GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE PS

Solution:

We must first simplify the expression in the square root **before **actually taking the square root. In other words, we have to get the product of 16 and 20 and add it to the product of 8 and 32 before taking the square root.

√[(16)(20) + (8)(32)]

√(320 + 256)

√576 = 24

Answer: B

Note: If struggling with determining the value of √576, we could have used the answer choices to our advantage. We need to ask ourselves what number, when squared, equals 576. Since we should have the value of 25^2 memorized, we would know that 25^2 = 625. Since 576 is slightly less than 625, we can reasonably determine that 24^2 = 576.

About The Author

Scott Woodbury-Stewart is the founder & CEO of Target Test Prep. A passionate teacher who is deeply invested in the success of his students, Scott began his career teaching physics, chemistry, math, and biology. Since then, he has spent more than a decade helping students gain entry into the world’s top business schools, logging 10,000+ hours of GMAT, EA, GRE and SAT instruction. Scott also served as lead content developer and curriculum architect for the revolutionary courses Target Test Prep GMAT, Target Test Prep EA, Target Test Prep GRE and Target Test Prep SAT Quant.