{"id":7847,"date":"2013-06-10T13:17:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T13:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/testpreparations.com\/help\/?p=3446"},"modified":"2014-12-02T08:27:00","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T08:27:00","slug":"focus-on-speed-and-accuracy-in-sat-and-act-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/2013\/06\/10\/focus-on-speed-and-accuracy-in-sat-and-act-math\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on Speed and Accuracy in SAT and ACT Math"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Using the Test Itself<\/strong>
\nEveryday math homework emphasizes solving the same type of problems over and over again, and following specific steps to solve them.\u00a0 By contrast, the SAT, ACT, and other standardized math tests give a range of answers to problems.\u00a0 Determining the correct answer is a matter of speed and accuracy.\u00a0 On many questions, one of the alternative answers is correct. and the other alternatives serve as a distraction. \u00a0Since the tests are timed, it is important to go from problem to problem, work quickly and accurately, and use the time that is available.<\/p>\n

Draw a Diagram or Picture<\/strong>
\nStandardized tests often have separate answer sheets.\u00a0 Therefore, students\u00a0 have a place to draw a quick sketch of the problem on scratch paper in order to clarify what is being asked.\u00a0 Sometimes that strategy will be all that is needed to determine the correct alternative from among the many possible answers.\u00a0 If it is a strategy that is used often in solving problems, it might be helpful on the test.\u00a0 For example, if the question were “What is the least integer greater than -3.2?” and the alternatives were a) -3.3 b) 0 c) -3.0 d) 3.1 e)1.8, drawing a number line would help to find the answer and eliminate the alternatives.<\/p>\n

Substitute and Solve<\/strong>
\nIn order to eliminate alternatives,\u00a0 try substituting some of the answers given in the problem stem to see if they make sense.\u00a0 Then math problems can be solved without using complicated formulas that take time and extra steps.\u00a0 Sometimes alternatives can be eliminated by thinking logically about the problem.\u00a0 If there are 60 students total taking Algebra 1, and there are 8 more girls than boys in the class, how many boys are there in the class?\u00a0 The alternative “30” can be eliminated, because then the class would be evenly divided.\u00a0 The alternative “34” can be eliminated , as there would be more boys than girls.<\/p>\n

Use Properties and Postulates<\/strong>
\nCareful attention to math properties and postulates sometimes makes the answer stand out from the rest.\u00a0 For example, the Distributive Property can be used to solve a long, complicated fraction such as 12(16-8) -8 (16-8)\/4 by simplifying it to (12-8)(16-8)\/4 or 4(16-8)\/4, cancelling out the 4\/4, and giving the answer as 16-8 =8.<\/p>\n

Make It Real<\/strong>
\nThere are two reasons to make it real.\u00a0 First, unless the test directions say differently, all answers will be in real numbers, not imaginary or complex numbers.\u00a0 Second, sometimes the problem is easier to see when small numbers, such as 2 for x and 5 for y are substituted.\u00a0 In that case, an algebra problem can be turned quickly into simple arithmetic.<\/p>\n

For more help with SAT and ACT tests, visit us<\/a>! We are currently helping thousands of students each year succeed in school and college.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Using the Test Itself Everyday math homework emphasizes solving the same type of problems over and over again, and following specific steps to solve them.\u00a0 By contrast, the SAT, ACT, and other standardized math tests give a range of answers to problems.\u00a0 Determining the correct answer is a matter of speed and accuracy.\u00a0 On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2841,3015,3021,2851,2853],"tags":[3024,1498,3290],"class_list":["post-7847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-act","category-math-act","category-mathematics-sat","category-sat","category-study-tips-and-strategies","tag-accuracy","tag-real-numbers","tag-speed"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/scholarship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}