Total Page : 360
Publisher : Kaplan Publishing
Publication Date : 2008 08 05
>> Valuable GMAT math refresher especially good for people with rusty math skills
I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT Here are my thoughts on the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook
OVERVIEW
The Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook deals exclusively with the quantitative section of the GMAT Even though the math tested in the GMAT is quite basic even elementary math subjects will seem like rocket science if you ve been out of school for a long time which is why a good math review is always welcome And here is where this book comes in The Kaplan Math Workbook is both a general math refresher with specific exercises for each topic and a GMAT practice problem resource a combination which means that this book is definitely worth some attention if you re struggling with quant
The book offers a wide range of practice problems presented in both drill format and GMAT format What you ll find in the Kaplan Math Workbook
Arithmetic 87 drills and 116 Problem Solving
Algebra 35 drills and 41 Problem Solving
Geometry 66 drills and 90 Problem Solving
Word Problems 10 drills and 103 Problem Solving
50 Data Sufficiency
PROS
Solid math review with well written content that will take you through most of the things you need to know in order to tackle the quantitative section of the GMAT I d say this book is particularly useful if math has not been a part of your life for some time It s good as an introduction as well as a supplement for intermediate study
With over 600 problems and exercises the book is well worth the money if you re looking for practice
Explanations for GMAT practice problems are detailed enough to make anybody understand the why and the how I particularly liked the fact that some problems are dealt with in more than one way The book generously providing several methods of solving a given question
Each chapter s practice sets are divided according to difficulty so you can focus on whichever level suits you best if you re pressed for time
Backsolving and number picking are discussed but only for a few pages which is a plus because in my opinion good test prep books should focus on a thorough concept review instead of tricks
CONS
Not enough Data Sufficiency This GMAT math question type is not presented as well as it could have been and there is a disproportionately small number of practice problems for the format Since most people see this type of question for the first time while getting ready for the GMAT I do believe it deserves more attention
Some GMAT math concepts are not given sufficient attention and unfortunately it s the topics that you re likely to see if you re aiming for a high quant score Statistics and probabilities are reviewed in just two pages while there is no separate section for permutations and combinations
The answers to drills are not detailed since the book only gives you the right answer While most drills are there just to enforce concepts and thus are pretty basic the fact that almost half of the practice problems in the book are not explained as well as they could have been is definitely a minus
As with other Kaplan material this book could have been edited a bit more carefully You will see a few errors here and there but this does not have a dramatic impact on the quality of the book
BOTTOM LINE
If quant is your weak area the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook could be a valuable tool in your prep provided you take the time to properly review all the information it contains and carefully work through the hundreds of problems The book is useful for all levels of math knowledge but you will probably see the highest return on invested time if your math skills are basic or intermediate While there s no shortage of advanced problems the workbook does not specifically target high scoring test takers as evidenced by the fact that topics perceived by most as difficult are not adequately addressed
About me Dana Jinaru 770 GMAT scorer expert at Beat The GMAT a community serving 100K GMAT students/month
>> Maybe too optimistic but nothing helps as much as basics
I got 99th percentile on my GMAT 750 49 42 and i used 3 books this one Kaplan s book with CD and Verbal Workbook I had access to PR book and PP but I did only tests from those I found Kaplan s materials of quality and difficulty Some whine that Kaplan is too hard but that s good if you can handle Kaplan you can handle old good GMAT
PROS
Very short and condensed math reviews straight to the point
No smart aleck advice about some stupid tricks only math review exactly what I needed
Solid problems that illustrate a lot of traps and multiple ways of solving them
Starts with the basics arithmetic integers primes etc the stuff that anybody can uses a review of A lot of applicants underestimate how much they forgot the basics and skim/skip them I would not do that and that book does not either
Finally the number of questions and quizzes in this book is impressive I am giving a short summary of some of the sections of the book and number of quizzes and test questions Quiz questions are math only Test questions are GMAT type questions
CONS
No probability or combinations review which would be very helpful Get something I bombed my probability question on the GMAT
I went through this book at least 3 times helping others and I found that solutions don t include some of the most genius ways to handle the problems I think the authors of the questions went beyond themselves
Errors even though this is the 6th edition and it barely changed compared to the 1st and 2nd there are a few typos and just careless errors it s a shame
Arithmetic
Number operations 15 quiz questions and 15 test questions
Number properties 15 19
Averages 10 19
Ratios 10 24
Percents 25 25
Powers and Roots 12 17
Algebra
Level One 20 26
Level Two 15 15
Word Problems
Level One 10 26
Level Two 37
Test 40
Geometry
Lines 6 14
Triangles 16 21
Quadrilaterals 15 19
Circles 19 13
Multiple Figures 4 15
Solids 6 8
Data Sufficiency
Test 1 25
Test 2 25
Also here is the list of the Most Interesting GMAT questions from this book some are hard and others require an unusual approach make sure you can answer every one of them and know how to solve them by heart
Number properties test 8 13 14 17 19
Averages test 4 6
Ratios 22
Percents 4 7 8 22
Powers and Roots 5 12
Algebra test 2 2 6
Basic Word Problem Exercise p 131 6 8 9
Word Problems Test 1 4 19 24
Percents Ratios and Rates 34
General WP Test 31 35 40
Geometry
Triangles Exercise 7 11
Triangles Test 2 15 18
Quadraliterals and other polygons 14 16 17
Circles 2 5 10
Multiple Figures 2 6 9 14
Solids 5
DS1 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 24
DS2 3 7 9 10 15 21 23 24
>> Good basics review far too many errors
This book is helpful but chock full of errors far more than the Here are the errors list posted by one of the other reviewers If you buy the book you will find that several of the multiple choice practice and review problems don t have an answer that fits Don t waste your time flip to the answer and you can quickly deduce where the error in the book is
If You are looking for >>> Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook find the best one here
