About the SAT

1. About the SAT

2. What is it? • Reasoning and problem-solving test which colleges use as an alignment tool with how well you will do in college. • This along with teacher recommendations and your high school records are key factors for you to get in to college. • Not a measure of your ambition, desire, motivation, perseverance, courage, character, creativity…etc.

3. What is on it? • There are 10 sections on the SAT. 1)Three math sections 2) three critical reading sections 3) three writing section 4) One experimental section

4. The math sections • Section 1: 25 minutes to complete 20 multiple choice questions • Section 2: 25 minutes to complete 8 multiple choice questions and 10 student produced questions. • Section 3: 20 minutes to complete 16 multiple choice questions. • Range of score: 200-800 points

5. Calculators • Calculators should absolutely be used but try to not over use them. Unnecessary time spent with the calculator can take up some precious time.

6. The two types of questions • Multiple choice- The 44 multiple choice questions consist of 5 choices. You must use your best judgment to eliminate any answers that are, for lack of a better term, “nonsense.” Some answers come from the many errors students make on the type of problem however, so BE CAREFUL!

7. Student produced • Open-ended questions which involve filling your answer in a grid. • You can input fractions, decimals, or whole numbers into the grid. • Machine is programmed to recognize all correct answers. • There are four columns that can be used, but unused should be left blank. Answers in the boxes are not scored; they are just there to help you fill in the ovals. • No need to reduce fractions unless they do not fit grid. • Furthermore, mixed numbers should not be inserted into the grid. • Repeating decimals must use entire grid and do not include a leading zero for decimals. • No need to worry about negative answers or percent symbols.

8. To guess or not to guess? That is a good question • For each correct answer you will achieve 1 point to your “raw score.” • For each incorrect answer, you will lose one-quarter of a point. If you can narrow it down to 2 choices, it may be wise to guess. • Student produced questions are only beneficiary, so be sure to guess. • However, DO NOT try wild guessing.

9. Ten strategies to solving SAT problems:

10. 1) Sub-in • -plug in values that are familiar and/or easy to work with. For example: Of the U.S. Olympians who get a medal, three-fourths get a silver medal, and one-fifth of the remaining get a bronze, what fraction get a gold medal? If we use a number we are familiar like 100. So, we are saying if there are 100 Americans who get a medal… Three-fourths get a silver - 3/4 of 100 = 75 One-fifth of the remaining 25 get a bronze – 1/5 of 25 = 5 So 20 out of our 100 get a gold – 20/100 = 1/5

11. 2: Backfill • Backfill is basically plugging in the choices you get until one works. You will sometimes be given problems where this is an option. • For example: The sum of 2 times a number and one-half a number is 7.5. In this case you are looking for a number that would solve the equation… 2x + .5x = 7.5 If it a multiple choice, you can plug choices in until it works. Choices: a) 4 b) 1 c) 3 d) 2.5 e) 0

12. 3: Scan the answers • A key method to making an educated guess if you are not sure. • The idea is to get rid of any answers that don’t make sense. • For example: What represents the area of the blue section? a) 8 - 2 x b) 8 - x2 c) 16 - 2 x d) 16 - x2 e) x2 - 16 4 x

13. 4: Do not waste time on long solutions: • Chances are, if you completing numerous steps to solve a problem, you missed the point. • For example: Five consecutive integers add up to 1000, what is the value of the largest integer?

14. 5: Fill in what you know • If you are stuck on a problem, simply fill in and write down everything you know about it. This might make something click.

15. 6: Recognize figure not drawn to scale: • Do not assume anything unless it is given. Some problems may be drawn to throw you off if you don’t recognize the “not drawn to scale” next to the diagram. • AB = BC and B is 30o What is the value of m? A m B C

16. 7: Test the extremes: • If given a range of values, test the extremes and the answer should be obvious. Example: If y = 4x – 3 and 0<x<3, what values is y between? • -3 and 9 b) -2 and 10 c) 0 and 12 d) 1 and 5 e) 1 and 9

17. 8: Find a pattern • Example: • If x is a positive integer, which of the following cannot be the units digit of 7x? • 1 b) 3 c) 5 d) 7 e) 9 71 = 7: 72 = 49: 73 = 343: 74 = 2,401: 75 = 16,807: 76 = 117,649 77 = 823,543 78 = 5,764,801

18. 9 and 10: Do not be misled by generic answers and do the math • Some problems will contain choices like “none of the above” or “all of the above.” If you are attempting a guess, do not guess these. These are only if you can clearly eliminate all other choices. • When in doubt, just do the math. There are some quick tricks to some problems, but it is in fact a math test. They want to test your knowledge of math, so you are better off spending the time doing the math instead of searching for a trick.

19. Other reminders • The material on the test involves problems from Algebra, Algebra II, and Geometry. • The scratch work will be done in the test booklet (no scrap paper allowed) Remember: A calculator is good to use, but use it wisely. Don’t let it steal your time. Also, remember that guessing can be a smart choice sometimes. The SAT can be taken as many times as it is offered and a “good” score only depends on the school you want to attend.