What Makes A Problem Solving Question Difficult

Problem Solving questions become difficult for a few reasons:

• Complex Concept—the math itself is trickier than what you see in easier questions. These questions tend to be relatively straightforward, but are difficult because they require that you know more advanced concepts.
• Simple Math/Complex Presentation—the math itself isn't all that torturous but it's presented in a roundabout way that requires you to sift through a lot of dense wording.
• Complex Concept and Presentation—these questions tend to be the most time consuming. First you need to sort out the wording and then you need to perform tricky calculations.
• Multiple Steps—the math here may be not too difficult, but the problem requires you to undertake a series of steps that offer many opportunities for careless errors and misjudgments.
• Combined Concepts—these questions combine two or more different concepts. Though the math isn't always difficult, these problems are almost like two questions rolled into one.