GMAT Focus Edition — Mock Test #1: Quant, Verbal and Data Insights, Fully Solved

In one line: a full GMAT Focus workout — Quant, Verbal and Data Insights, solved and scored.

This is Mock Test #1 of the hmmnm.in GMAT series: 24 exam-style questions across the three Focus sections, with a full answer key, worked solutions, a scoring ladder and a timing plan. Treat it as a diagnostic sprint — sit it cold, time it strictly, then read the key and, most importantly, dissect every question you missed.

Why start with a sprint rather than a full mock? Because most GMAT weaknesses are visible within 24 well-chosen questions. A short, honest diagnostic tells you whether your problem is concepts (you don’t know the method), reading (you know the method but misread the question), or timing (you know everything but run out of clock). Each demands a different fix, and this mock is designed to reveal which one is yours.

Contents

1. Section 1 · Quantitative Reasoning (8)
2. Section 2 · Verbal Reasoning (8)
3. Section 3 · Data Insights (8)
4. Answer Key, Worked Solutions and Scoring Ladder
5. How the GMAT Probes These Skills
6. Quick Revision: One-Glance Card
7. How to Sit This Mock (the 45-minute protocol)
8. FAQ

Section 1 · Quantitative Reasoning — 8 questions

The real Quantitative Reasoning section contains 21 questions in 45 minutes. These eight mirror its dominant themes: percentages, ratios, work rates, speed, and number properties. No calculator is allowed, so every question below is designed to be solvable with clean arithmetic on scratch paper.

1. A store marks a shirt up by 25% over cost, then discounts the marked price by 20%. The final price is what percent of cost? (A) 95% (B) 100% (C) 105% (D) 120%
2. The ratio of boys to girls in a class is 3 : 4. If 12 boys join the class, the ratio becomes 1 : 1. How many students were in the class originally? (A) 28 (B) 35 (C) 42 (D) 84
3. The price of rice rises 25%. By approximately what percent must a family cut consumption to keep its rice budget unchanged? (A) 20% (B) 25% (C) 30% (D) 33%
4. Machine A completes a job in 6 days and machine B in 12 days. Working together, they finish in how many days? (A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 4.5 (D) 5
5. A car travels 60 km at 60 km/h and returns the same distance at 40 km/h. Its average speed for the round trip is: (A) 50 (B) 48 (C) 45 (D) 52
6. The sum of the first 20 positive even integers is: (A) 380 (B) 400 (C) 420 (D) 440
7. If x + 1/x = 4, then x² + 1/x² = : (A) 12 (B) 14 (C) 16 (D) 18
8. Two fair dice are rolled. The probability that the sum is 8 is: (A) 1/6 (B) 5/36 (C) 1/9 (D) 7/36

Section 2 · Verbal Reasoning — 8 questions

The real Verbal Reasoning section runs 23 questions in 45 minutes, split among reading comprehension, critical reasoning and (in the Focus Edition) a heavier emphasis on precision and clarity of expression. The eight questions below sample all three skills.

Reading comprehension (Q9–Q11). Read the passage once, carefully, before attempting the questions.

A 2026 study of 4,000 knowledge workers found no average output difference between remote and office staff, but variance doubled: top quartile productivity rose 7% at home while the bottom quartile fell 9%. The authors attribute the spread not to oversight tools but to self-management skill, which training narrowed by half.

9. The passage is primarily concerned with: (A) praising remote work (B) explaining why averages hide distributional effects (C) attacking oversight software (D) comparing firms
10. It can be inferred that the variance doubled mainly because: (A) offices were closed (B) workers differed in self-management skill (C) oversight tools failed (D) output was mismeasured
11. The authors’ attitude to training is: (A) dismissive (B) cautiously positive (C) enthusiastic but unproven at scale (D) hostile

Critical reasoning (Q12–Q14). Identify the gap between the evidence presented and the conclusion drawn.

12. A city claims its new bike lanes cut congestion because average commute time fell 6%. Which finding most weakens the claim? (A) bike-lane use rose 40% (B) commute times fell 6% in comparable cities without lanes (C) fuel prices rose (D) the city also added a metro line
13. Manufacturer: “Our filter removes 99.9% of bacteria.” Ad: “Keeps your family safe from waterborne illness.” The ad requires which assumption? (A) the filter is cheap (B) illness risk tracks the bacterial load the filter targets (C) rivals are worse (D) filters last a year
14. If every graduate of the programme who found a job did so within 3 months, and 80% found jobs, then: (A) 20% never will (B) some graduates may still be job-hunting past 3 months (C) 80% of all applicants got jobs (D) the programme guarantees placement

Sentence correction (Q15–Q16). Pick the best version.

