Quantitative Comparison Questions

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A Note about the GRE Test
You will be given 45 minutes to complete the 28 quantitative comparison
questions on the computer-based GRE test. However, there are 60 quantitative
comparison questions on the paper-based exam. Overall, the percentage
of questions on the GRE test that are quantitative comparison are
the same for both versions of the test: approximately 30% of both tests are
quantitative comparison questions. The content areas included in the quantitative
sections of the test are arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis.
These are math concepts usually studied in high school, and this book
specifically targets these areas. Calculators are not permitted.

Questions, Questions, Questions
You have just read about the math topics covered in this book. To mimic a
real test environment, math concepts are mixed within each section. For
example, in the arithmetic section, you may find a question or two on exponents,
then three questions on square roots, followed by three questions
involving decimals and fractions. Then the next question is about square
roots. This way, you are preparing for any type of arithmetic question that
you could encounter on the real exam.


Practice Makes Perfect
Because this book is designed for many levels of test takers, you may find
that some of the more advanced questions are beyond your ability. If you
are using this book to study for the PSAT assessment or SAT exam, there
is a chance that you may get a few of the toughest questions wrong. Don’t
worry! If you are getting most of the questions correct, you are probably in
good shape for your test. However, if you are studying for the GRE test, the
full range of questions presented is appropriate for your level.



Tip Sheet
✔ Not exactly. It is not always necessary to find the exact value of the two
quantities, and often, it is important not to waste time doing so. Use estimating,
rounding, and the elimination of excess information to determine
the relationship and avoid wasting time.
✔ Look alikes. Attempt to make the two columns look as similar as possible.
For example, make sure all units are equal. This is also true if one of
the answer choices is a fraction or a decimal. If this is the case, then make
the other answer into an improper fraction or a decimal, in order to make
the choices look the most similar.
✔ It’s not necessarily nice to share. Eliminate any information the
columns share. This will leave you with an easier comparison. For example,
you are given the two quantities 5(x + 1) and 3(x + 1), with the proviso
that x is greater than 0. In this case, you would select the first
quantity because, since you know that x is a positive quantity, you can
eliminate the (x + 1) from both. That leaves you to decide which is
greater, 5 or 3. This has become a very easy problem by eliminating the
information that the two quantities shared.