Quantitative Reasoning / Mathematics
What this domain tests
Quantitative reasoning on the Bocconi Graduate Test checks arithmetic fluency, algebraic translation, geometry, and multi-step word problems. Questions reward a clean setup and controlled estimation more than long computation.
Core rules
- Translate every relationship into an equation before calculating, and label units.
- Percent change is (new minus old) divided by old; a 20% fall needs a 25% rise to return to the original value.
- Rates multiply: work equals rate times time, and combined rates add when agents work simultaneously.
- For integer or count problems, test divisibility and parity early.
- Back-solve from answer choices when algebra is messy.
Worked example
Three machines produce 1,200 units in 4 hours. At the same rate, how many units do five machines produce in 7 hours? One machine's rate is 1,200 divided by (3 times 4), which equals 100 units per hour. Five machines for 7 hours produce 5 times 7 times 100, or 3,500 units. The trap is scaling only machines or only hours; both factors multiply.
Traps
- Mixing percentage points with percent change.
- Using the wrong base after a discount or increase.
- Ignoring unit conversions such as minutes versus hours or cents versus euros.
- Assuming successive percentage changes are additive: two 10% discounts give 19%, not 20%.