Senior Assistant Manager in Operations Management
Remainder questions on the GMAT can seem tricky at first, but they actually follow patterns. You don’t always need to fully calculate big numbers. What really helps is spotting how numbers behave when divided. For example, numbers like 7⁴ or 9⁵ often repeat patterns when divided by smaller numbers like 5 or 4.
It’s a good idea to think in terms of how a number leaves a remainder when divided. That’s where mod tricks come in. You’ll start noticing that powers of numbers often cycle through the same few remainders. Once you know how to look for that, these questions get way easier.
If you're serious about practicing, use the official GMAT questions. The ones in the Official Guide or GMAT Prep software are closest to what they actually test. Those will give you a real feel of how they ask remainder problems and how they expect you to think through them.
