Your FREE GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) Practice Test 2026 – 390+ Q&A
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GRE Practice Questions
On the current GRE General Test, the Analytical Writing measure consists of a single "Analyze an Issue" task. On what numeric scale is this task scored?
0 to 6 in half-point increments
130 to 170 in one-point increments
200 to 800 in ten-point increments
1 to 5 in whole-point increments
Correct answer: 0 to 6 in half-point increments
The Analytical Writing task is scored on a 0 to 6 scale in half-point increments. Each essay is reviewed by a trained human rater and the e-rater scoring engine; when those scores agree closely the final reported score is set from that review, and a second human rater resolves any larger discrepancy. The 130 to 170 range applies to Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning, not Analytical Writing, and the other scales are not used on the current GRE.
A test-taker drafting an Analyze an Issue response writes a clear thesis, then offers two body paragraphs that simply restate the prompt in different words without giving reasons or examples. According to the official scoring criteria, which weakness most directly limits this essay's score?
It exceeds the recommended word count for the task
It fails to develop the position with relevant reasons and supporting examples
It uses first-person pronouns, which the rubric prohibits
It addresses the issue rather than analyzing a separate argument
Correct answer: It fails to develop the position with relevant reasons and supporting examples
The essay's core weakness is that it fails to develop the position with relevant reasons and supporting examples. The official Analyze an Issue rubric rewards a clearly stated position that is supported with logically sound reasons and persuasive examples; restating the prompt provides no genuine support. There is no penalty for word count or first-person pronouns, and addressing the issue is exactly what this task requires.
Two Analyze an Issue essays take opposite positions on the same prompt. Essay X states a position, gives three loosely related examples, and jumps between ideas with no transitions. Essay Y states a position, develops two well-chosen examples in a logical sequence, and connects paragraphs with clear transitions. Why would Essay Y likely earn the higher score despite using fewer examples?
Because raters award points based on the number of paragraphs, and Y has more
Because Y agrees with the position the rater personally holds on the issue
Because the rubric values logical development, organization, and coherence over a larger quantity of weakly connected examples
Because shorter essays are automatically scored higher by the e-rater engine
Correct answer: Because the rubric values logical development, organization, and coherence over a larger quantity of weakly connected examples
Essay Y likely scores higher because the rubric values logical development, organization, and coherence over a larger quantity of weakly connected examples. The official criteria reward ideas that are connected with clear transitions and developed in a sensible order, so Y's coherent, well-sequenced support outweighs X's scattered examples. Scoring does not reward raw paragraph count, the rater's personal opinion on the issue, or essay brevity.
How many distinct question types make up the GRE Verbal Reasoning measure, and what are they?
Two: Reading Comprehension and Data Interpretation
Four: Text Completion, Numeric Entry, Sentence Equivalence, and essay
Three: Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension
One: a single multi-blank passage type
Correct answer: Three: Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning comprises three types: Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension. Data Interpretation and Numeric Entry belong to the Quantitative measure, so any list naming them is wrong. The essay belongs to Analytical Writing, and the measure is not limited to a single type.
A test-taker wants to drill the Verbal Reasoning type that asks for two answer choices producing sentences alike in meaning. Which type fits that description?
Text Completion
Sentence Equivalence
Reading Comprehension
Data Interpretation
Correct answer: Sentence Equivalence
Sentence Equivalence asks for two choices that yield sentences alike in meaning, matching the description exactly. Text Completion fills blanks but accepts one choice per blank, not a matched pair. Reading Comprehension answers questions about a passage, and Data Interpretation is a Quantitative type, not Verbal.
Which broad skill does the Verbal Reasoning measure chiefly assess across its question types?
Calculating with formulas under time pressure
Constructing geometric proofs
Analyzing written material and the relationships among words and concepts
Interpreting data from charts and tables
Correct answer: Analyzing written material and the relationships among words and concepts
Verbal Reasoning chiefly assesses analyzing written material and the relationships among words and concepts. Calculating with formulas and constructing geometric proofs are Quantitative skills. Interpreting charts and tables describes Data Interpretation, which sits in the Quantitative measure rather than Verbal Reasoning.
Complete the sentence: "The witness's account was so ______ that the jurors could reconstruct the scene in vivid detail from her words alone."
Vague
Tedious
Graphic
Evasive
Correct answer: Graphic
"Graphic" fits because an account that lets jurors picture the scene in vivid detail is one that paints a clear, vivid image. "Vague" and "evasive" would obscure detail rather than supply it. "Tedious" describes dullness, not the vividness the reconstruction requires.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Once dismissed as a ______ pastime, gardening is now recommended by physicians for its measurable health benefits."
Essential
Frivolous
Lucrative
Perilous
Correct answer: Frivolous
"Frivolous" fits because the contrast between past dismissal and current medical endorsement implies the activity was once seen as trivial. "Essential" and "lucrative" would not invite dismissal. "Perilous" suggests danger, which does not match a pastime later praised for health benefits.
Complete the sentence: "The diplomat chose her words with great ______, knowing a single careless phrase could derail the fragile negotiations."
Abandon
Indifference
Haste
Circumspection
Correct answer: Circumspection
"Circumspection" fits because choosing words carefully to avoid derailing fragile talks describes cautious watchfulness. "Abandon" and "haste" imply recklessness, the opposite of the care the situation demands. "Indifference" suggests not caring, which conflicts with awareness that one phrase could cause harm.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Far from being a ______ thinker, the philosopher delighted in overturning the very assumptions her colleagues took for granted."
Radical
Rebellious
Controversial
Conventional
Correct answer: Conventional
"Conventional" fits because "far from" demands a contrast with delighting in overturning assumptions, and a conventional thinker accepts standard views. "Radical," "rebellious," and "controversial" all describe someone who challenges norms, which agrees with her behavior instead of contrasting it.
Complete the multiple-blank sentence by choosing the best pair: "The new manager's ______ style won loyalty quickly, but some veterans missed the ______ leadership of her predecessor, who had ruled by strict decree."
Tyrannical ... gentle
Distant ... warm
Collaborative ... lenient
Collaborative ... authoritarian
Correct answer: Collaborative ... authoritarian
"Collaborative ... authoritarian" fits because a style that wins loyalty contrasts with the predecessor who "ruled by strict decree," which is authoritarian. "Tyrannical" misdescribes a loyalty-winning style, and "distant" does not explain quick loyalty. "Lenient" contradicts ruling by strict decree.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The report was praised for its ______, presenting even the most complex findings in language any reader could grasp."
Obscurity
Verbosity
Lucidity
Ambiguity
Correct answer: Lucidity
"Lucidity" fits because making complex findings graspable by any reader is the essence of clarity. "Obscurity" and "ambiguity" describe lack of clarity, the opposite of the praise. "Verbosity" means wordiness, which would hinder, not aid, easy understanding.
Complete the sentence: "Although the policy was intended to ______ poverty, critics charged that its loopholes ultimately ______ the very inequality it targeted."
Alleviate ... cured
Alleviate ... worsened
Intensify ... reduced
Ignore ... eliminated
Correct answer: Alleviate ... worsened
"Alleviate ... worsened" fits because a policy meant to reduce poverty that critics say backfired would, through loopholes, worsen inequality. "Cured" contradicts the critics' charge. "Intensify" misstates the policy's intent, and "ignore ... eliminated" makes the two halves incoherent.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "His ______ memory allowed him to recite entire chapters verbatim after a single reading."
Faulty
Selective
Fading
Prodigious
Correct answer: Prodigious
"Prodigious" fits because reciting entire chapters after one reading reflects an extraordinarily large, powerful memory. "Faulty" and "fading" imply a weak memory, contradicting the feat. "Selective" suggests remembering only some things, which does not match verbatim recall of whole chapters.
Complete the sentence: "The committee's findings were hardly ______; nearly every recommendation simply restated what previous panels had already proposed."
Redundant
Novel
Familiar
Derivative
Correct answer: Novel
"Novel" fits because "hardly" plus findings that merely restate earlier proposals signals an absence of newness. "Redundant," "familiar," and "derivative" all describe the repetitive quality the findings actually have, so placed after "hardly" they would reverse the intended meaning.
When a Text Completion sentence contains a pivot word such as "yet" or "despite," how should that word guide the choice for the blank?
It signals that the blank must repeat an earlier word exactly
It signals that the blank should contrast with another part of the sentence
It signals that grammar, not meaning, decides the blank
It signals that the longest answer choice is correct
Correct answer: It signals that the blank should contrast with another part of the sentence
A pivot word like "yet" or "despite" signals contrast, so the blank should oppose another part of the sentence. It does not require repeating a word, nor does it shift the decision to grammar alone, since meaning still governs. Answer length is never a reliable cue on the GRE.
Complete the three-blank sentence: "The critic's praise was so ______ that readers assumed the film was a masterpiece; only later did its ______ plot and ______ acting reveal how mistaken that assumption had been."
Muted ... gripping ... superb
Lavish ... incoherent ... wooden
Lavish ... brilliant ... nuanced
Harsh ... incoherent ... wooden
Correct answer: Lavish ... incoherent ... wooden
"Lavish ... incoherent ... wooden" fits because generous praise led readers to expect a masterpiece, while the later revelation must expose flaws, namely a confused plot and stiff acting. "Muted" and "harsh" would not produce the masterpiece assumption, and "gripping," "brilliant," "superb," and "nuanced" describe merits, not the mistaken-assumption letdown.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The new director set out to ______ a department long paralyzed by infighting and low morale."
Revitalize and reinvigorate
Dismantle and revitalize
Reinvigorate and disband
Neglect and reinvigorate
Correct answer: Revitalize and reinvigorate
"Revitalize and reinvigorate" is correct because both mean to restore energy, matching a director addressing paralysis and low morale and yielding equivalent sentences. "Dismantle" and "disband" mean to break up, and "neglect" means to ignore, none of which pairs in meaning with restoring a struggling department.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The chemist's claims were so ______ that other labs could not reproduce a single one of her reported results."
Verified and sound
Dubious and spurious
Dubious and credible
Spurious and proven
Correct answer: Dubious and spurious
"Dubious and spurious" is correct because both mean false or doubtful, matching claims no other lab could reproduce and yielding equivalent sentences. "Verified," "sound," "credible," and "proven" all denote validity, the opposite of the clue, so they cannot pair in meaning with words for falseness.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "Even after the scandal broke, the senator remained ______, refusing to admit any wrongdoing whatsoever."
Defiant and unrepentant
Contrite and apologetic
Defiant and remorseful
Humbled and unrepentant
Correct answer: Defiant and unrepentant
"Defiant and unrepentant" is correct because both describe refusal to admit fault, matching a senator who concedes no wrongdoing and yielding equivalent sentences. "Contrite," "apologetic," "remorseful," and "humbled" all imply regret, contradicting the refusal and failing to pair with words for defiance.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The trail's ______ ascent left even seasoned hikers gasping for breath within the first mile."
Gentle and steep
Steep and precipitous
Precipitous and gradual
Level and arduous
Correct answer: Steep and precipitous
"Steep and precipitous" is correct because both mean sharply rising, matching an ascent that exhausts hikers quickly and yielding equivalent sentences. "Gentle," "gradual," and "level" describe an easy slope, the opposite of the clue, so they cannot pair in meaning with words for steepness.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "Her ______ remarks at the banquet, full of barbed wit, left several guests visibly stung."
Gracious and kindly
Caustic and flattering
Soothing and acerbic
Acerbic and caustic
Correct answer: Acerbic and caustic
"Acerbic and caustic" is correct because both mean sharply critical, matching barbed wit that stings guests and yielding equivalent sentences. "Gracious," "kindly," "flattering," and "soothing" all denote warmth, contradicting the stinging effect and failing to pair with words for biting criticism.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The terms of the contract were so ______ that even the company's own lawyers disagreed about what they required."
Explicit and clear
Equivocal and precise
Ambiguous and equivocal
Definite and ambiguous
Correct answer: Ambiguous and equivocal
"Ambiguous and equivocal" is correct because both mean open to multiple interpretations, matching terms that even the company's lawyers read differently and yielding equivalent sentences. "Explicit," "clear," "precise," and "definite" all mean unambiguous, contradicting the disagreement and failing to pair with words for vagueness.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "Far from being a ______ donor, the magnate gave generously to dozens of charities every year."
Parsimonious and miserly
Lavish and bountiful
Miserly and benevolent
Generous and parsimonious
Correct answer: Parsimonious and miserly
"Parsimonious and miserly" is correct because both mean stingy, and "far from" sets up a contrast with giving generously, so the blank must be the opposite of generosity, yielding equivalent sentences. "Lavish," "bountiful," and "benevolent" describe generosity, which would not be contrasted, and so cannot form the required pair.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The startup's growth was ______, doubling its revenue every few months for two straight years."
Stagnant and meteoric
Meteoric and explosive
Explosive and sluggish
Modest and meteoric
Correct answer: Meteoric and explosive
"Meteoric and explosive" is correct because both describe extremely rapid growth, matching revenue that doubles every few months and yielding equivalent sentences. "Stagnant," "sluggish," and "modest" all suggest slow or no growth, the opposite of the clue, so they cannot pair with words for rapid expansion.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The professor's lectures were notoriously ______, wandering from topic to topic without ever reaching a clear point."
Focused and concise
Discursive and pointed
Succinct and rambling
Rambling and discursive
Correct answer: Rambling and discursive
"Rambling and discursive" is correct because both describe wandering, unfocused speech, matching lectures that drift without a clear point and yielding equivalent sentences. "Focused," "concise," "pointed," and "succinct" all denote tightness and direction, contradicting the wandering described.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The judge praised the attorney's ______ argument, which left no logical gap for the opposing counsel to exploit."
Cogent and compelling
Flawed and weak
Compelling and tenuous
Rambling and cogent
Correct answer: Cogent and compelling
"Cogent and compelling" is correct because both mean convincing, matching an argument with no logical gaps that the judge praised and yielding equivalent sentences. "Flawed," "weak," "tenuous," and "rambling" all denote feebleness, contradicting the praise and the absence of logical gaps.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "After the harvest failed for the third year, the once-prosperous village fell into ______."
Affluence and wealth
Penury and prosperity
Comfort and destitution
Destitution and penury
Correct answer: Destitution and penury
"Destitution and penury" is correct because both mean extreme poverty, matching a village ruined by repeated harvest failures and yielding equivalent sentences. "Affluence," "wealth," "prosperity," and "comfort" all denote plenty, contradicting the ruin and failing to pair with words for poverty.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the sentences are alike in meaning: "The reviewer dismissed the sequel as ______, a tired rehash that added nothing to the original."
Derivative and hackneyed
Inventive and fresh
Hackneyed and original
Groundbreaking and derivative
Correct answer: Derivative and hackneyed
"Derivative and hackneyed" is correct because both mean unoriginal and overused, matching a tired rehash that adds nothing and yielding equivalent sentences. "Inventive," "fresh," "original," and "groundbreaking" all denote novelty, contradicting the clue and failing to pair with words for staleness.
In Sentence Equivalence, why is it risky to choose a single word that fits perfectly without checking for its meaning-partner among the choices?
Because every fitting word always has three partners
Because the first word chosen is automatically discarded
Because single words are scored as half credit
Because the format awards no credit unless exactly the two choices producing equivalent sentences are selected
Correct answer: Because the format awards no credit unless exactly the two choices producing equivalent sentences are selected
It is risky because the format awards credit only when exactly the two choices producing equivalent sentences are selected, so a lone perfect-seeming word with no partner signals a misread. There are not always three partners, the first choice is not discarded, and there is no half credit for a single selection.
Determine the meaning of "arrest" as used here: "New treatments can arrest the spread of the disease, though they cannot reverse the damage already done." In this context "arrest" most nearly means:
To take into legal custody
To halt or stop the progress of
To capture someone's attention
A device that slows a machine
Correct answer: To halt or stop the progress of
Here "arrest" means to halt or stop the progress of, since treatments stop the disease from spreading. The legal-custody sense does not apply to a disease, and the attention-grabbing sense does not fit stopping spread. The device sense is not how the verb is used in this medical context.
Determine the meaning of "novel" as used here: "The committee rejected the proposal not because it was unworkable but because its approach was too novel for so cautious an institution." In this context "novel" most nearly means:
A long work of fiction
Cheap or low in quality
New and unfamiliar
Carefully tested and proven
Correct answer: New and unfamiliar
Here "novel" means new and unfamiliar, since a cautious institution balks at something too unfamiliar. The work-of-fiction sense is a different noun usage and does not fit an approach. "Cheap" and "carefully tested" both misread the contrast with a cautious institution wary of newness.
Determine the meaning of "cultivate" as used here: "Over the years she carefully cultivated relationships with editors who could advance her career." In this context "cultivate" most nearly means:
To prepare land for crops
To develop and nurture deliberately
To harvest a field
To grow wild without care
Correct answer: To develop and nurture deliberately
Here "cultivate" means to develop and nurture deliberately, since she built relationships over years to advance her career. The land-preparing and harvesting senses are agricultural meanings that do not fit relationships. Growing wild without care contradicts the careful, deliberate effort described.
Determine the meaning of "flag" as used here: "By the final mile of the marathon, even the strongest runners began to flag." In this context "flag" most nearly means:
To signal with a banner
To grow tired and lose strength
To mark for later attention
A piece of cloth on a pole
Correct answer: To grow tired and lose strength
Here "flag" means to grow tired and lose strength, since runners weakening late in a marathon are flagging. The signaling and marking senses are verbs that do not fit physical fatigue. The cloth-on-a-pole sense is a noun and irrelevant to runners' endurance.
Determine the meaning of "economy" as used here: "The poet's style is admired for its economy: not a single word is wasted." In this context "economy" most nearly means:
Sparing, efficient use of resources
A nation's system of trade and finance
A discount or low price
The management of a household budget
Correct answer: Sparing, efficient use of resources
Here "economy" means sparing, efficient use, since wasting no words is efficient use of language. The system-of-trade and household-budget senses concern finance, not writing style. The discount sense does not fit a description of concise, well-chosen language.
Determine the meaning of "steep" as used here: "The findings were steeped in years of fieldwork, lending them an authority no armchair theory could match." In this context "steeped" most nearly means:
Rising at a sharp angle
Priced too high
Made of stone
Soaked or thoroughly saturated
Correct answer: Soaked or thoroughly saturated
Here "steeped" means soaked or thoroughly saturated, since findings immersed in years of fieldwork are saturated with it. The sharp-angle and priced-too-high senses are other meanings of "steep" that do not fit immersion in research. "Made of stone" is unrelated to the figurative saturation described.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence, attending to its precise connotation: "The mentor offered ______ criticism, pointing out weaknesses only to help his student improve."
Malicious
Constructive
Withering
Dismissive
Correct answer: Constructive
"Constructive" fits because criticism meant to help a student improve is intended to build, which is what constructive means. "Malicious" and "withering" imply intent to harm or crush, contradicting the helpful purpose. "Dismissive" implies brushing the student aside rather than aiding growth.
Determine the meaning of "capital" as used here: "The error proved capital, dooming the entire expedition from its very first day." In this context "capital" most nearly means:
The seat of a nation's government
Money used to start a business
Extremely serious or fatal
An uppercase letter
Correct answer: Extremely serious or fatal
Here "capital" means extremely serious or fatal, since the error doomed the whole expedition. The seat-of-government and money senses are common meanings that do not fit a fatal mistake. The uppercase-letter sense is unrelated to the gravity the sentence conveys.
A test-taker encounters the unfamiliar word "laconic" in a sentence describing a speaker "who answered every question in three words or fewer." Using context, the test-taker can infer "laconic" most likely means:
Loud and boastful
Using very few words; terse
Confused and rambling
Friendly and talkative
Correct answer: Using very few words; terse
Context indicates "laconic" means using very few words, shown by answers of three words or fewer. "Loud and boastful" and "friendly and talkative" suggest abundant speech, the opposite of brevity. "Confused and rambling" implies wandering at length, which also contradicts extreme terseness.
Why does the GRE often test secondary or less common meanings of familiar words rather than rare vocabulary alone?
Because secondary meanings are always longer
Because rare words never appear on the test
Because familiar words have only one possible meaning
Because the test measures whether a reader can use context to identify the sense a word carries in a particular sentence
Correct answer: Because the test measures whether a reader can use context to identify the sense a word carries in a particular sentence
It tests secondary meanings because the goal is measuring whether a reader can use context to identify the sense a word carries in a given sentence. Secondary meanings are not always longer, rare words can still appear, and familiar words often have several meanings, which is precisely why context matters.
Determine the meaning of "telling" as used here: "The candidate's refusal to answer was telling, hinting at problems she preferred to keep hidden." In this context "telling" most nearly means:
Significant and revealing
Narrating a story aloud
Scolding or reprimanding
Counting items one by one
Correct answer: Significant and revealing
Here "telling" means significant and revealing, since the refusal hints at hidden problems. The narrating and counting senses are literal meanings of "tell" that do not fit a revealing silence. The scolding sense does not match a refusal that exposes something unintentionally.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The audience found the lecture ______; many struggled to stay awake through its monotonous recitation of dates."
Riveting
Hilarious
Soporific
Inflammatory
Correct answer: Soporific
"Soporific" fits because a monotonous lecture that makes listeners struggle to stay awake is sleep-inducing, which is what soporific means. "Riveting" and "hilarious" describe engaging content, contradicting the drowsiness. "Inflammatory" implies provoking anger, not the boredom the sentence depicts.
Passage: "Historians once credited a single inventor with the loom's design. Recently uncovered guild records, however, show that dozens of artisans contributed refinements over a century before the design reached its familiar form." The passage primarily serves to:
Identify the single inventor of the loom
Argue that the loom was never actually improved
Revise an earlier account by emphasizing collective, gradual development
Describe how cloth is woven on a loom
Correct answer: Revise an earlier account by emphasizing collective, gradual development
The passage primarily revises an earlier account by emphasizing collective, gradual development, replacing the single-inventor story with many artisans over a century. It does not identify one inventor, the very idea it corrects. It affirms a long process of refinement and does not explain the mechanics of weaving.
