| Grockit SAT ACT Test Prep

Multiple Choice on the SAT: How to Use the Answer Choices

By vivian kerr posted September 6, 2011

Contrary to what you may think, the answer choices on the SAT are not designed to trap or trick you! We may describe them as “tricky” or “tempting” but seeing the answer choices can actually be a huge asset on Test Day. After all, we know that 1 of the 5 must be correct! Unlike grid-ins, we can often utilize the answer choices in problem solving questions to help us find the solution and get better SAT scores overall. Here are 5 ways you can make the answer choices work for you on your SAT Test!

For Writing question, remember that “No Error” is a strong option. For Identifying Sentence Error test questions, parts of a sentence are underlined. For this SAT question, Choice (E) is “No Error.” There is not always going to be an error. In fact, about 1/4^th of the time, “No Error” is correct! Trust your instincts. If a sentence “sounds” okay, and you’ve checked the other four choices and found no grammatical mistake, the SAT alternative is choice E.

Eliminate (-) or (+) choices in Sentence Completions using your prediction. On test day, don’t simply read the sentence and plug in the answer choices, re-reading the SAT sentence five times. Identify the keywords that relate to the blank and write in your OWN word for the blanks, or at least predict whether the blank is a (+) or (-) word. Ace these tricky SAT questions by then eliminating answer choices that contain words with the opposite word charge!

Find out how Grockit can predict your performance on the SAT

1 Comment »

SAT Math Practice: Data Interpretation

By christopher babits posted June 30, 2011

Interpreting data on the SAT may come in many forms: charts, graphs, tables, or extrapolating information from a reading passage. Mastering all the different ways to interpret data will be an important part of scoring well on the SAT. Only by getting enough test prep, including spending some time in Grockit’s interactive games with trained instructors, will ensure you get the score you want. Make sure to remember the following tips and strategies when faced with a data interpretation question. Then, use them to solve the sample problem below.

Find out how Grockit can predict your performance on the SAT.

Tips and Strategies for data interpretation questions:

Read the passage before looking at any questions. Reading the question(s) first may mislead you when you’re examining the passage. Although it may seem like you’re targeting your reading, the chances you’ll make a mistake are much greater if you read the question(s) first.
Carefully examine any chart, graph or table. Make sure you know what information the chart, graph or table is relaying. Carefully examine the title and what the x- and y-axes represent. And try to analyze the information in the chart, graph or table.
Don’t be afraid to take notes and/or write out the math. You should never try to compute a data interpretation question without writing down the figures. Although it may take a few seconds longer, the chances you’ll correctly answer the question are much greater if you write out the math.
Look for patterns. If numbers and figures come easily to you, look to see if you can see a pattern in the data. But even if you think you know the answer because there’s a pattern, do the math just to be sure.

Now, keep these tips and strategies in mind as you examine the following example:

What is the average (arithmetic mean) height, in inches, of the 5 students’ mothers?

60
62.5
65
70
72

After you examine the graph carefully, you should notice that the y-axis has the height of each student’s mother in inches. That means you will only refer to the information on the y-axis, as the x-axis (height of father) is not relevant to this question. With this in mind, we see that two mothers are 60 inches tall, one is 65 inches tall, and the other two are 70 inches tall. To find the average, we need to add all their heights together and then divide by 5, the total number of mothers. Let’s do the math:

60 + 60 + 65 + 70 + 70 = 325 (all heights together)

325 ÷ 5 = 65 (average height—or arithmetic mean—of the mothers)

Now that we’ve done the math, we can see that C is the right answer!

(There’s another, faster way to solve this problem. If you’re good at noticing patterns, you would’ve seen that the average of the two mothers at 60 inches tall and the other two mothers at 70 inches tall would’ve been 65 inches. This is the same height as the other remaining mother, meaning the average height for all the mothers would be 65. Looking for patterns like this can save you time when completing data interpretation questions, but if you’re stuck, just do the math to get the correct answer.)

Data interpretation questions on the SAT require you to read and examine any charts, graphs or tables closely. Getting enough test prep, which you can get in Grockit’s interactive games, will ensure you’re ready for any data interpretation questions that come your way on test day.

