Figures Not Drawn to Scale — What It Means

GRE Quantitative · Axiom Academy

LESSON Figures Not Drawn to Scale The GRE's most deceptive diagram convention — and the one rule that makes it harmless. 1. The Picture Is Not the Source of Truth When a GRE figure says "not drawn to scale," it is telling you the artist did not bother matching the picture to the real proportions. Angles that look equal might not be. Sides that look parallel might not be. A shape that looks isosceles might not be. The ONLY facts you're allowed to use are the ones written down: given angle measures, given side lengths, and marked congruence/parallel/right-angle ticks. 2. An Angle That Looks 90° Isn't Always 90° The single most common trap: a corner in the figure LOOKS like a right angle — the two rays look perpendicular — but nothing in the problem marks it with a right-angle square, and the label actually says 75° . A protractor laid over the true rays reads 75° every time, no matter how square the sketch makes it look. A right angle is ONLY 90° when it is explicitly stated or square-marked Trust the label "75°" printed next to the angle. Ignore how square the corner looks in the drawing — "looks like 90°" is not given information, and the GRE exploits that gap deliberately. 3. "Drawn to Scale" Is the Rare Explicit Exception

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full GRE Quantitative course.