Quantitative Tips: Thanksgiving Day Drills

Just because the holidays are rolling around does not mean you can skip your GRE prep! Use your time off this week to focus on the test while you’re not worrying about work or school. Here are a few Turkey Day math questions to kick start your day of family, football, and sweet, sweet gluttony.

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at PowerScore!

Want some more help? Check out our  GRE books or courses! Or find free resources–including an excerpt from our Quantitative Reasoning Bible–in our Free Help Area.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at vwood@powerscore.com.

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EXPLANATIONS:

1. DIAGRAM the question, where P = potatoes, B = butter, and M = milk:

So 2/10 of the recipe is butter. Now TRANSLATE:

2/10 of 6 pounds is butter

2/10 × 6 pounds = butter
12/10 pounds = butter
1.2 pounds = butter     Yuck.

Answer choice (C) is correct.

2.  DIAGRAM the question:

We know the radius is 4 because the diameter is 8. Now all we need to find is the length of the arc along the edge of the crust on the piece of pie.

To find the length of arc, we simply multiply the circumference of the whole pie by the fraction of the arc in question. Since the pie was cut into eight equal pieces, we are looking for 1/8 of the circumference:

2πr × 1/8     →     2π(4) × 1/8     →     8π × 1/8     →     π

Thus, the perimeter of a piece of pie is 4 + 4 + π     →     8 + π

Answer choice (A) is correct.

3. Awesome graphics, right? Peaches even has a dog bone at her place setting. Created by yours truly. Sometimes I think I missed my calling. Anyway, DIAGRAM the question:

Let’s name the grandchildren Adam, Bev, Cait, Dave, Eduardo, Felicia, and Michael, each represented by the letter of their first name in the diagram. There is only one “person” that can sit in Peaches’ spot—Peaches. Place a 1 in her chair.

Now look to the left of her seat. All of the grandkids EXCEPT Michael can sit there. So that is 6 people (which we label in the chair). Let’s put Adam in that seat.

Now look to the right of Peaches’ seat. Adam is already sitting and Michael is not allowed to sit next to Peaches, so that leaves 5 grandkids. Let’s give this seat to Bev.

Go to the far right seat at the head of the table. Adam and Bev are sitting already, so that leaves 5 grandchildren: Cait, Dave, Eduardo, Felicia, and Michael (Micheal is added to the mix now that the two seats next to Peaches are taken). Give this seat to Cait.

Work your way around the table, listing who is available and crossing off who is assigned the seat. When you finish marking down the possibilities for each seat, you simply multiply those possibilities:

6 × 1 × 5 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 3600

Answer choice (C) is correct.