A “variable” in Quant is a placeholder for an unknown, like x or y. In these complex questions, it is somewhat that can affect the data. Independent variables are factors that are controlled. Dependent variables are factors that are observed to change, those which are uncontrolled results. On the Integrated Reasoning section, you’ll mostly be focusing on the dependent variables, and how they are dependent, especially in Table Analysis questions.

Direct variation occurs when two variables change in the same way over time. If Column A increases and Column B increases at the same time, we can say that the two columns vary directly.  If when Column A increases, Column B decreases, there is an indirect (also called inverse) variation between the two elements. In the real world, think of a pie and the number of slices eaten. The weight of the pie is inversely proportional to the number of slices eaten. That means that as more and more slices are eaten, the pie weights less and less.

Check out GMAT Integrated Reasoning Table Analysis: What is Sorting? blog post for more GMAT IR advice!

To understand the variables, look at the presented graphs, tables, or note the key words and phrases in the given paragraphs. Ask yourself: what does the figure tell me? What are the units of measurement? What changes, and when? In order to answer GMAT Integrated Reasoning questions quickly and accurately, you will need to pinpoint the relationships between the variables. Don’t try to memorize. Always go back to the data or passage to find the correct answer. It’s there on the screen for a reason! The GMAT, luckily, does not require any memorization in that way. All of the information you need to get the questions correct are found in the screens, we just have to know where exactly to flip back and forth to!

Much of the Graphics Interpretation data will be presented on line graphs. Every graph has an x-axis and a y-axis. Pay close attention to the labels. The independent variable is most often found on the x-axis. When faced with multiple graphs, typically only one thing has changed. Spend some time focusing in on the variables as you practice the new Integrated Reasoning question types, and have patience with yourself. It will take some time before your IR skills match your Quant and Verbal abilities.

Need even more help? Check out Grockit tutor Jim Jacobson’s Video Course where he reviews every single question in the GMAT OG12!

This stands for Distance = Rate x Time. It is perfectly acceptable to also think of it as Time = Distance / Rate or as Rate = Distance / Time. In a Two-Part Analysis question, if you see the word “per” you know this is a question involving rates. The second formula is: Average Rate = Total Distance / Total Time. Let’s try a practice question that is more like a classic Quantitative word problem.

Question 1: Cindy spent all day on a sightseeing tour in France. First she boarded the bus which went 15mph through a 30 mile section of the countryside. The bus then stopped for lunch in Paris before continuing on a 3 hour tour of the city’s sights at speed of 10mph. Finally, the bus left the city and drove 40 miles straight back to the hotel. Marion arrived back at her hotel exactly 2 hours after leaving Paris. What was the bus’s average rate for the entire journey?

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For the first part of the trip, we know that 30 miles = 15mph x T, so we know that T = 2 hours.  For the middle part of the trip, we know that D = 10mph x 3 hours, so we know that D = 30 miles. For the last part of the trip, we know that 40 miles = R x 2 hours, so we know that R = 20mph.  Now we can find the Total Distance and the Total Time. Total Distance = 30 miles + 30 miles + 40miles = 100 miles. Total Time = 2 hours + 3 hours + 2 hours = 7 hours.  So the Average Rate = 100 miles/ 7 hours = 14.28mph.   Now, let’s look at a practice Grockit Two-Part Analysis question involving Rates and Work!

Question 2:  Set On You Concrete is considering buying two new cement mixes for its popular patio tiles, Stone Ground and Ready to Rock.  The company buys its cement mixes by the pound and pays $1 per pound per minute to mix it into cement.  Stone Ground costs $6 per pound and takes 10 minutes to mix, while Ready to Rock costs $7 per pound and takes an unknown time to mix.

Identify the costs (rounded to the nearest dollar) of cement of each type that could be mixed completely in an hour on its own in a 50-pound mixer, if Ready To Rock’s average cost per pound per minute of mixing is 90% of Stone Ground’s.

Stone Ground            Ready To Rock

$3434

$3880

$4800

$5040

$5220

$5380

Stone Ground costs $6 per pound, and costs $10 per pound to mix, for a total of $16/10 minutes, or $1.60/minute in 10-minute intervals.  There would be 6 full intervals in an hour, so a 50-pound mixer would roast (50 pounds * 6 intervals* 10 minutes * $1.60 per minute per pound =) $4800 of cement.

Ready To Rock costs $7/pound, and has 90% the cost per minute of mixing, so its cost is $1.28/minute, and if x = the number of minutes of mixing:

(7 +x)/x= 1.44

x+7 = 1.44x

.44x = 7

x=15.9.

Ready To Rock mixes for 15.9 minutes at an average of $1.44/minute. There would be 3 full 15-minute intervals in an hour, so a 50-pound mixer would roast (50 pounds * 3 intervals* 15.9 minutes * $1.44 per minute per pound =) $3434 of cement.

