![\"solve-gre-quantitative-comparison\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/10\/solve-gre-quantitative-comparison.png\")
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When you miss a <\/span>GRE Quantitative Comparison problem<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s easy to feel like you\u2019ve been \u201ctricked\u201d by the test. You know the saying \u201cfool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you?\u201d On the GRE, it goes the other way. Getting tricked once is a learning opportunity. But if you\u2019re getting tricked in the same way more than once, look at how you\u2019re reviewing problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ideally, you should review every Quantitative Comparison problem you do. However, if you\u2019re short on time, these are the most important problems to review:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Most importantly, <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> waste your time reviewing problems that you didn\u2019t understand at all. Save those for later. Prioritize the ones that you could quickly get right next time with just a bit of work.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are the building blocks of review:<\/span><\/p>\n The first step is to <\/span>redo the problem<\/b>. Do this on the same day that you did the original problem, or at least the next time you sit down to study. This time, <\/span>don\u2019t use a timer<\/b>. Relax and allow yourself to try multiple approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s only one thing you <\/span>can\u2019t<\/b> do when you redo the problem:<\/span><\/p>\n When you passively read an explanation, you\u2019re practicing comprehension, or \u201cgetting it.\u201d Unfortunately, <\/span>\u201cgetting it\u201d is a lot easier than what the GRE actually asks you to do<\/span><\/a>. (Have you ever gotten totally turned around by a problem, then read the explanation and found that it seemed totally easy? That\u2019s because you were at the \u201cI get it\u201d stage of learning.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t let yourself get away with \u201cI get it.\u201d Instead, figure out as much as you can on your own. If you have to test 10 different cases, go for it! If you have to look up a geometry rule in your book, feel free! Take all the time you need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you get stuck, you can use the explanation for <\/span>hints only<\/span><\/i>. Read a sentence or two at a time, and see if that gets you moving again. Only read the full explanation once you\u2019ve gotten everything you can out of the problem on your own. Explanations are useful, after all: they\u2019ll often show you faster or easier ways to solve a problem. Just don\u2019t rely on them more than you need to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After you\u2019ve redone the problem, and you understand the right answer, it\u2019s time to reflect and take notes. (And if you still feel like you don\u2019t understand the answer, you\u2019re allowed to set the problem aside for later. It may just be unrealistically hard, or you may not have learned the content you need yet.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s practice reflecting on a QC problem. Here\u2019s a problem from the <\/span>5lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems<\/span><\/a>. Try it out on your own first, then we\u2019ll create a problem log entry together.<\/span><\/p>\n The first thing to reflect on is the <\/span>given information<\/b>. Not every QC problem gives you extra information, but many do. Here\u2019s what you should ask yourself about the given info:<\/span><\/p>\n These questions are general on purpose. There\u2019s no better way to get bored with review than forcing yourself to rigidly answer a set of irrelevant questions. The goal here is to organize your thinking and make sure you\u2019ll remember any lessons this problem could teach you.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are some examples of students\u2019 notes about the given info.<\/span><\/p>\n Student A<\/b> misunderstood the words \u201cnon-negative integers.\u201d She assumed immediately that this meant \u201cpositive integers.\u201d Here are her notes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Student B <\/b>chose numbers for k, m, and n. However, the numbers she chose didn\u2019t actually fit the equation she was given! Here are her notes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Student C<\/b> got this one right. She caught the \u201cnon-negative\u201d trick, but she jotted down some notes on it anyways because she knew she could have been fooled by it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The second part of a QC problem is the two quantities. These can look very different, depending on what the problem shows you. Here are some specific things to think about as you take notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Student A<\/b> decided to test cases as she solved this problem. She tested two cases:<\/span><\/p>\n Based on this, she concluded that Quantity A was always greater. However, when she worked through the problem again, she realized that she\u2019d made a few mistakes. Here are her notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Student B<\/b> also tested cases, but as described above, she didn\u2019t test the right numbers. Instead of testing <\/span>k<\/span><\/i> = 6 and <\/span>m<\/span><\/i> = 3, she tested <\/span>k<\/span><\/i> = 3 and <\/span>m<\/span><\/i> = 6. This caused her to conclude that Quantity B was greater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Student C<\/b> didn\u2019t test cases at all. She noticed that you can divide both quantities by <\/span>k<\/span><\/i>, letting you just compare <\/span>m<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>n<\/span><\/i>. However, she hesitated determining which value was greater, and she only noticed that they could equal zero at the very end.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By the way, the right answer to this problem is (D). If <\/span>k<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>m<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>n<\/span><\/i> are positive integers, then <\/span>m<\/span><\/i> will be greater than <\/span>n<\/span><\/i>. But if they\u2019re all equal to zero, the quantities will be equal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve taken notes on a problem, set it aside for a week or two. When your next review study session comes around, try the problem again. See if you get it right this time! If not, go back and reflect on it again, and consider doing some practice that targets the area you\u2019re having trouble with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You should also glance over your problem log once or twice during the week. There\u2019s no need to redo the problems when you do this\u2014just take fifteen minutes and reread your takeaways. This will remind you of what you\u2019ve learned and keep everything fresh in your mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If Quantitative Comparison is a strong area for you, it\u2019s fine to take minimal notes and just jot down any huge takeaways. However, if you\u2019re performing better on other Quant problem types than you are on QC, intensify your review for a couple of weeks. Get organized and reflect deeply on every single problem. It\u2019s not about how many problems you do! It\u2019s about making (and understanding) your mistakes now so you don\u2019t make them on test day.<\/span><\/p>\n [ Related:<\/strong> How to Review a GRE Vocabulary Question<\/a> ]<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free. We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> When you miss a GRE Quantitative Comparison problem, it\u2019s easy to feel like you\u2019ve been \u201ctricked\u201d by the test. You know the saying \u201cfool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you?\u201d On the GRE, it goes the other way. Getting tricked once is a learning opportunity. But if you\u2019re getting tricked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[421,6,530104],"tags":[127410],"yst_prominent_words":[1362664,1362661,1362660,1364206,1364209,1362634,1364216,1362669,1364207,1362632,1364210,1362628,1364214,1362633],"class_list":["post-12597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gre-quant-2","category-gre-strategies","category-quantitative-comparison-math-gre-strategies","tag-gre-quantitative-comparison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597","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=12597"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12625,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597\/revisions\/12625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12597"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Getting Started Reviewing Quantitative Comparison\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Reviewing a QC problem<\/b><\/h3>\n
DON\u2019T READ THE EXPLANATION!<\/b><\/h4>\n
Learning from a QC problem<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"gre-quantitative-comparison-qc\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/10\/gre-quantitative-comparison-qc.png\")
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![\"gre-quantitative-comparison-table\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/10\/gre-quantitative-comparison-table.png\")
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The next step<\/b><\/h2>\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":"