Passage: "The biologist concedes that captive breeding has saved several species from immediate extinction. She warns, however, that animals raised in captivity often lose the instincts they need to survive once released." What is the author's primary purpose?
To prove that captive breeding always fails
To explain how zoos design their enclosures
To argue that captive breeding offers benefits but carries a serious drawback
To deny that any species has been saved
Correct answer: To argue that captive breeding offers benefits but carries a serious drawback
The primary purpose is to argue that captive breeding offers benefits but carries a serious drawback, balancing the saved species against the loss of survival instincts. The author does not claim it always fails, since she credits real successes. She neither describes enclosure design nor denies that species were saved.
Passage: "For years the drug was prescribed widely for insomnia. A large review now finds that its modest benefit lasts only a few weeks, after which patients sleep no better than those given a placebo." Which conclusion is best supported?
The drug worsens insomnia from the first dose
The drug should be prescribed even more widely
The drug's usefulness for insomnia does not endure over time
Placebos cure insomnia permanently
Correct answer: The drug's usefulness for insomnia does not endure over time
The best-supported conclusion is that the drug's usefulness for insomnia does not endure, since its benefit fades after a few weeks. The passage describes a modest early benefit, not immediate worsening, and undercuts wider prescription. It says placebo patients sleep no worse, not that placebos cure insomnia.
Passage: "The essayist contends that translation is not a mechanical swapping of words but an act of interpretation, in which the translator must constantly choose which shades of meaning to preserve and which to sacrifice." The passage suggests that the essayist views translation as:
A purely mechanical, word-for-word process
An impossible task that should be abandoned
A field with no room for individual choices
An interpretive act requiring judgment about meaning
Correct answer: An interpretive act requiring judgment about meaning
The passage suggests the essayist views translation as an interpretive act requiring judgment, since translators must choose which meanings to keep. "Purely mechanical" is the view the essayist explicitly rejects. The passage does not call translation impossible, and its emphasis on constant choices contradicts having no room for judgment.
Passage: "Skeptics dismissed the amateur astronomer's report of a new comet until professional observatories, training their instruments on the coordinates she supplied, confirmed the object two nights later." The passage implies that the skeptics' initial reaction was:
Ultimately shown to be premature
Fully justified by later events
Shared by the professional observatories
Based on superior instruments
Correct answer: Ultimately shown to be premature
The passage implies the skeptics' reaction was ultimately shown to be premature, since professionals confirmed the comet using her coordinates. Their dismissal was not justified, because she proved right. The observatories confirmed rather than shared the doubt, and the amateur, not the skeptics, supplied the decisive coordinates.
A Reading Comprehension question asks which choice, if true, would most strengthen the author's conclusion. What does answering it require the test-taker to do?
Recall the passage's exact wording
Calculate a ratio from figures in the passage
Select two words that mean the same thing
Judge how a new fact would bolster the author's reasoning
Correct answer: Judge how a new fact would bolster the author's reasoning
It requires judging how a new fact would bolster the author's reasoning, the core of a strengthen question. Recalling exact wording is not the task, and calculating a ratio is a Quantitative skill. Selecting two synonymous words describes Sentence Equivalence, a different question type entirely.
Passage: "The author praises the museum's renovation for opening galleries that had been closed for decades. In an aside, she notes that ticket prices have tripled, pricing out many local families." What can be inferred about the author's overall view of the renovation?
She considers it an unqualified success
She believes the galleries should have stayed closed
She has no opinion about the renovation
She sees a genuine improvement shadowed by a cost to accessibility
Correct answer: She sees a genuine improvement shadowed by a cost to accessibility
It can be inferred that the author sees a genuine improvement shadowed by a cost to accessibility, praising the reopened galleries while flagging tripled prices. "Unqualified success" ignores the pricing concern. She does not wish the galleries closed, and her praise plus critique reveal a clear, mixed opinion.
Passage: "Critics long read the play as a straightforward tragedy. A closer look at its final scene, in which the doomed hero winks at the audience, suggests the playwright intended a darkly comic undercurrent." The passage is chiefly concerned with:
Proposing a reinterpretation of the play's tone
Summarizing the play's entire plot
Proving the play is not a tragedy at all
Listing the play's characters
Correct answer: Proposing a reinterpretation of the play's tone
The passage is chiefly concerned with proposing a reinterpretation of the play's tone, arguing the final wink implies dark comedy beneath the tragedy. It does not summarize the full plot or list characters. It adds a comic undercurrent rather than denying the tragedy entirely, so it does not claim the play is no tragedy.
Passage: "While the bridge's bold design earned architectural awards, engineers later discovered that the same daring features made it unusually vulnerable to high winds." Which choice best captures the passage's central point?
The bridge won no awards
The features that made the bridge celebrated also made it vulnerable
High winds never affect bridges
The bridge was never actually built
Correct answer: The features that made the bridge celebrated also made it vulnerable
The central point is that the features that made the bridge celebrated also made it vulnerable, linking its award-winning daring to its weakness in wind. The passage says it won awards, so the first choice is false. It does not claim winds never affect bridges, and it treats the bridge as real.
On the GRE, a Select-in-Passage task asks the test-taker to identify a particular sentence. How is the answer to such a task indicated?
By typing the sentence number into a box
By choosing two lettered options from a list
By clicking on the sentence within the passage itself
By selecting a row from a data table
Correct answer: By clicking on the sentence within the passage itself
The answer to a Select-in-Passage task is indicated by clicking on the sentence within the passage itself. Typing a number into a box describes Numeric Entry, a Quantitative format. Choosing two lettered options describes Sentence Equivalence, and selecting a table row describes Data Interpretation, neither of which applies here.
Passage: "Solar power has grown rapidly. Yet storage remains its great weakness, since current batteries cannot economically hold a day's energy. Researchers are racing to solve this bottleneck." A Select-in-Passage question asks for the sentence that identifies the main limitation of solar power. Which sentence best fits?
The sentence stating that storage remains its great weakness because batteries cannot economically hold a day's energy
The sentence stating that solar power has grown rapidly
The sentence stating that researchers are racing to solve the bottleneck
No sentence identifies a limitation
Correct answer: The sentence stating that storage remains its great weakness because batteries cannot economically hold a day's energy
The best fit is the sentence stating that storage remains the great weakness because batteries cannot economically hold a day's energy, which names the limitation directly. The first sentence reports growth, a strength. The last sentence describes efforts to fix the problem rather than identifying the limitation itself.
Passage: "The theory was elegant. Field data, however, refused to cooperate: measured values diverged sharply from predictions. The author concludes that the model needs fundamental revision." A Select-in-Passage question asks for the sentence presenting the evidence against the theory. Which sentence best fits?
The sentence stating that the theory was elegant
The sentence stating that the model needs fundamental revision
The sentence stating that measured values diverged sharply from predictions
No sentence presents evidence
Correct answer: The sentence stating that measured values diverged sharply from predictions
The best fit is the sentence stating that measured values diverged sharply from predictions, the concrete evidence undermining the theory. The opening sentence praises the theory's elegance rather than challenging it. The closing sentence states the conclusion drawn from the evidence, not the evidence itself.
A Select-in-Passage question asks for the sentence in which the author first states her own opinion, but several earlier sentences report other people's views. How should the test-taker proceed?
Choose the first sentence of the passage regardless of content
Choose whichever sentence is longest
Choose the sentence containing a proper name
Choose the sentence where the author asserts her own position, not one merely reporting others' views
Correct answer: Choose the sentence where the author asserts her own position, not one merely reporting others' views
The test-taker should choose the sentence where the author asserts her own position, since the task targets her opinion, not reports of others' views. Picking the first sentence by default ignores content. Sentence length and the presence of a proper name are irrelevant to which sentence voices the author's stance.
Why might the right answer to a Select-in-Passage question be a sentence near the middle of a passage rather than its first or last sentence?
Because middle sentences are always the most important
Because the first and last sentences are never selectable
Because the correct sentence is determined by its rhetorical role, which can occur anywhere in the passage
Because the answer is chosen by sentence length
Correct answer: Because the correct sentence is determined by its rhetorical role, which can occur anywhere in the passage
The answer can be a middle sentence because it is determined by rhetorical role, which can fall anywhere in the passage. Middle sentences are not inherently most important, and first and last sentences remain selectable. Length does not determine the answer; matching the asked-for function does.
On a Reading Comprehension item that uses square checkboxes for three statements, what does that format tell the test-taker about selecting answers?
Any combination from one to all three supported statements should be selected
Exactly one statement is correct
The statements must be placed in chronological order
No statement should be selected
Correct answer: Any combination from one to all three supported statements should be selected
Square checkboxes tell the test-taker that any combination from one to all three supported statements should be selected. The format does not restrict the answer to exactly one statement, ask for chronological ordering, or call for selecting nothing; it asks which statements the passage supports.
Passage: "The survey showed that most respondents recycled regularly, that a minority composted food scraps, and that almost none had installed solar panels." A select-one-or-more question asks which statements the passage supports: (1) A majority recycled. (2) Most respondents had solar panels. (3) Some respondents composted. Which selection is correct?
Statement 2 only
All three statements
Statement 1 only
Statements 1 and 3 only
Correct answer: Statements 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 only are supported: most respondents recycled and a minority composted. Statement 2 is contradicted because almost none had solar panels, so most did not. Any option including statement 2, and any option omitting the supported statement 3, must therefore be wrong.
Passage: "The renovation finished ahead of schedule, came in under budget, and yet drew complaints for ignoring the building's historic character." A select-one-or-more question asks which statements the passage supports: (1) The project finished early. (2) The project exceeded its budget. (3) The renovation prompted some complaints. Which selection is correct?
Statements 1 and 3 only
Statement 2 only
All three statements
Statement 1 only
Correct answer: Statements 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 only are supported: the project finished ahead of schedule and drew complaints. Statement 2 is contradicted because it came in under budget, not over. Therefore no option including statement 2, and no single-statement option leaving out a supported statement, can be correct.
On a select-one-or-more question, a test-taker checks the two statements she is sure of but reasons that checking a third uncertain statement "can't hurt." Why is that reasoning mistaken?
Because credit requires marking exactly the supported set, so adding an unsupported statement makes the whole answer wrong
Because checking a third box always doubles the credit
Because the third statement is automatically correct
Because only the first checked box is scored
Correct answer: Because credit requires marking exactly the supported set, so adding an unsupported statement makes the whole answer wrong
It is mistaken because credit requires marking exactly the supported set, so adding an unsupported statement makes the entire answer wrong. Checking a third box does not double credit, the third statement is not automatically correct, and all checked boxes, not just the first, count toward the answer.
Why can a select-one-or-more question never be reliably answered by assuming a fixed number of statements is correct?
Because the number of correct statements varies and must be judged from the passage each time
Because exactly two statements are always correct
Because the correct statements are always the first and last
Because all three statements are correct on every item
Correct answer: Because the number of correct statements varies and must be judged from the passage each time
It cannot be answered by assuming a fixed number because the number of correct statements varies and must be judged from the passage each time. The format does not guarantee exactly two correct, does not fix them as first and last, and does not make all three correct on every item.
What is the key difference between a passage's main idea and a supporting detail?
The main idea is a specific example, while a supporting detail is the central claim
The main idea is the passage's central claim, while a supporting detail offers evidence or illustration for it
The main idea always appears in the final sentence
Supporting details and the main idea convey identical information
Correct answer: The main idea is the passage's central claim, while a supporting detail offers evidence or illustration for it
The key difference is that the main idea is the central claim while a supporting detail offers evidence or illustration for it. Reversing the two mislabels the example as the claim. The main idea need not appear in the final sentence, and details add specifics rather than repeating identical information.
Passage: "Urban green spaces benefit residents in several ways. They cool neighborhoods, filter air, and provide places to gather. In one city, a new park lowered nearby summer temperatures by two degrees." Which sentence functions as the main idea?
The report that a new park lowered nearby temperatures by two degrees
The statement that green spaces provide places to gather
The statement that urban green spaces benefit residents in several ways
The passage has no main idea
Correct answer: The statement that urban green spaces benefit residents in several ways
The main idea is the statement that urban green spaces benefit residents in several ways, the central claim the rest develops. The two-degree report is a specific supporting detail illustrating one benefit. The gathering-place statement is one item in a list elaborating the broader claim, not the claim itself.
Passage: "The article argues that early childhood nutrition shapes lifelong health. It opens with a striking statistic about stunted growth before turning to decades of longitudinal studies." How does the opening statistic relate to the article's argument?
It is an attention-grabbing detail that supports the broader argument
It is the article's central claim
It contradicts the longitudinal studies
It is unrelated to childhood nutrition
Correct answer: It is an attention-grabbing detail that supports the broader argument
The opening statistic is an attention-grabbing detail that supports the broader argument about childhood nutrition shaping lifelong health. It is not the central claim, which the longitudinal studies develop. It reinforces rather than contradicts those studies and is plainly tied to childhood nutrition.
A question asks for the best summary of a passage that argues, with many examples, that bilingual education improves cognitive flexibility. Why is "One school taught classes in two languages" a weak summary?
Because it reports only a single supporting example rather than the passage's broader claim
Because the passage never mentions any school
Because summaries may not refer to schools
Because a summary must always be one word long
Correct answer: Because it reports only a single supporting example rather than the passage's broader claim
It is weak because it reports only a single supporting example rather than the passage's broader claim that bilingual education improves cognitive flexibility. The passage does mention schools, so the issue is scope, not absence. There is no rule barring references to schools or fixing summaries at one word.
Passage: "Though most of the chapter recounts one explorer's harrowing journey, its purpose, stated plainly at the end, is to show that early maps were shaped as much by guesswork as by observation." Which statement best expresses the main idea?
One explorer endured a harrowing journey
The chapter is mostly a travel narrative
Early maps were shaped as much by guesswork as by observation
Explorers often kept detailed journals
Correct answer: Early maps were shaped as much by guesswork as by observation
The main idea is that early maps were shaped as much by guesswork as by observation, the purpose stated plainly at the end. The harrowing journey is the extended supporting example, not the central point. The chapter's narrative form and the generic fact about journals are incidental rather than its thesis.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The board's decision seemed ______ at first, but the detailed memo released later revealed a careful, well-reasoned plan behind it."
Deliberate
Transparent
Capricious
Popular
Correct answer: Capricious
The correct word is capricious. The contrast hinge "but" sets the first impression against the later revelation of a careful plan, so the blank must mean the opposite of careful, which is capricious. Deliberate and transparent would not be reversed by the discovery of a well-reasoned plan, and popular is unrelated to whether the decision was reasoned.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The young pianist's technique was ______, but her interpretations struck critics as cold and mechanical."
Flawless
Amateurish
Tentative
Erratic
Correct answer: Flawless
The correct word is flawless. The contrast marker "but" opposes a praised technique with a criticized interpretation, so the technique must be admirable, which flawless supplies. Amateurish, tentative, and erratic all describe weak technique and would not stand in contrast to the later criticism.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Rather than ______ the rumors, the company's silence only encouraged people to believe them."
Spreading
Inventing
Dispelling
Exaggerating
Correct answer: Dispelling
The correct word is dispelling. The clue is that silence let people keep believing the rumors, so the action the company failed to take was to clear them away, which dispelling means. Spreading, inventing, and exaggerating would increase belief in the rumors rather than counter it.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The treaty was widely seen as ______, since it required painful concessions from both sides yet left neither fully satisfied."
One-sided
Triumphant
Trivial
Compromise-laden
Correct answer: Compromise-laden
The correct word is compromise-laden. Concessions from both sides leaving neither fully satisfied describes a treaty full of mutual give-and-take, which compromise-laden captures. One-sided contradicts the mutual concessions, triumphant contradicts the dissatisfaction, and trivial ignores the painful stakes described.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The professor's ______ comments, sprinkled with sly jokes, kept even the driest material entertaining."
Witty
Somber
Rambling
Hostile
Correct answer: Witty
The correct word is witty. The phrase "sprinkled with sly jokes" and the result of keeping material entertaining point to clever humor, which witty names. Somber and hostile clash with the playful jokes, and rambling describes disorganization rather than the cleverness the sentence praises.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "What the early reviewers mistook for ______ in the design later proved to be a deliberate and elegant restraint."
Extravagance
Complexity
Boldness
Austerity
Correct answer: Austerity
The correct word is austerity. The sentence equates the mistaken first impression with what turned out to be deliberate restraint, so the blank must be a near-synonym for restraint, which austerity supplies. Extravagance and boldness are opposites of restraint, and complexity describes intricacy rather than the spareness implied.
Complete the two-blank sentence by choosing the best pair: "Because the evidence was so ______, the jury reached its verdict with unusual ______, deliberating for barely an hour."
Ambiguous . . . speed
Conclusive . . . dispatch
Scant . . . reluctance
Contradictory . . . confidence
Correct answer: Conclusive . . . dispatch
The correct pair is conclusive and dispatch. A jury that deliberates for barely an hour acts quickly because the evidence left little doubt, so the first blank needs conclusive and the second needs dispatch, meaning promptness. Ambiguous and contradictory evidence would slow deliberation, and scant evidence paired with reluctance does not explain the unusually quick verdict.
Complete the two-blank sentence by choosing the best pair: "The biography neither ______ its subject's failings nor ______ his achievements, presenting both with an even hand."
Conceals . . . inflates
Reveals . . . records
Exaggerates . . . denies
Ignores . . . overlooks
Correct answer: Conceals . . . inflates
The correct pair is conceals and inflates. The phrase "with an even hand" signals balance, so the book avoids two distorting extremes: hiding failings and overstating achievements, which conceals and inflates capture. Reveals and records are neutral and not distortions, exaggerates and denies are mismatched to failings and achievements respectively, and ignores and overlooks are near-synonyms that fail to express the two opposing distortions.
Complete the three-blank sentence: "Although the startup's founder projected an air of ______, insiders described a workplace marked by ______ planning and an almost reckless ______ that alarmed investors."
The correct set is composure, haphazard, and improvisation. The contrast word "although" opposes the founder's outward calm with a disorderly reality, so the first blank needs composure while the second and third need words conveying disorder and recklessness, namely haphazard and improvisation. The other sets either pair the outward image with an orderly reality, which removes the contrast, or describe panic, which does not fit a projected air.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The candidate's promises were so ______ that voters could not tell whether she intended to raise taxes or cut them."
Specific
Equivocal
Honest
Binding
Correct answer: Equivocal
The correct word is equivocal. Voters being unable to tell which course the candidate intended points to language open to opposite readings, which equivocal means. Specific and binding would make the intent clear, and honest addresses sincerity rather than the ambiguity the sentence stresses.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Where his rivals relied on flashy rhetoric, the senator built his reputation on ______ argument that withstood the closest scrutiny."
Flimsy
Bombastic
Evasive
Cogent
Correct answer: Cogent
The correct word is cogent. Argument that withstands the closest scrutiny is tightly reasoned and convincing, which cogent describes, and it is set against the rivals' flashy rhetoric. Flimsy and evasive would collapse under scrutiny, and bombastic describes inflated style, the very thing the senator avoided.
Complete the sentence: "The novel's pace is deliberately ______, lingering over a single afternoon for nearly a hundred pages."
Frantic
Abrupt
Languid
Uneven
Correct answer: Languid
The correct word is languid. Lingering over one afternoon for a hundred pages describes a slow, unhurried pace, which languid names. Frantic and abrupt suggest speed or suddenness, and uneven describes inconsistency rather than the steady slowness depicted.
Complete the two-blank sentence: "The new evidence did not so much ______ the old theory as ______ it, adding nuance without overturning its central claim."
Confirm . . . destroy
Support . . . abandon
Ignore . . . reject
Refute . . . refine
Correct answer: Refute . . . refine
The correct pair is refute and refine. The phrase "adding nuance without overturning its central claim" means the theory was improved rather than demolished, so the blank rejects refute in favor of refine. Confirm and destroy and support and abandon are internally contradictory, and ignore and reject both deny the theory rather than refining it.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "Visitors found the host's welcome unexpectedly ______, given his reputation for keeping strangers at arm's length."
Cordial / genial
Hostile / curt
Formal / reserved
Cordial / perfunctory
Correct answer: Cordial / genial
The correct pair is cordial / genial, which both mean warm and friendly. The clue is that the welcome was unexpected given the host's reputation for distance, so it must have been warm. Hostile / curt mean unfriendly, formal / reserved describe distance rather than warmth, and cordial / perfunctory mix a warm word with one meaning done without care, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The committee dismissed his proposal as hopelessly ______, claiming no organization could ever carry it out."
Impractical / unworkable
Practical / feasible
Modest / popular
Ambitious / unworkable
Correct answer: Impractical / unworkable
The correct pair is impractical / unworkable, both meaning impossible to carry out. The clue that no organization could ever execute the proposal calls for words denoting infeasibility. Practical / feasible are the opposite, modest / popular describe scope or appeal rather than feasibility, and ambitious / unworkable mix unrelated senses, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "Despite the gravity of the news, the spokesman remained ______, betraying no hint of alarm."
Composed / unflappable
Agitated / frantic
Talkative / evasive
Composed / agitated
Correct answer: Composed / unflappable
The correct pair is composed / unflappable, both meaning calm and unshaken. The phrase "betraying no hint of alarm" despite grave news requires words denoting steadiness. Agitated / frantic mean the opposite, talkative / evasive describe other traits, and composed / agitated are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The historian's account is admirably ______, refusing to soften the uglier episodes of the period."
Candid / frank
Biased / evasive
Ornate / cautious
Candid / cautious
Correct answer: Candid / frank
The correct pair is candid / frank, both meaning honest and forthright. The clue that the account refuses to soften ugly episodes calls for words denoting unvarnished honesty. Biased / evasive describe distortion or avoidance, ornate / cautious describe style and restraint, and candid / cautious mix honesty with reticence, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "Far from being ______, the instructions were so detailed that even a novice could follow them."
