GRE Sample Test 4 Quantitative Reasoning 1

Henry purchased x apples, and Jack purchased 10 apples less than one-third the number of apples Henry purchased. One-third of means the same as one-third times, and the number of apples Henry purchased is x. Thus, this boils down to
J =

1

3

x−10.
You can plug this in for Quantity A. We have

1

3

x−10 in Quantity A and

x−30

3

in Quantity B. Now you can clear the fraction in Quantity B. Let’s split Quantity B into two fractions:

x

3

−

30

3

. Leave the

x

3

alone and cancel the factor of 3 from the numerator and denominator of

30

3

and you’re left with

x

3

−10. What's

x

3

? It’s onethird of x. So Quantity A equals

1

3

x−10, while Quantity B also equals

1

3

x−10, and the answer is (C).