EA Quantitative Reasoning Section

The EA Quantitative Section: Back to Math

The Quantitative Reasoning section of the EA has 14 question that test takers are given 30 minutes to complete. The section tests arithmetic, algebra, and basic statistics. While you will be expected to use these math skills to solve the problems presented, the test is focused more on your critical-reasoning and problem-solving skills themselves than difficult math concepts. In fact, many of the math questions are high school level – there is no calculus, trigonometry, or geometry – but test takers should be sure they have confidence in their knowledge of the basic concepts, rules, and equations for these mathematical subjects. There are no calculators allowed for this section, so test takers should also be prepared to perform basic calculations relatively quickly. In addition to problem-solving abilities, the test also evaluates critical thinking, and this will be explained in further detail below in the description of Data Sufficiency questions.

The 30-minute time limit for this section means that test-takers have two and one-half minutes per question. Questions vary greatly in difficulty and the amount of time required for completion. Therefore, rather than limit themselves to 2 ½ minutes per question, test takers should budget their time more broadly. For example, planning on having 8-9 questions finished at the end of 20 minutes would be a better way to benchmark than question-by-question pacing.

There are no experimental sections on the EA, which means every question matters and every correct answer counts towards your section and total score. There are two types of questions in the Quantitative section. Somewhere between one quarter and one third of the questions are Data Sufficiency questions, while the rest are Problem Solving questions. Each of these question types are described in further detail below.

Quantitative Question Types

As mentioned above, you will find two different types of questions in the Quantitative Reasoning section of the EA. These are:

• Problem Solving
  The majority of the questions (up to 2/3) in the Quantitative section fall into this category. These are multiple-choice questions framed as word problems which you will need to employ algebra, statistical knowledge, and arithmetic to solve.

• Data Sufficiency
  These questions assess test takers' abilities to discern what data is needed to solve equations. These questions involve primarily algebra and geometry. In a Data Sufficiency question, two pieces of information will be given, and then a question will be asked. You have to discern which, if any, of the data given is enough to accurately answer the question given.