Cryptic / obscure
Thorough / exhaustive
Lengthy / precise
Cryptic / precise
Correct answer: Cryptic / obscure
The correct pair is cryptic / obscure, both meaning hard to understand. The reversal phrase "far from being" plus instructions detailed enough for a novice means the blank must mean unclear. Thorough / exhaustive suggest completeness, lengthy / precise suggest length and clarity, and cryptic / precise are contradictory, so they do not match the reversed meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The veteran reporter grew ______ of press releases, having learned how often they conceal more than they reveal."
Skeptical / wary
Trusting / fond
Ignorant / supportive
Skeptical / trusting
Correct answer: Skeptical / wary
The correct pair is skeptical / wary, both meaning distrustful and cautious. Having learned how often press releases conceal information, the reporter would approach them with doubt. Trusting / fond express the opposite attitude, ignorant / supportive describe other states, and skeptical / trusting are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The diplomat's ______ replies frustrated reporters hoping for a clear statement of policy."
Evasive / slippery
Blunt / honest
Detailed / lengthy
Evasive / honest
Correct answer: Evasive / slippery
The correct pair is evasive / slippery, both meaning deliberately avoiding a clear answer. Reporters frustrated for want of a clear statement faced replies that dodged the question. Blunt / honest would satisfy reporters, detailed / lengthy describe thoroughness rather than evasion, and evasive / honest are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The volcano had been ______ for centuries, lulling nearby villages into a false sense of safety."
Dormant / quiescent
Active / erupting
Visible / growing
Dormant / active
Correct answer: Dormant / quiescent
The correct pair is dormant / quiescent, both meaning temporarily inactive. A volcano that lulled villages into a false sense of safety had shown no activity for centuries. Active / erupting are direct opposites, visible / growing describe appearance or change rather than inactivity, and dormant / active are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The lecturer's manner was so ______ that students hesitated to ask even the simplest question."
Intimidating / forbidding
Approachable / warm
Tedious / patient
Intimidating / warm
Correct answer: Intimidating / forbidding
The correct pair is intimidating / forbidding, both meaning frightening or off-putting. Students hesitating to ask even simple questions reveals a manner that discouraged approach. Approachable / warm describe the opposite, tedious / patient describe dullness and forbearance rather than fear, and intimidating / warm are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Select the pair of words that both fit the blank and give the sentence the same meaning: "The estate had fallen into ______, its gardens overgrown and its windows long since shattered."
Disrepair / dilapidation
Splendor / fashion
Obscurity / demand
Disrepair / splendor
Correct answer: Disrepair / dilapidation
The correct pair is disrepair / dilapidation, both meaning a ruined, neglected condition. Overgrown gardens and shattered windows describe physical decay. Splendor / fashion and obscurity / demand describe status or popularity rather than physical ruin, and disrepair / splendor are contradictory, so they do not match in meaning.
Determine the meaning of "temper" as used here: "The chef tempered the rich sauce with a squeeze of lemon to keep it from cloying."
To lose one's patience
To moderate or soften the intensity of something
To harden by heating and cooling
To provoke or anger
Correct answer: To moderate or soften the intensity of something
Here "temper" means to moderate or soften the intensity of something, since the lemon offsets the sauce's richness to keep it from being overly sweet. The emotional sense of losing patience and the metalworking sense of hardening do not fit a cooking adjustment, and provoking or angering is the opposite of softening.
Determine the meaning of "coin" as used here: "The author is often credited with coining the term, though earlier uses have since surfaced."
To mint metal currency
To flip a disk to decide something
To accumulate money rapidly
To invent or originate a new word or phrase
Correct answer: To invent or originate a new word or phrase
In this sentence "coin" means to invent or originate a new word or phrase, as the author is credited with creating the term. The literal sense of minting currency and the figurative sense of accumulating money concern money, not language, and flipping a disk is unrelated to authorship.
Determine the meaning of "register" as used here: "The shift in the speaker's register, from casual banter to solemn appeal, signaled that the real point had arrived."
A device for recording sales
An official list of names
To formally enroll
The level or tone of language suited to a situation
Correct answer: The level or tone of language suited to a situation
Here "register" means the level or tone of language suited to a situation, since the speaker moves from casual banter to a solemn appeal. The cash-register, official-list, and enrollment senses all describe records or procedures and do not match a shift in tone of speech.
Determine the meaning of "mine" as used here: "Researchers mined the centuries-old archive for overlooked references to the epidemic."
To extract minerals from the earth
To plant explosive devices
To dig through a source to extract valuable information
To belong to oneself
Correct answer: To dig through a source to extract valuable information
In this context "mine" means to dig through a source to extract valuable information, as the researchers search the archive for overlooked references. The mineral-extraction and explosive senses are literal and do not fit an archive, and the possessive sense is a different part of speech entirely.
Determine the meaning of "colorful" as used here: "The biography dwells on its subject's colorful past, full of duels, escapes, and reversals of fortune."
Rich in vivid and exciting incident
Full of bright hues
Offensive or crude in language
Uncertain or unverified
Correct answer: Rich in vivid and exciting incident
Here "colorful" means rich in vivid and exciting incident, as shown by the duels, escapes, and reversals that fill the subject's past. The literal sense of bright hues does not apply to a life story, the crude-language sense does not fit the listed adventures, and uncertain is unrelated to vividness.
Determine the meaning of "season" as used here: "Years of fieldwork had seasoned the young anthropologist, replacing her early naivety with hard-won judgment."
To add salt or spices
A division of the year
To mature or make experienced through long exposure
To provide tickets for a series of events
Correct answer: To mature or make experienced through long exposure
In this sentence "season" means to mature or make experienced through long exposure, since years of fieldwork replaced naivety with judgment. The culinary sense of adding spices, the calendar sense of a part of the year, and the ticket sense all fail to describe a person growing experienced.
Determine the meaning of "wax" as used here: "As the evening wore on, the guests grew waxed eloquent about their youthful exploits."
To coat with a protective substance
To remove unwanted hair
A soft pliable material
To grow or become increasingly
Correct answer: To grow or become increasingly
Here "wax" means to grow or become increasingly, as the guests become more and more eloquent over the evening. The senses of coating with wax, removing hair, and the noun for a pliable material are all literal and do not describe a gradual increase in a quality.
Determine the meaning of "command" as used here: "Her command of three languages made her indispensable to the negotiating team."
An authoritative order
A position of military authority
Thorough mastery or skilled control of a subject
A view over a wide area
Correct answer: Thorough mastery or skilled control of a subject
In this context "command" means thorough mastery or skilled control of a subject, since her fluency in three languages is what made her valuable. The senses of an order, a military post, and a wide view do not describe expertise in languages.
Determine the meaning of "founder" as used here: "The ambitious merger foundered when the two firms could not agree on leadership."
A person who establishes an organization
To fail or collapse
To sink beneath the water
To stumble and fall
Correct answer: To fail or collapse
Here "founder" means to fail or collapse, as the merger broke down over a leadership dispute. The noun sense of a person who establishes something is a different word entirely, and the literal senses of a ship sinking or a horse stumbling do not fit a business deal.
Passage: "Advocates argue that the new tariff will protect domestic factories from cheaper imports. They assume, however, that consumers will keep buying the same goods at higher prices rather than reducing their purchases or seeking substitutes." Which statement, if true, would most weaken the advocates' argument?
Surveys show consumers in this market readily switch to substitute goods when prices rise.
Domestic factories employ thousands of workers in the region.
Foreign producers have already announced plans to cut their export prices further.
The tariff has the support of several major labor unions.
Correct answer: Surveys show consumers in this market readily switch to substitute goods when prices rise.
The statement that consumers readily switch to substitutes when prices rise most weakens the argument because it directly contradicts the advocates' key assumption that buyers will keep purchasing the same goods at higher prices. Employment figures and union support speak to the tariff's appeal, not its economic effect, and foreign price cuts would actually undercut the tariff's protective purpose without addressing the consumer-behavior assumption.
Passage: "The report praises the clinic for cutting average patient wait times in half over two years. It mentions only in a closing footnote that the clinic also began turning away patients with complex cases during the same period." The footnote is significant chiefly because it
Confirms that the clinic's reforms were a complete success
Proves the clinic violated medical regulations
Suggests the reduced wait times may stem partly from treating fewer difficult cases
Shows that the report's authors were biased against the clinic
Correct answer: Suggests the reduced wait times may stem partly from treating fewer difficult cases
The footnote matters because it suggests the shorter wait times may stem partly from the clinic treating fewer difficult cases, offering an alternative explanation that undercuts the report's praise. It does not confirm complete success, since it raises doubt, and nothing in the passage proves a regulatory violation or establishes bias on the authors' part.
Passage: "The essay opens by recounting a famous shipwreck in vivid detail. Yet the author makes clear that the wreck is merely a way into her real subject: the limits of maritime law in the nineteenth century." The primary purpose of the shipwreck story is to
Serve as an engaging entry point to the essay's central topic
Argue that maritime law was adequate for its time
Demonstrate the author's expertise in naval history
Warn readers about the dangers of sea travel
Correct answer: Serve as an engaging entry point to the essay's central topic
The shipwreck story serves as an engaging entry point to the essay's central topic, since the author explicitly calls it a way into her real subject, the limits of maritime law. The passage does not defend the adequacy of that law, treat the story as a display of expertise, or aim to warn readers about sea travel.
Passage: "For most of human history, mapmakers filled unknown regions with imagined creatures and coastlines. The author argues that these inventions were not mere decoration but honest admissions of ignorance, marking the boundary of what was actually known." The author's main point is that
The fanciful elements of old maps signaled the limits of knowledge
Early maps were too inaccurate to be useful for navigation
Mapmakers deliberately deceived their patrons
Modern maps are superior because they omit imagined features
Correct answer: The fanciful elements of old maps signaled the limits of knowledge
The author's main point is that the fanciful elements of old maps signaled the limits of knowledge, since the passage frames the invented creatures as honest admissions of ignorance marking the boundary of the known. The passage does not call the maps useless, accuse mapmakers of deception, or compare them with modern maps.
Passage: "Critics charge that the city's bike-share program serves only affluent downtown neighborhoods. Supporters reply that the program is expanding and point to three new stations recently opened in lower-income districts." The supporters' reply is best understood as an attempt to
Concede that the critics are entirely correct
Change the subject to the program's cost
Rebut the criticism by citing evidence of broader access
Argue that affluent neighborhoods deserve priority
Correct answer: Rebut the criticism by citing evidence of broader access
The supporters' reply is best understood as an attempt to rebut the criticism by citing evidence of broader access, since they counter the charge of serving only affluent areas by noting new stations in lower-income districts. They do not concede the criticism, shift to cost, or claim affluent areas deserve priority.
Passage: "The study concludes that the supplement improves memory. Yet every participant in the trial was a healthy adult under thirty, and all were told which group they had been assigned to." A careful reader would most reasonably infer that
The supplement is certainly effective for all age groups
The study's design limits how broadly its conclusion can be applied
The supplement has no effect on memory whatsoever
Older adults would benefit even more from the supplement
Correct answer: The study's design limits how broadly its conclusion can be applied
A careful reader would infer that the study's design limits how broadly its conclusion can be applied, because the narrow age range and the participants' awareness of their group both restrict the findings. The passage does not support certainty about all age groups, a claim of no effect, or a prediction that older adults would benefit more, since no older adults were tested.
Passage: "The columnist devotes most of the piece to mocking the proposal's awkward name and its clumsy slogan. Only in the final sentence does he concede that the underlying idea might actually work." The structure of the column suggests that the author
Focuses on style while grudgingly allowing the idea some merit
Supports the proposal wholeheartedly throughout
Believes the proposal's idea is fundamentally flawed
Is chiefly concerned with the proposal's cost
Correct answer: Focuses on style while grudgingly allowing the idea some merit
The structure suggests the author focuses on style while grudgingly allowing the idea some merit, since most of the piece mocks the name and slogan before a final concession that the idea might work. The mockery rules out wholehearted support, the concession rules out viewing the idea as fundamentally flawed, and cost is never mentioned.
Passage: "Many readers assume that the poet led a tranquil life because her verse is so serene. Her letters, however, reveal years of financial hardship and personal loss that the poems never mention." The passage primarily serves to
Prove that the poet's verse is technically flawed
Challenge the assumption that the poems reflect the poet's life
Argue that the letters are more artful than the poems
Establish that the poet wished to hide her wealth
Correct answer: Challenge the assumption that the poems reflect the poet's life
The passage primarily serves to challenge the assumption that the poems reflect the poet's life, contrasting the serene verse with letters that reveal hardship and loss. It makes no claim about technical flaws, does not compare the artfulness of letters and poems, and indicates hardship rather than hidden wealth.
Complete the sentence: "The keynote speaker's delivery was so ______ that listeners checked their phones within minutes, longing for any spark of energy."
Soporific
Riveting
Contentious
Eloquent
Correct answer: Soporific
The answer is soporific. The clue that listeners grew bored and "checked their phones" signals a dull, sleep-inducing delivery, which is exactly what soporific means. Riveting and eloquent describe engaging speech and contradict the bored audience, while contentious describes something that provokes dispute rather than drowsiness.
Complete the sentence: "Although the brochure promised a ______ tour, the guide hurried the group past every exhibit, leaving travelers feeling shortchanged."
Cursory
Leisurely
Tedious
Perfunctory
Correct answer: Leisurely
The answer is leisurely. The word "Although" sets up a contrast with the guide's hurried pace, so the promised tour must be the opposite of rushed, namely unhurried or leisurely. Cursory and perfunctory both mean hasty or superficial and match the actual rushing rather than the broken promise, and tedious describes tiresome length, not the contrast required.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Far from a ______ critic, the reviewer lavished praise on nearly every novel she read."
Generous
Prolific
Niggling
Seasoned
Correct answer: Niggling
The answer is niggling. The phrase "Far from" demands a word opposite to lavishing praise, so the missing word must describe a fault-finding, nitpicking critic, which niggling captures. Generous fits the praise rather than opposing it, while prolific and seasoned describe productivity and experience, not a critical temperament.
Complete the sentence: "The mineral's surprising ______ allowed jewelers to draw it into wires thinner than a human hair."
Brittleness
Opacity
Density
Ductility
Correct answer: Ductility
The answer is ductility. Being drawn into thin wires is the defining property of ductility, the capacity of a material to be stretched without breaking. Brittleness is the opposite, describing a tendency to shatter, while opacity and density concern light transmission and mass and have nothing to do with being drawn into wire.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The committee's report was praised for its ______: it laid out each step of the reasoning in a clear, orderly chain."
Coherence
Brevity
Candor
Ambivalence
Correct answer: Coherence
The answer is coherence. The clue that the reasoning forms a "clear, orderly chain" points to logical consistency among parts, which is the meaning of coherence. Brevity concerns shortness, candor concerns honesty, and ambivalence describes mixed feelings, none of which addresses the orderly connection of ideas.
Once dismissed as ______, the folk remedy is now the subject of serious clinical trials. Which word best fits the blank?
Orthodoxy
Quackery
Panacea
Precedent
Correct answer: Quackery
The answer is quackery. A remedy "once dismissed" but now studied seriously must originally have been written off as fraudulent or worthless medicine, which quackery denotes. Orthodoxy means accepted doctrine, a panacea is a supposed cure-all, and precedent is a prior example, none of which conveys the earlier scorn.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The senator's ______ stance frustrated reporters, who could never pin down where she actually stood."
Resolute
Strident
Equivocal
Candid
Correct answer: Equivocal
The answer is equivocal. Reporters who "could never pin down where she stood" are reacting to deliberately ambiguous, noncommittal language, which is what equivocal means. Resolute and candid both imply clarity or firmness, the opposite of the confusion described, and strident refers to harsh loudness rather than vagueness.
Complete the two-blank sentence by choosing the best pair: "Because the evidence was so ______, the jury reached a verdict with rare ______, deliberating for less than an hour."
Circumstantial . . . reluctance
Ambiguous . . . confidence
Scant . . . certainty
Damning . . . speed
Correct answer: Damning . . . speed
The answer is damning and speed. Reaching a verdict in under an hour signals overwhelmingly incriminating evidence (damning) and an unusually quick decision (speed). Ambiguous, scant, and circumstantial evidence would slow rather than hasten a jury, and reluctance or uncertainty would contradict the swift, confident verdict the sentence describes.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "His ______ for detail made him an excellent copyeditor, for no stray comma escaped his notice."
Fastidiousness
Indifference
Gregariousness
Prodigality
Correct answer: Fastidiousness
The answer is fastidiousness. Catching every stray comma reveals meticulous, exacting attention, which fastidiousness names. Indifference is the opposite of careful attention, gregariousness describes sociability, and prodigality refers to wasteful spending, none relevant to a sharp-eyed editor.
Complete the sentence: "The drought left the once-fertile valley ______, its cracked soil supporting little more than thornbush."
Verdant
Barren
Arable
Temperate
Correct answer: Barren
The answer is barren. Cracked soil from drought that supports only thornbush describes land that is unproductive and lifeless, which is the meaning of barren. Verdant and arable both suggest lush or farmable land, contradicting the drought, and temperate describes mild climate rather than infertility.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The negotiator's ______ tone, neither hostile nor warm, gave little hint of her true intentions."
Belligerent
Effusive
Neutral
Plaintive
Correct answer: Neutral
The answer is neutral. A tone described as "neither hostile nor warm" is by definition impartial and uncommitted, which neutral conveys. Belligerent means aggressively hostile, effusive means gushingly warm, and plaintive means mournful, each of which the sentence explicitly rules out.
Complete the sentence: "The scholar's prose is admirably ______; she explains a thorny theory in language a beginner can follow."
Abstruse
Ornate
Verbose
Lucid
Correct answer: Lucid
The answer is lucid. Explaining a thorny theory so a beginner can follow it requires clear, easily understood writing, which is the meaning of lucid. Abstruse means hard to understand, the opposite of the clarity praised, while ornate and verbose describe elaborate or wordy style that would impede a beginner.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Investors remained ______ despite the cheerful headlines, recalling how often past rallies had ended in collapse."
Wary
Sanguine
Credulous
Jubilant
Correct answer: Wary
The answer is wary. Remembering past collapses "despite the cheerful headlines" produces caution and distrust, which wary captures. Sanguine and jubilant describe optimism, contradicting the investors' guarded mood, and credulous means gullible, the opposite of the skepticism their memory inspires.
Complete the three-blank sentence: "The memoir is ______ in its self-criticism, ______ in its praise of others, and remarkably ______ about the author's rivals, naming faults frankly without spite."
The answer is unsparing, generous, and fair. The clue "self-criticism" calls for harsh honesty toward oneself (unsparing), "praise of others" calls for openhandedness (generous), and naming faults "frankly without spite" calls for even-handed treatment of rivals (fair). The other triples mix in bitterness, evasion, or cruelty that the phrase "without spite" rules out.
Critics found the documentary's narration ______, its overheated language straining for emotion the footage never earned. Which word best completes the sentence?
Understated
Factual
Bombastic
Measured
Correct answer: Bombastic
The answer is bombastic. The clue "overheated language straining for emotion" describes pompous, inflated rhetoric, which is what bombastic means. Understated and measured describe restraint, the opposite of overheated, and factual describes plain, unembellished reporting that would not strain for emotion.
The treaty brought only a ______ peace, one that both sides expected to shatter at the first provocation. Which word best completes the sentence?
Durable
Binding
Equitable
Tenuous
Correct answer: Tenuous
The answer is tenuous. The clue that the peace was "expected to shatter at the first provocation" signals something weak and easily broken, which tenuous means. Durable means long-lasting, the opposite of the fragility described, and binding and equitable concern enforceability and fairness rather than frailty.
Far from being a ______ scholar content to repeat received wisdom, she relentlessly questioned every assumption in her field. Which word best fits the blank?
Complacent
Iconoclastic
Rigorous
Skeptical
Correct answer: Complacent
The answer is complacent. The phrase "Far from being" sets up a contrast with relentless questioning, so the blank needs a word for a self-satisfied, unchallenging scholar, which complacent supplies. Iconoclastic and skeptical describe the questioner she actually is, and rigorous describes careful method rather than the smug passivity the contrast requires.
The young pianist's interpretation was so ______ that even seasoned critics confessed they had never heard the sonata played with such freshness. Which word best completes the sentence?
Derivative
Inventive
Competent
Conventional
Correct answer: Inventive
The answer is inventive. The clue "such freshness" that surprised seasoned critics demands a word for striking originality, which inventive supplies. Derivative and conventional mean unoriginal, the opposite of the praise, and competent describes mere adequacy without implying the freshness the critics admired.
The chairman's ______ manner put even the most nervous interviewees at ease within moments. Which word best completes the sentence?
Brusque
Imperious
Affable
Aloof
Correct answer: Affable
The answer is affable. Putting nervous people at ease signals a friendly, easygoing temperament, which affable names. Brusque means abruptly curt and imperious means domineering, both of which would unsettle rather than soothe, and aloof suggests cold distance, contradicting the welcoming effect.
The general's plan was condemned as ______, sacrificing thousands for a hilltop of no strategic value. Which word best completes the sentence?
Prudent
Cautious
Judicious
Foolhardy
Correct answer: Foolhardy
The answer is foolhardy. Sacrificing thousands for worthless ground signals rash disregard for consequences, which foolhardy means. Prudent, cautious, and judicious all denote wise caution, the very opposite of the recklessness for which the plan was condemned.
After the scandal, the once-revered official became a ______ figure, shunned at every gathering he had formerly dominated. Which word best fits the blank?
Pariah
Celebrity
Mediator
Luminary
Correct answer: Pariah
The answer is pariah. Being "shunned at every gathering" signals social rejection, which is exactly what pariah, an outcast, denotes. Celebrity and luminary imply admired prominence, the opposite of shunning, and mediator describes a peacemaking role unrelated to exclusion.
