GMAT Sample Questions

The GMAT, or the Graduate Management Admission Test, is arguably the most important test a business student will take. The score of your exam is used to help graduate business schools decide on the admission of a student.

The exam is ultimately broken down into four different sections:

• Analytical Writing
• Integrated Reasoning
• Quantitative Section
• Verbal Reasoning

The Analytical Writing section is a 30-minute writing period in which the test taker will be asked to analyze an argument and point out its weaknesses. It is then scored on a 0-6 basis by both a human reader and the official GMAT scoring engine.

For the Integrated Reasoning portion of the text the test taker is asked to interpret information from sources such as tables, graphs, and other visual representations of data. This section is composed of 12 questions that are to be answered in a 30-minute time period.

The Quantitative Section is a 75 minute period in which the student is asked 37 questions of varying levels of mathematics. The questions involve data sufficiency and problem solving and are to be done without the use of a calculator.

Finally, the Verbal Reasoning portion is a 41question section to be done in 75 minutes. It is composed of critical reasoning, reasoning comprehension, and sentence correction questions.

Below are some GMAT sample questions in each section:

Analytical Writing:

“Most companies would agree that as the risk of physical injury occurring on the job increases, the wages paid to employees should also increase. Hence it makes financial sense for employers to make the workplace safer: they could thus reduce their payroll expenses and save money.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion.

You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

Integrated Reasoning:

Refer to the pictograph of a survey of students at Central Community College. Each Symbol represents 10 students in a sample of 300

Use the drop-down menus to complete each statement according to the information presented in the diagram.

If one student is selected at random from the 300 surveyed, the chance that the student will be under 30 or a high school graduate or both is

If one student is selected at random from the 300 surveyed, the chance that the student will be both under 30 and a high school graduate is

The corrects answers are 5 out of 6 and 1 out of 3, respectively.

Quantitative Section:

A straight fence is to be constructed from posts 6 inches wide and separated by lengths of chain 5 feet long. If a certain fence begins and ends with a post, which of the following could not be the length of the fence in feet? (12 inches = 1 foot)

1. 17
2. 28
3. 35
4. 39
5. 50

In a class of 78 students 41 are taking French, 22 are taking German. Of the students taking French or German, 9 are taking both courses. How many students are not enrolled in either course?

1. 6
2. 15
3. 24
4. 33
5. 54

What is the average (arithmetic mean) of all the multiples of ten from 10 to 190 inclusive?

1. 90
2. 95
3. 100
4. 105
5. 110

-Is the length of a side of equilateral triangle E less than the length of a side of square F?

The perimeter of E and the perimeter of F are equal.

The ratio of the height of triangle E to the diagonal of square F is 2√3 : 3√2.

1. statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question
2. statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question
3. both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient
4. each statement alone is sufficient
5. statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient, and additional data is needed to answer the question

-Are the integers x, y and z consecutive?

The arithmetic mean (average) of x, y and z is y.

y-x= z-y

1. statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient to answer the question
2. statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient to answer the question
3. both statements taken together are sufficient to answer the question, but neither statement alone is sufficient
4. each statement alone is sufficient
5. statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient, and additional data is needed to answer the question

-If r•s≠0, then what is the value of r/s + s/r?

(1) r•s=8

(2) r/s=2

1. statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked;
2. statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient to answer the question asked;
3. BOTH statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question asked, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked;
4. EACH statement ALONE is sufficient to answer the question asked;
5. Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question asked, and additional data specific to the problem are needed.

Verbal Reasoning:

It is not unusual to see the ball fall into a black slot on a roulette wheel four times in a row. But for it to fall five or six times in a row into the same color is very unusual. Therefore you can win money by waiting for a run of five of the same color and then betting against that color.

If the roulette wheel in question is a fair wheel, which of the following observations or facts, if it were true, would best reveal a fallacy in the logic?

1. If there were a reliable way to win at roulette it would be well known by now.
2. It is hard for a player to keep track of what went before for the time required.
3. The probability of getting a particular color decreases with the number of times the color has appeared.
4. The probability of getting a particular color is always the same no matter what has gone before.
5. A person who makes money this way once or twice, will carry on to lose that money after a few more times.

-The committee on sexual discrimination in the workplace has highlighted Supremo Company as a chief offender. Of the twenty senior executives in the firm, only one is a woman. And of the forty junior executives, only five are female.

Supremo could best defend itself against the charges by showing that:

1. male and female executives at the same level have the same qualifications
2. they pay the same salary to senior men and senior women
3. ten times more men than women apply for jobs with the company
4. the work pressures and long hours make jobs with the company unattractive to married women
5. all job applicants who were rejected had fewer qualifications than those accepted

-A marriage counselor noted that couples who have occasional violent arguments are less likel to divorce within the next six months than those who have frequent but less violent arguments.

He concluded that frequent arguing is a major factor in the causation of severe marital disharmony.

The counselor’s conclusion is most weakened by which of the following observations?

1. Couples who have already come to the point of divorce argue continuously over small matters.
2. People who have recently divorced are more likely to argue violently when they meet.
3. Many people in happy marriages have occasional violent arguments.
4. Recently divorced people rarely cite frequent arguments as a cause of marital disharmony
5. A significant fraction of couples close to divorce do not talk to each other.

-A nature conservancy expert found little support for his campaign to protect toads. He suggested that, even thought the campaign highlighted the vital role the toads played in the ecology of the region, people were unenthusiastic about saving toads as these animals are perceived as unpleasant creatures, and people seldom feel passionate about animals with which they have no positive feelings.

The expert’s opinion would be most strengthened by which of the following observations?

1. Ecological conservation is an increasingly important concern in the region.
2. A recent campaign to save bats achieved a measure of success only after a cartoon bat was adopted as the mascot of the local football team.
3. Snakes and lizards also need protection in this region as a result of human activity.
4. The campaign to protect toads has been in existence for over five years and yet the toad population continues to decline.
5. The children in the local schools were found to have a greater aversion to toads than to snakes.

-It is strange that in Sentacity there are so many corner shops selling food items. After all there are many supermarkets in the city which sell food at cheaper prices, and many of these supermarkets are open 24hours.

Which of the following, if true, would be of least help in explaining the paradoxical observation?

1. The corner shops are selling specialist food items not available in the supermarkets.
2. The supermarkets are mostly located on the outskirts of the city and require residents to use cars or public transport to reach them.
3. The main business of the local shops is newspaper distribution and food items represent a small part of their turnover.
4. The corner shops are mainly family-owned businesses and have been there for much longer than the supermarkets and are perceived as an important feature of the community.
5. The corner shops are willing to make home deliveries.