GRE Quantitative Comparison

The GRE’s Quantitative Section contains Problem Solving questions, Data Interpretation questions, and Quantitative Comparison Questions

Comparing Quantities

The Quantitative Section contains about 14 Quantitative Comparison questions. These questions have a very specific format, and they test your ability to evaluate information given and compare two figures mathematically.

The comparison questions will always have a ‘column A’ and ‘column B’, each column containing numbers of variables. Often, you’ll get additional information about the variables. You will then have to choose one of the following 4 answers:

1. The quantity in column A is greater
2. The quantity in column B is greater
3. The two quantities are equal
4. The relationship cannot be determined from the information given

This might sound a bit confusing, but it’s pretty straightforward- all you have to do is figure out whether column A or B contains a larger quantity. Sometimes you won’t be able to figure it out using the given info, in which case D is appropriate, and sometimes they’re equal, so you’ll answer C. Here are a couple of exams to help you understand.

Some examples

Column A: x
Column B: 0

Answer: In this example, you’re given an equation, and then asked to compare x to 0. Well, this is easy- solving the quadratic equation by factoring will show that x can equal either 2 or 3. Both options are greater than 0, so column A is always greater than column B, and the answer is A.

D is an integer that satisfies .
Column A: The sum of all of the prime factors of D
Column B:.

Answer: Again, first find D. It’s not too hard to figure out that D is 256, and the only prime factor in question is 2. But then, 256/128 is also 2. Therefore both columns are 2, so the answer must be C.

A rectangular box has dimensions 2×7xW, and surface area of 226.
Column A: W
Column B: 9

Answer: This time you have to deal with a word problem. To find the surface area, realize that , so and Since 11 is greater than 10, the answer is A.

See? It’s not that bad. Make sure you practice a lot of these until you’re comfortable with them and can answer them within 1.5 minutes, because that’s your timing on the GRE. We’ve got lots of practice tests for you!

Online GRE Practice Tests

Here are some of the GRE quantitative tests:

GRE Quantitative (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Practice (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Practice Test (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Questions (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Comparison (10 questions), GRE Quantitative (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Practice (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Practice Test (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Questions (10 questions), GRE Quantitative Comparison (10 questions).

More Quantitative Stuff!

Don’t forget to practice for the other parts of the Quantitative Sections: Data Interpretation and Problem Solving questions. Good luck!