The professor's ______ remarks, full of subtle digs disguised as compliments, left students unsure whether to thank her or take offense. Which word best completes the sentence?
Sincere
Barbed
Laudatory
Earnest
Correct answer: Barbed
The answer is barbed. The clue "subtle digs disguised as compliments" signals cutting, veiled hostility, which barbed conveys. Sincere, laudatory, and earnest all suggest genuine or wholly favorable speech, contradicting the disguised insults that left students offended.
Years of neglect had left the manor in a ______ state, its roof sagging and its gardens swallowed by weeds. Which word best completes the sentence?
Pristine
Immaculate
Dilapidated
Stately
Correct answer: Dilapidated
The answer is dilapidated. A sagging roof and weed-choked gardens signal a building fallen into ruin and disrepair, which dilapidated means. Pristine and immaculate denote spotless good condition, the opposite of ruin, and stately describes grandeur rather than decay.
Determine the meaning of "discharge" as used here: "The retiring judge was praised for the diligence with which she had always discharged her duties."
Released
Fired upon
Unloaded
Carried out
Correct answer: Carried out
The answer is carried out. In the context of duties performed with diligence, to discharge means to perform or fulfill an obligation. Released and fired upon apply to prisoners or weapons, and unloaded applies to cargo, none of which fits the performance of judicial duties.
Determine the meaning of "canvass" as used here: "Before drafting the policy, the mayor sent aides to canvass residents about their chief concerns."
Solicit opinions from
Cover with cloth
Reject outright
Tabulate financially
Correct answer: Solicit opinions from
The answer is solicit opinions from. Sending aides to learn residents' concerns describes systematically gathering views, the sense of canvass meaning to survey or poll. The cloth-covering meaning relates to the unrelated word canvas, while rejecting outright and tabulating financially distort the intent of seeking input.
Determine the meaning of "temporize" as used here: "Rather than commit, the board chose to temporize, requesting one more study after another to avoid a decision."
Compromise fairly
Delay deliberately
Act decisively
Measure time
Correct answer: Delay deliberately
The answer is delay deliberately. Requesting endless studies "to avoid a decision" describes stalling for time, which is what temporize means. Compromise fairly and act decisively contradict the avoidance described, and although the word looks related to time, it does not mean to measure time.
Determine the meaning of "prosaic" as used here: "For all the marketing hype, the gadget's actual function turned out to be remarkably prosaic."
Poetic
Expensive
Ordinary
Fragile
Correct answer: Ordinary
The answer is ordinary. The contrast with "marketing hype" implies the function was unexciting and commonplace, which is the meaning of prosaic. Poetic is nearly the opposite, and expensive and fragile concern price and durability rather than how dull or unremarkable something is.
Determine the meaning of "stem" as used here: "New regulations were introduced to stem the flow of illegal exports."
Originate from
Branch out
Support
Halt
Correct answer: Halt
The answer is halt. Regulations introduced to act on a flow of illegal exports are meant to stop or check it, which is the verb sense of stem meaning to halt. Originate from is a different sense ("problems that stem from"), and branch out and support do not fit curbing a flow.
Determine the meaning of "countenance" as used here: "The strict headmaster would not countenance even minor breaches of the dress code."
Tolerate
Facial expression
Encourage loudly
Investigate
Correct answer: Tolerate
The answer is tolerate. A strict figure who "would not countenance" breaches is refusing to permit or accept them, the verb sense of countenance. The noun sense meaning facial expression does not fit the grammar here, and encourage loudly and investigate misread the refusal to allow.
Determine the meaning of "ape" as used here: "The forger could ape the master's brushstrokes so precisely that experts were fooled for years."
Mock
Imitate
Surpass
Study
Correct answer: Imitate
The answer is imitate. Copying brushstrokes precisely enough to fool experts describes mimicry, the verb sense of ape meaning to imitate closely. Mock implies ridicule rather than faithful copying, while surpass and study fail to capture the deceptive duplication the sentence describes.
Determine the meaning of "singular" as used here: "The detective was struck by a singular detail: the clock in every room had stopped at the same minute."
Lone
Plural
Remarkable
Ordinary
Correct answer: Remarkable
The answer is remarkable. A detail that strikes the detective and involves an eerie coincidence is unusual and noteworthy, the sense of singular meaning extraordinary. Lone confuses it with mere singularity of number, plural is its grammatical opposite, and ordinary contradicts the detail's striking quality.
Determine the meaning of "arch" as used here: "She greeted his excuse with an arch smile, as if she knew far more than she would say."
Architectural
Principal
Curved upward
Knowingly playful
Correct answer: Knowingly playful
The answer is knowingly playful. A smile suggesting she "knew far more than she would say" describes a teasing, slyly mischievous expression, the sense of arch meaning playfully cunning. Architectural and curved upward refer to the structural noun, and principal reflects the prefix sense (as in arch-rival), neither of which fits the smile.
Why does the GRE Verbal Reasoning measure favor passages drawn from many academic fields rather than from a single discipline?
To test reasoning skills that do not depend on prior subject knowledge
To reward test-takers who majored in a particular field
To ensure that science majors outscore humanities majors
To make memorizing vocabulary lists unnecessary
Correct answer: To test reasoning skills that do not depend on prior subject knowledge
The answer is that it tests reasoning skills independent of prior subject knowledge. Drawing passages from diverse fields ensures every reader confronts unfamiliar content, so success depends on analyzing the text rather than recalling outside facts. Rewarding a particular major or guaranteeing one group outscores another would defeat that fairness goal, and the variety does not make vocabulary irrelevant.
In a Sentence Equivalence question, why must the test-taker find two words that produce sentences alike in meaning rather than simply two words that individually fit the blank?
Because only one of the six options is ever correct
Because the format requires both choices to yield the same overall meaning, so a perfect-fitting but unmatched word is wrong
Because the two words must be exact dictionary synonyms in all contexts
Because the sentence always contains a contrast signal
Correct answer: Because the format requires both choices to yield the same overall meaning, so a perfect-fitting but unmatched word is wrong
The answer is that the format demands two choices yielding the same overall meaning, so a perfectly fitting but unmatched word is incorrect. Sentence Equivalence credits only a matched pair, which is why a tempting standalone fit can be a trap. There are always two correct answers, the words need only match in this context rather than universally, and not every such sentence contains a contrast signal.
When a Text Completion sentence offers a definition or restatement of the blank elsewhere in the sentence, what should the test-taker do?
Ignore the restatement and rely on the answer choices' difficulty
Pick the most advanced vocabulary word available
Use that restatement as the clue and choose the word that matches it
Assume the blank requires a word opposite to the restatement
Correct answer: Use that restatement as the clue and choose the word that matches it
The answer is to use the restatement as the clue and choose the matching word. A built-in definition tells the reader precisely what the blank means, so the correct choice simply echoes that idea. Choosing by difficulty or favoring advanced vocabulary ignores meaning, and assuming an opposite would apply only when a contrast signal is present, not a restatement.
Passage: "The company's annual report highlights its record donations to charity. It does not mention that those donations equal less than one percent of the year's profits, nor that they were timed to coincide with a damaging lawsuit." The passage most strongly suggests that the author views the company's emphasis on its donations as
An unprecedented act of corporate generosity
An honest accounting of its financial priorities
A response demanded by its shareholders
A calculated effort to improve its public image
Correct answer: A calculated effort to improve its public image
The answer is a calculated effort to improve its public image. By noting the donations were tiny relative to profits and timed to a damaging lawsuit, the author implies the publicity is strategic rather than sincere. Calling it unprecedented generosity or honest accounting ignores those undercutting facts, and nothing in the passage attributes the move to shareholder demand.
Passage: "Proponents of the new highway argue it will ease the city's notorious congestion. Yet studies of similar projects show that added road capacity tends to attract still more drivers, so that traffic returns to its former level within a few years." The passage implies that the proponents' argument is weakened mainly because
Expanding capacity can induce additional demand that offsets the relief
The city's congestion has been exaggerated by critics
Highways are more expensive to build than proponents claim
Drivers prefer public transit to new highways
Correct answer: Expanding capacity can induce additional demand that offsets the relief
The answer is that expanding capacity can induce additional demand that offsets the relief. The passage cites studies showing new roads attract more drivers until traffic returns to its former level, directly undermining the promise of lasting relief. Cost, exaggeration of congestion, and transit preference are never mentioned, so they cannot be the basis of the weakness.
Passage: "For most of the chapter the author recounts the inventor's string of bankruptcies and ridiculed prototypes. Only in the final pages does she reveal that these very failures supplied the insights behind his eventual breakthrough." The primary purpose of the chapter is best described as showing that
The inventor was poorly suited to business
Repeated failure can lay the groundwork for later success
Ridicule from peers rarely affects true geniuses
Early prototypes are usually worthless
Correct answer: Repeated failure can lay the groundwork for later success
The answer is that repeated failure can lay the groundwork for later success. The chapter dwells on failures only to reveal in its final pages that they produced the breakthrough, so the failures serve the larger point about success. Judging the inventor as bad at business or generalizing about ridicule or prototypes seizes on details while missing the chapter's overall purpose.
On a Reading Comprehension question that presents three statements with square checkboxes and asks which are supported by the passage, what does the format require of the test-taker?
Select exactly one statement, the best supported of the three
Select exactly two statements, since the format always has two answers
Evaluate each statement independently and select every one the passage supports, which may be one, two, or all three
Rank the three statements from most to least supported
Correct answer: Evaluate each statement independently and select every one the passage supports, which may be one, two, or all three
The answer is to evaluate each statement independently and select every supported one, which may be one, two, or all three. The square-checkbox select-one-or-more format has no fixed number of correct answers, so each must be judged on its own merits. Assuming exactly one or exactly two imposes a count the format does not have, and the task is selection, not ranking.
Passage: "The editorial praises the school board for cutting its budget, calling the move fiscally responsible. It never asks whether the cuts fell on essential programs or merely on waste." The author's main reservation about the editorial is that it
Opposes all reductions in public spending
Relies too heavily on statistics
Was written by an unqualified critic
Judges the cuts without examining what was actually cut
Correct answer: Judges the cuts without examining what was actually cut
The answer is that the editorial judges the cuts without examining what was actually cut. By noting the editorial "never asks" whether essential programs or waste were trimmed, the author faults its incomplete reasoning. The author does not oppose all spending cuts, mentions no statistics, and makes no claim about the editorial writer's qualifications.
Complete the sentence: "The auditor's report was anything but ______; it buried its single damning finding beneath two hundred pages of routine figures."
Exhaustive
Forthright
Lengthy
Tedious
Correct answer: Forthright
The correct word is forthright. "Anything but" reverses the blank, and burying a damning finding beneath routine figures is the opposite of being direct and open, so the report lacked forthrightness. Exhaustive and lengthy are confirmed rather than reversed by two hundred pages, and tedious does not capture the concealment the sentence stresses.
Complete the sentence: "The chef's signature dish achieved a rare ______, balancing the heat of chili against the cool sweetness of mango so that neither flavor overwhelmed the other."
Monotony
Blandness
Excess
Equilibrium
Correct answer: Equilibrium
The correct word is equilibrium. Balancing heat against cool sweetness so neither dominates describes a state of balance, which is equilibrium. Monotony and blandness imply a lack of distinct flavors, and excess contradicts the careful balance the sentence praises.
Complete the sentence: "Though the startup's founders projected boundless confidence in public, their private correspondence betrayed a deep ______ about the firm's survival."
Misgiving
Certainty
Apathy
Pride
Correct answer: Misgiving
The correct word is misgiving. "Though" contrasts the public confidence with the private feeling, so the blank must name hidden doubt about survival, which is misgiving. Certainty and pride would echo the confidence rather than contrast with it, and apathy implies indifference rather than worry about survival.
Complete the sentence: "The poet's later work grew increasingly ______, packing layers of allusion into lines that demanded several rereadings to unpack."
Transparent
Playful
Spare
Dense
Correct answer: Dense
The correct word is dense. Lines packed with layers of allusion that require rereading are thick with meaning, which is what dense conveys. Transparent and spare suggest easy clarity or sparseness, the opposite of the difficulty described, and playful does not address the demanding complexity.
Complete the sentence: "Reviewers found the memoir refreshingly ______, free of the score-settling that so often mars accounts written by former insiders."
Vindictive
Obscure
Verbose
Magnanimous
Correct answer: Magnanimous
The correct word is magnanimous. Being free of score-settling means rising above grudges, which is the generous-spirited quality of magnanimity. Vindictive is the very score-settling the memoir avoids, and obscure and verbose describe clarity and length rather than the absence of spite.
Complete the sentence: "Where her predecessor had governed by sweeping decree, the new chancellor preferred a more ______ method, building consensus through quiet, patient persuasion."
Imperious
Abrupt
Gradualist
Reckless
Correct answer: Gradualist
The correct word is gradualist. Building consensus through quiet, patient persuasion describes a step-by-step, incremental approach, which is gradualist. Imperious and abrupt resemble the sweeping decree being contrasted, and reckless conflicts with the patience the sentence emphasizes.
Complete the sentence: "Critics dismissed the manifesto as a ______ of borrowed ideas, noting that scarcely a sentence in it had not appeared earlier in someone else's work."
Synthesis
Rebuttal
Pastiche
Departure
Correct answer: Pastiche
The correct word is pastiche. A work whose sentences nearly all appeared earlier elsewhere is a patchwork assembled from others' material, which is a pastiche. Synthesis implies original integration, rebuttal implies opposition, and departure implies novelty, none of which fits a text condemned for borrowing.
Complete the two-blank sentence: "The expedition's leader was praised for her ______ in the field, yet colleagues lamented her ______ once the cameras and journalists arrived."
Caution .. recklessness
Boldness .. timidity
Boldness .. ambition
Timidity .. boldness
Correct answer: Boldness .. timidity
The correct pair is boldness and timidity. The word "yet" demands a contrast, so courage in the field clashes with shrinking before the press, making boldness and timidity the opposite traits required. Caution and recklessness reverse the praise, boldness and ambition create no contrast, and the last pair inverts which setting drew which trait.
Complete the two-blank sentence: "Because the regulations were drafted in ______ haste, they contained ______ that lawyers spent the next decade litigating."
Unseemly .. ambiguities
Deliberate .. clarifications
Careful .. ambiguities
Unseemly .. safeguards
Correct answer: Unseemly .. ambiguities
The correct pair is unseemly and ambiguities. Rules drafted in improper haste would naturally contain unclear provisions that invite years of litigation, so unseemly haste produces ambiguities. Deliberate and careful contradict haste, clarifications and safeguards would reduce rather than fuel litigation, so only the second pair fits the causal logic.
Complete the three-blank sentence: "The biographer neither ______ her subject's genius nor ______ his cruelty; instead she ______ the two, showing how each fed the other."
Denied .. praised .. separated
Exaggerated .. condemned .. ignored
Questioned .. doubted .. confirmed
Inflated .. excused .. interwove
Correct answer: Inflated .. excused .. interwove
The correct set is inflated, excused, and interwove. A balanced biographer avoids both overstating genius and pardoning cruelty, then shows how genius and cruelty are linked, which is to interweave them. The other sets either reverse the balance, separate what the clause says feeds each other, or replace the linking action with ignoring or confirming.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The board's decision struck longtime employees as ______, reversing a policy the company had championed for thirty years."
Predictable and expected
Incremental and minor
Abrupt and capricious
Capricious and arbitrary
Correct answer: Capricious and arbitrary
The correct choice is "capricious and arbitrary," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe a decision made on a whim that overturns a thirty-year policy. Predictable and expected mean the opposite, incremental and minor downplay a major reversal, and abrupt concerns timing rather than the whimsical, unprincipled quality the pair must share.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The naturalist's prose is so ______ that readers can almost feel the damp moss and hear the distant river."
Vivid and evocative
Clinical and detached
Vivid and tedious
Vague and sparse
Correct answer: Vivid and evocative
The correct choice is "vivid and evocative," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe writing that makes a scene almost palpable. Clinical and detached and vague and sparse describe the opposite of richly sensory prose, and tedious would not pair with vivid, so only vivid and evocative keep the meaning alike.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The general's plan was condemned as ______, sacrificing thousands of soldiers for an objective of negligible value."
Profligate and wasteful
Prudent and measured
Wasteful and cautious
Bold and prudent
Correct answer: Profligate and wasteful
The correct choice is "profligate and wasteful," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe a reckless squandering of lives for little gain. Prudent, measured, and cautious all mean careful, the opposite of the condemnation, and bold describes daring rather than waste, so only profligate and wasteful produce equivalent sentences.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "Far from welcoming the reforms, the entrenched bureaucracy met every proposal with ______."
Enthusiasm and zeal
Obstruction and approval
Obstruction and hindrance
Indifference and praise
Correct answer: Obstruction and hindrance
The correct choice is "obstruction and hindrance," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe active resistance, and "far from welcoming" demands hostility toward the proposals. Enthusiasm, zeal, approval, and praise all signal welcome rather than resistance, and indifference is too passive, so only obstruction and hindrance fit.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The mountaineer's account is admirably ______, neither inflating the dangers she faced nor minimizing her own mistakes."
Boastful and inflated
Balanced and one-sided
Balanced and evenhanded
Humble and exaggerated
Correct answer: Balanced and evenhanded
The correct choice is "balanced and evenhanded," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe an account that neither inflates dangers nor minimizes faults. Boastful, inflated, one-sided, and exaggerated all describe distortion, the opposite of fairness, and humble would not pair with exaggerated, so only balanced and evenhanded keep the meaning alike.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The professor warned that the field's reigning theory rested on ______ assumptions that no one had bothered to test."
Verified and proven
Unexamined and rigorous
Unexamined and untested
Popular and untested
Correct answer: Unexamined and untested
The correct choice is "unexamined and untested," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe assumptions no one had checked, matching the clause about assumptions no one bothered to test. Verified, proven, and rigorous mean the opposite, and popular concerns acceptance rather than scrutiny, so only unexamined and untested produce equivalent sentences.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "After the merger collapsed, relations between the two companies turned openly ______."
Cordial and warm
Hostile and cooperative
Hostile and acrimonious
Formal and friendly
Correct answer: Hostile and acrimonious
The correct choice is "hostile and acrimonious," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe bitter antagonism, fitting relations that turned openly sour after a failed merger. Cordial, warm, cooperative, and friendly all denote goodwill, and formal is too neutral, so only hostile and acrimonious keep the meaning alike.
Select the two words that complete the sentence so the two resulting sentences are alike in meaning: "The curator's eye was so ______ that she detected a forgery others had admired for years."
Careless and dull
Keen and lenient
Biased and partial
Keen and discerning
Correct answer: Keen and discerning
The correct choice is "keen and discerning," because both words produce sentences alike in meaning; both describe sharp perception that catches a forgery others missed. Careless, dull, and lenient suggest the opposite of sharp judgment, and biased and partial concern unfairness rather than acuity, so only keen and discerning produce equivalent sentences.
Determine the meaning of "table" as used here: "Citing unanswered questions, the committee voted to table the motion until its next session."
A piece of furniture
A chart of organized data
To present formally for debate
To postpone discussion of
Correct answer: To postpone discussion of
Here "table" means to postpone discussion of. Voting to table a motion until the next session sets it aside for later, the parliamentary postponing sense. The furniture and data-chart meanings are nouns that do not fit, and presenting for debate is the opposite of deferring it.
Determine the meaning of "address" as used here: "The new policy fails to address the root cause of the shortage."
To deal with or attend to
The location of a building
A formal speech
To write a name on an envelope
Correct answer: To deal with or attend to
Here "address" means to deal with or attend to. A policy that fails to address a root cause fails to confront it, the verb sense of grappling with a problem. The building-location and envelope meanings are unrelated, and a formal speech does not fit a policy confronting a cause.
Determine the meaning of "arch" as used here: "She shot him an arch glance, plainly amused by his attempt to look serious."
A curved structure
Playfully mischievous
Principal or chief
A foot's curved part
Correct answer: Playfully mischievous
Here "arch" means playfully mischievous. A glance that is plainly amused and teasing is arch in the sense of knowing playfulness. The curved-structure and foot-part meanings are nouns, and "principal or chief" does not fit a teasing, amused look.
Determine the meaning of "compromise" as used here: "Investigators warned that the breach had compromised the security of millions of accounts."
To expose to danger or harm
To reach a mutual agreement
A settlement between disputing parties
To meet halfway
Correct answer: To expose to danger or harm
Here "compromise" means to expose to danger or harm. A breach that compromises account security weakens and endangers it, the verb sense of putting something at risk. The mutual-agreement, settlement, and meet-halfway meanings concern negotiation and do not fit a security breach.
Determine the meaning of "mine" as used here: "Researchers can now mine vast archives for patterns that no human reader could detect."
An underground excavation
An explosive device
To extract by digging from the earth
To extract valuable information from
Correct answer: To extract valuable information from
Here "mine" means to extract valuable information from. Mining archives for patterns is the figurative sense of drawing useful data out of a large source. The excavation and explosive-device meanings are nouns, and digging ore from the earth is the literal sense that does not fit searching archives.
Determine the meaning of "founder" as used here: "Without steady funding, the ambitious program soon began to founder."
A person who establishes something
To establish a new institution
To fail or collapse
The base of a structure
Correct answer: To fail or collapse
Here "founder" means to fail or collapse. A program that begins to founder without funding is sinking toward failure, the verb sense. The person-who-establishes and base-of-a-structure meanings are nouns, and establishing an institution is nearly the opposite of failing.
Determine the meaning of "canvass" as used here: "Before the vote, organizers canvassed every household in the district to gauge support."
A heavy woven cloth
To solicit opinions or votes systematically
To cover with paint
To stretch over a frame
Correct answer: To solicit opinions or votes systematically
Here "canvass" means to solicit opinions or votes systematically. Going to every household to gauge support is methodically gathering views, the verb sense. The heavy-cloth meaning belongs to the differently spelled noun, and painting or stretching over a frame do not fit a survey of voters.
