GMAT Exam: A Simple Guide To Integrated Reasoning

Introduction
The Integrated Reasoning section tests your ability to use information to solve complex problems. This section may seem intimidating, but these questions simply test skills you’ve used in school and when taking other tests. The difference is that you must combine these skills to answer questions correctly.
The Integrated Reasoning section is intended to provide business schools with additional information to help evaluate admissions candidates. The decision-making skills that candidates display in answering the questions can help schools identify which candidates are most likely to be successful within the classroom and in their careers.
The Integrated Reasoning section has a 30-minute time limit. The section includes 12 questions, some of which may have multiple parts.

A special online calculator is available to use for this section of the test only. You may NOT bring your own calculator, and you cannot use the online calculator for any other section of the test.

Integrated Reasoning questions test your ability to solve complicated problems using information from multiple sources. They test your logic and reasoning abilities, your skills at analyzing and synthesizing information, and your math and computation skills. They also test your ability to convert between graphical and verbal representations of ideas. Several different skills may be tested by a single question.

Integrated Reasoning questions do not test your business knowledge, but they do test the types of real-world skills you would use in the classroom or on the job. While you might never need to measure the hypotenuse of a right triangle over the course of your career, you will likely be required to read text, tables, and charts and to make decisions based on complex information.

There are four types of GMAT Integrated Reasoning questions:
1.Table Analysis
2.Graphics Interpretation
3.Multi-Source Reasoning
4.Two-Part Analysis

Each format requires you to solve complex problems using information from multiple sources. Understanding these formats will help you know what to expect and how to approach each question.

Table Analysis
Table Analysis questions require you to analyze data in spreadsheets or tables. The questions may contain spreadsheets or tables that can be sorted. You may have to sort the data to determine the accuracy of given answer statements.

Problem Solving Strategies
Here are some helpful strategies for approaching table analysis questions.
- columns and rows. The columns go up and down the table vertically from top to bottom, and the rows go across the table horizontally from left to right. Each unit of data is presented in a cell.
- header row. The header row contains category names that identify the data in each column.
- To sort the information in a table, click on the header cell of a column. The data in the entire table will be reorganized according to that column. Information can be sorted from lowest to highest (1–100 or A–Z) only.
- Use estimates where possible to calculate answers quickly.

Example
The table below gives information on total deliveries (total delivery trips made to addresses on record) and total items delivered (packages and letters) in 2015 by a private company for a one-year period to 21 zip codes throughout the country. The 21 zip codes fall among the top 35 for this annual period in terms of both total deliveries and total items delivered by the company. In addition to providing the numbers of total deliveries and total items delivered for each route, the table also gives the percent of increase or decrease over the numbers for 2014 and the rank of the route for total deliveries and total pieces delivered.
On the real exam, you will be able to sort tables by any of their columns. (Columns can be sorted in ascending order only.) The table is shown with its data sorted in different ways to mirror the actual test.

Sorted by Percent Change in Deliveries (Column 5)


Sorted by Rank of Deliveries (Column 6)


Sorted by Percent Change in Items Delivered (Column 8)



Sorted by Rank of Items Delivered (Column 9)


 

Review each of the following statements.

Based on information provided in the table, indicate whether the statement is true or false.

Solution

The delivery route with the median rank based on total number of deliveries is Atlanta, GA (30305). The delivery route with the median rank based on total number of items delivered is St. Louis, MO (63101).
In 2015, there were approximately 160,000 items delivered in Cambridge. This represented an increase of about 10% over the previous year. In 2014, therefore, the number of items delivered was approximately 160,000/1.10, which is about 145,000.
The delivery route experiencing the greatest percent increase in total deliveries from 2014 to 2015 is Atlanta, GA (30302). The delivery route that saw the greatest increase in the percent of items delivered is Cambridge, MA (02138).
In 2015, 7 delivery routes experienced a percent decrease in the number of deliveries. There were 10 delivery routes that experienced a percent decrease in the number of items delivered.

Graphics Interpretation
Graphics Interpretation questions contain graphs, images, or charts. You will be required to review the image and interpret it to answer a question. Graphics Interpretation questions contain fill-in-the-blank answer statements. To select the correct answer, you must choose from several options on a drop-down list.

Problem-Solving Strategies
For these questions, you’ll need to use data analysis, percentages, and coordinate geometry skills.

Here are some key points:
- positively related if one increases as the other does. If one increases as the other decreases, the relationship between the two is negative.
- slope of a line is a measure of its steepness. The steeper the line, the greater the absolute value of the slope.
- positive. If the line slants downward from left to right, its slope is negative.
- To calculate the percentage represented by part of a whole, divide the part by the total. In the following example, to calculate the percentage represented by 3 plants, divide 3 by 60. The percentage is 0.05, or 5%.
- Where possible, use estimation to answer Graphics Interpretation questions.

Example

The graph above is a scatter plot with 60 points, each representing the number of daily hours of sunlight to which 60 plants were exposed and the corresponding height, measured in centimeters, that each plant attained. The plant heights were measured after 6 weeks of consistent sun exposure. The solid line is the regression line, and the dashed line is the line through the points (1, 4) and (7, 8).

Select the best answer to fill in the blanks for each of the statements below, based on the data shown in the graph.

