Data Sufficiency

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This class will prepare you for taking the Data Sufficiency test on the GMAT.

Objective: Learn what will be on the Data Sufficiency portion of the GMAT test.

The GMAT Data Sufficiency section tests your quantitative reasoning skills, not your quantitative computation skills. This is not a number crunching section. Instead, you need to know basic arithmetic, and understand averages, fractions, decimals, algebra, factoring, geometry basics like triangles and circles, and how to determine areas and volumes of geometric shapes.

Every question on this section will have the exact same answer choices, so you should definitely memorize the choices before taking the exam to help you best use your time.

Here are the answers you will see:

A. Statement 1 alone is sufficient but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked. B. Statement 2 alone is sufficient but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked. C. Both statements 1 and 2 together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement is sufficient alone. D. Each statement alone is sufficient to answer the question. E. Statements 1 and 2 are not sufficient to answer the question asked and additional data is needed to answer the statements.

So use the process of elimination.

If statement 1 is insufficient you can eliminate A and D. If statement 2 is insufficient you can eliminate B and D. If either 1 or 2 is sufficient on its own you can eliminate C and E.

The 4-step process

Too many people do not prepare themselves to systematically answer these problems and lose points off their scores because of it.

1. Study the question. Most will ask for a specific value, a range of number or a true/false value. Know what the question asks.
2. Determine the information you need to solve the problem whether that is the area of a circle or something else. Then you will know if the statements provide the information necessary and can choose the correct answer.
3. Consider each statement separately from the other and use the process of elimination.
4. If step 3 did not produce an answer, then combine the two statements. If the statements combined can answer the question, the answer is C. If not, then E.

Tips

You should only use the information given in the question. You should not get bogged down with calculations. You should look for statements that say the same thing in different ways. You can make real-world assumptions where necessary. You MUST practice.