Determine the meaning of "gloss" as used here: "The official statement glossed over the controversy, devoting a single bland sentence to a matter that had dominated the headlines."
A surface shine
To treat superficially so as to minimize
A brief explanatory note
To apply a coating
Correct answer: To treat superficially so as to minimize
Here "gloss" means to treat superficially so as to minimize. Devoting one bland sentence to a major controversy is brushing past it, the sense of glossing over. The surface-shine and coating meanings are literal, and an explanatory note is the opposite of dismissing a topic briefly.
Passage: "The conventional view holds that the city's prosperity sprang from its harbor. A new economic history argues, however, that the harbor mattered far less than the network of inland roads that funneled goods to its markets." The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?
Describing how the harbor was constructed
Arguing that the city was never actually prosperous
Challenging a standard explanation by proposing an alternative cause
Listing the goods traded in the city's markets
Correct answer: Challenging a standard explanation by proposing an alternative cause
The passage is primarily concerned with challenging a standard explanation by proposing an alternative cause. It states the conventional harbor view, then pivots on "however" to credit inland roads instead. It does not describe the harbor's construction, deny the city's prosperity, or catalog traded goods.
Passage: "Defenders of the dam point to the cheap electricity it provides. Its critics counter that the reservoir drowned fertile farmland and displaced communities whose livelihoods can never be restored." The function of the second sentence is best described as which of the following?
Confirming that the dam was a clear success
Offering a counterargument that weighs costs against the stated benefit
Explaining how the dam generates electricity
Introducing the dam's original designers
Correct answer: Offering a counterargument that weighs costs against the stated benefit
The second sentence functions as a counterargument that weighs costs against the stated benefit. After the defenders cite cheap power, the critics raise drowned farmland and displaced communities, balancing the ledger. It does not confirm success, explain the generation process, or name the designers.
Passage: "The trial found that the drug reduced symptoms in most patients. The authors note, however, that participants who responded best were also those who had received intensive counseling alongside the medication." Which inference is best supported by the passage?
The drug is entirely ineffective
The drug's apparent benefit may partly reflect the counseling rather than the medication alone
The counseling harmed the participants
The trial enrolled no participants
Correct answer: The drug's apparent benefit may partly reflect the counseling rather than the medication alone
The best-supported inference is that the drug's apparent benefit may partly reflect the counseling rather than the medication alone. Since the best responders also got intensive counseling, that factor could share credit for the improvement. The passage does not say the drug is ineffective, that counseling caused harm, or that no one enrolled.
Passage: "Skeptics had long ridiculed the folk remedy as superstition. A recent clinical study, while confirming that the remedy works, traced its effect to a compound the original healers could not possibly have identified." The passage suggests which of the following about the folk remedy?
It is effective, though for reasons its originators did not understand
It is pure superstition with no real effect
The original healers had isolated its active compound
The clinical study found it useless
Correct answer: It is effective, though for reasons its originators did not understand
The passage suggests the remedy is effective, though for reasons its originators did not understand. The study confirmed it works while crediting a compound the healers could not have identified. It is therefore not mere superstition, the healers did not isolate the compound, and the study did not find it useless.
Passage: "The novelist insists that she writes purely for her own pleasure. Yet she revises each manuscript dozens of times and frets over every review, behavior that hardly suggests indifference to her audience." Which choice, if true, would most weaken the author's implied conclusion that the novelist does care about her audience?
The novelist has published more than a dozen books
The novelist revises and frets only to satisfy her own exacting private standards, never thinking of readers
The novelist's reviews are usually positive
The novelist began writing as a child
Correct answer: The novelist revises and frets only to satisfy her own exacting private standards, never thinking of readers
The most weakening statement is that the novelist revises and frets only to satisfy her own exacting private standards, never thinking of readers. The author infers audience-concern from the revising and fretting, so showing those acts are purely self-directed undercuts that inference. The number of books, the tone of reviews, and her childhood start do not address her motive.
Passage: "The two scholars agree that the manuscript is genuinely medieval. They disagree sharply, however, about whether its marginal notes were added by the original scribe or by a much later owner." The passage indicates that the scholars' disagreement concerns which of the following?
Who added the marginal notes
Whether the manuscript is medieval at all
Whether the manuscript should be sold
The language in which the manuscript was written
Correct answer: Who added the marginal notes
The passage indicates the disagreement concerns who added the marginal notes. The scholars agree the manuscript is medieval but split on whether the original scribe or a later owner wrote the notes. The medieval dating is settled, and selling and language are not mentioned as points of dispute.
Passage: "The guidebook claims the trail is suitable for beginners. In reality, its narrow ledges and steep drop-offs unnerve all but the most experienced hikers." The author's attitude toward the guidebook's claim is best described as which of the following?
Complete agreement
Mild uncertainty
Total indifference
Open disagreement
Correct answer: Open disagreement
The author's attitude is best described as open disagreement. The phrase "in reality" directly contradicts the beginner-friendly claim by stressing ledges and drop-offs that unnerve all but experts. The author neither agrees, expresses mere uncertainty, nor remains indifferent given the pointed correction.
Passage: "The lecture series was open to the public, drew record crowds, and yet earned the department a reprimand for exceeding its modest budget." A select-one-or-more question asks which statements the passage supports: (1) The series was open to the public. (2) The series attracted large audiences. (3) The series stayed within its budget. Which selection is correct?
Statement 3 only
All three statements
Statements 1 and 2 only
Statement 1 only
Correct answer: Statements 1 and 2 only
Statements 1 and 2 only are supported: the series was open to the public and drew record crowds. Statement 3 is contradicted because the department was reprimanded for exceeding its budget. Therefore any option including statement 3, or omitting a supported statement, must be wrong.
Passage: "The study reported that the new fertilizer raised crop yields, that it cost more than the standard product, and that it left no measurable residue in the soil." A select-one-or-more question asks which statements the passage supports: (1) The fertilizer increased yields. (2) The fertilizer was cheaper than the standard product. (3) The fertilizer left no measurable soil residue. Which selection is correct?
Statement 2 only
All three statements
Statements 1 and 3 only
Statements 2 and 3 only
Correct answer: Statements 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 only are supported: the fertilizer raised yields and left no measurable residue. Statement 2 is contradicted because the fertilizer cost more, not less, than the standard product. Any option including statement 2, or leaving out a supported statement, is therefore incorrect.
On a select-one-or-more Reading Comprehension question, a test-taker is confident about one statement and unsure about the other two. What is the soundest way to proceed?
Evaluate each remaining statement independently against the passage and select exactly those it supports
Select only the confident statement and ignore the others entirely
Select all three statements to be safe
Select two statements because the format usually requires two
Correct answer: Evaluate each remaining statement independently against the passage and select exactly those it supports
The soundest approach is to evaluate each remaining statement independently against the passage and select exactly those it supports. Credit requires marking the precise supported set, so each statement deserves its own judgment. Ignoring the uncertain ones, selecting all to be safe, or assuming a fixed count all risk an incorrect set.
Passage: "Much of the chapter recounts the inventor's many failed prototypes in loving detail. Its real purpose, stated only in the closing lines, is to argue that persistence, not genius, drives most invention." Which statement best expresses the main idea?
The inventor built many failed prototypes
The chapter is mainly a list of prototypes
The inventor was a genius from birth
Persistence, more than genius, drives most invention
Correct answer: Persistence, more than genius, drives most invention
The main idea is that persistence, more than genius, drives most invention, stated plainly in the closing lines. The failed prototypes are the extended supporting illustration, not the central claim. The chapter's list-like form is incidental, and the genius-from-birth idea contradicts the stated thesis.
Passage: "The article devotes several paragraphs to a single coral reef's collapse. That case, the author makes clear, is merely an example chosen to illustrate the global threat that warming oceans pose to marine ecosystems." The detailed account of the single reef functions chiefly as which of the following?
The article's central thesis
A specific illustration of a broader claim
Evidence that warming oceans are harmless
An unrelated tangent
Correct answer: A specific illustration of a broader claim
The detailed account of the single reef functions chiefly as a specific illustration of a broader claim. The author explicitly calls it an example of the global threat from warming oceans. It is not the central thesis, it does not show oceans are harmless, and it is plainly tied to the article's theme rather than a tangent.
Passage: "Researchers are racing to develop a vaccine. The disease spreads through contaminated water. Until a vaccine exists, the only sure defense is improving sanitation." A Select-in-Passage question asks for the sentence that states the current best means of prevention. Which sentence best fits?
The sentence stating that researchers are racing to develop a vaccine
The sentence stating that the only sure defense, until a vaccine exists, is improving sanitation
The sentence stating that the disease spreads through contaminated water
No sentence states a means of prevention
Correct answer: The sentence stating that the only sure defense, until a vaccine exists, is improving sanitation
The best fit is the sentence stating that, until a vaccine exists, the only sure defense is improving sanitation, which names the current preventive measure directly. The vaccine sentence describes a future hope, not present prevention, and the contaminated-water sentence explains transmission rather than defense.
On the GRE Verbal Reasoning measure, which statement accurately describes how Reading Comprehension passages and their associated questions are presented?
A single passage may be accompanied by one or more questions of differing types
Every passage is followed by exactly one question
Passages never appear with more than five questions because each must be unique
All questions about a passage must be answered before reading it
Correct answer: A single passage may be accompanied by one or more questions of differing types
The accurate statement is that a single passage may be accompanied by one or more questions of differing types. The GRE attaches a variable number of questions to a passage, drawing on formats such as select-one and select-one-or-more. A passage is not limited to a single question, there is no five-question uniqueness rule, and the passage is meant to be read before its questions.
Given that n is a positive integer, Quantity A is 2n and Quantity B is n squared. Which statement correctly describes the relationship?
Quantity A is always greater
Quantity B is always greater
The two quantities are equal only when n equals 2
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Correct answer: The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given. When n equals 1, 2n (2) exceeds n squared (1); when n equals 2 they are equal; and when n equals 3, n squared (9) exceeds 2n (6). Because the comparison changes with different allowed values of n, no single fixed relationship holds.
It is given that 0 is less than w which is less than 1. Quantity A is w, and Quantity B is w. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Correct answer: Quantity B is greater
Quantity B is greater. For any number strictly between 0 and 1, taking the square root produces a larger number than the original, so w exceeds w. For example, if w equals one-fourth, its square root is one-half, which is larger. The constraint fixes the relationship, so it is fully determined.
Quantity A is 25 percent of 80, and Quantity B is 80 percent of 25. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Correct answer: The two quantities are equal
The two quantities are equal. Twenty-five percent of 80 equals 20, and 80 percent of 25 also equals 20, because a percent of a number is commutative: p percent of q equals q percent of p. Both fully specified expressions evaluate to 20, so they are equal and the relationship is determinable.
A rectangle has a fixed perimeter of 24. Quantity A is the area when the rectangle is a 6-by-6 square, and Quantity B is the area when the rectangle is 8 by 4. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. The 6-by-6 square has area 36, while the 8-by-4 rectangle has area 32, so the square's area is larger. For a fixed perimeter, area is maximized when the shape is closest to a square, which is why the square's 36 beats the 32 of the more elongated rectangle.
A Numeric Entry question asks for the value of the expression (3 plus 5) times 4 minus 2, to be typed as a number. What value should be entered?
30
24
34
26
Correct answer: 30
The value to enter is 30. Following order of operations, the parentheses give 8, then 8 times 4 is 32, and 32 minus 2 leaves 30. Multiplying before adding the 5 or subtracting before multiplying produces the incorrect alternatives, but the parentheses must be resolved first.
A Numeric Entry item asks the test-taker to give the answer to the nearest integer. If the exact computed result is 7.4, what should be entered?
8
7.4
7
7.5
Correct answer: 7
The entry should be 7. Rounding 7.4 to the nearest integer drops the fractional part because 0.4 is below 0.5, giving 7. Entering 7.4 ignores the rounding instruction, and 8 would result only from rounding up a value of 7.5 or greater.
A table shows the populations of four towns: Alton 8,000, Brent 12,000, Cary 5,000, and Drake 15,000. What is the average (arithmetic mean) population of the four towns?
12,000
10,000
8,000
11,000
Correct answer: 10,000
The average population is 10,000. The four values sum to 40,000, and dividing by 4 gives 10,000. The other figures do not equal the total of 40,000 divided by the four towns.
A table reports sales by region: North $40,000, South $30,000, East $20,000, West $10,000. The South region's sales are what percent of the total sales?
40 percent
25 percent
30 percent
20 percent
Correct answer: 30 percent
The South region's sales are 30 percent of the total. Total sales are $100,000, and $30,000 divided by $100,000 equals 0.30, or 30 percent. The other percentages correspond to different regions' shares of the $100,000 total.
A bus departs at 9:00 a.m. traveling at 40 miles per hour. A car leaves the same point at 10:00 a.m. traveling the same route at 60 miles per hour. At what time does the car catch up to the bus?
11:00 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m.
Correct answer: 12:00 p.m.
The car catches up at 12:00 p.m. By 10:00 a.m. the bus is 40 miles ahead; the car closes that gap at 60 minus 40, or 20 miles per hour, taking 40 divided by 20, which is 2 hours, so 10:00 a.m. plus 2 hours is 12:00 p.m. The other times do not allow the 20-mile-per-hour closing speed to erase the 40-mile lead.
The sum of three consecutive even integers is 78. What is the largest of the three integers?
24
28
26
30
Correct answer: 28
The largest integer is 28. Letting the three even integers be x, x plus 2, and x plus 4, their sum 3x plus 6 equals 78, so x equals 24 and the largest is 24 plus 4, which is 28. The other values do not give three consecutive even integers summing to 78.
A father is currently three times as old as his son. In 12 years, he will be twice as old as his son. How old is the son now?
10 years
14 years
16 years
12 years
Correct answer: 12 years
The son is 12 years old now. Let the son be s and the father 3s; in 12 years 3s plus 12 equals 2 times (s plus 12), which gives 3s plus 12 equals 2s plus 24, so s equals 12. The other ages fail to make the father twice the son's age in 12 years.
A tank can be filled by an inlet pipe in 3 hours and emptied by a drain in 6 hours. If both are open, how long does it take to fill the empty tank?
9 hours
6 hours
4 hours
2 hours
Correct answer: 6 hours
It takes 6 hours to fill the tank. The inlet adds one-third of the tank per hour and the drain removes one-sixth per hour, leaving a net rate of one-third minus one-sixth, which is one-sixth per hour, so filling takes 6 hours. The other times do not match a net fill rate of one-sixth of the tank per hour.
A jar holds dimes and quarters worth $4.50 total. If there are 24 coins in all, how many quarters are there?
10 quarters
16 quarters
14 quarters
8 quarters
Correct answer: 14 quarters
There are 14 quarters. If d dimes and q quarters satisfy d plus q equals 24 and 0.10d plus 0.25q equals 4.50, substituting d equals 24 minus q gives 2.40 minus 0.10q plus 0.25q equals 4.50, so 0.15q equals 2.10 and q equals 14. The other counts do not satisfy both the coin total and the value of $4.50.
A chemist mixes a 30 percent acid solution with a 60 percent acid solution to make 30 liters of a 50 percent acid solution. How many liters of the 60 percent solution are needed?
20 liters
15 liters
10 liters
25 liters
Correct answer: 20 liters
Twenty liters of the 60 percent solution are needed. Letting x be liters of the 60 percent solution and 30 minus x the 30 percent solution, the acid balance 0.60x plus 0.30(30 minus x) equals 0.50 times 30 gives 0.30x equals 6, so x equals 20. The other amounts do not balance the acid content to 15 liters total.
Tom can mow a lawn in 40 minutes and Jerry can mow the same lawn in 60 minutes. Working together, how many minutes will it take them to mow the lawn?
50 minutes
24 minutes
20 minutes
30 minutes
Correct answer: 24 minutes
Together they take 24 minutes. Tom mows one-fortieth of the lawn per minute and Jerry one-sixtieth per minute; adding the rates gives 3/120 plus 2/120, or 5/120, equal to 1/24 of the lawn per minute, so 24 minutes total. The other times do not match the combined rate of one-twenty-fourth per minute.
A ticket office sold adult tickets at $9 and child tickets at $5. It sold 200 tickets for total revenue of $1,480. How many adult tickets were sold?
150 adult tickets
80 adult tickets
120 adult tickets
100 adult tickets
Correct answer: 120 adult tickets
The office sold 120 adult tickets. With a adult and c child tickets, a plus c equals 200 and 9a plus 5c equals 1,480; substituting c equals 200 minus a gives 9a plus 1,000 minus 5a equals 1,480, so 4a equals 480 and a equals 120. The other counts fail to produce $1,480 in revenue from 200 tickets.
A shirt originally priced at $50 is marked up by 40 percent and later sold at a 25 percent discount off the marked-up price. What is the final selling price?
$57.50
$52.50
$60.00
$45.00
Correct answer: $52.50
The final selling price is $52.50. The 40 percent markup raises $50 to $70, and a 25 percent discount removes $17.50, leaving $52.50. Combining the percentages incorrectly or applying them to the wrong base gives the other figures, but the discount applies to the marked-up $70.
If 30 is 60 percent of a number, what is that number?
18
90
50
48
Correct answer: 50
The number is 50. Since 30 equals 0.60 times the number, dividing 30 by 0.60 gives 50. Multiplying 30 by 0.60 instead yields the wrong value 18, and the other figures do not satisfy 60 percent of them equaling 30.
A population grows from 4,000 to 5,000 over one year. What is the percent increase?
20 percent
25 percent
10 percent
80 percent
Correct answer: 25 percent
The percent increase is 25 percent. The increase of 1,000 divided by the original 4,000 equals 0.25, or 25 percent. Dividing by the new value 5,000 would give the incorrect 20 percent, but percent increase is always measured against the original amount.
An item's price increased from $80 to $100. A year later it decreased from $100 back to $80. Why is the percent decrease smaller than the percent increase, even though the dollar change is the same $20?
Because the dollar amount of change is actually different in each step
Because percent decreases are always smaller than percent increases by definition
Because the price never truly returned to its original value
Because the decrease is measured against the larger base of $100 while the increase is measured against the smaller base of $80
Correct answer: Because the decrease is measured against the larger base of $100 while the increase is measured against the smaller base of $80
The decrease is smaller because it is measured against the larger base of $100, while the $20 increase was measured against the smaller base of $80. So $20 over $80 is 25 percent up, but $20 over $100 is only 20 percent down. The dollar change is identical and the price does return to $80, so those explanations are wrong.
A map uses a scale where 2 inches represents 50 miles. How many miles does 7 inches represent?
150 miles
200 miles
175 miles
125 miles
Correct answer: 175 miles
Seven inches represents 175 miles. Setting up the proportion 2 inches over 50 miles equals 7 inches over m, cross-multiplying gives 2m equals 350, so m equals 175. The other distances do not preserve the 2-inch-to-50-mile scale.
The ratio of teachers to students at a school is 1 to 18. If there are 540 students, how many teachers are there?
30 teachers
36 teachers
27 teachers
45 teachers
Correct answer: 30 teachers
There are 30 teachers. Setting teachers over students equal to 1 over 18 gives t over 540 equals 1 over 18, so t equals 540 divided by 18, which is 30. The other counts do not preserve the 1-to-18 ratio with 540 students.
If 6 identical pumps can drain a pool in 8 hours, how long would 4 such pumps take to drain the same pool?
10 hours
12 hours
6 hours
16 hours
Correct answer: 12 hours
Four pumps would take 12 hours. The total work is 6 pumps times 8 hours, or 48 pump-hours; dividing 48 by 4 pumps gives 12 hours. Fewer pumps require more time, so this is an inverse proportion, and the other times do not equal 48 divided by 4.
An amount of money is divided between two partners in the ratio 5 to 7. If the smaller share is $1,500, what is the total amount divided?
$3,000
$3,600
$2,100
$3,200
Correct answer: $3,600
The total amount is $3,600. The smaller share of 5 parts equals $1,500, so one part is $300, and the total of 12 parts is 12 times $300, which is $3,600. The other amounts do not result from 12 parts each worth $300.
What is the value of 364 multiplied by 16?
16
12
8
20
Correct answer: 16
The value is 16. 364 is 4 and 16 is 4, and 4 times 4 equals 16. Confusing the roots or adding instead of multiplying produces the other values, but the product of 4 and 4 is 16.
Simplify the expression: 3 to the 6th power divided by 3 to the 2nd power.
3 to the 3rd power
3 to the 8th power
3 to the 4th power
1 to the 4th power
Correct answer: 3 to the 4th power
The simplified form is 3 to the 4th power. When dividing powers with the same base, subtract the exponents: 6 minus 2 equals 4. Adding the exponents would wrongly give 3 to the 8th power, and the other forms misapply the quotient rule.
What is the value of 16 raised to the three-fourths power?
12
8
64
4
Correct answer: 8
The value is 8. A fractional exponent means a root and a power: 16 to the three-fourths power is the fourth root of 16, which is 2, raised to the 3rd power, giving 8. Misreading the exponent as a simple multiplier or taking the wrong root produces the other values.
Which expression is equivalent to 50 plus 18?
82
68
682
417
Correct answer: 82
The expression equals 82. 50 is 52 and 18 is 32, and adding like radicals gives 82. You cannot simply add the numbers under the radical, so 68 is incorrect.
What is the units digit of 7 raised to the 4th power?
9
3
1
7
Correct answer: 1
The units digit is 1. The units digits of powers of 7 cycle 7, 9, 3, 1 and then repeat, so the 4th power ends in 1 (7 to the 4th is 2,401). The other digits appear earlier in the cycle but not at the 4th power.
If an integer leaves a remainder of 3 when divided by 5, what is its remainder when divided by 5 after adding 4 to it?
