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The building blocks for geometric forms are lines and angles, so we start by defining these fundamental elements. Although the definitions arent directly tested, understanding the meanings of these terms is an important part of solving problems on the GRE. Here are the common terms that pop up on the test: Line: A straight path of points that extends forever in two directions. A line does not have any width or thickness. Arrows are sometimes used to show that the line goes on forever. Line segment: The set of points on a line between any two points on the line. Basically its just a piece of a line from one point to another that contains those points and all the points between. Ray: A ray is like half of a line; it starts at an endpoint and extends forever in one direction. You can think of a ray as a ray of light extending from the sun (the endpoint) and shining as far as it can go. Midpoint: The point halfway (equal distance) between two endpoints on a line segment. Bisect: To cut something exactly in half, such as when a line segment cuts another line segment or an angle or a polygon into two equal parts. A bisector is a line that divides a line segment, an angle, or a polygon into two equal parts. Intersect: Just like it sounds intersect simply means to cross; that is, when one line or line segment crosses another line or line segment. Collinear: A set of points that lie on the same line. Vertical: Lines that run straight up and down. Horizontal: Lines that run straight across from left to right or right to left (you can decide later!!) Parallel: Lines that run in the same direction, always remaining the same distance apart. Parallel lines never cross one another. Perpendicular: When two lines intersect to form a square corner. The intersection of two perpendicular lines forms a right, or 90, angle. Angle: The intersection of two rays (or line segments) sharing a common endpoint. The common endpoint is called the vertex. The size of an angle depends on how much one side rotates away from the other side. An angle is usually measured in degrees. Acute angle: Any angle measuring less than 90. Like an acute, or sharp, pain, the acute angle has a sharp point. Right, or perpendicular, angle: An angle measuring exactly 90. It makes up a square corner. Obtuse angle: An angle that measures more than 90 but less than 180. The opposite
of an acute angle, an obtuse angle is dull rather than sharp. Straight angle: An angle that measures exactly 180. A straight angle appears to be a straight line or line segment. Complementary angles: Angles that add together to total 90. Together, they form a right angle. Supplementary angles: Angles that add together to total 180. They form a straight angle. Similar: Objects that have the same shape but different sizes. Congruent: Objects that are equal in size and shape. Two line segments with the same length, two angles with the same measure, and two triangles with corresponding sides of equal lengths and angles that have equal degree measures are congruent.
Notice that, as shown in Figure above, the height or altitude is always perpendicular to the base and that the height can be placed either inside or outside the triangle.
b
The Pythagoras Theorem a2 + b2 = c2 Keep in mind that the Pythagorean theorem works only with right triangles. You cant use it to find the lengths of sides of triangles that dont have a right angle in them. The Triple Treat again: There are a few numbers that follow the Pythagoras Theorem and have also caught the fancy of GRE. It will be handy to have these ratios based on the Pythagoras theorem in mind. That way, you dont have to work out the whole theorem every time you deal with a right triangle. 32 + 42 = 52 52 + 122 = 132 62 + 82 = 102
as shown in figure. The ratio of the three sides is x : x of the shortest side.
A) B) C) D) E)
30 50 55 65 90
A) B) C) D) E)
Q4.
Three lines intersect in a point as shown in the figure above. Which of the following pairs of angle measures is NOT sufficient for determining all six angle measures? A) t and z B) t and y C) s and x D) r and t E) r and s
Q5.
In the figure above, the dotted lines bisect the angles with measure x and y value of z, if x = 70 and y = 40?
, what is the
Q6.
In the figure above, if l || m, what does z equal in terms of x and y ? A) B) C) D) E) x+y xy 180 x 180 x + y 180 x y
Q7. Which of the following is a possible length for side AB of triangle ABC if AC = 6 and BC = 9? I. II. III. A) B) C) D) E) 3 93 13.5 I only II only III only II and III I, II and III
Q9. In triangle ABC, if BC = 3 and AC = 4, then what is the length of segment CD? A) B) C) D) E) 3 15/4 5 16/3 20/3
Q10.