Grockit can target your study plan to improve your SAT score

1 Comment »

SAT Math: Exponents and Roots

By jordan schonig posted March 7, 2011

Exponents, or powers, are numbers that tell us to how many times to multiply a number by itself. For example, 2⁶= 2x2x2x2x2x2. You might read this as “two to the sixth power,” and our answer would be 64. For the SAT Math, you’ll really want to know how to manipulate expressions with exponents. There are many rules that dictate how we manipulate expressions with exponents, so let’s get started.

Adding and Subtracting Exponents

When adding algebraic expressions that have the same bases and exponents, I can add their coefficients:

o X³+X^{3 =}=2 X³

o 3X⁵+2 X⁵=5x⁵

Remember that you can only add the coefficients when the base and exponent are the same. Adding and subtracting will never result in a change in exponent (e.g. 2 X³+2 X³does not equal 4x⁶)

Multiplying and Dividing Exponents

When multiplying expressions or terms that have the same base, just add the exponents.

o X³ * X^{3 =}=X⁶

When dividing numbers or terms with the same base, subtract the exponents.

o X⁷ / X^{4 =}= x ³

^{Read more »}

No Comments »

SAT Math: Translations & Function Graphs

By vivian kerr posted February 25, 2011

Function questions often involve graphs, and require students to identify which graph represents a given function or how changing a function will affect its graph. Let’s review a few keywords that relate to functions and then take a look at some sample function questions!

Vertical line test – The graph of a function should only hit one point on a vertical line drawn anywhere on the graph. If the vertical line hits multiple points, the graph does not represent a function.

f(x) – A function is simply a unique way of writing an equation, except instead of coordinate pair (x,y), functions use the pair (x, f(x)). What is inside the parentheses always replaces the x-coordinate, and whatever equals f(x) always replaces the y-coordinate.

Domain and range – The possible values of x are referred to as the domain, and the possible values of f(x) are referred to as the range.

Here’s another SAT math question for more practice! Read more »

1 Comment »

Inequalities on the ACT and SAT

By amanda chen posted April 15, 2010

We can break SAT and ACT inequalities questions down into three types: those involving a word problem, those involving algebra and those involving absolute values. Let’s tackle the word problems first.

Word Problems

Do you remember this question on Grockit?

A pulley can handle no more than 800 lbs of weight. It is currently holding 4 steel frames that weigh 112 lbs each. Amanda wants to load as many bricks onto it as she can without it breaking. If x represents the total weight of bricks, in lbs, that she can add, which of the following inequalities could be used to determine possible values of x?

From the question, I have deduced the following information:
• I can have a MAXIMUM of 800 lbs
• I have 4 frames, each weighing 112 lbs. That means, all 4 frames weight 4*112 = 448 lbs
• In addition to the 4 frames, I want to load x lbs in bricks.
I can thus conclude that x + 448 lbs must not exceed 800 lbs or my pulley will break.
In mathematical notation, x + 4(112) < 800 Don’t get tricked if the answer is written as 800 > x + 4(112). This statement is exactly the same as the statement above. 800 is greater than x + 4(112) is the same as x + 4(112) is less than 800.

Practice with this Grockit ACT math question!

No Comments »

Tackling SAT Word Problems

By vivian kerr posted November 23, 2009

Even the strongest SAT Math student can be troubled by the occasional tough SAT word problem. It’s important not to rush when you read these types of questions. Make sure to read methodically and be confident you understand each part of the problem before you move on. Many students find themselves setting up equations and solving algebraically before they’ve even understood what the question is really asking!

Make sure to circle the question at the end of the word problem. Ask yourself: what do the answer choices represent? Practice will make you faster but when it comes to perfecting your strategy, slow and steady wins the race!

One of the ways you can quickly sharpen your word problem skills is to practice translating English into Math. Certain words and phrases commonly occur in word problems and knowing the Math processes they represent will help you gain confidence. Here are a few examples:

Need more SAT practice? Try this multiple choice practice problem and see if you’re ready for test day!

No Comments »