7
1
2
3
Correct answer: 2
The new remainder is 2. The original number is 5k plus 3; adding 4 gives 5k plus 7, which is 5(k plus 1) plus 2, leaving a remainder of 2 when divided by 5. A remainder must be less than 5, so 7 is invalid, and the others do not match 5k plus 7 modulo 5.
What is the least common multiple of 6 and 8?
48
24
12
16
Correct answer: 24
The least common multiple is 24. Listing multiples, 24 is the smallest number divisible by both 6 and 8; using prime factorizations 6 equals 2 times 3 and 8 equals 2 cubed gives 2 cubed times 3, which is 24. The value 48 is a common multiple but not the least, and 12 and 16 are each divisible by only one of the two numbers.
If x squared equals 49, what are all possible values of x?
X equals 7 only
X equals 7 or x equals minus 7
X equals 24.5 only
X equals minus 7 only
Correct answer: X equals 7 or x equals minus 7
The possible values are x equals 7 or x equals minus 7. Both 7 squared and (minus 7) squared equal 49, so taking a square root in an equation yields a positive and a negative solution. Listing only one sign misses a valid root, and dividing 49 by 2 confuses squaring with halving.
Solve the system: 2x plus 3y equals 12 and x equals 3. What is the value of y?
3
2
4
1
Correct answer: 2
The value of y is 2. Substituting x equals 3 into 2x plus 3y equals 12 gives 6 plus 3y equals 12, so 3y equals 6 and y equals 2. The other values do not satisfy the equation once x is 3.
What is the sum of the two solutions to the equation x squared plus 7x plus 10 equals 0?
Negative 7
7
10
Negative 10
Correct answer: Negative 7
The sum of the solutions is negative 7. The equation factors as (x plus 2)(x plus 5) equals 0, giving roots negative 2 and negative 5, which add to negative 7. This also matches the rule that the sum of the roots equals the negative of the x-coefficient, namely negative 7.
Factor the expression x squared minus 9 completely.
(x minus 3)(x minus 3)
(x plus 3)(x plus 3)
(x minus 3)(x plus 3)
(x minus 9)(x plus 1)
Correct answer: (x minus 3)(x plus 3)
The factored form is (x minus 3)(x plus 3). This is a difference of squares, since x squared minus 9 equals x squared minus 3 squared, which factors as (x minus 3)(x plus 3). The repeated-factor options would produce a middle term, and the last option does not multiply back to x squared minus 9.
What is the equation of the line with slope 2 that passes through the point (0, 3)?
Y equals 2x plus 3
Y equals 3x plus 2
Y equals 2x minus 3
Y equals 3x minus 2
Correct answer: Y equals 2x plus 3
The equation is y equals 2x plus 3. In slope-intercept form, the slope is the coefficient of x, which is 2, and the point (0, 3) shows the y-intercept is 3. Swapping the slope and intercept or changing the sign of the intercept produces the other options.
A line is parallel to the line y equals minus 3x plus 1. What is the slope of that parallel line?
One-third
Negative one-third
3
Negative 3
Correct answer: Negative 3
The slope is negative 3. Parallel lines have identical slopes, and the given line has slope negative 3, so any line parallel to it also has slope negative 3. The reciprocal and sign-changed values describe perpendicular slopes, not parallel ones.
At what point does the line y equals 2x minus 8 cross the x-axis?
(4, 0)
(0, minus 8)
(minus 4, 0)
(8, 0)
Correct answer: (4, 0)
The line crosses the x-axis at (4, 0). The x-intercept occurs where y equals 0, so 0 equals 2x minus 8 gives x equals 4. The point (0, minus 8) is the y-intercept, not the x-intercept, and the other points do not satisfy y equals 0.
In a 30-60-90 right triangle, the hypotenuse has length 14. What is the length of the side opposite the 30-degree angle?
143
7
73
28
Correct answer: 7
The side opposite the 30-degree angle is 7. In a 30-60-90 triangle the sides are in the ratio 1 to 3 to 2, so the shortest side is half the hypotenuse, which is 14 divided by 2, equal to 7. The square-root-of-3 form is the medium side, not the shortest.
An equilateral triangle has a side length of 8. What is the length of its altitude (height)?
83
4
43
82
Correct answer: 43
The altitude is 43. The altitude splits an equilateral triangle into two 30-60-90 triangles, where the height is opposite the 60-degree angle and equals half the side times 3, so 43. The square-root-of-2 form belongs to a 45-45-90 triangle.
In a 45-45-90 right triangle, the hypotenuse has length 10. What is the length of each leg?
52
5
102
53
Correct answer: 52
Each leg is 52. In a 45-45-90 triangle the hypotenuse equals a leg times 2, so each leg is the hypotenuse divided by 2, which is 210, equal to 52. The plain value 5 would halve the hypotenuse incorrectly.
A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 13 and one leg of 5. What is the length of the other leg?
8
18
144
12
Correct answer: 12
The other leg is 12. By the Pythagorean theorem, the missing leg squared equals 13 squared minus 5 squared, which is 169 minus 25 equals 144, and 144 is 12. The value 144 is the squared length, not the leg, and 8 incorrectly subtracts the leg from the hypotenuse.
A rectangular field measures 12 meters by 16 meters. What is the length of the diagonal across the field?
20 meters
28 meters
24 meters
14 meters
Correct answer: 20 meters
The diagonal is 20 meters. The two sides and the diagonal form a right triangle, so the diagonal equals 122+162, which is 400, equal to 20. Adding the sides gives the wrong value 28, and the others do not satisfy the Pythagorean relationship.
A right triangle has legs of length 7 and 24. What is the length of its hypotenuse?
31
25
23
625
Correct answer: 25
The hypotenuse is 25. Using the Pythagorean theorem, the hypotenuse squared equals 7 squared plus 24 squared, which is 49 plus 576 equals 625, and 625 is 25. The value 625 is the squared hypotenuse, and 31 merely adds the legs.
A triangle has a base of 10 and a height of 6. What is its area?
60
16
30
32
Correct answer: 30
The area is 30. The area of a triangle is one-half times base times height, so one-half times 10 times 6 equals 30. The value 60 omits the factor of one-half, and the others do not match the triangle area formula.
A rectangular box has dimensions 4 by 5 by 6. What is its volume?
60
90
120
74
Correct answer: 120
The volume is 120. The volume of a rectangular box is length times width times height, so 4 times 5 times 6 equals 120. The value 74 corresponds to half the surface area, and the other figures do not equal the product of all three dimensions.
A circle has a circumference of 10 pi. What is its area, in terms of pi?
25 pi
100 pi
10 pi
5 pi
Correct answer: 25 pi
The area is 25 pi. The circumference 2 pi times the radius equals 10 pi, so the radius is 5, and the area pi times the radius squared is pi times 25, equal to 25 pi. Using the diameter or circumference directly as the radius produces the other values.
A spinner is divided into 8 equal sections numbered 1 through 8. What is the probability of landing on a section showing a multiple of 3?
Three-eighths
One-fourth
One-half
One-eighth
Correct answer: One-fourth
The probability is one-fourth. The multiples of 3 from 1 to 8 are 3 and 6, which is 2 of the 8 equally likely sections, and 2 over 8 reduces to one-fourth. Counting three favorable sections would wrongly give three-eighths, but only 3 and 6 qualify.
The probability that it rains tomorrow is two-fifths. What is the probability that it does not rain tomorrow?
Two-fifths
One-fifth
Three-fifths
Four-fifths
Correct answer: Three-fifths
The probability of no rain is three-fifths. The probability of an event not happening is 1 minus the probability it does happen, so 1 minus two-fifths equals three-fifths. Repeating the original probability or mishandling the complement gives the other values.
A die is rolled twice. What is the probability of getting a 6 on at least one of the two rolls?
Eleven thirty-sixths
One-sixth
One-third
One thirty-sixth
Correct answer: Eleven thirty-sixths
The probability is eleven thirty-sixths. It is easiest to find the complement: the chance of no 6 on either roll is five-sixths times five-sixths, or twenty-five thirty-sixths, so at least one 6 is 1 minus that, equal to eleven thirty-sixths. Simply adding one-sixth and one-sixth double-counts the both-sixes case.
How many distinct ways can the letters of the word LEVEL be arranged?
120
60
30
20
Correct answer: 30
There are 30 distinct arrangements. The word LEVEL has 5 letters with the letter L repeated twice and E repeated twice, so the count is 5 factorial divided by (2 factorial times 2 factorial), which is 120 over 4, equal to 30. Treating all letters as distinct would wrongly give 120.
A pizza shop offers 3 sizes and 5 toppings. If a customer chooses exactly one size and exactly one topping, how many different one-topping pizzas are possible?
8
10
35
15
Correct answer: 15
There are 15 different pizzas. By the fundamental counting principle, multiply the independent choices: 3 sizes times 5 toppings equals 15. Adding the options gives the incorrect 8, but each size can pair with each topping.
From a class of 10 students, how many ways can a president and a vice president be chosen, where the two roles are distinct?
90
45
100
20
Correct answer: 90
There are 90 ways. Because the roles are distinct, order matters, so this is a permutation: 10 choices for president times 9 remaining for vice president equals 90. Dividing by 2 would apply only if the two roles were interchangeable, which they are not.
In a survey of 50 people, 28 own a dog, 20 own a cat, and 10 own both. How many people own neither a dog nor a cat?
8
12
2
22
Correct answer: 12
Twelve people own neither. By inclusion-exclusion, those owning at least one pet equal 28 plus 20 minus 10, which is 38, so 50 minus 38 leaves 12 owning neither. Forgetting to subtract the 10 who own both would distort the count, but 12 is correct.
Two data sets each contain five values. Set X is {10, 10, 10, 10, 10} and Set Y is {5, 8, 10, 12, 15}. What is the standard deviation of Set X?
Zero
Equal to the standard deviation of Set Y
Greater than the standard deviation of Set Y
10
Correct answer: Zero
The standard deviation of Set X is zero. Every value in Set X is identical, so there is no spread around the mean, which makes the standard deviation zero. Set Y has varied values and therefore a positive standard deviation, so Set X's spread is smaller, not equal or greater.
If each value in a data set is multiplied by 3, how does the standard deviation change?
It stays the same
It is multiplied by 3
It increases by 3
It is multiplied by 9
Correct answer: It is multiplied by 3
The standard deviation is multiplied by 3. Scaling every value by a constant multiplies the spread by that same constant, so the standard deviation becomes three times as large. It is the variance, not the standard deviation, that would be multiplied by 9, and a uniform scaling does change the spread.
A student scores in the 80th percentile on a standardized test. What does this percentile most directly mean?
The student answered 80 percent of the questions correctly
The student is in the top 80 percent of difficulty
The student needs 80 more points to pass
The student scored at least as high as about 80 percent of test-takers
Correct answer: The student scored at least as high as about 80 percent of test-takers
Scoring in the 80th percentile means the student scored at least as high as about 80 percent of test-takers. Percentile rank compares a score to the distribution of other scores, not to the number of questions answered correctly. The other statements confuse percentile with raw percent correct or a passing threshold.
A data set is {4, 7, 7, 9, 7, 2, 9}. What is the mode of this data set?
9
7
2
6.4
Correct answer: 7
The mode is 7. The value 7 appears three times, more often than any other value, so it is the mode. The value 9 appears only twice, and 6.4 is approximately the mean, not the most frequent value.
The mean of five numbers is 20. If four of the numbers are 15, 18, 22, and 25, what is the fifth number?
20
25
18
22
Correct answer: 20
The fifth number is 20. A mean of 20 over five numbers means the total is 100; the four known values sum to 80, so the fifth must be 100 minus 80, which is 20. The other values would make the total differ from 100 and change the mean.
Quantity A is the value of 12 minus 8 divided by 4, and Quantity B is 1. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. By order of operations, division comes before subtraction, so 8 divided by 4 is 2, and 12 minus 2 is 10, while Quantity B is 1. Since 10 exceeds 1, Quantity A is the larger value.
A Numeric Entry question asks for the value of 20 minus 3 times 4 plus 2. What value should be entered?
10
70
8
14
Correct answer: 10
The value is 10. Following order of operations, multiply first: 3 times 4 is 12, then evaluate 20 minus 12 plus 2 from left to right, giving 8 plus 2, equal to 10. Working strictly left to right without multiplying first would be incorrect.
A man is currently five times as old as his grandson. In 6 years he will be three times as old as the grandson. How old is the grandson now?
6 years
8 years
5 years
4 years
Correct answer: 6 years
The grandson is 6 years old now. Let the grandson be g, so the man is 5g; in 6 years 5g plus 6 equals 3 times (g plus 6), giving 5g plus 6 equals 3g plus 18, so 2g equals 12 and g equals 6. The man is then 30 now.
A map uses a scale where 3 inches represents 120 miles. How many miles does 5 inches represent?
200 miles
180 miles
160 miles
240 miles
Correct answer: 200 miles
Five inches represents 200 miles. Setting up the proportion 3 inches over 120 miles equals 5 inches over m, cross-multiplying gives 3m equals 600, so m equals 200. The other distances do not preserve the 3-inch-to-120-mile scale.
What is the value of 38 multiplied by 25?
10
7
13
40
Correct answer: 10
The value is 10. 38 is 2 and 25 is 5, and 2 times 5 equals 10. Confusing the roots or adding instead of multiplying produces the other values, but the product of 2 and 5 is 10.
If x squared equals 81, what are all possible values of x?
9 and minus 9
9 only
40.5 only
Minus 9 only
Correct answer: 9 and minus 9
The possible values are 9 and minus 9. Both 9 squared and (minus 9) squared equal 81, so taking a square root in an equation yields a positive and a negative solution. Listing only one sign misses a valid root, and dividing 81 by 2 confuses squaring with halving.
In a 30-60-90 right triangle, the side opposite the 60-degree angle has length 93. What is the length of the side opposite the 30-degree angle?
9
18
93
4.5
Correct answer: 9
The side opposite the 30-degree angle is 9. In a 30-60-90 triangle the sides are in the ratio 1 to 3 to 2, so the longer leg is the shorter leg times 3; dividing 93 by 3 gives 9. The hypotenuse would be 18, not the short leg.
A parallelogram has a base of 11 and a corresponding height of 6. What is its area?
66
34
17
36
Correct answer: 66
The area is 66. The area of a parallelogram is base times height, so 11 times 6 equals 66. The value 34 is the perimeter-style sum, and the others do not match the base-times-height product.
Two independent events have probabilities 0.6 and 0.5. What is the probability that both occur?
0.3
1.1
0.11
0.55
Correct answer: 0.3
The probability is 0.3. For independent events, multiply the probabilities: 0.6 times 0.5 equals 0.3. Adding the probabilities would give 1.1, which is impossible since a probability cannot exceed 1.
A laptop priced at $600 is marked up by 20 percent and then sold at a 30 percent discount off the marked-up price. What is the final selling price?
$540.00
$504.00
$480.00
$420.00
Correct answer: $504.00
The final selling price is $504.00. The 20 percent markup raises $600 to $720, and a 30 percent discount removes $216, leaving $504. Combining the percentages incorrectly gives the other figures, but the discount applies to the marked-up $720.
If an integer leaves a remainder of 4 when divided by 9, what is its remainder when 6 is added to it and the result is divided by 9?
10
1
5
3
Correct answer: 1
The new remainder is 1. The original number is 9k plus 4; adding 6 gives 9k plus 10, which is 9(k plus 1) plus 1, leaving a remainder of 1 when divided by 9. A remainder must be less than 9, so 10 is invalid, and the others do not match 9k plus 10 modulo 9.
What is the equation of the line with slope minus 4 that passes through the point (0, 7)?
Y equals 7x minus 4
Y equals minus 4x plus 7
Y equals 4x plus 7
Y equals minus 4x minus 7
Correct answer: Y equals minus 4x plus 7
The equation is y equals minus 4x plus 7. In slope-intercept form the slope is the coefficient of x, which is minus 4, and the point (0, 7) shows the y-intercept is 7. Swapping the slope and intercept or changing a sign produces the other options.
A right triangle has legs of length 10 and 24. What is the length of its hypotenuse?
34
26
28
676
Correct answer: 26
The hypotenuse is 26. Using the Pythagorean theorem, the hypotenuse squared equals 10 squared plus 24 squared, which is 100 plus 576 equals 676, and 676 is 26. The value 676 is the squared hypotenuse, and 34 merely adds the legs.
A sandwich shop offers 4 breads, 3 meats, and 2 cheeses. How many different sandwiches with one of each are possible?
9
24
18
12
Correct answer: 24
There are 24 sandwiches. By the fundamental counting principle, multiply the independent choices: 4 breads times 3 meats times 2 cheeses equals 24. Adding the options would be incorrect because each choice combines with the others.
Two data sets each have five values. Set P is 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 and Set Q is 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Which set has the greater standard deviation?
Set P
Set Q
They are equal
It cannot be determined
Correct answer: Set Q
Set Q has the greater standard deviation. Standard deviation measures spread, and Set P has no spread because all values are identical, giving a standard deviation of 0, while Set Q's values vary around their mean. So Set Q is more spread out.
If 84 is 70 percent of a number, what is that number?
58.8
120
100
140
Correct answer: 120
The number is 120. Since 84 equals 0.70 times the number, dividing 84 by 0.70 gives 120. Multiplying 84 by 0.70 instead yields the wrong value 58.8, and the other figures do not satisfy 70 percent of them equaling 84.
A Numeric Entry item asks for the answer as a fraction. If two-fifths of a 45-question test must be reviewed, how many questions is that?
20
18
15
9
Correct answer: 18
The number is 18. Two-fifths of 45 is found by multiplying 45 by 2 and dividing by 5, which gives 90 divided by 5, equal to 18. The other choices do not equal two-fifths of 45.
A boat travels downstream 36 miles in 2 hours and returns upstream the same distance in 3 hours. What is the speed of the boat in still water?
12 miles per hour
15 miles per hour
18 miles per hour
9 miles per hour
Correct answer: 15 miles per hour
The boat's still-water speed is 15 miles per hour. Downstream speed is 36 over 2, which is 18, and upstream speed is 36 over 3, which is 12; the still-water speed is the average of these, namely 18 plus 12 over 2, equal to 15. The current speed is the other half of the difference.
A table lists daily downloads of an app: Monday 1,200, Tuesday 900, Wednesday 1,500, Thursday 1,400. What was the total number of downloads over the four days?
4,800
5,200
5,000
4,500
Correct answer: 5,000
The total is 5,000. Adding the four days gives 1,200 plus 900 plus 1,500 plus 1,400, which equals 5,000. The other sums do not match the four listed values.
The ratio of nurses to patients in a ward is 1 to 8. If there are 96 patients, how many nurses are there?
8 nurses
16 nurses
12 nurses
10 nurses
Correct answer: 12 nurses
There are 12 nurses. Setting nurses over patients equal to 1 over 8 gives n over 96 equals 1 over 8, so n equals 96 divided by 8, which is 12. The other counts do not preserve the 1-to-8 ratio with 96 patients.
What is the value of 32 raised to the two-fifths power?
8
16
4
2
Correct answer: 4
The value is 4. A two-fifths power means take the fifth root and then square it: the fifth root of 32 is 2, and 2 squared is 4. Misreading the exponent or taking the wrong root produces the other values.
What is the units digit of 2 raised to the 7th power?
2
4
8
6
Correct answer: 8
The units digit is 8. The units digits of powers of 2 cycle 2, 4, 8, 6 and then repeat every four powers; the 7th power lands in the third position of the cycle, which is 8 (2 to the 7th is 128). The other digits occur at different positions in the cycle.
Solve the system: 4x minus y equals 11 and y equals 5. What is the value of x?
5
3
4
6
Correct answer: 4
The value of x is 4. Substituting y equal to 5 into 4x minus y equals 11 gives 4x minus 5 equals 11, so 4x equals 16 and x equals 4. Checking, 4 times 4 minus 5 equals 11.
What is the slope of the line passing through the points (3, 2) and (7, 14)?
2
4
3
6
Correct answer: 3
The slope is 3. Slope is the change in y divided by the change in x, which is 14 minus 2 over 7 minus 3, or 12 over 4, equal to 3. The other values misuse the rise-over-run computation.
A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 26 and one leg of 10. What is the length of the other leg?
16
36
24
14
Correct answer: 24
The other leg is 24. By the Pythagorean theorem, the missing leg is 262−102, which is 676−100, or 576, equal to 24. This is a 10-24-26 right triangle, a scaled 5-12-13.
A cube has an edge length of 6. What is its volume?
108
36
216
144
Correct answer: 216
The volume is 216. The volume of a cube is the edge length cubed, so 6 cubed is 6 times 6 times 6, which equals 216. The value 36 is the area of one face, not the volume of the cube.
A die is rolled twice. What is the probability of rolling a 1 on neither roll?
One thirty-sixth
Eleven thirty-sixths
Twenty-five thirty-sixths
Five-sixths
Correct answer: Twenty-five thirty-sixths
The probability is twenty-five thirty-sixths. The chance of not rolling a 1 on a single roll is five-sixths, and for two independent rolls multiply: five-sixths times five-sixths equals twenty-five thirty-sixths. Adding the probabilities instead of multiplying would be incorrect for independent events.
In a survey of 80 people, 50 read newspapers, 40 watch news online, and 25 do both. How many do neither?
10
20
15
30
Correct answer: 15
Fifteen people do neither. By inclusion-exclusion, those doing at least one equal 50 plus 40 minus 25, which is 65, so 80 minus 65 leaves 15 who do neither. Forgetting to subtract the 25 who do both would distort the count.
It is given that k is a nonzero real number. Quantity A is k to the 4th power, and Quantity B is k to the 5th power. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: The relationship cannot be determined
The relationship cannot be determined. If k is 2, then k to the 4th is 16 and k to the 5th is 32, so Quantity B is greater; but if k is negative, such as minus 2, then k to the 4th is 16 while k to the 5th is minus 32, so Quantity A is greater. Different allowed values reverse the ordering.