Q1. In the figure above, side AC of ABC is on line . What is x in terms of k? A) B) C) D) E) 60 k k 60 + k 120 k 120 2k
Q2. In triangle XYZ above, XW = 2, WZ = 8, and XY = 6. What is the area of triangle WYZ? A) B) C) D) E) 6 12 18 24 30
Q4. In the figure above, a < 40 and b = c + 1. If c is an integer, what is the least possible value of b?
A) B) C) D) E)
30 39 50 61 71
Q5. Which of the following inequalities is true about the lengths a and b of the sides of the triangle above?
A) 0 (a + b)2 < 20
B) C) D) E)
20 (a + b)2 < 40 40 (a + b)2 < 100 100 (a + b)2 < 400 400 (a + b)2
Q6. Triangles ABC and ACD in the figure above are equilateral. What is the ratio of BD to AC?
A) B) C) D) E)
2 to 1 3 to 1 2 to 2 3 to 2 3 to 2
Q7. If the area of an equilateral triangle is x square meters and the perimeter is x meters, then what is the length of one side of the triangle in meters? A) B) C) D) E) 6 8 4 2 23 43
Q8. On a map Town G is 10 centimeters due east of Town H and 8 centimeters due south of Town J. Which of the following is closest to the straight-line distance, in centimeters, between Town H and Town J on the map? A) B) C) D) E) 6 13 18 20 24
Q9. In isosceles triangle PQR, if the measure of angle P is 80, which of the following could be the measure of angle R? I. II. III. 20 50 80
A) B) C) D) E)
I only III only I and II only II and III only I, II and III
Q10.
In the figure above, AE and CD are each perpendicular to CE . If x y , the length of AB is 4, and the length of BD is 8, what is the length of CE ? A) B) C) D) E)
3 2 (approximately 4.24) 6 2 (approximately 8.49) 8 2 (approximately 11.31) 10 2 (approximately 14.14) 12 2 (approximately 16.97)
Most of the GRE quadrilaterals are parallelograms. Parallelograms have properties that are very useful for solving GRE problems: The opposite sides are parallel and equal in length. The opposite angles are equal in measure to each other. The measures of the adjacent angles add up to 180, so theyre supplementary to each other. The diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other. In other words, they cross at
the midpoint of both diagonals. The area of any parallelogram is its base times its height (A = bh). You determine the height pretty much the same way you determine the height, or altitude, of a triangle. The difference is that you draw the perpendicular line from the base to the opposite side (instead of to the opposite angle, as in the case of a triangle).
You can use the Pythagorean theorem to help you find the height of a parallelogram. When you drop a perpendicular line from one corner to the base to create the height, the line becomes the leg of a right triangle. If the problem gives you the length of other sides of the triangle (or information you can use to determine the length), you can use the formula to find the length of the height.
A rectangle is a parallelogram with four right angles. Because rectangles are parallelograms, rectangles have all the properties of parallelograms. Use A = bh to find the area of a rectangle. The cool thing about rectangles, though, is that the height, or altitude, is the same as one of its sides.
A square is a rectangle with four equal sides. It has four right angles, and its sides all have the same length. Because a square has four equal sides, you can easily find its area if you know the length of only one side. The area of a square can be expressed as A = s2 where s is the length of a side. The perimeter of a square is 4s. Heres a neat trick for finding the area of a square if the only measurement you know is the length of
the diagonal. You can say A = d2 2, where the diagonal is d. Remember that the diagonal of a square is the hypotenuse of an isosceles right triangle, and right triangles have some special formulas. This shortcut is just a way of using the Pythagorean theorem in reverse!
A rhombus is a type of parallelogram. All four sides of a rhombus are equal in length, like a square, but a rhombus doesnt necessarily have four right angles. You can find the area of a rhombus by multiplying the lengths of the two diagonals (the straight lines that join opposite angles of the parallelogram, designated as d) and then dividing by 2, or A = 12d1d2.
