GMAT Quant: Problem Solving (No Data Sufficiency Here)

The big picture

• GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min)
  • Problem Solving only — Data Sufficiency moved to Data Insights
  • Algebra & arithmetic — Word problems, ratios, percents, number properties
  • No calculator — Mental & paper maths only
  • ~2 min/question — 45 min for 21 questions

One question type: Problem Solving

GMAT Focus Quant is only Problem Solving — standard five-option multiple-choice maths questions. Data Sufficiency has moved to the Data Insights section, so Quant is now a cleaner, single-format section of 21 questions in 45 minutes.

It's reasoning, not heavy computation

Content is algebra and arithmetic — word problems, ratios, percentages, number properties, basic statistics. There's no on-screen calculator in Quant, so the test rewards smart setup and estimation, not brute-force calculation.

Plug in and back-solve

Two reliable tactics: plug in numbers for variable-heavy questions, and back-solve by testing the answer choices (start with the middle value). These turn abstract algebra into concrete arithmetic you can check.

Pace and don't stall

About 2 minutes per question. Because it's adaptive, an early stumble matters — but so does finishing, so don't sink five minutes into one question. Bookmark a monster, make your best guess, and use the review screen if time allows.

Test yourself before you move on

Re-reading a note feels like learning and produces almost none. The retrieval below is what actually builds the memory, so cover the map above and answer these from memory — out loud or written down, not in your head, because "I know this" is the feeling that fails under exam pressure.

1. Without looking: what is Problem Solving only, and how does it connect to GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min)?
2. Without looking: what is Algebra & arithmetic, and how does it connect to GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min)?
3. Without looking: what is No calculator, and how does it connect to GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min)?
4. Without looking: what is ~2 min/question, and how does it connect to GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min)?

Anything you could not produce is the part of this note you have not learned yet — regardless of how familiar it felt while reading. Re-read only that node, then re-test the whole set. Testing the whole set matters: recalling one idea in isolation is easier than recalling it among 4 competing ones, which is the situation the exam actually puts you in.

When to come back to this note

Spacing is not a scheduling detail, it is the mechanism. Meeting this material again just as it starts to fade forces the effortful retrieval that consolidates it, which is why a note reviewed four times across three weeks outlasts the same note read four times in one evening. The built-in scheduler resurfaces these questions at widening intervals for exactly that reason — the prompt arriving when you feel you have half-forgotten is the system working, not failing.

A practical rhythm for GMAT Quant (21 Qs, 45 min): today, again tomorrow, then after three days, then after a week. If you fail a review, shorten the next interval rather than re-reading the note end to end — the failure identifies the gap precisely, and re-reading everything wastes the diagnosis.

Then apply it under pressure. Knowing a concept in isolation and using it in a timed paper are different skills, and only the second is examined. There are 90 free GMAT practice tests here covering 1,920 questions — counted from the test files, not estimated. Take a full timed GMAT mock →