The sum of four consecutive even integers is 84. What is the largest of the four integers?
18
20
22
24
Correct answer: 24
The largest integer is 24. Letting the even integers be n, n plus 2, n plus 4, and n plus 6, their sum 4n plus 12 equals 84, so 4n is 72 and n is 18; the largest is 18 plus 6, which is 24. The integers are 18, 20, 22, and 24.
A car travels 240 miles in 4 hours. At the same average speed, how long will it take to travel 420 miles?
6 hours
8 hours
5 hours
7 hours
Correct answer: 7 hours
It will take 7 hours. The speed is 240 miles divided by 4 hours, which is 60 miles per hour, and 420 divided by 60 equals 7 hours. The other times use an incorrect speed.
Which expression is equivalent to 200?
202
1002
105
102
Correct answer: 102
It equals 102. Since 200 is 100 times 2, 200 is 100 times 2, which is 102. The other forms do not factor 200 correctly.
What is the sum of the two solutions to the equation x squared plus 11x plus 24 equals 0?
24
11
Minus 24
Minus 11
Correct answer: Minus 11
The sum of the solutions is minus 11. The equation factors as (x plus 3)(x plus 8), giving roots minus 3 and minus 8, which add to minus 11. This also matches the rule that the sum of the roots equals the negative of the x-coefficient, namely minus 11.
What is the distance between the points (2, 1) and (10, 7) in the coordinate plane?
14
8
12
10
Correct answer: 10
The distance is 10. The horizontal change is 8 and the vertical change is 6, so the distance is 82+62, which is 100, equal to 10. Adding the changes to 14 would be incorrect.
A square has a diagonal of length 102. What is the area of the square?
200
50
10
100
Correct answer: 100
The area is 100. For a square the diagonal equals the side times 2, so the side is 10, and the area is 102, which is 100. Using the diagonal directly as the side would be incorrect.
How many distinct ways can the letters of the word ERROR be arranged?
120
60
40
20
Correct answer: 20
There are 20 distinct arrangements. The word ERROR has 5 letters with the letter R repeated three times, so the count is 5 factorial divided by 3 factorial, which is 120 over 6, equal to 20. Treating all letters as distinct would wrongly give 120.
Maria can assemble a kit in 50 minutes and Luis can assemble the same kit in 75 minutes. Working together, how many minutes will it take them?
60 minutes
25 minutes
35 minutes
30 minutes
Correct answer: 30 minutes
Together they take 30 minutes. Maria assembles one-fiftieth of the kit per minute and Luis one-seventy-fifth per minute; adding the rates gives 3/150 plus 2/150, or 5/150, equal to 1/30 of the kit per minute, so 30 minutes total. The other times do not match the combined rate of one-thirtieth per minute.
What is the product of the two solutions to the equation x squared minus 9x plus 18 equals 0?
9
Minus 18
6
18
Correct answer: 18
The product is 18. The equation factors as (x minus 3)(x minus 6), giving solutions 3 and 6, whose product is 18. Equivalently, the product of the roots of a monic quadratic equals the constant term, which is 18.
Quantity A is the value of 18 minus 6 divided by 2, following the standard order of operations, and Quantity B is 6. Which statement is true?
Quantity B is greater
Quantity A is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. By order of operations, division is performed before subtraction, so 6 divided by 2 is 3, and 18 minus 3 equals 15. Since 15 is greater than 6, Quantity A is the larger value.
It is given that x is greater than 1. Quantity A is x plus 1 divided by x, and Quantity B is 1. Which statement is true?
The relationship cannot be determined
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
Quantity A is greater
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. For x greater than 1, the term x already exceeds 1, and adding the positive amount 1 divided by x only increases the total, so x plus 1 divided by x is always more than 1. The relationship is therefore fixed in favor of Quantity A.
Quantity A is 12 percent of 150, and Quantity B is 30 percent of 60. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: The two quantities are equal
The two quantities are equal. Twelve percent of 150 is 0.12 times 150, which equals 18, and 30 percent of 60 is 0.30 times 60, which also equals 18. Because both fully specified expressions evaluate to 18, neither quantity exceeds the other.
It is given that a and b are positive and a is less than b. Quantity A is a divided by b, and Quantity B is b divided by a. Which statement is true?
Quantity B is greater
Quantity A is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: Quantity B is greater
Quantity B is greater. Because a is less than b and both are positive, a divided by b is a proper fraction less than 1, while b divided by a is greater than 1. A value greater than 1 exceeds a value less than 1, so Quantity B is larger and the relationship is fixed.
A Numeric Entry question asks for the value of 5 squared minus 2 times 4, following the standard order of operations. What value should be entered?
11
17
13
12
Correct answer: 17
The value to enter is 17. By order of operations, the exponent is evaluated first to give 25, then the multiplication 2 times 4 gives 8, and finally 25 minus 8 equals 17. None of the other listed values follow correct operation order.
A table shows weekly sales for four salespeople: Ann $5,000, Ben $7,000, Cara $4,000, and Dan $8,000. What was the average (arithmetic mean) of the four weekly sales figures?
$7,000
$5,500
$6,000
$6,500
Correct answer: $6,000
The average is $6,000. Adding the four figures gives 5,000 plus 7,000 plus 4,000 plus 8,000, which equals 24,000, and dividing by 4 yields 6,000. The other values do not match the correct mean.
A pie chart shows how a $2,000 budget is divided: housing 50 percent, food 20 percent, savings 15 percent, and other 15 percent. How many dollars are allocated to food?
$400
$300
$500
$1,000
Correct answer: $400
The amount allocated to food is $400. Food represents 20 percent of the $2,000 budget, and 20 percent of 2,000 is 0.20 times 2,000, which equals 400. The other values correspond to different slices of the chart.
A boat travels 90 miles downstream in 3 hours. At the same average speed, how long would it take to travel 150 miles?
4 hours
5 hours
6 hours
4.5 hours
Correct answer: 5 hours
It would take 5 hours. The average speed is 90 miles divided by 3 hours, which is 30 miles per hour, and 150 miles divided by 30 miles per hour equals 5 hours. The other times do not match this constant rate.
The sum of four consecutive integers is 90. What is the largest of the four integers?
24
21
23
22
Correct answer: 24
The largest integer is 24. Letting the integers be n, n plus 1, n plus 2, and n plus 3, their sum is 4n plus 6, which equals 90, so 4n is 84 and n is 21; the largest term is n plus 3, which is 24. The other choices are the smaller members of the set.
An aunt is currently five times as old as her nephew. In 6 years she will be three times as old as he will be then. How old is the nephew now?
10
5
8
6
Correct answer: 6
The nephew is 6 now. Let the nephew be n, so the aunt is 5n; in 6 years 5n plus 6 equals 3 times the quantity n plus 6, giving 5n plus 6 equal to 3n plus 18, so 2n is 12 and n is 6. The other ages do not satisfy both conditions.
A pool can be drained by one pump in 5 hours and by a second pump in 10 hours. Working together, how long will it take both pumps to drain the pool?
4 hours
3 hours
10 over 3 hours
15 over 4 hours
Correct answer: 10 over 3 hours
Together it takes 10 over 3 hours. The first pump does one-fifth per hour and the second does one-tenth per hour, summing to three-tenths per hour, so the time is the reciprocal, 10 over 3 hours. The other values do not equal the combined rate's reciprocal.
A piggy bank holds quarters and half-dollars worth $6.50 total. If there are 18 coins in all, how many half-dollars are there?
8
10
6
9
Correct answer: 8
There are 8 half-dollars. If h is the number of half-dollars and the rest are quarters, then 0.50h plus 0.25 times the quantity 18 minus h equals 6.50; this gives 0.25h plus 4.50 equal to 6.50, so 0.25h is 2.00 and h is 8. The other counts do not produce the $6.50 total.
A lab combines 4 liters of a 20 percent alcohol solution with 6 liters of a 40 percent alcohol solution. What is the alcohol concentration of the resulting mixture?
28 percent
30 percent
32 percent
36 percent
Correct answer: 32 percent
The concentration is 32 percent. The alcohol contributed is 0.20 times 4 plus 0.40 times 6, which is 0.8 plus 2.4, equal to 3.2 liters, divided by the total 10 liters, giving 0.32 or 32 percent. The other percentages do not reflect the weighted average.
A salary increases from $40,000 to $46,000. What is the percent increase?
20 percent
12 percent
10 percent
15 percent
Correct answer: 15 percent
The percent increase is 15 percent. The increase is 46,000 minus 40,000, which is 6,000, and dividing by the original 40,000 gives 0.15, equal to 15 percent. The other options misstate the change relative to the starting value.
A laptop priced at $500 is discounted by 30 percent, and then a sales tax of 10 percent is applied to the discounted price. What is the final amount paid?
$400
$350
$385
$420
Correct answer: $385
The final amount is $385. A 30 percent discount leaves 70 percent of 500, which is 350, and adding 10 percent tax multiplies by 1.10 to give 385. The other values omit either the discount or the tax step.
A blueprint scale shows that 1 centimeter represents 4 meters. A wall measures 7 centimeters on the blueprint. How many meters long is the actual wall?
24 meters
28 meters
32 meters
21 meters
Correct answer: 28 meters
The actual wall is 28 meters. Since each centimeter represents 4 meters, 7 centimeters represents 7 times 4, which equals 28 meters. The other values use an incorrect scale multiplier.
The ratio of red to blue tiles in a pattern is 2 to 7. If there are 28 blue tiles, how many red tiles are there?
10
6
8
14
Correct answer: 8
There are 8 red tiles. Setting up the proportion 2 over 7 equal to red over 28, cross-multiplying gives 7 times red equal to 56, so red equals 8. The other counts do not preserve the 2 to 7 ratio.
If 9 identical machines can complete a job in 8 hours, how long would 12 such machines take to complete the same job, working at the same rate?
6 hours
10 hours
5 hours
9 hours
Correct answer: 6 hours
It would take 6 hours. The work is 9 times 8, equal to 72 machine-hours, and dividing by 12 machines gives 6 hours. The inverse relationship between number of machines and time produces this result.
What is the value of 121 minus 38?
7
8
10
9
Correct answer: 9
The value is 9. 121 is 11 and 38 is 2, so 11 minus 2 equals 9. The other answers misevaluate one of the radicals.
Simplify the expression 5 to the 7th power divided by 5 to the 4th power.
25
125
625
5
Correct answer: 125
The simplified value is 125. Dividing powers with the same base subtracts exponents, giving 57−4, which is 53, equal to 125. The other choices use the wrong exponent.
What is the value of 8 raised to the two-thirds power?
6
4
16
2
Correct answer: 4
The value is 4. A fractional exponent means 38 raised to the second power; 38 is 2, and 22 is 4. The other answers misinterpret the fractional exponent.
Which expression is equivalent to 98?
492
27
142
72
Correct answer: 72
The equivalent form is 72. Factoring 98 as 49 times 2 lets the perfect square 49 come out as 7, leaving 2. The other options factor incorrectly.
What is the units digit of 9 raised to the 3rd power?
9
1
3
7
Correct answer: 9
The units digit is 9. Powers of 9 cycle in their units digit as 9, 1, 9, 1, so odd powers end in 9 and 9 cubed is 729, which ends in 9. The other digits do not appear at the cube position.
What is the greatest common factor of 48 and 60?
4
6
24
12
Correct answer: 12
The greatest common factor is 12. The prime factorization of 48 is 2 to the fourth times 3, and 60 is 2 squared times 3 times 5; the shared factors are 2 squared times 3, equal to 12. The other choices are not the largest common divisor.
Solve the system: 4x minus y equals 7 and y equals 5. What is the value of x?
2
3
4
1
Correct answer: 3
The value of x is 3. Substituting y equal to 5 into the first equation gives 4x minus 5 equal to 7, so 4x is 12 and x is 3. The other values do not satisfy the equation.
What is the product of the two solutions to the equation x squared minus 9x plus 20 equals 0?
Minus 20
9
20
Minus 9
Correct answer: 20
The product of the solutions is 20. For a quadratic in the form x squared plus bx plus c, the product of the roots equals c, and here c is 20; the roots 4 and 5 confirm a product of 20. The other values confuse the sum and product relationships.
Factor the expression x2+6x+9 completely.
(x+3)2
(x−3)2
(x+9)(x+1)
(x+3)(x−3)
Correct answer: (x+3)2
The complete factorization is (x+3)2. The expression is a perfect-square trinomial whose x2 is x and 9 is 3, with a positive middle term, giving (x+3)2. The other options expand to different polynomials.
What is the equation of the line with slope minus 2 that passes through the point (0, 5)?
Y equals minus 2x minus 5
Y equals 2x plus 5
Y equals minus 2x plus 5
Y equals 5x minus 2
Correct answer: Y equals minus 2x plus 5
The equation is y equals minus 2x plus 5. In slope-intercept form the slope minus 2 multiplies x and the y-intercept of 5 is the constant, since the line crosses the y-axis at (0, 5). The other forms have the wrong slope or intercept.
A line is perpendicular to the line y equals one-third x plus 4. What is the slope of the perpendicular line?
Minus one-third
One-third
3
Minus 3
Correct answer: Minus 3
The perpendicular slope is minus 3. Perpendicular lines have slopes that are negative reciprocals, and the negative reciprocal of one-third is minus 3. The other values are the original slope or fail to negate the reciprocal.
What is the distance between the points (minus 2, 1) and (1, 5) in the coordinate plane?
4
5
7
7
Correct answer: 5
The distance is 5. Using the distance formula, the horizontal change is 3 and the vertical change is 4, so the distance is 9+16, which is 25, equal to 5. The other values misapply the formula.
In a 30-60-90 right triangle, the side opposite the 60-degree angle has length 63. What is the length of the side opposite the 30-degree angle?
33
12
6
63
Correct answer: 6
The side opposite the 30-degree angle is 6. In a 30-60-90 triangle the sides are in the ratio 1 to 3 to 2, so the side opposite 60 degrees is the short side times 3; setting that equal to 63 makes the short side 6. The other values misuse the ratio.
An isosceles right triangle has legs of length 5. What is the length of its hypotenuse?
52
10
5
25
Correct answer: 52
The hypotenuse is 52. In a 45-45-90 triangle the hypotenuse equals a leg times 2, so 52 is correct. The other values ignore the special-triangle ratio.
A square has an area of 81. What is the length of its diagonal?
18
9
92
812
Correct answer: 92
The diagonal is 92. The side length is 81, which is 9, and a square's diagonal equals its side times 2, giving 92. The other values do not apply the diagonal relationship.
A cylinder has a radius of 4 and a height of 10. What is its volume, in terms of pi?
400 pi
80 pi
40 pi
160 pi
Correct answer: 160 pi
The volume is 160 pi. The volume of a cylinder is pi times the radius squared times the height, so pi times 16 times 10 equals 160 pi. The other values misapply the volume formula.
A circle has a diameter of 20. What is its area, in terms of pi?
400 pi
100 pi
20 pi
40 pi
Correct answer: 100 pi
The area is 100 pi. The radius is half the diameter, which is 10, and the area is pi times the radius squared, so pi times 100 equals 100 pi. The other values use the diameter or circumference instead of the squared radius.
A bag contains 5 red, 3 green, and 2 yellow marbles. If one marble is drawn at random, what is the probability that it is not red?
One-third
One-half
Three-tenths
Two-fifths
Correct answer: One-half
The probability is one-half. There are 10 marbles in total and 5 are not red (3 green plus 2 yellow), so the probability is 5 over 10, which reduces to one-half. The other fractions miscount the favorable or total outcomes.
Two fair coins are flipped. What is the probability of getting exactly one head?
One-third
One-fourth
Three-fourths
One-half
Correct answer: One-half
The probability is one-half. The four equally likely outcomes are HH, HT, TH, and TT, and exactly one head occurs in HT and TH, giving 2 over 4, which is one-half. The other fractions count the wrong outcomes.
If 9x equals 72, what is the value of x minus 1?
9
7
8
6
Correct answer: 7
The answer is 7. Dividing both sides of 9x equals 72 by 9 gives x equals 8, and subtracting 1 yields 7.
What is the value of the expression 18 minus 3 times 4 plus 5, using standard order of operations?
65
23
6
11
Correct answer: 11
The answer is 11. Multiplication is performed first, giving 3 times 4 equals 12, so the expression becomes 18 minus 12 plus 5, which equals 11.
A rectangle has a width of 7 and a perimeter of 34. What is its length?
17
13
10
20
Correct answer: 10
The answer is 10. The perimeter equals twice the length plus twice the width, so 34 equals 2L plus 14, giving 2L equals 20 and L equals 10.
If 45 is what percent of 180?
25 percent
40 percent
20 percent
45 percent
Correct answer: 25 percent
The answer is 25 percent. Dividing 45 by 180 gives 0.25, which is 25 percent.
What is the greatest common factor of 42 and 56?
7
21
28
14
Correct answer: 14
The answer is 14. The factor 42 equals 2 times 3 times 7 and 56 equals 2 cubed times 7, so the shared factors are 2 and 7, giving a greatest common factor of 14.
A circle has a radius of 7. What is its circumference, in terms of pi?
14 pi
49 pi
7 pi
28 pi
Correct answer: 14 pi
The answer is 14 pi. Circumference equals 2 times pi times the radius, so 2 times pi times 7 equals 14 pi.
The mean of four numbers is 25. If three of the numbers are 20, 28, and 32, what is the fourth number?
25
20
24
18
Correct answer: 20
The answer is 20. A mean of 25 over four numbers gives a total of 100, and the three known numbers sum to 80, so the fourth is 100 minus 80, which equals 20.
If 5x plus 4 equals 3x plus 18, what is the value of x?
11
9
7
5
Correct answer: 7
The answer is 7. Subtracting 3x from both sides gives 2x plus 4 equals 18, then subtracting 4 gives 2x equals 14, so x equals 7.
A shirt's price rises from $40 to $50. What is the percent increase?
20 percent
10 percent
50 percent
25 percent
Correct answer: 25 percent
The answer is 25 percent. The increase of $10 divided by the original $40 equals 0.25, or 25 percent.
What is the value of 196?
13
14
16
12
Correct answer: 14
The answer is 14. Since 14 times 14 equals 196, 196 is 14.
A right triangle has legs of length 9 and 12. What is the length of its hypotenuse?
18
21
15
13
Correct answer: 15
The answer is 15. By the Pythagorean theorem, 92+122 equals 81 plus 144, which is 225, and 225 is 15.
If the probability that an event occurs is 0.65, what is the probability that it does not occur?
0.65
0.45
0.35
0.55
Correct answer: 0.35
The answer is 0.35. The probability of the complement equals 1 minus 0.65, which is 0.35.
The ratio of pens to pencils in a drawer is 2 to 3. If there are 18 pencils, how many pens are there?
9
15
6
12
Correct answer: 12
The answer is 12. Each ratio unit equals 18 divided by 3, which is 6 pencils per unit, so the 2 units of pens equal 2 times 6, which is 12.
What is the value of 3 to the 4th power?
81
64
27
12
Correct answer: 81
The answer is 81. Multiplying 3 times 3 times 3 times 3 gives 81.
Solve the system: x plus 2y equals 14 and x equals 4. What is the value of y?
7
6
4
5
Correct answer: 5
The answer is 5. Substituting x equals 4 gives 4 plus 2y equals 14, so 2y equals 10 and y equals 5.
A car travels 240 miles in 4 hours. At the same average speed, how far will it travel in 7 hours?
420 miles
360 miles
480 miles
280 miles
Correct answer: 420 miles
The answer is 420 miles. The speed is 240 divided by 4, which equals 60 miles per hour, and 60 times 7 equals 420 miles.
What is the median of the data set 9, 4, 15, 7, 11, 6?
8
7
9
11
Correct answer: 8
The answer is 8. Ordering the six values gives 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, and the median is the average of the two middle values 7 and 9, which is 8.
If a number is decreased by 30 percent to become 56, what was the original number?
73
86
80
70
Correct answer: 80
The answer is 80. After a 30 percent decrease, 70 percent of the original equals 56, so the original is 56 divided by 0.70, which is 80.
How many positive factors does 18 have?
5
4
6
9
Correct answer: 6
The answer is 6. The positive factors of 18 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 18, which total six factors.
A cube has a volume of 64. What is the length of one edge?
8
16
6
4
Correct answer: 4
The answer is 4. The edge length is 3V for volume V, and 364 is 4 because 4 times 4 times 4 equals 64.
What is the value of the expression 6 squared minus 4 squared?
20
52
12
4
Correct answer: 20
The answer is 20. Since 6 squared is 36 and 4 squared is 16, the difference is 36 minus 16, which equals 20.
The sum of three consecutive integers is 60. What is the largest of the three?
20
21
19
22
Correct answer: 21
The answer is 21. Three consecutive integers averaging 20 are 19, 20, and 21, so the largest is 21.
Quantity A is 30 percent of 60, and Quantity B is 60 percent of 30. Which statement is true?
The two quantities are equal
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: The two quantities are equal
The two quantities are equal. Both expressions evaluate to 18 because multiplication is commutative, so 0.30 times 60 equals 0.60 times 30.
What is the least common multiple of 9 and 12?
108
36
18
72
Correct answer: 36
The answer is 36. The multiples of 12 are 12, 24, 36, and 36 is the smallest that is also a multiple of 9, so the least common multiple is 36.
A line has the equation y equals 4x minus 12. What is its x-intercept?
3
Minus 12
12
4
Correct answer: 3
The answer is 3. The x-intercept occurs where y equals 0, so 0 equals 4x minus 12 gives 4x equals 12 and x equals 3.
If x squared equals 64, what are all possible values of x?
8 only
8 and minus 8
Minus 8 only
4 and minus 4
Correct answer: 8 and minus 8
The answer is 8 and minus 8. Both 8 squared and the square of minus 8 equal 64, so x can be 8 or minus 8.
A triangle has a base of 14 and a height of 9. What is its area?
