{"id":718,"date":"2013-06-12T08:57:54","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T15:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?p=718"},"modified":"2015-11-23T13:20:17","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T21:20:17","slug":"gmat-math-strange-symbols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/12\/symbols-on-the-GMAT.png\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8807\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Quant section sometimes features <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/three-algebra-formulas-essential-for-the-gmat\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">GMAT algebra<\/a> problems with strange symbols. These symbols should not fluster you too much as long as you remember that they do not represent standard mathematical notation. Instead, the symbols pertain only to the problem and are defined by the GMAT (or whatever prep material you happen to be using).<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s have a look at a simple example:<\/p>\n<p>\\(Q prime = 3Q &#8211; 3\\). What is the value of \\((2 prime) prime\\)?<\/p>\n<p>(A) 2<br \/>\n(B) 3<br \/>\n(C) 5<br \/>\n(D) 6<br \/>\n(E) 9<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Explanation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To approach strange symbols think of the Q&#8217; as a recipe. To the right of the equals sign are the steps (or the recipe) you have to follow.<\/p>\n<p>Another way of looking at it, whatever we see in place of Q&#8217; we want to plug it into the \u2018Q\u2019 in \\(3Q &#8211; 3\\). Therefore \\(2 prime = 3(2) &#8211; 3 = 3\\). Because the question has two apostrophe signs, we want to repeat this procedure to get, \\(3 prime = 6\\). Answer (D).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is a basic problem, one that if you saw it on the GMAT, would not bode well. So let\u2019s try a problem that will make you sweat a little more.<\/p>\n<p>\\(A&amp;&amp;B \\)= \\(\\sqrt{b} &#8211; a\\). What the value of p in \\(16&amp;&amp;p = 9\\)?<br \/>\n(A) -5<br \/>\n(B) 9<br \/>\n(C) 13<br \/>\n(D) 25<br \/>\n(E) 625<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Explanation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Be careful not to fall the trap that switches the order of b and a. Our equation should read: \\(\\sqrt{p} &#8211; 16 = 9\\). Solving for p:<\/p>\n<p>\\(\\sqrt{p} = 25\\)<br \/>\n\\(p = 625\\).<\/p>\n<p>Answer (E).<\/p>\n<p>For those who are looking to score a Q51, here are two brutally difficult questions. If you think you know the answer, go ahead and post it below with an explanation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brutal Question #1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\\(x@y = 2\\sqrt{x} + y^2\\). What is the difference between the least and the greatest possible values of x + y, if x@y is an integer less than 15?<\/p>\n<p>(A) 9<br \/>\n(B) 10<br \/>\n(C) 49<br \/>\n(D) 50<br \/>\n(E) 52<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brutal Question #2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[x] is equal to the lesser of the two integer values closest to non-integer x. What is the absolute value of \\([-\\pi] + [-\\sqrt{37}]\\)?<\/p>\n<p>(A) \\([9.4]\\)<\/p>\n<p>(B) \\([4 \\pi]\\)<\/p>\n<p>(C) \\([\\sqrt{99}]\\)<\/p>\n<p>(D) \\([\\sqrt{120}]\\)<\/p>\n<p>(E) \\([\\sqrt{143}]\\)<\/p>\n<p>Answers:<\/p>\n<p>Brutal Question #1 &#8211; E<br \/>\nBrutal Question #2 &#8211; E<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Quant section sometimes features GMAT algebra problems with strange symbols. These symbols should not fluster you too much as long as you remember that they do not represent standard mathematical notation. Instead, the symbols pertain only to the problem and are defined by the GMAT (or whatever prep material you happen to be using). [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13210],"class_list":["post-718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-algebra"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GMAT Math: Strange Symbols - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you&#039;ll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you&#039;ll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-23T21:20:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/12\/symbols-on-the-GMAT.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Lele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@chrismagoosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshGMAT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Lele\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Lele\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546\"},\"headline\":\"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"commentCount\":16,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"GMAT Algebra\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\",\"name\":\"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you'll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about the GMAT\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546\",\"name\":\"Chris Lele\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/0acb1b2097fd77b56ab6475c9b41cb27\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Lele\"},\"description\":\"Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News, GMAC, and Business Because.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\",\"ttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"GRE\",\"GMAT\",\"SAT\",\"ACT\",\"MCAT (CARS)\",\"LSAT\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Principal Curriculum Manager\",\"worksFor\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/chris\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","description":"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you'll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols","og_description":"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you'll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/","article_published_time":"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-11-23T21:20:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/12\/symbols-on-the-GMAT.png"}],"author":"Chris Lele","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@chrismagoosh","twitter_site":"@MagooshGMAT","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Lele","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Lele","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546"},"headline":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols","datePublished":"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/"},"wordCount":395,"commentCount":16,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"articleSection":["GMAT Algebra"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/","name":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-06-12T15:57:54+00:00","description":"What math symbols can you expect to see in GMAT math--and how should you handle them? In this article, you'll learn how to deal with these tricky symbols.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-math-strange-symbols\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GMAT Math: Strange Symbols"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","description":"Everything you need to know about the GMAT","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization","name":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"Magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546","name":"Chris Lele","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/0acb1b2097fd77b56ab6475c9b41cb27","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Lele"},"description":"Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News, GMAC, and Business Because.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/","ttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0","https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w"],"knowsAbout":["GRE","GMAT","SAT","ACT","MCAT (CARS)","LSAT"],"jobTitle":"Principal Curriculum Manager","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13210,"user_id":10,"is_guest":0,"slug":"chris","display_name":"Chris Lele","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Lele","first_name":"Chris","description":"Chris Lele is the Principal Curriculum Manager (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Vocabulary-Builder-Workbook-Activities-Must-Know\/dp\/193975481X\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">vocabulary wizard<\/a>) at Magoosh. Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mba.com\/exams-and-exam-prep\/gmat-exam\/why-take-the-gmat-in-2021-when-many-schools-are-test-optional\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GMAC<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessbecause.com\/news\/gmat\/3263\/mba-admissions-gre-challenges-gmat\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Business Because<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn his time at Magoosh, Chris has taught countless students how to tackle the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/GRE-Prep-Magoosh\/dp\/1939418917\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GRE<\/a>, GMAT, SAT, ACT, MCAT (CARS), and LSAT exams with confidence. Some of his students have even gone on to get near-perfect scores. You can find Chris on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w\">YouTube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0\"> LinkedIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\">Facebook<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}