Short mock test · GRE · 6 questions in 9 min 50 sec · 3 correct answers

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Needs reinforcement in Verbal Reasoning; needs work in Quantitative Reasoning. Reference points for this attempt: three questions per section. This report does not predict your test score.

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  1. Verbal Reasoning , 2 correct answers out of 3 , Needs reinforcement
  2. Quantitative Reasoning , 1 correct answer out of 3 , Needs work

One point per correct answer; zero for an incorrect or unanswered question. Out of three questions: three correct: strong; two correct: needs reinforcement; one or zero correct: needs work.

Review · 6 questions

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Section All Verbal ReasoningQuantitative Reasoning
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Verbal Reasoning 1 mistake out of 3

  • Q1 City bees — The primary purpose of the passage is to Correct answer B
    Question 1 · Verbal ReasoningYour answer: B

    Practice passage · fictional scenario

    For decades, ecologists assumed that cities were hostile to wild bees: pavement replaces flowering meadows, and pesticides are sprayed in parks and gardens. Recent surveys in several European cities, however, have recorded more species of wild bees in urban gardens than in the intensively farmed land around those cities, and some researchers now describe cities as refuges for pollinators.

    Others urge caution. The surveys counted species, not individuals, and a garden visited by many species may still support only small populations of each. Moreover, most surveys were conducted in summer, when gardens are in bloom; whether urban bees find enough food in early spring, when few ornamental plants flower, remains largely unstudied.

    The primary purpose of the passage is to

    1. A argue that cities are more hospitable to wild bees than any rural area
    2. B present a finding about urban bees and point out limits on what it shows Correct answer
    3. C explain why pesticides used in parks are harmful to pollinators
    4. D describe a method for counting bee populations in gardens
    5. E recommend planting flowers that bloom in early spring

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: B — a finding about urban bees, followed by the limits of what it shows.

    The method in action

    1. Follow how the passage develops. The first paragraph reports a result: more species in urban gardens than on intensively farmed land. The second, which begins “Others urge caution,” points out its limitations.
    2. Look for an answer that covers both. B states both the result and its limited scope. An answer that describes only one paragraph cannot be the purpose of the whole passage.
    3. Rule out partial or overstated readings. C and D repeat a detail or invent a method; E turns an open question into a recommendation that the passage does not make.

    The pitfall

    A, “than any rural area”: the passage compares cities only with intensively farmed land, and the second paragraph limits what can be concluded from the species survey. An absolute term in a purpose answer is a warning sign.

    Key takeaways

    A passage’s purpose covers all its paragraphs: when the second qualifies the first, the correct answer preserves that nuance.

    The method in the guide Verbal Reasoning
  • Q2 The bus of Lindmark — Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage? Your answerB Correct answer C
    Question 2 · Verbal ReasoningYour answer: B

    Practice passage · fictional scenario

    When the city of Lindmark replaced its printed bus timetables with a smartphone application, officials expected ridership among older residents to fall. Instead, ridership in that group rose slightly the following year. A survey found that many older riders had never opened the application; they relied on the electronic displays installed at major stops at the same time, which show when the next bus will actually arrive.

    Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

    1. A Older residents of Lindmark use smartphones more often than officials believed.
    2. B The smartphone application was the main reason ridership among older residents rose. Your answer
    3. C A change introduced along with the application may help explain the rise in ridership among older residents. Correct answer
    4. D The printed timetables were less accurate than the electronic displays.
    5. E Ridership among younger residents fell after the application was introduced.

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: C — another change made at the same time could explain the increase.

    The method in action

    1. Notice the unexpected result. A decrease was expected among older users, but a slight increase was observed. The passage then gives a clue: many had never opened the app.
    2. Connect the clue to the question. These users relied on displays installed “at the same time.” C puts it cautiously: this simultaneous change may help explain the increase.
    3. Reject what the passage does not say. A and E discuss things the passage does not measure; D compares an accuracy that the passage does not evaluate for printed schedules.

    The pitfall

    B attributes the increase to the app, even though many older users had never opened it. The passage does not establish that cause; instead, it points to the possible role of the displays installed at stops.

    Key takeaways

    Keep an inference close to the passage: “may help explain” is better than asserting a cause without evidence.

    The method in the guide Verbal Reasoning
  • Q3 Although the committee’s report was praised for its thoroughness, its recommendations were so (i) that no two readers agreed on what the committee actually wanted the city to do. Correct answer A
    Question 3 · Verbal ReasoningYour answer: A

    Although the committee’s report was praised for its thoroughness, its recommendations were so (i) that no two readers agreed on what the committee actually wanted the city to do.

    1. A equivocal Correct answer
    2. B meticulous
    3. C radical
    4. D concise
    5. E popular

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: A — equivocal, ambiguous.

