GRE Math : Operations
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Operations
The product of two consecutive positive integers is 272. What is the larger of the two integers?
17
16
18
15
19
17
In order to multiply to 272, the units digits of the two integers will have to multiply to a number with a units digit of 2. For 17, you can see that 6 x 7 (the units digits of 16 and 17) = 42. The best strategy here is to plug in the choices using the units digit strategy.
Example Question #2 : Operations
What is the units digit of 
The units digit of any product depends on the units digits of the 2 numbers multiplied, which in this case is 3 and 4. Since 
Example Question #1 : Operations
What is the units digit of
The units digit of the product of any two numbers is the same as the units digit of the product of the two numbers' units digits. In this case, it would be the units digit of 
Example Question #3 : How To Multiply Integers
Choose the answer below which best solves the following equation:
When multiplying integers, if one of the integers is negative, your answer will be negative:
First multiply the ones digits together.
Next multiply the ones digit of the smaller number with the tens digit of the larger number to get the tens digit of the product.
Combining these two and remembering the negative sign we get our final answer:
Example Question #2 : Operations
Choose the answer which best solves the following equation:
When multiplying integers, if both of the signs of the integers are the same (positive, or negative) then your result will be positive:
First multiply the ones digit of both numbers together. If the product is greater than ten remember to carry the one to the tens place.
Next multiply the ones digit of the smaller number with the tens digit of the larger number and add the number that was carried over.
Combine these two together to get:
Example Question #1 : How To Add Integers
Of a group of 335 graduating high school atheletes, 106 played basketball, 137 ran track and field, and 51 participated in swimming. What is the maximum number of students that did both track and field and swimming upon graduation?
51
55
335
106
157
51
Simply recognize that logically, the participation of either sport is non-exclusive, that is, just because people took track and field does not necessarily mean they did not take swimming as well. As such, those 51 who took swimming could have all potentially done track and field, which means all 51 students.
Example Question #2 : How To Add Integers
Of 300 students, 120 are enrolled in math club, 150 are enrolled in chess club, and 100 are enrolled in both. How many students are not members of either club?
There are 120 students in the math club and 150 students in the chess club, for a total membership of 270. However, 100 students are in both clubs, which means they are counted twice. You simply subtract 100 from 270, which will give you a total of 170 different students participating in both clubs. This means that the remaining 130 students do not participate in either club.
Example Question #2 : Operations
Choose the answer which best solves the following equation:
When adding integers, one needs to pay close attention to the sign. When you add a negative integer, it's the same thing as subtracting that integer. Therefore:
Example Question #3 : How To Add Integers
Choose the answer below which best solves the following equation:
The sum of any two negative numbers will be negative. Remember, also, that adding a negative number is like subtracting it. Therefore:
Example Question #1 : Operations
Apples are sold by whole bushels. You cannot purchase part of a bushel. There are 126 apples in a bushel.
Sam is a caterer who needs to bake 300 pies to sell at the county fair. If it takes 4 apples to make a pie, how many bushels must Sam order to ensure he has enough apples for his pies?
11
9.5
12
9
10
10
Because Sam needs to make 300 pies, and each pie needs 4 apples, the number of apples he needs is
300 x 4 = 1200.
To determine how many bushels Sam needs, divide the total number of apples by the number of apples sold in a bushel.
1200 / 126 = 9.524
Because apples are sold by the whole bushel, Sam cannot order part of a bushel. In order to make sure he has sufficient apples, he will need to order 10 bushels.
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