126
23
49
63
Correct answer: 63
The answer is 63. The area of a triangle equals one-half times base times height, so one-half times 14 times 9 equals 63.
From a deck of cards, the probability of drawing a heart from a standard 52-card deck is what value?
One-half
One-thirteenth
One-twelfth
One-fourth
Correct answer: One-fourth
The answer is one-fourth. There are 13 hearts among 52 cards, and 13 divided by 52 equals one-fourth.
What is the units digit of 2 raised to the 10th power?
2
8
4
6
Correct answer: 4
The answer is 4. The units digits of powers of 2 cycle as 2, 4, 8, 6, and the 10th power lands on the second position of the cycle, which is 4.
A worker assembles 5 units in 3 hours. At this rate, how many units can the worker assemble in 12 hours?
15
20
18
25
Correct answer: 20
The answer is 20. The rate is 5 units per 3 hours, and 12 hours is four times 3 hours, so the worker assembles four times 5, which is 20 units.
What is the slope of the line passing through the points (1, 4) and (5, 16)?
3
4
2
12
Correct answer: 3
The answer is 3. Slope equals the change in y divided by the change in x, so (16 minus 4) divided by (5 minus 1) equals 12 divided by 4, which is 3.
If 3 painters can paint a house in 10 days, how long would 5 painters take, assuming they work at the same constant rate?
8 days
6 days
15 days
12 days
Correct answer: 6 days
The answer is 6 days. The total work is 3 times 10, which equals 30 painter-days, and dividing by 5 painters gives 6 days.
What is the value of 81 raised to the one-half power?
40.5
18
81
9
Correct answer: 9
The answer is 9. Raising a number to the one-half power takes its square root, and 81 is 9.
A jar contains 5 red, 4 green, and 6 blue marbles. If one is drawn at random, what is the probability it is green?
Four-fifteenths
Four-tenths
One-fourth
Four-ninths
Correct answer: Four-fifteenths
The answer is four-fifteenths. There are 4 green marbles out of a total of 15, so the probability is 4 divided by 15.
What is the range of the data set 22, 8, 17, 31, 12?
31
19
14
23
Correct answer: 23
The answer is 23. The range is the maximum value 31 minus the minimum value 8, which equals 23.
It is given that x is greater than 1. Quantity A is x cubed, and Quantity B is x squared. Which statement is true?
Quantity B is greater
Quantity A is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. For any x greater than 1, multiplying x squared by an additional factor of x (which exceeds 1) makes x cubed larger than x squared.
A number is multiplied by 4 and then 7 is subtracted, giving 25. What is the number?
6
8
9
7
Correct answer: 8
The answer is 8. The equation 4 times the number minus 7 equals 25 gives 4 times the number equals 32, so the number is 8.
What is the sum of the two solutions to the equation x squared minus 9x plus 20 equals 0?
Minus 9
20
9
Minus 20
Correct answer: 9
The answer is 9. The two solutions are 4 and 5, which multiply to 20 and sum to 9; equivalently, the sum equals the negative of the coefficient of x.
A restaurant offers 5 appetizers and 4 desserts. How many different combinations of one appetizer and one dessert are possible?
9
45
20
1
Correct answer: 20
The answer is 20. By the multiplication principle, the number of combinations is 5 times 4, which equals 20.
It is given that p is greater than q and both are positive. Quantity A is p divided by q, and Quantity B is 1. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: Quantity A is greater
Quantity A is greater. When a larger positive number is divided by a smaller positive number, the quotient exceeds 1, so p divided by q is greater than 1. For instance, if p is 6 and q is 2, the quotient is 3, which is greater than Quantity B.
A Numeric Entry question asks for the value of 20 minus 12 divided by 4, following the standard order of operations. What value should be entered?
17
2
8
5
Correct answer: 17
The value is 17. Division is performed before subtraction, so 12 divided by 4 is 3, and then 20 minus 3 equals 17. Subtracting before dividing would wrongly compute 8 divided by 4 to get 2.
A chemist mixes 4 liters of a 20 percent acid solution with 6 liters of a 45 percent acid solution. What is the acid concentration of the resulting mixture?
35 percent
30 percent
32.5 percent
40 percent
Correct answer: 35 percent
The concentration is 35 percent. The acid amounts are 4 times 0.20, which is 0.8 liter, plus 6 times 0.45, which is 2.7 liters, totaling 3.5 liters in 10 liters; 3.5 divided by 10 is 0.35, or 35 percent. The other values misweight the mixture.
A shirt originally priced at $80 is marked up by 30 percent and later sold at a 20 percent discount off the marked-up price. What is the final selling price?
$83.20
$88.00
$78.00
$72.00
Correct answer: $83.20
The final selling price is $83.20. The 30 percent markup raises $80 to $104, and a 20 percent discount removes $20.80, leaving $83.20. Combining the percentages incorrectly or applying them to the wrong base gives the other figures, but the discount applies to the marked-up $104.
The ratio of nurses to patients in a ward is 1 to 6. If there are 54 patients, how many nurses are there?
9 nurses
12 nurses
8 nurses
6 nurses
Correct answer: 9 nurses
There are 9 nurses. Setting nurses over patients equal to 1 over 6 gives n over 54 equals 1 over 6, so n equals 54 divided by 6, which is 9. The other counts do not preserve the 1-to-6 ratio with 54 patients.
Solve the system: 4x minus y equals 10 and y equals 6. What is the value of x?
4
3
5
2
Correct answer: 4
The value of x is 4. Substituting y equal to 6 into 4x minus y equals 10 gives 4x minus 6 equals 10, so 4x equals 16 and x equals 4. Checking, 4 times 4 minus 6 equals 10.
What is the sum of the two solutions to the equation x squared plus 9x plus 20 equals 0?
Negative 9
9
20
Negative 20
Correct answer: Negative 9
The sum of the solutions is negative 9. The equation factors as (x plus 4)(x plus 5), giving roots negative 4 and negative 5, which add to negative 9. This also matches the rule that the sum of the roots equals the negative of the x-coefficient, namely negative 9.
A spinner is divided into 10 equal sections numbered 1 through 10. What is the probability of landing on a prime number?
Two-fifths
One-half
Three-tenths
One-fifth
Correct answer: Two-fifths
The probability is two-fifths. The prime numbers from 1 to 10 are 2, 3, 5, and 7, which is 4 of the 10 equally likely sections, and 4 over 10 reduces to two-fifths. The value 1 is not prime, so it is not counted.
A table lists daily ticket sales at a museum: Monday 220, Tuesday 180, Wednesday 260, Thursday 240. What was the total number of tickets sold over the four days?
880
900
920
860
Correct answer: 900
The total is 900. Adding the four days gives 220 plus 180 plus 260 plus 240, which equals 900. The other sums do not match the four listed values.
A pie chart shows a company's expenses: salaries 50 percent, rent 20 percent, supplies 10 percent, and marketing the rest. If total expenses are $80,000, how much is spent on marketing?
$12,000
$16,000
$8,000
$20,000
Correct answer: $16,000
Marketing is $16,000. The named categories total 50 plus 20 plus 10, which is 80 percent, leaving 20 percent for marketing; 20 percent of 80,000 is 0.20 times 80,000, which equals 16,000. The other amounts use the wrong percent.
A swimming pool can be filled by a hose in 5 hours and drained by an outlet in 10 hours. If both are open, how long does it take to fill the empty pool?
15 hours
10 hours
7.5 hours
2.5 hours
Correct answer: 10 hours
It takes 10 hours. The hose fills one-fifth of the pool per hour and the outlet drains one-tenth per hour, so the net rate is one-fifth minus one-tenth, which is one-tenth per hour, and filling takes 10 hours. The other times do not match a net rate of one-tenth per hour.
Two painters work together. Alex can paint a room in 3 hours and Blake can paint the same room in 6 hours. Working together, how long do they take?
1.5 hours
2 hours
2.5 hours
4.5 hours
Correct answer: 2 hours
Together they take 2 hours. Alex paints one-third of the room per hour and Blake one-sixth per hour, so their combined rate is one-third plus one-sixth, which is one-half per hour, and the time is 2 hours. Averaging the times would be incorrect.
If 45 is 75 percent of a number, what is that number?
33.75
60
55
90
Correct answer: 60
The number is 60. Since 45 equals 0.75 times the number, dividing 45 by 0.75 gives 60. Multiplying 45 by 0.75 instead would yield the wrong value 33.75, and the other figures do not satisfy 75 percent of them equaling 45.
If 8 machines can produce a batch in 9 hours, how long would 6 such machines take to produce the same batch?
6 hours
12 hours
10 hours
15 hours
Correct answer: 12 hours
Six machines would take 12 hours. The total work is 8 machines times 9 hours, or 72 machine-hours; dividing 72 by 6 machines gives 12 hours. Fewer machines require more time, so this is an inverse proportion, and the other times do not equal 72 divided by 6.
What is the distance between the points (0, 0) and (9, 12) in the coordinate plane?
21
15
11
225
Correct answer: 15
The distance is 15. The horizontal change is 9 and the vertical change is 12, so the distance is 92+122, which is 225, equal to 15. This is a 9-12-15 right triangle, a multiple of 3-4-5.
A student scores in the 25th percentile on a test. What does this percentile most directly mean?
The student answered 25 percent of the questions correctly
The student scored at least as high as about 25 percent of test-takers
The student is in the top 25 percent
The student needs 25 more points to pass
Correct answer: The student scored at least as high as about 25 percent of test-takers
Scoring in the 25th percentile means the student scored at least as high as about 25 percent of test-takers. Percentile rank compares a score to the distribution of other scores, not to the number of questions answered correctly. The other statements confuse percentile with raw percent correct or a passing threshold.
Quantity A is the value of one-half plus one-third, and Quantity B is five-sixths. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: The two quantities are equal
The two quantities are equal. Adding one-half and one-third requires a common denominator of 6, giving three-sixths plus two-sixths, which is five-sixths. Since that result matches Quantity B exactly, the two quantities are equal.
A Numeric Entry item asks the test-taker to round the result to the nearest hundredth. If the exact value is 4.617, what should be entered?
4.6
4.61
4.62
4.617
Correct answer: 4.62
The entry is 4.62. Rounding 4.617 to the nearest hundredth examines the thousandths digit 7, which is 5 or greater, so the hundredths digit rounds up from 1 to 2, giving 4.62. Entering 4.617 ignores the rounding instruction.
A printer produces 24 pages per minute. How many minutes does it take to print a 312-page document?
12 minutes
14 minutes
13 minutes
15 minutes
Correct answer: 13 minutes
It takes 13 minutes. Dividing the 312 pages by the rate of 24 pages per minute gives 13 minutes. The other times do not produce exactly 312 pages at 24 per minute.
A piggy bank holds nickels and quarters worth $3.50 total. If there are 22 coins in all, how many quarters are there?
10 quarters
16 quarters
12 quarters
14 quarters
Correct answer: 12 quarters
There are 12 quarters. If q is the number of quarters and 22 minus q the nickels, then 25q plus 5(22 minus q) equals 350 cents, giving 20q plus 110 equals 350, so 20q equals 240 and q equals 12. That leaves 10 nickels.
A bakery sells muffins at $3 each and cookies at $2 each. A customer buys 12 items for $31. How many muffins did the customer buy?
5 muffins
6 muffins
7 muffins
8 muffins
Correct answer: 7 muffins
The customer bought 7 muffins. Let m be the muffins and 12 minus m the cookies; then 3m plus 2(12 minus m) equals 31, giving m plus 24 equals 31, so m equals 7. That leaves 5 cookies.
A town's population fell from 5,000 to 4,200 in one year. What was the percent decrease?
20 percent
19 percent
16 percent
8 percent
Correct answer: 16 percent
The percent decrease is 16 percent. The decrease of 800 divided by the original 5,000 equals 0.16, or 16 percent. Dividing by the new value 4,200 would give a different figure, but percent decrease is measured against the original amount.
It is given that k is an integer with minus 3 less than k which is less than 3. Quantity A is k squared, and Quantity B is 4. Which statement is true?
Quantity A is greater
Quantity B is greater
The two quantities are equal
The relationship cannot be determined
Correct answer: The relationship cannot be determined
The relationship cannot be determined. The allowed integer values of k are minus 2, minus 1, 0, 1, and 2, so k squared can be 4, 1, or 0; when k is 2 or minus 2 the square equals 4, but when k is 0 the square is 0, which is less than 4. Different valid values give different orderings, so it is undetermined.
A Numeric Entry question asks for the answer as a fraction. If two-fifths of a 45-acre farm is planted with corn, how many acres are planted with corn?
15
20
9
18
Correct answer: 18
The number is 18. Two-fifths of 45 is found by multiplying 45 by 2 and dividing by 5, which gives 90 divided by 5, equal to 18. The other choices do not equal two-fifths of 45.
A blueprint uses a scale where 3 centimeters represents 12 meters. How many meters does 8 centimeters represent?
24 meters
28 meters
30 meters
32 meters
Correct answer: 32 meters
Eight centimeters represents 32 meters. Setting up the proportion 3 centimeters over 12 meters equals 8 centimeters over m, cross-multiplying gives 3m equals 96, so m equals 32. The other distances do not preserve the 3-centimeter-to-12-meter scale.
A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 15 and one leg of 9. What is the length of the other leg?
6
10
11
12
Correct answer: 12
The other leg is 12. By the Pythagorean theorem, the missing leg is 152−92, which is 225−81, or 144, equal to 12. This is a 9-12-15 right triangle.
A cube has an edge length of 5. What is its volume?
150
25
75
125
Correct answer: 125
The volume is 125. The volume of a cube is the edge length cubed, so 5 times 5 times 5 equals 125. The value 150 is the surface area, and the others do not equal the edge length cubed.
A coin is flipped three times. What is the probability of getting heads on all three flips?
One-half
Three-eighths
One-fourth
One-eighth
Correct answer: One-eighth
The probability is one-eighth. For independent events, multiply the probabilities: one-half times one-half times one-half equals one-eighth. There are eight equally likely outcomes, and only one is heads on all three flips.
From a team of 8 players, how many ways can a captain and a co-captain be chosen, where the two roles are distinct?
28
64
16
56
Correct answer: 56
There are 56 ways. Because the roles are distinct, order matters, so this is a permutation: 8 choices for captain times 7 remaining for co-captain equals 56. Dividing by 2 would apply only if the two roles were interchangeable, which they are not.
Which of the following is a prime number?
39
51
37
57
Correct answer: 37
The prime number is 37. A prime has exactly two factors, 1 and itself, and 37 cannot be divided evenly by any smaller number besides 1. The others factor as 3 times 13, 3 times 17, and 3 times 19, so they are composite.
The mean of seven numbers is 18. If six of the numbers are 15, 20, 22, 14, 19, and 16, what is the seventh number?
18
22
20
16
Correct answer: 20
The seventh number is 20. A mean of 18 over seven numbers means the total is 126; the six known values sum to 106, so the seventh must be 126 minus 106, which is 20. The other values would make the total differ from 126 and change the mean.
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The GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) General Test is the admissions exam used by thousands of graduate and business schools worldwide. It is created and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and measures the verbal, quantitative, and analytical-writing skills graduate study demands.[1]
Click Start Test above to launch a full-length GRE practice test weighted like the General Test’s multiple-choice sections, or drill a single section — Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning. Every question is tagged to its section and includes a clear explanation so you learn the reasoning, not just the answer.
This practice test simulates the multiple-choice Verbal and Quantitative portions. The GRE’s Analytical Writing essay is a separate written task and is not simulated here — see the section below for how it works.
[2] This practice test reflects the current GRE General Test structure. To round out your prep, pair these with our free study guide, flashcards.
The GRE General Test has three measures: Analytical Writing (one essay task), Verbal Reasoning (27 questions), and Quantitative Reasoning (27 questions). Verbal and Quant are each split across two sections.[2]
This practice test focuses on the two multiple-choice measures, which carry the 130–170 scores most programs scrutinize. Our full practice test weights them evenly, matching the real test’s 27-plus-27 structure:
GRE multiple-choice structure (questions per measure)
Verbal Reasoning27% · 27 Qs (two sections)
Quantitative Reasoning27% · 27 Qs (two sections)
Practice Questions by Section
Use Start Test for a full weighted GRE simulation, or open the hub and pick a single section to drill your weak area. After each full exam, your results show a per-section breakdown so you know whether to invest more time in Verbal vocabulary and reading or in Quantitative problem-solving.
Analytical Writing (Not Simulated Here)
The GRE’s Analytical Writing measure asks you to write one “Analyze an Issue” essay in about 30 minutes, scored from 0 to 6 in half-point increments by trained raters and an automated scoring engine.[2]
Because it is an open-ended written task rather than multiple choice, it cannot be auto-scored in a practice quiz, so this practice test does not simulate it.
To prepare for Analytical Writing, study the official scoring rubric, practice building a clear thesis with specific supporting reasons and examples, and review the published sample issue topics from ETS so none of the prompts feel unfamiliar.
How Do You Register for the GRE?
You register for the GRE through your ETS account, where you choose a test center appointment or the at-home option and pay the test fee (about $220 in most regions).[4]
You can take the GRE once every 21 days, up to five times within any rolling 12-month period. The fee covers sending scores to a set number of schools you designate, and the ScoreSelect feature lets you decide which scores to report.
Confirm the current fee and policies on the ETS website, as pricing and rules vary by location and change over time.
How Is the GRE Scored?
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are each scored from 130 to 170 in one-point increments, and Analytical Writing is scored from 0 to 6 in half-point increments.[3]
There is no pass or fail — each program sets its own expectations, and a competitive score depends on the schools and fields you are targeting. Wrong answers are not penalized, so always answer every question even if you must guess.
Because there is no fixed pass mark, the best strategy is to set a target score for your programs and practice until you consistently hit it on full-length tests.
How Hard Is the GRE?
The GRE is considered challenging but very preparable: the content is roughly high-school to early-college level, but the questions reward careful reasoning, strong vocabulary, and efficient problem-solving under time pressure.
Test-takers most often struggle with advanced vocabulary in Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence, dense Reading Comprehension passages, and multi-step Quantitative Comparison and word problems — exactly the question types this practice test drills.
130–170
Section scores
Verbal & Quant
54
MC questions
27 Verbal + 27 Quant
~1h 58m
Total time
incl. the essay
The takeaway: build your vocabulary, sharpen your reading and quantitative reasoning, and practice under timed conditions until your section scores consistently hit your target.
What to Expect on Test Day
The GRE is a computer-based test taken at an ETS test center or at home with online proctoring, running about 1 hour 58 minutes total.[1]
You begin with the Analytical Writing essay, then move through the Verbal and Quantitative sections; an on-screen calculator is provided for the math. The shorter GRE has no scheduled breaks, so manage your energy across the whole test.
Simulating the multiple-choice sections under timed conditions makes the pacing feel routine, so you can focus on the questions rather than the clock on test day.
How to Use This GRE Practice Test
Recreate exam conditions. Take a full weighted Verbal-plus-Quant simulation timed to build pacing.
Diagnose, then drill. Use the per-section breakdown to find your weaker measure, then drill it.
Grow your vocabulary. Verbal rewards knowing words in context — review every word you miss.
Practice the essay separately. Analytical Writing is not simulated here — study the rubric and sample issue topics.
Learn the why. Read every explanation — understanding the reasoning beats memorizing answers.
Why the GRE Matters
A strong GRE score strengthens your application to graduate and business programs and can offset weaker areas of your file.[1] Because Verbal and Quant scores are compared directly across applicants, steady practice on the multiple-choice sections is the most efficient way to raise the numbers schools see — and these free practice tests make that practice easy.
Conclusion
A great GRE score comes down to vocabulary and reading for Verbal, problem-solving for Quant, and a clear, well-supported essay for Analytical Writing. Use this free GRE practice test to sharpen the multiple-choice sections, find your weak measure, and reinforce it with our study guide, flashcards so you walk in confident on test day.
GRE Practice Test FAQ
The GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) General Test is created and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS). It is accepted by thousands of graduate and business schools worldwide as a measure of readiness for graduate-level study, and it can be taken at a test center or at home with online proctoring.
The GRE General Test has three measures: Analytical Writing (one 'Analyze an Issue' essay task), Verbal Reasoning (27 questions), and Quantitative Reasoning (27 questions). Verbal and Quant are each split across two sections. This practice test simulates the multiple-choice Verbal and Quantitative portions; the Analytical Writing essay is a separate written task.
The current shorter GRE General Test takes about 1 hour and 58 minutes total. That breaks down to roughly 30 minutes for the Analytical Writing essay, about 41 minutes for the two Verbal Reasoning sections, and about 47 minutes for the two Quantitative Reasoning sections. There are no scheduled breaks in the shorter test.
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are each scored on a scale of 130 to 170 in one-point increments, and Analytical Writing is scored from 0 to 6 in half-point increments. There is no overall pass or fail — schools set their own expectations, and a competitive score depends on your target programs. Wrong answers are not penalized, so you should answer every question.
GRE Verbal Reasoning includes Reading Comprehension (questions about passages), Text Completion (filling one to three blanks with the best words), and Sentence Equivalence (choosing two words that complete a sentence to produce sentences alike in meaning). It emphasizes vocabulary in context, reasoning, and analyzing written arguments rather than rote memorization.
GRE Quantitative Reasoning covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis, including Quantitative Comparison questions (comparing two quantities), multiple-choice, and numeric entry. The math content is roughly high-school level, but the questions reward careful reasoning and problem-solving, and an on-screen calculator is provided.
The GRE General Test fee is about $220 in most regions (confirm current pricing with ETS, as fees vary by location). You can take the GRE once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous 12-month period. The ScoreSelect option lets you choose which scores to send to schools.
Yes — this entire GRE practice test is free, with no account or payment required. It simulates the multiple-choice Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning portions of the GRE General Test, with every question tagged to its section and a full answer explanation. Pair it with our free GRE study guide, flashcards, and cheat sheet for complete prep.
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