gmat for dummies (isbn - 0764596535)

by Scott Hatch,J.D. and Lisa Hatch,M.A. The GMAT ® FOR DUMmIES ‰ 5TH EDITION 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page i 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page iv by Scott Hatch,J.D. and Lisa Hatch,M.A. The GMAT ® FOR DUMmIES ‰ 5TH EDITION 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page i The GMAT For Dummies ® , 5th Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMEN- DATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2006925889 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-9653-7 ISBN-10: 0-7645-9653-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 5B/SR/QY/QW/IN 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page ii About the Authors Scott and Lisa Hatch have prepared students for college entrance exams for over 25 years. While in law school in the late ’70s, Scott Hatch taught LSAT preparation courses throughout Southern California to pay for his education. He was so good at it that after graduation, he went out on his own. Using materials he developed himself, he prepared thousands of anx- ious potential test-takers for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, LSAT, GRE, and GMAT. Years ago, Lisa took one of Scott’s LSAT preparation courses at the University of Colorado and improved her love life as well as her LSAT score. Lisa’s love for instructing and writing allowed her to fit right in with Scott’s lifestyle, teaching courses and preparing course materi- als. They married shortly thereafter. Since then, Scott and Lisa have taught test preparation to students worldwide. Currently over 300 universities and colleges offer their courses online and through live lectures, and the Hatches have written the curriculum for both formats. The company they have built together, the Center for Legal Studies, provides not only standardized test preparation courses but also courses for those who desire careers in the field of law, including paralegals, legal secretaries, legal investigators, victim advocates, and legal nurse consultants. Scott has presented standardized test preparation courses since 1979. He is listed in Who’s Who in California and Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, and he was named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America by the United States Jaycees. He was a contributing editor to The Judicial Profiler (McGraw-Hill) and the Colorado Law Annotated (West/Lawyers Co-op) series, and he was editor of several award-winning publica- tions. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law. Lisa has been teaching legal certificate and standardized test preparation courses since 1987. She graduated with honors in English from the University of Puget Sound, and she received her master’s degree from California State University. She and Scott have co-authored numer- ous law and standardized test texts, including Paralegal Procedures and Practices, published by West Thomson Publishing, and SAT II U.S. History For Dummies, SAT II Biology For Dummies, SAT II Math For Dummies, and Paralegal Career For Dummies, published by Wiley Publishing. 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page iii 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page iv Dedication We dedicate our For Dummies books to Alison, Andrew, Zachary, and Zoe Hatch. They demonstrated extreme patience, understanding, and assistance while we wrote this book, and we appreciate them beyond expression. Authors’ Acknowledgments This book would not be possible without the extensive research and writing contributions of standardized test prep experts David Newland, M.A., J.D, and Benjamin A. Saypol, M.A. Their efforts greatly enhanced our writing, editing, and organization, and we are deeply grateful to them. We’d also like to thank the staff of the Center for Legal Studies, who worked diligently to execute a smooth process in the administrative tasks necessary to bring about this book. We need to acknowledge the input of the thousands of prospective MBA students and other college applicants who have completed our test preparation courses over the last twenty-six years. The classroom and online contributions offered by these eager learners have provided us with lots of information about which areas require the greatest amount of preparation. Their input is the reason we’re able to produce accurate and up-to-date test preparation. Our meticulous scholarship and attempts at wit were greatly facilitated by the editing profes- sionals at Wiley Publishing. Our thanks go out to Tim Gallan and Natalie Harris for their patience and support throughout the process, David Herzog and Laura Nussbaum for their attention to detail during the editing process, and Kathy Cox for getting the project up and running. Finally, we wish to acknowledge our literary agent, Margo Maley Hutchinson at Waterside Productions in Cardiff, for her assistance and for introducing us to the innovative For Dummies series. We thrive on feedback from our students and encourage our readers to pro- vide comments and critiques at feedback@legalstudies.com. 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page v Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editors: Tim Gallan, Natalie Faye Harris (Previous Edition: Sherri Fugit) Acquisitions Editor: Kathy Cox (Previous Edition: Karen Hansen) Copy Editors: Laura Peterson Nussbaum, Danielle Voirol (Previous Edition: Donna Frederick) Editorial Program Coordinator: Hanna K. Scott Technical Editor: David Herzog Editorial Manager: Christine Beck Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan, Nadine Bell, David Lutton Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Jennifer Theriot Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Foster, Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Joyce Haughey, Stephanie D. Jumper Lynsey Osborn, Heather Ryan Proofreaders: Debbye Butler, Jessica Kramer, Charles Spencer Indexer: Julie Kawabata Special Help Sara Westfall Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_596535 ffirs.qxd 8/2/06 10:44 PM Page vi Contents at a Glance