![\"Manhattan](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2017\/11\/gre-word-problems-favorite-tricks-traps-chelsey-cooley.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free. Crazy, right? <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/i><\/b>The GRE is a fair test. GRE word problems will <\/span>always<\/span><\/i> give you enough info to turn the words into the right equations. However, that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll make the translation easy or obvious! To make tough GRE word problems tougher, the test writers use certain words and phrases that they know are frequently misinterpreted. This makes you more likely to write down the incorrect equations and more likely to get the problem wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n Example: <\/span>There are six more strawberries than blueberries in the fruit salad.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: <\/span>s <\/span><\/i>+ 6 = <\/span>b<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Right translation: <\/span>s<\/span><\/i> = <\/span>b<\/span><\/i> + 6<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re anything like me, when you see the words \u2018six more\u2019 next to the word \u2018strawberries,\u2019 you\u2019ll immediately want to add six to the number of strawberries. Don\u2019t! <\/span><\/p>\n When you see this wording, slow down. Check some specific numbers against the original problem to make sure your equation makes sense. For instance, what if there were 10 strawberries? The problem says that there are <\/span>six more strawberries than blueberries<\/span><\/i>, which means you\u2019d have four blueberries. The right equation will work correctly when you plug in those numbers. Try it now to check the equations above. <\/span><\/p>\n Example: <\/span>Ebony spent a total of $60 on twelve books. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: <\/span>b <\/span><\/i>= $60<\/span><\/p>\n Right translation: 12<\/span>b<\/span><\/i> = $60<\/span><\/p>\n If you spend a <\/span>total<\/span><\/i> of $60 on multiple books, the $60 can\u2019t be referring to the price for each book by itself. You\u2019ll probably need to calculate the price per book before you can continue solving the problem. Do that by dividing 60 by 12, to learn that the price per book was $5. (By the way, you shouldn\u2019t ever see a problem that just says \u201cEbony spent $60 on twelve books,\u201d since that would technically be ambiguous! The problem should always clarify whether the $60 was a total, or a price for each book.) <\/span><\/p>\n Example: <\/span>Each of the bricklayers laid 124 bricks. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: <\/span>bricks <\/span><\/i>= 124<\/span><\/p>\n Right translation: <\/span>bricks <\/span><\/i>= 124*<\/span>bricklayers<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n If the problem specifies that <\/span>each<\/span><\/i> person in a group did something, you have to multiply the size of the task by the number of people who performed it. 124 bricks is how many you\u2019d get if there were only one bricklayer. If there were ten bricklayers, you\u2019d actually have to account for 1240 bricks. And if you don\u2019t know how many bricklayers there are, you\u2019ll need a variable, as in this example. <\/span><\/p>\n Example: <\/span>What number is 250% more than 50?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: (2.5)(50)<\/span><\/p>\n Right translation: (3.5)(50)<\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re dealing with relatively small percentages, it\u2019s easier to remember that you need to add 100% in order to calculate a percent <\/span>increase<\/span><\/i>. For instance, if you want to know what number is 40% more than 50, it doesn\u2019t make sense to just multiply 0.4 by 50\u2014that gives you an answer that\u2019s much too small. Instead, you should add 100%, and multiply 140%, or 1.4, by 50. <\/span><\/p>\n With very large percent increases, things get less intuitive but the math rules stay the same. Always add 100% to the percent you\u2019re given before you do the math, even if it\u2019s already over 100%. To find the number that\u2019s 250% <\/span>more than<\/span><\/i> 50, multiplying 2.5 (or 250%) by 50 isn\u2019t enough. You need to multiply <\/span>350%<\/span><\/i>, or 3.5, by 50 instead. <\/span><\/p>\n Example: <\/span>Felix has at least twice as many hats as Raymond. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: <\/span>f<\/span><\/i> \u2264 2<\/span>r<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: 2<\/span>f <\/span><\/i>\u2264 <\/span>r<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Wrong translation: <\/span>f<\/span><\/i> > 2<\/span>r<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Right translation: <\/span>f<\/span><\/i> \u2265 2<\/span>r<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n First, even though <\/span>at least<\/span><\/i> sounds a lot like <\/span>less<\/span><\/i>, they\u2019re actually opposites. If you have <\/span>at least<\/span><\/i> three brownies, that means you probably have <\/span>more <\/span><\/i>than three. Make sure the inequality is pointing in the correct direction\u2014check it using specific numbers if you need to. <\/span><\/p>\n Second, use the \u2018more than or equal to\u2019 sign (\u2265) rather than a normal inequality symbol. If you have <\/span>at least<\/span><\/i> three brownies, you could actually have exactly three. Use the different symbol to express that idea. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally, <\/span>twice as many<\/span><\/i> is another example of tricky wording, just like the \u201cmore than\u201d from the very first example in this article\u2014if you put the 2 on the wrong side of the inequality while translating this one, reread that section and remember to double-check with numbers!<\/span><\/p>\n Forewarned is forearmed! GRE word problems use these words and phrases to make your job harder, but now that you\u2019re aware of them, they\u2019ll stand out every time you see them. When you spot one, slow down, don\u2019t assume that your first instinct is correct, and double-check your equations. ?<\/span><\/p>\n See that \u201cSUBSCRIBE\u201d button in the top right corner? Click on it to receive all our GRE blog updates straight to your inbox!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free. Crazy, right? Check out our upcoming courses here. The GRE is a fair test. GRE word problems will always give you enough info to turn the words into the right equations. However, that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll make the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,474284,921840,6,7,9,733445,154333],"tags":[1362498,1362435],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-11012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenge-problems","category-current-studiers","category-gre-prep-2","category-gre-strategies","category-how-to-study","category-math-gre-strategies","category-study-tips-2","category-taking-the-gre-2","tag-gre-tricks","tag-gre-word-problems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11030,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11012\/revisions\/11030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11012"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=11012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cMore Than\/Less Than\u201d GRE Word Problems<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u201cTotal\u201d GRE Word Problems<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u201cEach\/Every\u201d GRE Word Problems<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u201cPercent More\u201d GRE Word Problems<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u201cAt Least\/At Most\u201d GRE Word Problems<\/b><\/h4>\n
\n
\n![\"Chelsey](\"https:\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Chelsey")
<\/a>\u00a0is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170Q\/170V on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"