15. “The committee, unlike the boards it replaced, ___ a quorum until all members vote.” (A) requires (B) require (C) have required (D) are requiring
16. “Data from the trial suggest that the drug is safer than ___ believed.” (A) was previously (B) previously was (C) it previously (D) earlier

Section 3 · Data Insights — 8 questions

The real Data Insights section is 20 questions in 45 minutes, mixing data sufficiency, table analysis, graph interpretation and two-part analysis. It is the section most candidates under-practise — and the one that decides many scores, because it draws on both Quant and Verbal reasoning simultaneously. The eight questions below test table fluency, sufficiency logic and statistical interpretation.

Use this table for Q17–Q21.

17. Which branch had the highest revenue? South (510)
18. Rank the branches by revenue-growth product (₹ cr × Growth %). Top branch: South (6,120)
19. Last year’s Mumbai revenue (480 at 5% growth) was approximately: (A) 455 (B) 457 (C) 460 (D) 462 — closest is (B)
20. If Kolkata sustains 15% growth, its revenue first exceeds Bengaluru’s current 510 in about: 5 years (260 → 523)
21. Which statement is true? (A) East is smallest and fastest-growing ✓ (B) West grew fastest (C) North > West (D) all grew ≥ 10%
22. Data sufficiency. Is x > 0? (1) x² > 9 (2) x³ > 27. (1) insufficient (x = ±4); (2) sufficient (x > 3) — answer B
23. Data sufficiency. Is n an even integer? (1) 2n is an even integer (2) n² is an even integer. (1) insufficient (n = 1.5); (2) insufficient (n = √2 gives n² = 2, an even integer, yet n is not an integer); together sufficient — answer C
24. A poll shows 60% support with a ±4% margin at 95% confidence. Which is a valid claim? Support is likely between 56% and 64% ✓ (not “more than half certainly” or “exactly 60%”)

Answer Key

Worked Solutions: The Questions Candidates Miss Most

Q1 (answer B). Successive percentage changes multiply — they never simply add. On a cost of 100: mark-up of 25% gives 125; then a 20% discount gives 125 × 0.80 = 100. The answer is exactly 100% of cost. The trap is answering 105% by computing +25% − 20% = +5%.

Q2 (answer D). Boys : girls = 3 : 4, so boys are 3k and girls 4k. Adding 12 boys makes 3k + 12 = 4k, so k = 12. Original students = 7k = 84. Check: 36 boys and 48 girls become 48 and 48 after 12 boys join — ratio 1 : 1. ✓

Q3 (answer A). Price rises by 1/4, so consumption must fall by 1/5 to keep spending constant (the shortcut: for a rise of 1/n, cut consumption by 1/(n+1)). That is 20%. Alternatively: new consumption × 1.25 = old consumption, so new/old = 0.80 — a 20% cut.

Q5 (answer B). Average speed for equal distances is the harmonic mean, not the arithmetic mean. Total distance = 120 km; total time = 1 h + 1.5 h = 2.5 h; 120/2.5 = 48 km/h. Never average 60 and 40 to get 50 — that is the single most common error on this question type.

Q6 (answer C). Sum of the first n even integers = n(n + 1). For n = 20: 20 × 21 = 420.

Q7 (answer B). Square both sides: (x + 1/x)² = x² + 2 + 1/x² = 16, so x² + 1/x² = 14. Memorise this identity — it appears in several disguises.

Q8 (answer B). Out of 36 equally likely outcomes, the pairs summing to 8 are (2,6), (3,5), (4,4), (5,3), (6,2) — five outcomes, so 5/36. Counting (4,4) only once is the classic slip.

Q13 (answer B). If commute times fell 6% in comparable cities without bike lanes, the drop is a city-wide trend, not an effect of the lanes. This is the classic “alternative cause” weakener — strongest because it shows the same outcome occurred without the claimed cause.

Q15 (answer A). “The committee” is a collective noun taking a singular verb (“unlike the boards” is a distractor — the verb agrees with the subject, not the comparison). Hence “requires.”

