Algebra — Core Skills for Quant

Linear equations: Isolate the variable. Same rules as always.

Quadratics: Factor or use the quadratic formula. Know the discriminant.

x2 - 5x + 6 = 0 factors to (x-2)(x-3) = 0, so x = 2 or x = 3

Inequalities: Flip the sign when multiplying/dividing by a negative.

Absolute value: |x - 3| = 5 means x - 3 = 5 OR x - 3 = -5. Two cases.

Exponent rules:

x^a times x^b = x^(a+b)

(x^a)^b = x^(ab)

x^0 = 1, x^(-n) = 1/x^n

GRE twist: The algebra itself is straightforward. The difficulty is in translating word problems into algebra, and in recognizing which algebraic technique to apply. Practice translation more than computation.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Algebra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra