Chapter 12
Mathematical Reasoning Overview
If the GED® Mathematical Reasoning test covered all the math topics taught in high school, it would be an overwhelming test. Fortunately, it doesn't, and it isn't. The GED® test writers concentrate on a few areas very heavily, which means that by reading the chapters that follow and doing the exercises we provide, you should be able to score very well—even if you've always hated math.
What's on the Test
The Mathematical Reasoning test contains 46 questions to be answered in 115 minutes, which gives you two and a half minutes for each question. The areas covered in the Mathematical Reasoning test are as follows:
Quantitative Problem Solving with Rational Numbers: 25%
Quantitative Problem Solving in Measurement: 20%
Algebraic Problem Solving with Expressions and Equations: 30%
Algebraic Problem Solving with Graphs and Functions: 25%
What Isn't on the Test
There is no calculus or even precalculus. No logs, no proofs, no imaginary numbers. To make things even easier, the Mathematical Reasoning test provides a list of formulas, so that in case you don't remember how to find the volume of a cylinder, for example, you can always just look it up.