Master Key to the GRE Vol. 1

Arithmetic & Plan B Strategies

Need help with Arithmetic, Fractions, or Decimals? Need help beating the clock?

Volume 1 of Master Key to the GRE is the only guide to GRE math that will teach you everything you need to know about Arithmetic, Fractions, Decimals, and time-saving Plan B Strategies.

Samples

Chapter 5 Preview

Decimals

Units Digits

Arithmetic & Plan B Strategies Preview

Video Solutions for Practice Questions

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Introduction to the GRE

Master Key to the GRE

Get a sense of how to use our books, how to study properly for the GRE, and how to access our online video content.

  • 1
    Choosing the Right Guide
  • 2
    Why Master Key is Special
  • 3
    How to use our Guides
  • 4
    Proper study habits
  • 5
    The App
  • 6
    Register your book

The Structure & Scoring System

Read about the structure and scoring system of the GRE. Learn how to sign up for the exam and report your scores.

  • 7
    The structure of the GRE
  • 8
    The Scoring system
  • 9
    Registering for the GRE
  • 10
    Reporting and cancelling scores

Navigating the Exam

Get an in-depth sense of how the GRE’s scoring system works and what you can do to maximize your performance on test day.

  • 11
    How the Exam Works
  • 12
    Strategy & Time Management
  • 13
    The Scoring Algorithm
  • 14
    Practice Tests

Intro to Quantitative Reasoning

  • 15
    Content Overview
  • 16
    Problem Solving Questions
  • 17
    “Select One or More” Questions
  • 18
    Numeric Entry Questions
  • 19
    Quantitative Comparisons
  • 20
    Before You Get Started

Chapter 2

Arithmetic

Fundamental Concepts

Whether you’re aiming for a perfect score or a score closer to average, mastery of the following lists and concepts will help you work with numbers more quickly and easily.

  • 1
    Introduction
  • 2
    PEMDAS—the Order of Operations
  • 3
    The Calculator
  • 4
    Time—the Hidden Topic
  • 5
    Know Your Multiplication Tables
  • 6
    Squares, Cubes, and Special Powers
  • 7
    Square Roots From 1 to 10
  • 8
    Fraction to Decimal Equivalents—the “Conversion List”

Arithmetic Shortcuts

Like the lists and concepts above, the following shortcuts will improve the speed of your calculations. That speed will save you valuable minutes over the course of your exam.

  • 9
    The “Multiplication Trick”
  • 10
    Quick Percents Chunking the Division Shortcut
  • 11
    The Divisibility Rules
  • 12
    Number Tricks
  • 13
    The Addition Shortcut
  • 14
    Subtraction by Addition

Practice Questions

There’s no substitute for elbow grease. Practice your new skills to ensure that you internalize what you’ve studied.

  • 15
    Problem Sets
  • 16
    Solutions
  • 17
    Video Solutions

Chapter 3

Plan B Strategies

Smart Math

Our first group of strategies contains tips for avoiding difficult or time-consuming arithmetic.

  • 1
    Introduction
  • 2
    Approximation
  • 3
    “Time Suck” Problems
  • 4
    Subtract the Common Elements!

Using the Answers

The following sections will show you how to use the answer choices to your advantage.

  • 5
    Backsolving
  • 6
    WOTF Questions
  • 7
    Check the Answers for Clues!

Picking Numbers

Picking numbers is a great way of turning confusing, abstract problems into simple, less intimidating ones.

  • 8
    Picking Numbers
  • 9
    PUQ's and FUQ's
  • 10
    “Asswholes“
  • 11
    The Hybrid Approach

Guess Strategies

Our final group of “Plan B” strategies is a small collection of tips for guessing.

  • 12
    Split the Answers
  • 13
    Pick a Test Number
  • 14
    The Quantitative Comparison Guess Trick

Practice Questions

Practice your new skills to ensure that you internalize what you’ve studied.

  • 15
    Problem Sets
  • 16
    Solutions
  • 17
    Video Solutions

Chapter 4

Fractions

Fundamental Concepts

Whether you’re aiming for a perfect score or a score closer to average, mastery of the following concepts is essential.

  • 1
    Introduction
  • 2
    Adding and Subtracting Fractions
  • 3
    Multiplying Fractions
  • 4
    Dividing Fractions
  • 5
    Simple vs. Complex Fractions
  • 6
    Mixed Numerals
  • 7
    Reciprocals
  • 8
    The “Comparison Trick”
  • 9
    Properties of Zero
  • 10
    Fractions Between 0 and 1
  • 11
    FUQ’s Fractions with Unspecified Quantities

Rare or Advanced Concepts

The following concepts are either advanced or are tested only on rare occasions. If you don’t need an elite math score, don’t waste your time!

  • 12
    “Multi-Level” Fractions
  • 13
    Properties of Numerators and Denominators

Practice Questions

There’s no substitute for elbow grease. Practice your new skills to ensure that you internalize what you’ve studied.

  • 14
    Problem Sets
  • 15
    Solutions
  • 16
    Video Solutions

Chapter 5

Decimals

Fundamental Concepts

Whether you’re aiming for a perfect score or a score closer to average, mastery of the following concepts is essential.

  • 1
    Introduction
  • 2
    Rounding
  • 3
    Powers of Ten
  • 4
    Addition and Subtraction
  • 5
    Converting Decimals to Fractions
  • 6
    Multiplication and Division
  • 7
    Decimals Between 0 and 1
  • 8
    Units Digits

Rare or Advanced Concepts

The following concepts are either advanced or are tested only on rare occasions. If you don’t need an elite math score, don’t waste your time!

  • 9
    Repeating Digits Reversed Digits
  • 10
    Converting Repeating Decimals to Fractions

Practice Questions

There’s no substitute for elbow grease. Practice your new skills to ensure that you internalize what you’ve studied.

  • 11
    Problem Sets
  • 12
    Solutions
  • 13
    Video Solutions

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