Answer:  $4800; $3434

Need more help with complex word problems, rates and work, or the integrated reasoning section in general? Use Grockit’s message system to contact the tutor of your choice to set up a private lesson! Find out more about Grockit’s tutoring packages on the Tutoring tab in the Grockit GMAT lobby!

Sorting data is one of the cornerstones of modern data analysis. A company has a large amount of data, and will want it sorted in many different permutations to find relationships between variables. More simply, sorting allows us to list one variable alphabetically, or from least to greatest, greatest to least, etc. You’ve probably sorted in some way before without knowing it. Sorting is designed to give you a clearer picture of what the data means, a crucial step in answering Table Analysis questions.

In Table Analysis questions, it’s important not to start sorting until you know why. You need to know what data you need to look at to answer the specific question posed, and then determine which type of “sort” would be the most helpful in finding that answer. It tests your interpretation skills and your ability to sift through data, both vital to business school success.

Find out the best way to prepare for this new section collaboratively with your peers!

How can “sorting” be better understood? With practice! If you have Microsoft Excel, you already have the ability to sort data in the exact same way you’ll need to on Test Day! Using Excel, you can sort data alphabetically (A to Z or Z to A), by numerical values (smallest to largest or largest to smallest), by dates and times (oldest to newest or newest to oldest). Most sort operations are by column, but it is also possible to sort by rows. The Table Analysis questions will likely eventually permit sorting by rows and columns.

To practice, input data in Excel, and make sure to highlight the column or range of cells you’d like sorted. Practice shifting it with the following commands:

• To sort in ascending alphanumeric order,  Sort A to Z.
• To sort in descending alphanumeric order,  Sort Z to A.
• To sort from low numbers to high numbers,  Sort Smallest to Largest.
• To sort from high numbers to low numbers,  Sort Largest to Smallest.
• To sort from an earlier to a later date or time,  Sort Oldest to Newest.
• To sort from a later to an earlier date or time,  Sort Newest to Oldest.

Excel has many other sorting capabilities, but these are the only ones that will be required on the Table Analysis section. On the Table Analysis questions, a drop-down menu will pre-determine the possible ways to sort, so you will only have a limited number of sorting possibilities.

Ready to practice some Table Analysis questions? Create an Integrated Reasoning game in the Grockit lobby and invite fellow students to learn.

Placement/choice of conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs

Sentence A: Sergei chose to buy a house because of the increase in both the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Sentence B: Sergei chose to buy a house because of both the increase in the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Both sentences feature Sergei buying a house because of the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes, but in Sentence A, both of those numbers are going up, while in Sentence B, only the number of houses is increasing. (I tried to come up with a sentence that had a more amusing shift in sense; I will envy you a little if you are able to come up with one.

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Note that the choice of conjunction can make a significant difference:

Phillip decided that for his birthday, he would eat macaroni, cheese, beans, rice, apple pie, and ice cream for dinner.

A. macaroni, cheese, beans, rice, apple pie, and ice cream

B. macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, or apple pie with ice cream

C. macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, and apple pie with ice cream

D. macaroni or cheese, beans or rice, or apple pie with ice cream

E. macaroni or cheese, beans or rice, apple pie, and ice cream

. . . as does the placement of some adverbs, such as the limiting adverb only:

It only seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the knockout punch.

A. only seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

B. seemed that only the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

C. seemed that the boxer only touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the

D. seemed that the boxer touched only his opponent’s chin when he scored the

E. seemed that the boxer touched his opponent’s chin when he scored the only

Answers next time!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 3)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 4)

The questions consist of either a set of yes/no statements, or multiple-choice questions. Information from more than one tab will be required to answer the questions, but the same tab can be used for more than one question. According to GMAC, this question type is designed to mimic “the case study approach used by many management programs” and tests the “ability to integrate different types of information…from different sources.” Let’s take a look at a sample Multi-Source Reasoning question from Grockit’s question bank to see how we can approach this new question-type!

Article 1

News article in an environmental publication

July 19 – If current trends continue, fossil fuels will be exhausted by 2052. Industry and transportation and the inability of governments to put stricter emissions regulations in place means that there will be a greater demand for alternative energy sources. Additionally, recent concerns about the high-cost of implementing new systems such as public transportation in industrialized areas has led many voters to actually strike down propositions to subsidize alternative fuel research.

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Article 2

Interview with a well-known scientist

August 3 – Dr. Lisa Goodman, one of the team of architects behind several new battery-operated commercial vehicles, has criticized the government’s unwillingness to aggressively lobby voters to pass measures to reduce fossil fuel usage. She suggests that without a significant reduction in per-person fossil fuel consumption, the rate of global warming could soon increase threefold.

