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GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATIONS®

Introduction to the Quantitative Reasoning Measure

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Introduction to the Quantitative Reasoning Measure
The QuantitativeReasoning measure of the GRE revised General Test assesses your: • basic mathematical skills • understanding of elementary mathematical concepts • ability to reason quantitatively and to model and solve problems with quantitative methods

Some of the questions in the measure are posed in real-life settings, while others are posed in purely mathematical settings. The skills, concepts, and abilitiesare tested in the four content areas below: Arithmetic topics include properties and types of integers, such as divisibility, factorization, prime numbers, remainders, and odd and even integers; arithmetic operations, exponents, and radicals; and concepts such as estimation, percent, ratio, rate, absolute value, the number line, decimal representation, and sequences of numbers.

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Algebratopics include operations with exponents; factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions; relations, functions, equations, and inequalities; solving linear and quadratic equations and inequalities; solving simultaneous equations and inequalities; setting up equations to solve word problems; and coordinate geometry, including graphs of functions, equations, and inequalities, intercepts, and slopesof lines. Geometry topics include parallel and perpendicular lines, circles, triangles—including isosceles, equilateral, and 30∞ - 60∞ - 90∞ triangles—quadrilaterals, other polygons, congruent and similar figures, three-dimensional figures, area, perimeter, volume, the Pythagorean theorem, and angle measurement in degrees. The ability to construct proofs is not tested. Data analysis topicsinclude basic descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, interquartile range, quartiles, and percentiles; interpretation of data in tables and graphs, such as line graphs, bar graphs, circle graphs, boxplots, scatterplots, and frequency distributions; elementary probability, such as probabilities of compound events and independent events; random variables andprobability distributions, including normal distributions; and counting methods, such as combinations,

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permutations, and Venn diagrams. These topics are typically taught in high school algebra courses or introductory statistics courses. Inferential statistics is not tested. The content in these areas includes high school mathematics and statistics at a level that is generally no higher thana second course in algebra; it does not include trigonometry, calculus, or other higherlevel mathematics. The publication Math Review for the GRE Revised General Test provides detailed information about the content of the Quantitative Reasoning measure. The mathematical symbols, terminology, and conventions used in the Quantitative Reasoning section are those that are standard at the high schoollevel. For example, the positive direction of a number line is to the right, distances are nonnegative, and prime numbers are greater than 1. Whenever nonstandard notation is used in a question, it is explicitly introduced in the question. In addition to conventions, there are some assumptions about numbers and geometric figures that are used in the Quantitative Reasoning measure. Two of theseassumptions are (1) all numbers used are real numbers and (2) geometric figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. More about conventions and assumptions appears in the publication Mathematical Conventions for the GRE Revised General Test.

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Quantitative Reasoning Question Types
The Quantitative Reasoning section has four types of questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Quantitative Comparison...