A trapezoid is a quadrilateral with two parallel sides and two nonparallel sides. The parallel sides are called the bases, and the other two sides are called the legs. Finding the area of a trapezoid is a bit tricky, but it can be done as long as you know the length of both bases and the height, or altitude. To find the area, you take the average of the two bases and multiply by the height or altitude. Thus, A = 12(b1 + b2) h. Lets try some questions: Q1. A, B and C are three rectangles. The length and width of rectangle A are 10 percent greater and 10 percent less, respectively than the length and width of rectangle C. The length and width of rectangle B are 20 percent greater and 20 percent less, respectively, than the length and width of rectangle C. Column A The area of rectangle A Column B The area of rectangle B
A) Quantity A is greater B) Quantity B is greater C) The two quantities are equal D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given Q2. The perimeter of a square equals the perimeter of a rectangle that is not a square. Column A Column B The area of the square The area of the rectangle A) Quantity A is greater B) Quantity B is greater C) The two quantities are equal D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given
Q3. In the figure above, if the area of triangle CAF is equal to the area of rectangle CDEF, what is the length of segment AD? A) B) C) D) E) 7/2 5 7 15/2 15
Q4. In the figure shown, two identical squares are inscribed in the rectangle. If the perimeter of the rectangle is 182, then what is the perimeter of each square? A) B) C) D) E) 82 12 122 16 18
figure out how many sides add up to infinity, just use this formula: C = 2r or C = d Area of the circle is given by: A = r2
You should have a basic understanding of the following terms so you arent running in circles on the GRE math section: o An arc of a circle is a portion along the edge of the circle. Because it runs along the circumference, an arc is actually a part of the circle. o A central angle of a circle is an angle thats formed by two radii; its called a central angle because its vertex is the center of the circle. The measurement of the central angle is the same as that of the arc formed by the endpoints of its radii. So a 90 central angle intercepts one-quarter of the circle, or a 90 arc. Length of the arc, L = (/360)* 2r
Q2. The circumference of the circle with center O shown above is 2. What is the area of the shaded region? A) /2 B) /4 C) 1 D) 12 E) 14
Q3. In the figure above, the smaller circles each have radius 3. They are tangent to the larger circle at points A and C, and are tangent to each other at point B, which is the center of the larger circle. What is the perimeter of the shaded region? A) 6 B) 8 C) 9 D) 12 E) 15
Q4. In the figure above, triangle ABC is inscribed in the circle with center O and diameter AC. If AB = AO, what is the degree measure of ABO? A) 15 B) 30 C) 45 D) 60 E) 90
Q5. The figure above consists of two circles that have the same center. If the shaded area is 64 square inches and the smaller circle has a radius of 6 inches, what is the radius, in inches, of the larger circle?
Q2. Two circles share a center at point C, as shown. Segment AC is broken up into two shorter segments, AB and BC, with dimensions shown. What is the ratio of the area of the large circle to the area of the small circle? A) 25/4 B) 5/2 C) 3/2 D) 2/5 E) 4/25
Q3. The length of minor arc AB is twice the length of minor arc BC and the length of minor arc AC is three times the length of minor arc AB. What is the measure of angle BCA? A) 20 B) 40 C) 60 D) 80 E) 120
Finding volume
The volume (V) of a rectangular solid is a measure of how much space it occupies, or to put it in terms everyone can appreciate, how much cereal your cereal box holds. You measure the volume of an object in cubic units. The formula for the volume of a rectangular solid is simply its length (a) width (b) height (c). V = abc
Another way of saying this is that the volume is equal to the base times the height ( V = Bh), where B is the area of the base.