1. The relationship between the hours of sun exposure and plant height is _______.
A. zero
B. negative
C. positive

2. The slope of the dashed line is ________ the slope of the regression line.
A. greater than
B. less than
C. equal to

3. The number of plants that received more than 6 hours of daily sun exposure is closest to _______ % of 60.
A. 0
B. 5
C. 10
D. 20
E. 40

Solutions
1. C The relationship between the hours of sun exposure and plant height is positive. As sun exposure increases, so does plant height.
2. B The slope of the dashed line is less than that of the solid line. The solid line is steeper than the dashed line, so its slope is the larger of the two.
3. B The number of plants that received more than 6 hours of daily sun exposure is closest to 5% of 60. Exactly 3 plants received more than 6 hours of daily sun exposure, so 5% of the plants received this amount.

Multi-Source Reasoning
Multi-Source Reasoning questions require you to examine multiple sources and calculate the correct answers to problems. Two to three sources of information will be provided: these may include text, graphs, charts, tables, or spreadsheets. You will have to consult more than one source to answer each question.

Problem-Solving Strategies
Keep the following points in mind when confronting a Multi-Source Reasoning question.
- Multi-Source Reasoning questions are presented in “tabbed” format. To see the different sources, click on the tabs at the top of the screen. You can view only one source at a time.
- These questions give you more information than needed to arrive at the answer. Sort through the information to determine what is relevant before answering.
- When determining whether an inference is supported, consider the source materials carefully. A topic might be mentioned in the sources without necessarily supporting an inference about it.

Example
E-mail #1—E-mail from division director to donations coordinator

August 10, 9:37 A.M.
Yesterday I spoke with the computer training lab administrator to update him on the status of donations for the school district’s computer donations drive. He extended the donations deadline for another week, until next Tuesday. Are we on track to receive enough donations from students’ families to meet our goal of computers for the new training lab? Do we need to extend our request to local businesses too?

E-mail #2—E-mail from donations coordinator in response to the division director’s August 10, 9:37 A.M. message

August 10, 10:04 A.M.
To date, we have received 40 computers. We need 100 computers donated to meet our goal for the new training lab. We have requested help from all of the students’ families, so we should invite local businesses as well. In all of our past drives, including this one so far, we have received donations from about 20 percent of those who receive requests. (Of course, we might always receive more or less than that average, so we should consider the possibilities of not meeting the goal or overspending the budget for the thank-you event.) Each individual or organization donating a computer will receive two invitations to our thank-you event to celebrate the opening of the lab. Refreshments and supplies for the event are expected to run $20 per person. What is the total budget for the thank-you event?
E-mail #3—E-mail from division director to donations coordinator in response to the donation coordinator’s August 10, 10:04 A.M. message

August 10, 10:35 A.M.
The budget for the thank-you event is fixed at $4,000. This would allow us to accommodate two attendees for each of the 100 computers donated. The budget is firm, so we should take care to ensure that the event costs stay within this amount. Although we do not have resources to extend the budget, if necessary we could determine ways to reduce the cost per person if we receive more donations than the original goal amount.

Consider each of the following statements.

Does the information in the three e-mails support each inference as stated?


Solutions

The donations coordinator states in E-mail #2 that local businesses should be invited to contribute to the drive.
The e-mails do not suggest that the donation coordinator does not believe the goal of the drive can be met. This inference is not supported by the information provided.

The division director states in E-mail #3 that the budget for the thank-you event is firm and cannot be extended.
The e-mails do not suggest a disagreement between the two over the per-person budget for the thank-you event. The donations coordinator mentions this amount in E-mail #2, and the division director proposes that attempts might be made to reduce the cost per person if necessary.

Two-Part Analysis
The answers to these questions will have two components. Components are presented in table format, with one component per column. To answer the questions, you must analyze different combinations of the two components.

Problem-Solving Strategies
When answering Two-Part Analysis questions, remember these strategies.
- both Acme Company and Brown Company.
- Two-Part Analysis questions may involve more than one outcome. In the following example, two outcomes are projected: the companies produce the same number of units in 10 years, and after 10 years, Acme produces more units than Brown.
- The problem below can be solved by working backward. Start with a number in the middle for Acme—say, 50 units per year. If Acme increases its production by 50 units per year, in 10 years it will produce 8,000 units. If Brown increases its production by 50 units per year, in 10 years it will produce 8,500 units. The number of 50 for Acme is too small. Try the next larger number. If Acme increases its production by 100 units per year, in 10 years it will produce 8,500 units. This would match Brown’s production at an increase of 50 units per year.

- You can also use algebra to help find the answer.

Set up an equation for the first outcome:
7,500 + 10x = 8,000 + 10y

Solve for x in terms of y:

This tells you that Acme’s production (x) is 50 units more than Brown’s production (y). The only options that fit from the table are 100 units for Acme and 50 units for Brown.

Example
Acme Company currently produces 7,500 circuit board units per year. Brown Company currently produces 8,000 circuit board units. The numbers of units produced by both companies are increasing each year at a constant rate. If each of these companies continues to produce an increased number of units annually at its constant rate, in 10 years both companies will produce the same number of units for the first time. After the 10-year mark, Acme Company will produce more units per year than Brown Company.

In the table below, identify the rates of increase, in annual units produced, for each company that together meet the performance projections given above. Select only one option in each column.


Solution
The correct answer is 100 units per year for Acme Company and 50 units per year for Brown Company.


If Acme Company increases its production by 100 units per year, in 10 years it will produce 8,500 units per year. Brown Company would reach the 8,500-unit mark at the same time by producing 50 more units per year. Every year after the first 10, Acme will produce more units than Brown Company.