The arithmetic questions on the GRE are drawn from a variety of basic math concepts; to do well, you'll need to be familiar with all the definitions and ideas presented. Arithmetic questions and concepts will manifest themselves in many forms on the GRE -- from problem solving questions that require you to perform percentage calculations, to quantitative comparison questions that will require you to know about the concept of exponents and roots, to data analysis questions. Also, be aware of tricks.
Arithmetic skills are required to solve most GRE math problems, including the harder math problems. Remember that you cannot use a calculator on the GRE, so if you haven’t done such "simple" problems in some time, be sure to brush up on your skills. You need to be familiar with the following math concepts:
- addition
- subtraction
- multiplication and division
- properties of numbers
- primes and divisibility
- fractions
- factorization
- percentages
- decimals
- averages
- ratios
- proportions
- roots
- exponents and powers
Are you familiar with the above concepts? If so, great -- then you have a head start on the competition. However, it's not quite THAT simple. Why? Well, for starters, and especially if you do well on the first handful of math questions, you'll be presented with more challenging GRE math questions that will require you to be familiar with and utilize many concepts in order to arrive at the correct answer.
So this GRE arithmetic stuff sounds easy, right? Are you thinking of skipping the arithmetic tutorial? Think again! Arithmetic is very easy when you have a calculator, your high school math book for reference, and when you have the internet at your disposal to search for the meaning of the cubed root of a number.
On the GRE, you can't use a calculator, notes, or have access to the internet, and you are under pressure, thus many people make simple mistakes. In fact, we agree; most questions on the GRE -- the arithmetic math questions, included -- are fairly simple, but because you are being timed, most people make simple, so-called silly mistakes. And so how do you make sure that you don't make such mistakes on the GRE? Simple -- make sure you have a firm grasp on the key concepts, and you'll be fine.