Math Strategies For the SSAT

Review – general strategies Remember all the answers are there Use process of elimination Guess only if you can eliminate at least two answer choices Remember problems get harder There are also some specific strategies for math questions

3 Types of questions, and 3 strategies I can do this I can do this, but it is going to take time No clue Do it! Circle it in test book and come back Skip it and come back if you have time

Plug in numbers Jenna is X years old and Amy is 3 years younger. In terms of X, how old will Amy be in 4 years? X - 1 X X + 1 X + 4 2X + 1

Plugging in Say Jenna (X) is 10. Amy is 7 In 4 years Amy will be 11 So Amy will be X + 1

To plug in odd or even numbers Use 2 for even Use 3 for odd

Working Backwards How many egg cartons are needed to hold 300 eggs if each carton can hold 12? Start with the middle number (22)

Working Backwards 22 x 12 = 264 You need 3 more cartons (36) The answer is 25

Estimation 85.6 X , , X 4 = 360

Percents Picking 100 is the easiest way to solve a percent problem If the price of a stock decreases by 20 percent and then by an additional 25 percent, by what percent has the stock decreased from the original value? Original price = $100 Decrease 1 brings the price to $80 Decrease 2 brings the price to $60 Now the decrease is $40 (40%)

There is only one right answer Which of the following integers divides into both 200 and 150?

Read the question What is the positive value of x? What is the question asking? Remember to solve for X and not X 2

One way to solve Look at cross products (4 ) (27) = 3X 2 3X 2 =108 X 2 = 36 X=6

Another Solution Thinking in terms of equivalent fractions Multiply by 9/9 (1) 36 is X 2 X=6

Math Facts to Remember

Order of Operations Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally work within Parentheses simplify Exponents Multiplication and Division Addition and Subtraction

Positive and Negative Positive + positive = positive Negative + negative = negative Positive x positive = positive Positive x negative = negative Negative x negative = positive

Odd and Even Even + even = even Odd + odd = even Odd + even = odd Even x even = even Even x odd = even Odd x odd = odd = = = 11 4 x 6 = 24 4 x 5 = 20 3 x 9 = 27

Divisibility Divisible byThe rule 2The last digit is even 3The sum of the digits is a multiple of 3 4The last 2 digits divide by 4 with no remainder 5The last digit is 5 or 0 6The last digit is even AND the sum of digits is a multiple of 3 9The sum of digits are divisible by 9 10The last digit is 0

Primes and Factors A prime number is an integer greater than 1 that has only 2 factors: 1 and itself 1 is not a prime number 7 is prime, 6 is not First ten primes are 2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29 Prime factorization is the expression of a number as a result of only primes Prime factorization of 24 is 2 x 2 x 2 x 3

Final Thoughts Don’t get too focused on strategies You should not need to do elaborate calculations Make sure you know what you are supposed to do Use the test format to your advantage Guess intelligently Don’t try to do problems you don’t know how to do