Probability questions with cards

[DogsArePeopleToo]

Hi folks, Is it true that ETS will include probability questions about, say, a deck of cards without telling us how many cards are there in a deck/suit and how many of each is hearts or spades, for example? Is this something they assume is common knowledge? I don't have the first clue about cards, so I'd totally bomb this.

Thanks for any context.

[makingtheleap.back]

A deck has 52 cards, with four suits, with each suit evenly distributed (13 each). 

[TakeruK]

It's good to also read this page on the Quant section: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/quantitative_reasoning On that page, they link to a PDF that explicitly defines all the assumptions and conventions: https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_math_conventions.pdf

Playing cards are not mentioned on these pages at all. I don't remember any such question in my exam (but it was a long time ago). I would think that this means ETS should not ask about such things, since playing cards aren't exactly the same internationally and it's an international test. But good to keep what the above poster said in mind, just in case.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

On 9/18/2016 at 4:53 AM, DogsArePeopleToo said:

Hi folks, Is it true that ETS will include probability questions about, say, a deck of cards without telling us how many cards are there in a deck/suit and how many of each is hearts or spades, for example? Is this something they assume is common knowledge? I don't have the first clue about cards, so I'd totally bomb this.

Thanks for any context.

Good question.

The test-makers strive to create questions without cultural bias. So, they'd never assume that everyone knows the composition of a deck of cards. 

If a question about a deck of cards were to appear on the test, you'd be given all of the necessary information about the deck. 

Cheers,

Brent

 

[DogsArePeopleToo]

5 minutes ago, Brent@GreenlightGRE said:

If a question about a deck of cards were to appear on the test, you'd be given all of the necessary information about the deck. 

 

That's very helpful, thank you very much!