“I know that voters continue to reject costly measures to reduce widespread fossil fuel consumption such as large-scale public transportation projects, and that politicians are naturally going to avoid stumping for unpopular policies. However, if something isn’t done soon, by 2055, a barrel of gasoline may become a luxury that only the rich can afford.”

Article 3

Article from a weekly news magazine

August 29 – The price of crude oil has jumped by 500% over the last decade as a decrease in supply has met with an increased demand. This demand has encouraged many new oil wells to launch in the Gulf of Mexico, and some American environmental groups have expressed concern that certain oil companies are not following the safest procedures, emphasizing that the companies are more concerned with the speed of extraction than the well-being of the ecosystem. Some scientists in the Gulf have called for an increase in safety regulations for oil companies drilling off the coast, but the companies warn that this may dramatically increase the cost of crude oil, at a time when many Americans are already struggling to pay the increased price.

QUESTION #1: Consider each of the following statements. Does the information in the three articles support the inference as stated?

• Politicians usually do not agree with one another on issues of global warming and fossil fuel consumption.
• An increase in worldwide demand for crude oil has made the oil companies safety standards’ fall.
• Dr. Goodman would likely support a public referendum on whether to require the oil companies to have better safety and ecological regulations.
• The actions of the oil companies have led some voters to reject measures it considers costly.

The answer is No for the first statement. The statement in question is not necessarily true, as we do not know what politicians “usually’ do, and therefore this is not a valid conclusion just based on the information provided.

The answer is No for the second statement. This is not a correct cause/effect statement. There is nothing to support a direct link between the demand for oil and the oil companies’ safety standards. Remember that there is no evidence given that the safety standards have indeed fallen.

The answer is No for the third statement. In Article 2, Dr. Goodman is shown to have little faith in the public as the solution to the global warming issue, since the public has continually shot down measures it considered “costly.”

The answer is No for the fourth statement. No direct correlation is made between the actions of the oil companies and the votes cast by the public. Be careful not the conflate information from two separate articles.

Try out a solo adaptive session in the Grockit lobby to work uninterrupted on Integrated Reasoning questions, or join in a group game to share your newfound skills with other students!

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In case you missed it or forgot, this was the question:

A group of well-regarded economists has recently published projected figures for the economy next year, which predict that if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase as slowly as it has this year.

A. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase

B. when interest rates remain at their current level, lending can continue its increasing

C. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending continues to increase

D. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending will continue to increase

E. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending could continue to increase

I tried to make it a little tricky by having the sentence involve a study (since I had mentioned that statements of general truth with tense in present/present are often attached to studies), but this one is a straightforward prediction.

A. Incorrect. It is fine grammatically, but there is no reason to put a modal “should” in the second half of the condition. It’s already a prediction about the future, a prediction which may not come to pass; adding even more uncertainty to the “then” portion is not needed to convey that.

B. Incorrect. I suppose this was mean of me; by changing the beginning and end of one answer choice, I had an excuse to increase the length of the underlined portion and make you read more for every answer choice. This choice is technically correct as well, but I think it would only be a strange alternate universe where the GMAT wanted you to use phrases like “can continue its increasing.”

C. Incorrect. This one is the present/present tense trap that I mentioned, which is entirely grammatically correct and appropriate for studies. Here, though, the meaning is changed, claiming that WHENEVER interest rates remain at their current level, lending will increase at some (slow) rate. While a study could show that, it would not come in the form of a prediction.

D. Correct. Here we have a simple present for the static interest rates and a simple future for the predicted effect.

E. Incorrect. As with Choice A, the modal “could” is grammatically and even contextually plausible, but there is no reason to add this additional uncertainty to the prediction.

Next time: word placement!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 3)

What are transition words? Transitions are words or phrases that connect ideas. They are used by writers to assist the reader in understanding shifts in thought between ideas. They also reveal the relationship between ideas presented in an essay, and they reveal the role a paragraph plays with the rest of the essay. You’ve probably noticed a lot of Transition words in the Reading Comp passages in the GMAT Verbal section without even realizing it! This table provides an overview of most of the common types of Transitions!

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Even if you’re planning to use a template for your AWA essay,  you can still practice beefing up your transitions. Why use “in conclusion” when “thus” will do just as well? Mix it up! You don’t want to come across pedantic (and too much creativity could lead the E-rater to misinterpret your meaning), but sometimes reaching for a more creative word can impress. If you are just beginning to use transitions, it’s better to use simpler idiomatic links like “firstly…” and “secondly…” when you set up a transition. But as you improve your AWA skills, try to diversify.

Need feedback on your AWA essays? Schedule a 1 hour session with a Grockit tutor. Tutors can discuss the proper approach to each essay, including timing guidelines, templates, etc. and then assign essays for homework and offer specific feedback on them. Details can be found on the Tutoring tab in the Grockit lobby!

