The GMAT Quantitative Section includes Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving Questions. Problem solving questions come in 3 different varieties: Algebra, Arithmetic, and Geometry.

GMAT Geometry

Geometry quetsions account for about 20% of quant section in GMAT test. Even though there aren’t a lot of these type of questions, they can determine the difference between a good and an excellent score, so you want to make sure you know how they work. The key to cracking tricky Geometry questions is to know the properties of different shapes, and practice a variety of questions.

Topics and Examples

Here is a list of the most commonly quizzed topics found in Geometry GMAT questions:

• Lines and angles
• Triangles
• Quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, parallelograms, etc.)
• Circles
• Simple Solids (cubes, cylinders, spheres, etc.)
• Coordinate Geometry

Knowing the basic properties and formula involving these shapes and topics isn’t tough, and can help you ace the GMAT. Here are a few good examples to get you going:

An engineer designs a rectangular solid box to collect waste from a nuclear power plant. The capacity of this box is 50 cubic feet. However, production in the plant is increased over the past 5 years, so the engineer decides to make the box bigger by doubling the length and width of the box, and tripling its height. What will be the new capacity of the bigger box?

Answer: We know that the volume of a rectangular solid is simply . Except now, we’re dealing with different dimensions- twice the length, or 2l, twice the width, or 2w, and triple height, 3h. So now our formula is . So that’s the new capacity in cubic feet. See? Easy!

Triangle ABC has the following properties: Angle A has x degrees, angle B has 2x degrees. Line BC extends to point D such that angle BCD equals 120 degrees. Find x.

Answer: First, draw a picture, it makes everything clearer. You’ll note easily that since BCD is 120 degrees and it’s a complimentary angle to inner angle C, angle C becomes . So now, since the inner angles of a triangle always add up to 180, we have , i.e. .

Practice GMAT Geometry Problems

Practice makes perfect!

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Other Problem Solving Question Types

The Problem Solving Section of the GMAT also includes Arithmetic and Algebra questions.