GRE For Dummies with Online Practice, 9th Edition

Chapter 11

Putting in a Good Word Problem

IN THIS CHAPTER

Making sense of word problems

Calculating distance, rate, time, averages, probability, and more

Counting possible outcomes with permutations and combinations

Number-crunching alone isn’t enough to score well on the GRE. You also need to be able to translate a word problem into math so you can solve it. Fortunately, the GRE uses common types of word problems, each of which you solve using one or more standard strategies. If you can recognize the type of problem and choose the right strategy, you’ll do just fine. This chapter introduces you to these common types of word problems along with the strategies for getting them right, fast.

Just Saying the Word Problem: Step by Step

When you’re up against a word problem, knowing where to start is the key. Begin with the part that you know, and this will clarify the part that you don’t know. You can solve almost all word problems by taking the following step-by-step approach:

1. Read the problem slowly.

   Make sure you fully understand the story that the problem is telling. Also, the most common mistake I see on these problems comes from missing key words, which means the test-taker ...