Strategies to help maximize your marks. Math Workout for the New SAT – The Princeton Review.

Sections of the test There are 3 sections to the Math test question Problem-Solving (m.c) Problem-Solving (m.c), 10 Grid-in Problem-Solving (m.c) Questions in each section are arranged in an special order of difficulty.

Sections of the test There are 4 categories of questions in the math section 1. Numbers and operations 2. Algebra and functions 3. Geometry and measurement 4. Data analysis, statistics, and probability

Pacing QuestionDifficulty Q HARD Q. 7-14MEDIUM Q. 1-6EASY QuestionDifficulty Q HARD Q. 6-10MEDIUM Q. 1-5EASY QuestionDifficulty Q HARD Q MEDIUM Q EASY Q. 8-10HARD Q. 4-7MEDIUM Q. 1-3EASY 20 Q. Problem- Solving 10 Q. Problem- Solving 10. Grid-In 15Q. Problem- Solving

Scoring 1 Point each correct answer 0.25 Point each wrong answer Blank questions lose no points

Calculators Calculators can only calculate, they can’t think! THINK BEFORE YOU PUNCH Tips to Calculator Happiness:  Use a calculator that follows order of operations.  Estimate your answer first.  Check each number after you punch it in.

Careless Mistakes Some common mistakes to watch for:  Misreading the question  Computation error  Punching the wrong thing on the calculator  Failing to estimate first  Answering a different question than the one being asked  On a medium-hard question, stopping too soon when you may be almost there.

Strategies Guessing If you come across a question you get stuck on. Should you leave it? NO Not if you can cross out WRONG choices.

GUESSING, When to do it. ONLY GUESS when you can eliminate at LEAST one answer Beware of bias Always be aware of where you are in the test. Easy Questions – easy answers Hard questions – hard answers Good times to guess  Geometry drawn to scale, where you can approximate length, angles, or area.  All Grid-ins, no penalty for wrong answer. Bad times to guess  Obvious answers on hard questions  Long, complicated word problems  Questions you don’t have time to read.

Practicing Guessing He was a ____________ business man, but in his personal life he was caring, thoughtful, and ______________.  Remember positives and negatives.

He was a ____________ business man, but in his personal life he was caring, thoughtful, and ______________. A. Competent… Self centered B. Avaricious… Menacing C. Scrupulous… Tactful D. Ruthless… Magnanimous E. Amiable… Compassionate

Practicing Guessing

Carefully designed programs of healthy diet and A regular exercise has provided growing teenagers B not only healthier lungs and hearts, but also C improved skin, teeth, and hair. No error. D E

Plugging In One of the most powerful strategies on the SAT’s. The idea of taking all the variables – like x, y, z In the question and replacing them with actual numbers. You don’t have to generate the answer yourself. It allows you to check which of the answers is the correct one. This turns an algebra problem into simple arithmetic!

How do I know when to Use Plugging In?  The question will be straight forward. e.g. How old is Bob?, or How many potatoes in the bag?  There are variables in the answer choices.  The question says something like “in terms of x”  The question asks for a percentage or fractional part of something, but doesn’t give you actual amounts.

Tips for Plugging-In Happiness  Pick easy numbers like 2, 10, 100 etc Avoid picking 0, 1 or any number that is one of the answers.  If your chosen number leads to UGLY computations, then bail out and pick an easier number.  The answers are in numerical order, so you may be able to eliminate answers that are too big or too small. If the answer to © was too small, then try the bigger answer choices.

Plugging-In Example Jill spent x dollars on toys and 12 dollars on socks. If the amount Jill spent was twice the amount she earns in a week, how much does Jill earn each week in terms of x? a) 2(x + 12) b) 2x + 24 c) (x/2) + 12 d) (x+12)/2 Solution: Lets plug in 100 for x. That means that Jill spent a total of $112. If that was twice her weekly salary, then she makes half of $112, or $56. Now plug in 100 to see which answer gives us $56.

Practice Quiz EASY If p is an odd number, which of the following must also be an odd number? a) p + 1 b) p / 2 c) p + 2 d) 2p e) p -1 Answer – C. Lets make p = 3 and try in the answer choices.

Medium If y / 3 = 6x, then in terms of y, x = ? a) 3y b) 2y c) y d) y / 2 e) y / 18 Answer: E. Plug in y = 36, which makes x = 2. Now plug y = 36 into the answer choices.