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By using Ballpark, you find an answer by what could reasonably be in the range of the answer or reasonably within the scope of the question.
Try the Ballpark Strategy here:
If 0.303z = 2,727, then z =
a) 9,000
b) 900
c) 90
d) 9
e) 0.9
| Solution
(A) Because the answer choices are so far apart, you
can ballpark this problem. Think about it: .303
is close to 1/3. 1/3 of z = 2,727, then what
answer could possibly be correct? You don't
even have to do the math. 2,727 is about 1/3
of 9,000; therefore, the answer must be 9,000,
according to the Ballpark Strategy (note
that there are no other answers even in the
9,000 range). Or, you could multiply
both sides by 1000 to eliminate the decimal
points, then divide 2,727,000 by 303 and get
the same answer.
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Why use Ballpark?
1)To double check yourself. Does the answer look reasonable?
2) It is quicker than doing the calculations. Sometimes you can ballpark and jump straight to the right answer choice or tell if a statement is sufficient on Data Sufficiency.
3) This is a particularly useful strategy when the possible answers are scattered over a large range.
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800score Secret:
Do you know how the geometry questions with drawings always say "not drawn to scale"? Well..... don't tell anyone this...... but they ARE drawn pretty much to scale (in almost every instance). This means that you can double check your geometry answers by seeing if they "fit" the geometry picture. So you can Ballpark geometry questions by looking at the drawing. If a drawing looks like an equilateral triangle (a triangle with three equal sides), and you came up with three legs of 3, 12, and 14..... hmmm.... you might want to double check your math!
Why is this the case? Deliberately making a drawing not look like the right answer is just going too far..... even for Mr. GMAT, so the drawings are usually pretty accurate.
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