What Kind of Math is on the

GMAT? Breakdown of Quant

Concepts by Frequency

The biggest secret to GMAT Quant success is a simple one: identify and
study the correct Quant concepts. But what are the GMAT math topics?
And which ones are the most important?

To answer all of these questions, I looked at official GMATPrep tests 3

and 4, and the Official Guide for the GMAT Review 2019. Read on to
find out what I learned from analyzing the GMAT quantitative topics in
these 766 official questions.
:
 What Kind of Math is On the GMAT?
Here is a GMAT Quant section breakdown (with category descriptions as
needed):

Word problems: interpreting the math in stories and descriptions

Data interpretation: interpreting the math in charts and tables
Algebra: includes both “pure algebra,” and algebra as applied to
other GRE Quant concepts
Percents/ratios/fractions
Coordinate geometry: shapes, lines, and angles on the coordinate
plane
Two-dimensional geometry: shapes, lines, and angles not on the
coordinate plane
Three-dimensional geometry: volume, surface area, etc…
Statistics: mean, median, standard deviation, etc…
Powers and roots
Probability/combinatronics
Integer properties and aritmetic
Inequalities
Functions
Sequences

What’s the Frequency of the GMAT Quant Concepts?

Word problem interpretation is the most frequent concept, showing up

on well over half of the questions. Integer properties and arithmetic
come second, appearing on nearly a third of all of the questions.

GMAT Quant Section Breakdown

:
 The table below lists GMAT Quant concepts in order of most-to-least
frequent. (And again, the most frequent concepts are obviously the most
important!) Click the topic names to read on a given topic in more
detail. In the case of data interpretation, the link goes to an IR resource
that is also relevant to Quant.

You can treat the table and its links as a GMAT Quantitative syllabus of
sorts. Follow the links to learn everything about arithmetic, geometry,
and proportion, everything about probability, stats, and counting, etc…
Just about anything you’d need to know can be seen or accessed in the
table!

GMAT Quant concept Percentage frequency

Word Problems 58.2%
Integer properties and arithmetic 31.1%
Algebra 16.3%
Percents, ratios, and fractions 13.7%
Two dimensional geometry 10.6%
Statistics 6.3%
Powers and roots 6.3%
Probability and combinatronics 5%
Inequalities 4.7%
Sequences 3.2%
Coordinate geometry 2.9%
Data interpretation 0.9%
Three dimensional geometry 0.8%
Functions 0.4%
:
 Note: Some questions tested multiple concepts and were thus counted more
than one time in more than one category. As a result, the percentages in the
chart above add up to more than 100%.

GMAT Question Type Breakdown for Quant: The

Takeaway
As you can see in the table above, not all GMAT Quant concepts are
created equal. Certain GMAT Quant topics will definitely appear more
often than others.
:
 A Word on Word Problems

Clearly, the GMAT loves to test its Quant concepts through word
problems. Word problems can overlap with just about topic: statistics,
algebra, inequalities, you name it. There can even be coordinate word
problems and absolute value word problems! So make sure you build
math-related reading comprehension skills as you prepare for the exam.

The Very Most Important GMAT Quant Topics

Several other high-frequency Quant concepts stand out when you look at
the table above. Word problems, integer properties, arithmetic,
algebra, percents, ratios, fractions, and geometry are the most
important. These topics all are clearly vital to GMAT Quant success.

The Not-So-Important Math Topics

Lower on the chart, you can see some concepts that seem a good deal
less important. Sequences, the coordinate plane, three dimensional
objects, functions, and data interpretation don’t occur all that often;
these topics have minimal importance in GMAT Quant.
:
 A Second Look at Data Interpretation

Not so fast though. Let’s take a closer look at that last “unimportant”
GMAT Quant concept I mentioned.

Although it is clearly not that important in the GMAT Quant section,

data interpretation is still a big part of the GMAT as a whole.
Remember, the Integrated Reasoning section consists primarily of math
data interpretation questions. So be sure to study this concept as part of
your overall GMAT prep.

The GMAT Quant Section Breakdown in Greater

Context

Speaking of other sections of the GMAT, make sure you understand

where these Quant concepts fit into the test as a whole. The GMAT
maths syllabus should be seen as part of the syllabus for the entire exam.

So be sure to check out my colleague Rachel’s Complete Hassle-Free

Guide to the GMAT test. Or for a quicker snapshot of the most common
question, GMAT-wide, see Mike’s “Most Common GMAT Topics and
Questions.”

The post What Kind of Math is on the GMAT? Breakdown of Quant

Concepts by Frequency appeared first on Magoosh GMAT Blog.
: