Free GRE General Test Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the GRE General Test practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A city widened a road to reduce congestion. For two months, average travel time fell; a year later, it had returned to its former level even though the road remained wider. A transport analyst suggests that the initial improvement encouraged additional drivers to use the route. Which finding would most strengthen that explanation?

   1. A.Traffic counts rose substantially during the year after widening.Correct answer: A
   2. B.The same number of drivers used the route throughout the following year.
   3. C.Drivers stopped using the route because travel time remained high.
   4. D.The initial improvement persisted unchanged through the following year.

   Explanation: ETS advises: "Answer each question based on the information provided in the passage and don’t rely on outside knowledge." More drivers directly supports the proposed induced-demand mechanism. A stable traffic count weakens the explanation's central change. A decrease in use is contrary to the proposed added demand. An unchanged improvement contradicts the reported reversal.

   Reference: ETS Overview of the Verbal Reasoning Measure — Reading Comprehension — General advice

2. 2Which of the following four positive integers is a prime number?

   1. A.51
   2. B.53Correct answer: B
   3. C.57
   4. D.63

   Explanation: ETS states: "A prime number is an integer greater than 1 that has only two positive divisors: 1 and itself." 53 has no prime divisor at most its square root: it is divisible by none of2,3,5,7. 51=3×17 has additional divisors. 57=3×19 is composite. 63=7×9 is composite.

   Reference: ETS Math Review — PDF page 7, 1.1 Integers

3. 3A writer is evaluating the claim that every city park should be converted into sports fields. Her evidence shows unmet demand for playing space in some districts, while other districts lack quiet recreation areas. Which thesis best uses those contrasting conditions to establish a defensible position?

   1. A.Every park should become sports fields because unmet demand in some districts establishes the same need in all districts.
   2. B.No park should become sports fields because the demand for quiet recreation in some districts rules out conversion elsewhere.
   3. C.Conversion can be justified where playing space is scarce, but a universal policy neglects districts needing quiet recreation.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Conversion is equally appropriate in all districts because the two different kinds of recreational need cancel each other.

   Explanation: ETS instructs: "Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position." It links a qualified position to both stated conditions without pretending the tradeoff disappears. This generalizes from some districts to all despite countervailing needs. This reverses the overgeneralization, ignoring districts with unmet sports demand. Different local needs do not cancel; they undermine a uniform conclusion.

   Reference: ETS Analyze an Issue Task — Task instructions — conditions and extent of agreement

4. 4A historian writes: 'The surviving letters describe village ceremonies in remarkable detail. Yet almost all were written by visiting officials, whose interest lay in unusual events rather than ordinary routines.' The second sentence primarily serves to do what?

   1. A.Treat the letters as a complete picture of ordinary village life.
   2. B.Qualify the historical picture supplied by the letters.Correct answer: B
   3. C.Show that ceremonial detail guarantees the letters' representativeness.
   4. D.Argue that unusual events occurred more often than ordinary routines.

   Explanation: ETS advises: "Answer each question based on the information provided in the passage and don’t rely on outside knowledge." The selection of authors and events limits representativeness. This ignores the selective official perspective. Rich detail does not remove selection bias. The frequency of descriptions does not establish event frequency.

   Reference: ETS Overview of the Verbal Reasoning Measure — Reading Comprehension — General advice

5. 5Two signals flash together at noon. One flashes every 18 seconds and the other every 24 seconds. After how many seconds will they next flash together?

   1. A.6 seconds
   2. B.42 seconds
   3. C.72 secondsCorrect answer: C
   4. D.432 seconds

   Explanation: ETS states: "The least common multiple of two nonzero integers c and d is the least positive integer that is a multiple of both c and d." 18=2×3² and24=2³×3, so the least common multiple is2³×3²=72 seconds. 6 is their greatest common divisor, not a common multiple. Adding the intervals does not make42 divisible by either18 or24. 432 is a common multiple but not the least positive one.

   Reference: ETS Math Review — PDF page 5, 1.1 Integers

6. 6An essay argues that a university should retain discussion seminars rather than replace all of them with recorded lectures. Its strongest opponent contends that recordings let students with irregular schedules study when they can. Which addition most directly answers that objection while maintaining the essay's position?

   1. A.Recorded lectures should be rejected because students who favor flexible schedules are less interested in serious academic work.
   2. B.Discussion seminars deserve preservation because universities have offered them for many years and should respect their traditions.
   3. C.Flexible scheduling should replace every seminar because any teaching format that benefits some students must benefit all students.
   4. D.Recordings can provide flexible access alongside seminars, preserving live discussion while serving students who cannot attend every meeting.Correct answer: D

   Explanation: ETS instructs: "Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position." It concedes the genuine flexibility benefit and proposes coexistence, answering the objection without eliminating discussion. This attacks students' motives without addressing their access problem. Tradition does not answer the scheduling objection. This abandons the position and overgeneralizes a benefit.

   Reference: ETS Analyze an Issue Task — Task instructions — responding to challenges

7. 7Researchers found that seedlings under blue filters grew less than seedlings under clear filters. They concluded that blue light inhibits growth. However, the blue filters also transmitted much less total light. Which assumption must be examined before accepting the conclusion?

   1. A.The clear and blue filters produced the same growth results.
   2. B.The seedlings' growth determined how much light the filters transmitted.
   3. C.Lower total illumination did not itself explain the reduced growth.Correct answer: C
   4. D.Any reduction in growth must be caused by the color of the filter.

   Explanation: ETS advises: "Answer each question based on the information provided in the passage and don’t rely on outside knowledge." Intensity must be distinguished from wavelength before the conclusion follows. The reported growth results differ. This reverses the proposed causal direction without textual support. This assumes the very exclusion of alternative causes that must be examined.

   Reference: ETS Overview of the Verbal Reasoning Measure — Reading Comprehension — General advice

8. 8A teacher has 48 red counters and 60 blue counters. She divides all of them into the greatest possible number of identical packets, with the same number of each color in every packet. How many packets can she make?

   1. A.4
   2. B.6
   3. C.10
   4. D.12Correct answer: D

   Explanation: ETS states: "The greatest common divisor (or greatest common factor) of two nonzero integers c and d is the greatest positive integer that is a divisor of both c and d." 48=4×12 and60=5×12; gcd(48,60)=12 packets. 4 divides both counts but is not their greatest common divisor. 6 divides both but allows fewer packets than12. 10 does not divide48.

   Reference: ETS Math Review — PDF page 5, 1.1 Integers

9. 9A critic describes a novelist's sparse dialogue as 'a discipline rather than a deficiency': silence, the critic argues, forces readers to infer relationships from gestures and omissions. Which interpretation best captures the critic's view?

   1. A.The sparse dialogue prevents any relationship from being conveyed.
   2. B.The gestures merely repeat information already stated in dialogue.
   3. C.The omissions make every interpretation equally well supported.
   4. D.Restraint in dialogue deliberately makes inference part of reading.Correct answer: D

   Explanation: ETS advises: "Answer each question based on the information provided in the passage and don’t rely on outside knowledge." The critic treats restraint as purposeful and inference-generating. The critic says relationships are inferable from other evidence. Gestures and omissions supply the interpretive evidence rather than redundant speech. Inference from evidence does not make every interpretation equivalent.

   Reference: ETS Overview of the Verbal Reasoning Measure — Reading Comprehension — General advice

10. 10A recipe uses 3/4 cup of flour per batch. How many batches can be made with 9/8 cup of flour?

    1. A.3/2Correct answer: A
    2. B.27/32
    3. C.2/3
    4. D.15/8

    Explanation: ETS states: "To divide one fraction by another, first invert the second fraction (that is, find its reciprocal), then multiply the first fraction by the inverted fraction. Here are two examples." (9/8)÷(3/4)=(9/8)×(4/3)=3/2 batches. 27/32 multiplies the two amounts instead of dividing. 2/3 reverses the required division. 15/8 adds the amounts rather than finding batches.

    Reference: ETS Math Review — PDF page 10, 1.2 Fractions