Q22 (answer B). Statement (1): x² > 9 means |x| > 3, so x could be 4 or −4 — insufficient. Statement (2): x³ > 27 preserves the sign, forcing x > 3, hence x > 0 — sufficient alone.

Q24 (answer 56–64%). A margin of error defines an interval, not a point. With 60% ± 4% at 95% confidence, the defensible claim is that true support likely lies between 56% and 64%. Claiming “exactly 60%” or “certainly more than half” over-reads the data.

Scoring Ladder

For this 24-question sprint: 20+ correct — exam-ready on concepts; shift focus to section timing. 15–19 correct — solid base; revise your weakest section before the next mock. Below 15 — rebuild fundamentals before any timed practice; timing work on shaky concepts cements bad habits.

Note that in the real Focus Edition every section runs a full 45 minutes (Quant 21, Verbal 23, Data Insights 20 questions), so pace these 24 questions as one 45-minute sitting to simulate realistic pressure.

How the GMAT Probes These Skills

Quantitative Reasoning rewards pattern recognition over heavy algebra. Percentages, ratios, work rates and averages dominate, and the test writers recycle a small set of traps: adding successive percentage changes, averaging speeds across unequal times, and confusing “percent of” with “percent more than.” If you can spot the trap in the first ten seconds, the arithmetic is almost always short.

Verbal Reasoning rewards structural reading. Reading comprehension answers live in the passage’s logic, not your opinions — notice how Q9–Q11 all hinge on the difference between an average and a distribution. Critical reasoning answers live in the gap between claim and evidence: find the gap, then find the option that widens (weakens) or bridges (assumes) it. Sentence correction answers live in agreement, tense and clarity — and the correct answer is the best option, not a perfect one.

Data Insights rewards table fluency: sorting, growth arithmetic and sufficiency logic, always under time pressure. Data sufficiency is a logic game, not a calculation contest — you are asked whether the data could determine the answer, not to compute it. And statistical questions (like Q24) test whether you treat a number as a range with a confidence level, which is exactly how business schools expect managers to read data.

Quick Revision: One-Glance Card

• Successive % changes multiply: +25% then −20% ⇒ 1.25 × 0.80 = 1.00.
• Inverse-proportion traps: speed up 25% ⇒ time down 20% (1 − 1/1.25).
• Harmonic mean for equal-distance average speed: 2ab/(a + b). For 60 and 40: 2(60)(40)/100 = 48.
• Sum of first n even integers = n(n + 1); first n odd integers = n².
• (x + 1/x)² = x² + 1/x² + 2 — the workhorse identity for algebra “twin” questions.
• DS discipline: test (1) alone, (2) alone, then together — never carry information across statements.
• Margin of error: a poll value is a range with a confidence level, not a promise.
• Collective nouns (committee, team, jury) take singular verbs in standard written English.

How to Sit This Mock (the 45-minute protocol)

Sit it cold, in one sitting, with a timer visible. No calculator for Quant — paper scratch-work mirrors the real on-screen whiteboard, and practising written organisation now pays off on test day. Mark every guess; you will need to find it again.

The re-attempt rule: 48 hours later, return only to the questions you got wrong, wrote a reason for, and re-attempted. Classify each miss as concept (you didn’t know the method), reading (you knew the method but misread the question), or timing (rushed or abandoned it). That error log — not the score — is the mock’s actual product; the score is just the entry fee.

FAQ

Is this a full-length mock?

No — the real Focus Edition runs 21–23 questions per section across about two and a quarter hours, with an optional 10-minute break. This 24-question sprint is a diagnostic; full-length mocks with section timers follow later in the series.

What score does 20+ map to?

Nothing official — but a clean sprint at 80%+ accuracy within 45 minutes is the classic signal that section timing, not concepts, is your remaining work. Conversely, a strong untimed score with a weak timed score points squarely at pacing drills.

Should I use a calculator for the Data Insights questions?

The real exam provides an on-screen calculator for Data Insights only. For this diagnostic, try without it first — every question here is built to be solved with estimation and clean arithmetic, and over-reliance on the calculator is a genuine score-killer.

Where do I go next?

Log every wrong answer by reason (concept, reading, timing), then re-attempt after 48 hours — the re-attempt, not the first score, tracks your real readiness. Then read our Focus Edition format guide to see how these skills map onto the official sections.

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