Introduction 1 Part I: Putting the GMAT into Perspective 5 Chapter 1: Getting the Lowdown on the GMAT 7 Chapter 2: Maximizing Your Score on the GMAT 15 Part II: Vanquishing the Verbal Section 25 Chapter 3: Applying What You Learned (We Hope) in Grammar Class: Sentence Correction 27 Chapter 4: Not as Enticing as a Bestseller: Reading Comprehension 45 Chapter 5: Getting Logical: Critical Reasoning 63 Chapter 6: Bringing It Together: A Practice Mini Verbal Section 81 Part III: Acing the Analytical Writing Section 93 Chapter 7: Analyze This: What to Expect from the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) 95 Chapter 8: Present Perfect Paragraphs: How to Write a GMAT Essay 101 Chapter 9: Deconstructing Sample GMAT Essays 107 Part IV: Conquering the Quantitative Section 113 Chapter 10: Getting Back to Basics: Numbers and Operations 115 Chapter 11: Considering All the Variables: Algebra 137 Chapter 12: Getting the Angle on Geometry: Planes and Solids 163 Chapter 13: Keeping in Step: Coordinate Geometry 183 Chapter 14: Manipulating Numbers: Statistics and Sets 197 Chapter 15: It’s All in the Presentation: GMAT Quantitative Question Types 215 Chapter 16: All Together Now: A Practice Mini Quantitative Section 225 Part V: Practice Makes Perfect 239 Chapter 17: Putting the GMAT into Practice: Test #1 241 Chapter 18: Explaining the Answers to Practice Test #1 267 Chapter 19: Putting the GMAT into Practice: Test #2 293 Chapter 20: Explaining the Answers to Practice Test #2 323 Part VI: The Part of Tens 345 Chapter 21: Ten Questions You’ve Got a Good Shot At 347 Chapter 22: Ten Writing Errors to Avoid 349 Chapter 23: Ten Formulas You Need to Know on Test Day 351 Index 355 02_596535 ftoc.qxd 8/2/06 10:48 PM Page vii 02_596535 ftoc.qxd 8/2/06 10:48 PM Page viii [...]... on the GMAT .7 Knowing Why the GMAT s Important 7 Timing It Perfectly: When to Take the GMAT (and What to Bring) 8 When to register for and take the GMAT .8 Things to take to the GMAT (and things to leave at home) 9 Forming First Impressions: The Format of the GMAT 10 Getting familiar with what the GMAT tests 10 Understanding the computerized format ... The Slope-Intercept Formula 352 The Formula for Slope 352 Special Right Triangles 352 Equation for Average Mean 352 Formula for Groups 352 Finding the Probability of One Event 353 Finding the Probability of Multiple Events 353 Index .355 xv 02_596535 ftoc.qxd xvi 8/2/06 10:48 PM Page xvi The GMAT For Dummies, ... computer skills for the GMAT 12 Knowing Where You Stand: Scoring Considerations 12 How the GMAT testers figure your score 12 How the GMAT testers report your score 13 Why you should (almost) never cancel your GMAT score .13 Repeating the Process: Retaking the GMAT 14 Chapter 2: Maximizing Your Score on the GMAT 15 Knowing How to Choose: Strategies for Successful... nonstop, two-and-a-half-hour barrage of questions — not to mention the analytical essays — schedule your test for the afternoon By choosing the time that works for you, you’ll be able to comfortably approach the test instead of worrying whether you set your alarm We’re guessing that you have enough to worry about in life as it is without the added stress of an inconvenient test time Study for the test... strategy for managing your time and maximizing your score Honing your computer skills for the GMAT Technically challenged, take heart! You need to have only minimal computer skills to take the CAT format of the GMAT test In fact, the skills you need for the test are far less than those you’ll need while pursuing an MBA! Because you have to type your essays, you need basic word-processing skills For the... provide for you in this book, you’ll do the best you can when you sit in front of that computer on GMAT test day We wish you our best for your ultimate GMAT score! 04_596535 pt01.qxd 8/2/06 10:55 PM Page 5 Part I Putting the GMAT into Perspective 04_596535 pt01.qxd 8/2/06 10:55 PM Page 6 T In this part he first part of this book initiates you to the marvels of the GMAT The chapters here introduce the format... 05_596535 ch01.qxd 8/2/06 10:57 PM Page 7 Chapter 1 Getting the Lowdown on the GMAT In This Chapter ᮣ Finding out how MBA programs use your GMAT score ᮣ Knowing when to take the GMAT and what to bring ᮣ Figuring out the format of the GMAT ᮣ Skimming through the way they score the GMAT ᮣ Considering whether you should retake the GMAT C ongratulations on deciding to take a significant step in your business... the concerns you may have about the GMAT s format and testing and scoring procedures Knowing Why the GMAT s Important If you’re reading this book, you’re probably thinking about applying to an MBA program And if you’re applying to an MBA program, you need to take the GMAT Almost all MBA programs require that you submit a GMAT score for the admissions process Your GMAT score gives the admissions committee... icon highlights really important information that you should remember even after you close the book 3 03_596535 intro.qxd 4 8/2/06 10:59 PM Page 4 The GMAT For Dummies, 5th Edition Throughout the book, we give you insights into how you can enhance your performance on the GMAT The tips give you juicy timesavers and point out especially relevant concepts to keep in mind for the test Your world won’t fall... the GMAT is a computerized test and we don’t have a computer hooked up to this book, you may want to visit the official GMAT Web site at www.mba.com and download the free GMATPrep software there This software mimics the computerized format of the test and gives you practice on the types of mouse-clicking and eye-straining skills you need to succeed on the exam At this time, they don’t have a version for . available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2006925889 ISBN-13: 97 8-0 -7 64 5-9 65 3-7 ISBN-10: 0-7 64 5-9 65 3-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 5B/SR/QY/QW/IN 01_596535. READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 80 0-7 6 2-2 974, outside the U.S. at 31 7-5 7 2-3 993, or fax 31 7-5 7 2-4 002. For. 46256, 31 7-5 7 2-3 447, fax 31 7-5 7 2-4 355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest