NEW YORK SAT MATH ESSENTIALS ® Copyright © 2006 LearningExpress. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Cernese, Richard. SAT math essentials / Richard Cernese, Dave Smith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57685-533-3 (alk. paper) 1. Mathematics—Examinations, questions, etc. 2. College entrance achievement tests—United States—Study guides. 3. Scholastic Assessment Test—Study guides. I. Smith, Dave. II. Title. QA43.C35 2006 510.76—dc22 2005027526 Printed in the United States of America 987654321 ISBN 1-57685-533-3 For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com INTRODUCTION v CHAPTER 1 Taking the SAT 1 CHAPTER 2 Preparing for SAT Math 7 CHAPTER 3 Math Pretest 13 CHAPTER 4 Techniques and Strategies 27 CHAPTER 5 Numbers and Operations Review 37 CHAPTER 6 Algebra Review 69 CHAPTER 7 Geometry Review 95 CHAPTER 8 Problem Solving 149 CHAPTER 9 Practice Test 1 173 CHAPTER 10 Practice Test 2 197 CHAPTER 11 Practice Test 3 221 GLOSSARY 245 Contents iii [...]... Fill Those Ovals! 7 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Become Familiar with Grids! Be sure you are very familiar with how to fill in a grid before you take the real SAT You don’t want to waste any test time...– PREPARING FOR THE SAT MATH – Here is an example: Fractions If your answer is ᎏ4ᎏ, fill in the number ovals marked 4 9 and 9 and a fraction symbol (/) in between 1 By how much does the product of 13 and 20 exceed the product of 25 and 10 ? a 1 b 5 c 10 d 15 e 20 / / • 4 9 / • • • b c d 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 Five-choice questions test your mathematical reasoning... strategies for answering SAT math questions successfully They will also review the math skills and concepts you need to know for the SAT 3 Take the practice tests in Chapters 9, 10 , and 11 Make sure to read through the answers and explanations when you finish Review your errors to determine if you need to study any parts of the book again Memorize the Directions The directions found on SATs are the same from... that includes a variable or a neg- 9 SAT Math at a Glance Math Sections ■ two 25-minute sections ■ one 20-minute math section ■ total of 70 minutes for math sections Math Questions ■ 90% are multiple-choice questions; you must choose an answer from five answer choices ■ about ten questions are grid-in questions; you must determine the answer without answer choices Math Concepts Tested ■ numbers and operations... LearningExpress books such as Practical Math Success in 20 Minutes a Day and 10 01 Math Questions ■ ■ you may, of course, use this book however you like Perhaps you need only to study one area of math or want only to take the practice tests However, for the best results from this book, follow this guide: Take Real Practice Tests It is essential that you obtain the book 10 Real SATs, published by The College... for actual retired SATs Make sure you take at least one real retired SAT before test day The more familiar you can become with the look and feel of a real SAT, the fewer surprises there will be on test day 1 Take the pretest in Chapter 3 This is a short test with questions similar to those you will see on the SAT This pretest will give you a flavor of the types of math questions the SAT includes Don’t... 0 / • 7 • 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 8 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 0 1 3 4 6 • 3 7 • 2 3 4 / 2 3 7 1 2 8 5 1 5 2 0 1 2 If your answer is 257, fill in the number ovals marked 2, 5, and 7: 0 1 Whole Numbers 9 9 9 – PREPARING FOR THE SAT MATH – Using the Right Columns ative sign, you know your answer must be wrong! Solve it again! The scoring machine gives... something else you enjoy The point is 10 – PREPARING FOR THE SAT MATH – to keep yourself dedicated to your work without letting the SAT become all you think about Remember: If you put in the hard work, you’ll enjoy your relaxation time even more ■ Use Additional Study Sources ■ This book will give you a solid foundation of knowledge about the math sections of the SAT However, you might also benefit from... Because the SAT is given early on Saturday mornings, you may want to spend some of your study time early in the morning—especially in the weeks leading up to the test—so you can accustom yourself to thinking about SAT questions at that time of day Even better would be to dedicate several of the Saturday mornings before the test to SAT preparation Get yourself used to walking up early on Saturdays and... / • 4 9 / • • • b c d 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 Five-choice questions test your mathematical reasoning skills They require you to apply various math techniques for each problem 0 1 2 e 0 1 5 1 a 0 1 9 9 9 Note that all mixed numbers should be written as 3 improper fractions For example, 5ᎏ5ᎏ should be filled in as 28/5 Grid-In Questions Grid-in questions are also called . 0. 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 1 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 33 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 44 4 5 6 8 9 0 • 3. 06 • 2 5 7 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 1 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 33 2 6 5 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 44 4 5 6 8 9 0 • . 4/ 9 • 7 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 1 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 33 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4. for the SAT by waiting until the last 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 •• / 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 0 • 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 0 • • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 / 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 0 • 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 0 • /. Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10 006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com INTRODUCTION v CHAPTER 1 Taking the SAT 1 CHAPTER 2 Preparing for SAT Math 7 CHAPTER 3 Math Pretest 13 CHAPTER 4 Techniques and