly, the next question you see usually will be easier than the one you answered incorrectly. As you continue to respond to the questions presented, the computer will narrow your score to the number that best characterizes your ability. When you complete each section, the computer will have an accurate assessment of your ability. – Getting an easier question means I answered the last one wrong. F – Getting an easier question does not necessarily mean you got the previous question wrong. To ensure that everyone receives the same content, the test selects a specifi c number of questions of each type. The test may call for your next question to be a relatively hard problem-solving item involving arithmetic operations. But, if there are no more relatively diffi cult problem-solving items involving arithmetic, you might be given an easier item. Most people are not skilled at estimating item diffi culty, so don’t worry when taking the test or waste valuable time trying to determine the diffi culty of the questions you are answering. -vs- FACT 04_449745-ch01.indd 804_449745-ch01.indd 8 2/23/09 10:20:58 AM2/23/09 10:20:58 AM [...]... equals 10 0 What is the value of x ? If 3 − 2x = 2x + 1 , then 4x2 = (A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 2 − 2x (A) 50 (D) 4x − 2 (B) 10 0 (E) 6x − 1 (C) 20 0 (D) 1, 000 (E) 2, 000 17 If n = 16 , what is the value of 81 1 9 (B) 1 4 2 (C) 4 9 (B) 4 (C) 8 (D) 2 3 (D) 20 (E) 14 (A) (A) 13 s If s and t are positive integers such that = 64 . 12 , t which of the following could be the remainder when s is divided by t ? 45 (E) 9 2 Of the. .. (B) 1 9 (E) (A) 1 10 (D) A researcher computed the mean, the median, and the standard deviation for a set of performance scores If 5 were to be added to each score, which of these three statistics would change? 1 80 (C) 4 1 720 (B) 2 (E) 9 2 3 (D) 30 1 2 (C) 20 1 4 (B) 15 (B) (A) w° In the figure shown, what is the value of v+x+y+z+w? (A) 45 (B) 90 (C) 18 0 (D) 27 0 (E) 360 21 The Official Guide for GMAT ... paid $15 .95 for the first compact disc, then the dollar amount that the customer paid for the 6 compact discs is equivalent to which of the following? (A) 5(4.00) + 15 .95 (C) 5(4.00) + 16 .00 (D) 2 17 5 (C) 20 0 (D) 22 5 (E) 300 21 50 (E) 27 50 15 0 (B) 7 20 (D) The average (arithmetic mean) of the integers from 20 0 to 400, inclusive, is how much greater than the average of the integers from 50 to 10 0, inclusive?... 3 ? The units digit of n is the same as the units digit of n3 (1) (2) 32 The variance for the set of measurements is 4 For each measurement, the difference between the mean and that measurement is 2 Is the range of the integers 6, 3, y, 4, 5, and x greater than 9 ? (1) 27 What is the value of the integer p ? Each of the integers 2, 3, and 5 is a factor of p (1) y > 3x (2) 26 Each of the integers 2, ... Guide for GMAT Review 12 th Edition 11 Of the three-digit integers greater than 700, how many have two digits that are equal to each other and the remaining digit different from the other two? 15 The product of all the prime numbers less than 20 is closest to which of the following powers of 10 ? (A) 10 9 (A) 90 (B) 10 8 (B) 82 (C) 10 7 (C) 80 (D) 10 6 (D) 45 (E) 10 5 (E) 36 16 12 Positive integer y is... Questions 20 A right circular cone is inscribed in a hemisphere so that the base of the cone coincides with the base of the hemisphere What is the ratio of the height of the cone to the radius of the hemisphere? 23 If the positive integer x is a multiple of 4 and the positive integer y is a multiple of 6, then xy must be a multiple of which of the following? I 8 II 12 (A) III 18 (B) 1: 1 (C) 1 :1 2 (A)... interest for one year to yield the same number of dollars? (1) 46 x+y > 0, is x < 0 ? z (1) x . FACT 05_449745-ch 02. indd 17 05_449745-ch 02. indd 17 2/ 23/09 10 : 21 : 14 AM2 /23 /09 10 : 21 : 14 AM 18 3.0 Diagnostic Test 06_449745-ch03.indd 18 06_449745-ch03.indd 18 2/ 23/09 10 :25 :26 AM2 /23 /09 10 :25 :26 AM . 503_449745-flast.indd 5 2/ 23/09 10 :20 : 41 AM2 /23 /09 10 :20 : 41 AM 6 1. 0 What Is the GMAT ® ? 04_449745-ch 01. indd 604_449745-ch 01. indd 6 2/ 23/09 10 :20 :58 AM2 /23 /09 10 :20 :58 AM 7 1. 0 What Is the GMAT ® ? . -vs- FACT 05_449745-ch 02. indd 15 05_449745-ch 02. indd 15 2/ 23/09 10 : 21 : 13 AM2 /23 /09 10 : 21 : 13 AM 16 The Offi cial Guide for GMAT ® Review 12 th Edition 2. 3 How Should I Use the Diagnostic Test?