Think fast!
I've seen a lot of test prep guides say that "25% of the Quantitative section of the GMAT is Algebra". This is really kind of dishonest: maybe 25% is explicitly algebra, but all that geometry? A lot of that arithmetic? Stat? Rate problems? Algebra in disguise, all!
But if you're rusty when it comes to solving for x, don't panic! There's good news too. First of all, Veritas provides you with a good comprehensive Math Essentials textbook filled with practice drills. All Veritas students also have access to a prerecorded "Veritas On Demand" lesson to guide them through this book on their own schedule.
Some of you may feel that you need a more comprehensive approach to algebra than the refresher offered by a prep course! Here is another recommendation that Veritas instructors have been passing along for some time: Elizabeth Stapel's Purplemath.com.
Almost entirely the work of one math teacher (!), this website is essentially Algebra I and II for free, online. Tons of useful information, from pre-algebra rudiments all the way up through advanced subjects like matrices and logarithms (neither of which are on the GMAT). If you complete these lessons, you will know the algebra you need for this test.
Because so much algebra is useful for the GMAT, I will simply list below the sections of Purplemath that you don't need for the GMAT. Consider everything else
Stuff to skip
- Preliminary Topics
- Metric Conversions
- Number Bases
- Significant Digits
- Beginning Algebra Topics
- Engineering Notation
- Okay to skim: all graphing topics
- Scatterplots & Regressions
- Scientific Notation
- Intermediate Algebra Topics
- Ellipses
- Even and Odd Functions
- Numerical Approximation of Zeroes
- Okay to skim: Variation
- Okay to skim: Advanced Algebra Topics. These topics are not covered at all by the exam:
- Logarithms
- Matrices
- Complex Numbers
- Okay to skip: all sections on trigonometry
http://www.purplemath.com/