A right circular cylinder has the same measurements as a circle. That is, a right circular cylinder has a radius, diameter, and circumference. In addition, a cylinder has a third dimension, its height, or altitude. To get the volume of a right circular cylinder, first take the area of the base (a circle), which is r2, and multiply by the height (h) of the cylinder. Heres the formula: V = r2h If you want to find the total surface area of a right circular cylinder, you have to add up the areas of all the surfaces. Imagine taking a soda can, cutting off the top and bottom sections, and then slicing it down one side. You then spread out the various parts of the can. If you measure each one of these sections, you get the total surface area. When you measure the surface area of a right circular cylinder, dont forget to include the top and bottom of the can in your calculation. Heres the formula for the total surface area (TSA) of a right circular cylinder the diameter (d) is 2 times the radius (r):
TSA = dh + 2r2 Lets Try Some Questions: Q1. How many cubical blocks, each with edges of length 4 centimeters, are needed to fill a rectangular box that has inside dimensions 20 centimeters by 24 centimeters by 32 centimeters? A) 38 B) 96 C) 192 D) 240 E) 384
Q2. The threedimensional figure above has two parallel bases and 18 edges. Line segments are to be drawn connecting vertex V with each of the other 11 vertices in the figure. How many of these segments will not lie on an edge of the figure? A) Two B) Three C) Four D) Seven E) Nine Q3. In a windowless, cube-shaped storage room, the ceiling and 4 walls, including a door, are completely painted. The floor is not painted. If the painted area is equal to 80 square meters, what is the volume of the room, in cubic meters? A) 16 B) 20 C) 64 D) 256 E) 400 Q4. What is the total number of right angles formed by the edges of a cube? A) 36 B) 24 C) 20 D) 16 E) 12
always listed first, and the vertical coordinate (y) is listed second. A ordered pair will always be (x, y). Ordinate: Ordinate is another way of referring to the y-coordinate in an ordered pair. Used very rarely by the GRE. x-intercept: The value of x where a line, curve, or some other function crosses the x-axis. The value of y is 0 at the x-intercept. The x-intercept is often the solution or root of an equation. y-intercept: The value of y where a line, curve, or some other function crosses the y-axis. The value of x is 0 at the y-intercept. Slope: Slope measures how steep a line is and is commonly referred to as the rise over the run. Slope = (y2 y1)/(x2 x1)
A) Quantity A is greater B) Quantity B is greater C) The two quantities are equal D) The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.
Q4. In the figure above, point P(-3, 1) and Q(s, t) lie on the circle with center O. What is the value of s? A) B) C) D) E) 3 1 2 2 5
Q5. Line l is defined by the equation y 5x = 4 and line w is defined by the equation 10y + 2x + 20 = 0. If line k does not intersect line l, what is the degree measure of the angle formed by line k and line w? A) B) C) D) E) 0 30 60 90 Cannot be determined from the information given
Q6. A certain square is to be drawn on a coordinate plane. One of the vertices must be on the origin and the square is to have an area of 100. If all coordinates of the vertices must be integers, how many different ways can this square be drawn? A) B) C) D) E) 4 6 8 10 12
Q7. In the rectangular coordinate system, a line passes through the points (0, 5) and (7, 0). Which of the following points must the line also pass through? A) B) C) D) E) (-14, 10) (-7, 5) (12, -4) (14, -5) (21, -9)
Q1. Point P is the point with the greatest y-coordinate on the semicircle shown above. What is the x-coordinate of point Q? A) B) C) D) E) -3.5 -3 -2.5 -2 -1.5
Q2. In the xy -plane, an equation of line is y = 3x 1. If line m is the reflection of line in the y -axis, what is an equation of line m? A) B) C) D) E) y = -3x 1 y = -3x + 1 y = 3x + 1 y = -x/3 1 y = -x/3 + 1
Q3. In the figure above, if line l has a slope of -2, what is the y-intercept of line l? A) 7 B) 8 C) 9 D) 10
E) 12
Q4. If points (0, -3), (6, 0) and (k, 10) all lie on the same line, what is the value of k? A) B) C) D) E) 2 8 14 22 26
Q5. In the xy-coordinate plane, the points (a, b) and (a + k, b - 3) are on the line defined by y = 2x 5. What is the value of k? A) B) C) D) E) -5/2 -5/3 -3/2 -2/3 -2/5
Q6. In the xy-plane, the point (-2, -3) is the center of a circle. The point (-2, 1) lies inside the circle and the point (4, -3) lies outside the circle. If the radius r of the circle is an integer, then r = A) B) C) D) E) 6 5 4 3 2
Q7. A certain quantity is measured on two different scales, the R-scale and the S-scale, that are related linearly. Measurements on the R-scale of 6 and 24 correspond to measurements on the S-scale of 30 and 60, respectively. What measurement on the Rscale corresponds to a measurement of 100 on the S-scale? A) B) C) D) E) 20 36 48 60 84