Conditional statements

If you are very hungry, you eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you may eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you will eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you should eat too much food.

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Conditional statements in English have many different combinations of tenses and moods, which could be the subject of a whole series of blog posts on its own. Instead, I’ve chosen a subset of conditions here, each with a slightly different verb in the “then” clause.

If you are hungry, you eat too much food. This form is common enough, usually appearing in sentences announcing the result of a study or report (A recent Harvard Medical School study has conclusively shown that if you do not eat, you die). In English, when both parts of the condition are in the simple present tense, it refers to a statement of general truth; whenever the first thing happens, the second thing happens (When I get caught in the rain, I get wet).

If you are very hungry, you may eat too much food. By introducing the modal auxiliary verb may, we have added uncertainty, possibility, or permission to the sentence; eating too much food is something that you will not certainly do in all circumstances. It could either indicate one of several options (We may go to the festival tomorrow) or that permission has been granted (You may stay in my home for as long as you like).

If you are very hungry, you will eat too much food. In exchanging the present tense for the future tense in the “then” portion, we have changed our statement of general truth into a specific prediction about the future: if X is the case, Y will certainly happen (If it is raining right now, you will be soaked by the time you reach your car).

If you are very hungry, you should eat too much food. Finally, by putting in the modal auxiliary verb should, we have made overeating an obligation, something that is right or good (If you see your boss at lunch time, you should ask for some vacation time this summer).  Though it is beyond the scope of a test preparation blog, I would like to add that overeating is not right or good.

Here’s one for you to try:

A group of well-regarded economists has recently published projected figures for the economy next year, which predict that if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase as slowly as it has this year.

A. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase

B. when interest rates remain at their current level, lending can continue their increasing

C. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending continues to increase

D. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending will continue to increase

E. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending could continue to increase

Answer next time!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

Below is a sample question that GMAC has provided at MBA.com to familiarize students with the format of this new question-type. You can see that for this question, you would click one circle to bubble in a choice for Organization A’s column, and then separately click for Organization B’s column. The choices are made independently, and both must be correct to receive credit for the question. To try out this question and see the correct answer go here.

Two-Part analysis questions measure your ability to solve complex problems. This is designed to mimic complex, multi-part, real-world problems faced by MBA students. MBA.com further describes the Two-Part format as lending “itself to a wide range of content and skills measured, including the ability to evaluate trade-offs, solve simultaneous equations, and discern relationships between two entities.” Because of this, your acquired skills in solving complex algebra and in discerning harder word problems will be essential skills to solve Two-Part Analysis questions.

The question is called “Two-Part Analysis” because of the multiple components. They may be independent or dependent on each other. These questions commonly ask about simultaneous equations, variables, rates, or differing opinions. They may focus solely on Quantitative concepts, or may include aspects of Verbal such as inference and reading comprehension.

To practice for this new question type before the June 2012 launch, you can create a Custom Game in the Grockit GMAT lobby and work on the questions involving Word Problems, Linear Equations, Rates and Work, and other advanced algebra concepts. As you practice your Reading Comprehension skills in the Grockit GMAT Verbal games, you will also be preparing for Two-Part Analysis!

Want to know where to focus your GMAT studies next? Challenge yourself with adaptive solo practice sessions on Grockit today! It’s free with Grockit’s premium membership!

Last time, I gave you this question:

On her way to the store, Priya decided to purchase a personal organizer, a new computer with a wireless network card, and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

A. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

B. and a barking toy robot dog; that would make would make her life easier, she decided.

C. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier; she decided.

D. and a barking toy robot dog making her life easier, she decided.

E. and, deciding that would make her life easier, a barking toy robot dog.

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A. Incorrect. While grammatically correct, the placement of that suggests that the barking toy would make her life easier, when it makes more sense for it to be either the whole purchase or just the non-toy portions.

B. Correct. By putting that into a new independent clause, it can make a stronger claim to modify the preceding clause. You can still argue that that refers back to the toy, but the connection is not as strong as it is in the other sentences.

C.  Incorrect. Though this one is technically grammatically correct, that modifies the toy again, and “she decided” is a very uninformative independent clause.

D.  Incorrect. Placing the present participle making directly next to the toy dog suggests it is the barking toy making her life easier, which isn’t likely (has anyone’s life ever been made easier by a barking toy dog?).

E. Incorrect. The placement of and before the deciding suggests they are part of the same unit: the final item in her list of purchases. This also suggests the toy will make her life easier.

I don’t believe you’ll see a question exactly like this on the GMAT; that’s not the point. The idea here is to show how the placement of punctuation can affect how you interpret certain parts of sentences. Next time, we’ll look at conditional statements!

Check out the other articles in this series:

More Than Just Grammar:  The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)