    The method in action

    1. Find the clue. The end of the sentence describes the effect: no readers agree on what the committee wants. The recommendations are therefore ambiguous.
    2. Read the linking word. “Although” contrasts a praised quality—the report’s thoroughness—with a flaw, so the missing word should be negative.
    3. Choose the word that produces the effect. Only “equivocal,” or ambiguous, explains why readers understand different things. “Radical” or “popular” would not create disagreement about meaning.

    The pitfall

    B, “meticulous,” repeats the idea of “thoroughness.” But “Although” signals a contrast, and a meticulous report is not necessarily hard to understand.

    Key takeaways

    Predict the word before reading the choices: here, “ambiguous.” Then look for its equivalent, not a word already present in the sentence.

    The method in the guide Verbal Reasoning

Quantitative Reasoning 2 mistakes of 3

  • Q4 Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using the information given. Your answerB Correct answer D
    Question 4 · Quantitative ReasoningYour answer: B

    The prompt

    x and y are positive integers, and x + y = 9.

    Quantity A: xy

    Quantity B: 20

    Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using the information given.

    1. A Quantity A is greater.
    2. B Quantity B is greater. Your answer
    3. C The two quantities are equal.
    4. D The relationship cannot be determined from the information given. Correct answer

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: D — the relationship cannot be determined.

    The method in action

    1. Understand the question before calculating. We do not need to find the value of xy, only compare it with 20. The prompt leaves few possibilities: x and y are positive integers that sum to 9, so there are only four pairs, ignoring order—1 and 8, 2 and 7, 3 and 6, or 4 and 5.
    2. Choose the shortest path. No calculator needed: test the cases, including the boundary case. 1 × 8 = 8, less than 20; 4 × 5 = 20, equal to 20. Two cases allowed by the prompt produce two different relationships.
    3. Check the answer before selecting it. No pair is greater than 20, ruling out A. But both B and C remain possible, and only D describes this situation. Answer: D.

    The pitfall

    B, “Quantity B is greater”: testing 1 and 8, 2 and 7, then 3 and 6 always gives less than 20, so you stop too soon. The pair 4 and 5 gives exactly 20. A comes from 4.5 × 4.5 = 20.25, which ignores that x and y are integers.

    Key takeaways

    Two allowed cases give different relationships, so the answer is D. But you need to test the boundary case, not just the first numbers that come to mind.

    The method in the guide Quantitative Reasoning
  • Q5 The average (arithmetic mean) of 5 numbers is 12. When a sixth number is added, the average of the 6 numbers is 13. What is the sixth number? Correct answer D
    Question 5 · Quantitative ReasoningYour answer: D

    The average (arithmetic mean) of 5 numbers is 12. When a sixth number is added, the average of the 6 numbers is 13. What is the sixth number?

    1. A 1
    2. B 13
    3. C 14
    4. D 18 Correct answer
    5. E 25

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: D — the sixth number is 18.

    The method in action

    1. Move from averages to sums. Five numbers with an average of 12 have a sum of 5 × 12 = 60. Six numbers with an average of 13 have a sum of 6 × 13 = 78.
    2. Find the difference. The sixth number is the added value: 78 − 60 = 18.
    3. Check your answer. (60 + 18) / 6 = 78 / 6 = 13: the new average is indeed 13.

    The pitfall

    B, 13, is the new average, not the added number. To raise the average by one point across six numbers, the new value must be six points above the old average: 12 + 6 = 18.

    Key takeaways

    Work with sums when solving average problems: average × count, then compare the sums.

    The method in the guide Quantitative Reasoning
  • Q6 Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using the information given. Your answerA Correct answer B
    Question 6 · Quantitative ReasoningYour answer: A

    The prompt

    0 < x < 1

    Quantity A: x²

    Quantity B: √x

    Compare Quantity A and Quantity B, using the information given.

    1. A Quantity A is greater. Your answer
    2. B Quantity B is greater. Correct answer
    3. C The two quantities are equal.
    4. D The relationship cannot be determined from the information given.

    The solution, step by step

    Correct answer: B — the square root is greater than the square.

    The method in action

    1. Read the condition. The value of x is between 0 and 1, exclusive: this condition determines the comparison.
    2. Try a simple value. With x = 0.25: the square is 0.0625, and the square root is 0.5. B is greater.
    3. Check that it is always true. Between 0 and 1, squaring makes a number smaller and taking its square root makes it larger: x² < x < √x, regardless of the value. The relationship is fixed: B.

    The pitfall

    A, “Quantity A is greater”: the instinct that a square is larger than the number. That is true above 1, not between 0 and 1, where squaring makes it smaller.

    Key takeaways

    In Quantitative Comparison, test values allowed by the condition, especially those between 0 and 1: squaring makes the value smaller, while taking its square root makes it larger.

    The method in the guide Quantitative Reasoning

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