GMAT data sufficiency strategies

TIPS FOR DATA SUFFICIENCY

PROBABLE ANSWER : YES OR NO

“WHAT CAN THE PROBABLE ANSWERS BE ??” Try to ask this question to the given TARGET question.

1. Is the Product of x & y Greater than 59 ?

PROBABLE ANSWER : 0,1,2,3,4,5

2. How many ewes (female sheep) in a flock of 50 sheep are black if there are 45 male sheep?

CHECK if the ANSWER would be :1. YES/NO types (Greater Than/Less Than type).2. A NUMERICAL VALUE3. A LOGICAL CONCLUSION

1. If the average size of 3 accounts is $1 million, is the smallest account less than $500,000?

NUMERICAL VALUE

2. Is the length of a side of equilateral triangle E less than the length of a side of square F?

YES/NO

3. Plants can be sickALTERNATIVES WILL BE LOGICAL

PREMISE/ CONCLUSION

EXAMPLES

TIPS FOR DATA SUFFICIENCY

ASK “WHAT DATA IS REQUIRED TO DERIVE AN ANSWER?”

EXAMPLE

Find the Time required by the train to cross the pole. TARGET QUESTN.

USEFUL INFORMATION REQUIRED : a. Length of the Train. b. Speed of the Train.

Time Required = Length of the Train / Speed of the Train

TIPS FOR DATA SUFFICIENCY

ASK “WHAT DATA IS REQUIRED TO DERIVE AN ANSWER?”

EXAMPLE

Find the Volume of the Cylinder. TARGET QUESTN.

USEFUL INFORMATION REQUIRED : a. Radius of the Cylinder. b. Height of the Cylinder.

Volume of the Cylinder =π x R2 x H

TIPS FOR DATA SUFFICIENCY

RECAP

ASK “WHAT CAN THE PROBABLE ANSWERS BE ??”

“CHECK if the ANSWER would be”– YES/NO– NUMERICAL VALUE– LOGICAL DEDUCTION

What DATA is required to get an ANSWER.

Summarise the Question.

Try rephrasing the Question.

For every statement ask the Question : “Is this data relevant to the target Question??”

Also, try guessing smartly.