your weaknesses. But if you focus on the task of doing well on the SAT, your effort will repay you many times over. You will go to the kind of school you want and enjoy the kind of career you want, and it will have all started with the relatively few hours you devoted to preparing for a standardized test. What are you wait- ing for? One last consideration about the Critical Reading section of the SAT is the effect of good time manage- ment during the exam. The basic rule is one minute per question, but some questions will take less time, and others will take more. Don’t hold yourself to a strict schedule, but you shouldn’t spend too much time on any one question. Remember, if you can elim- inate one or more answers on a tough question, you should make a guess, and if you have time left at the end of the section, you can go back and reconsider your answers. If one type of question in a section is easier for you than another type, go ahead and do those questions first. Remember, you get the same point for an easy cor- rect answer as you do for a difficult correct answer. So answer the easy questions and save the hard ones for last. These time management strategies are not only effective on the Critical Reading section of the SAT, but can also be useful for the Math and Writing sections. Doing practice questions under timed conditions will help you prepare more thoroughly for the time limits you will face on test day. Good luck! –THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 97 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 97 5658 SAT2006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 98 What to Expect in the Math Section The SAT Math section has two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, for a total of 70 minutes. There are two types of math questions: five-choice and grid-in. Since the beginning of March 2005, the exam no longer includes quantitative-comparison questions, and covers a wider range of topics, including algebra II. The five-choice math questions, as the name implies, are questions for which you are given five answer choices. Five-choice questions test your mathematical reasoning skills. Questions are drawn from the areas of arith- metic, geometry, algebra and functions, statistics and data analysis, and probability. As in the other sections of the SAT, the problems will be easier at the beginning and will get increasingly difficult as you progress. More than 80% of the questions in the Math section are five-choice questions. Grid-in questions are also referred to as student-produced responses. There are only about ten of these ques- tions, and they are the only questions on the whole exam for which the answers are not provided. You will be asked to solve a variety of math problems and then fill in the correct numbered ovals on your answer sheet. As with the multiple-choice questions, the key to success with these problems is to think through them logically, and that’s easier than it may seem to you right now. CHAPTER The SAT Math Section 4 99 5658 SAT2006[04](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:43 PM Page 99 SAT Math at a Glance There are one 20-minute and two 25-minute math sections, for a total of 70 minutes. Of these questions, the majority are multiple choice. You will also be required to answer about ten grid-in questions. Math con- cepts tested include arithmetic, geometry, algebra and functions, statistics and data analysis, and prob- ability. There are two types of math questions: Five-choice questions—test your ability to find logical solutions to a variety of multiple-choice questions in the areas of arithmetic, geometry, algebra and functions, statistics and data analysis, and probability. More than 80% of the math section will be multiple choice. Grid-in questions—test your ability to solve a variety of math problems and then fill in the correct num- bered ovals on your answer sheet. There are no answer choices to choose from in this section. There are about ten of these questions on the exam. 100 Taking the time to work through this entire math chapter will help you practice the kinds of math ques- tions on the exam and refine the skills needed to score high. Also, you will learn many strategies that can be used to master each type of question at test time. As you read this chapter, keep in mind that you do not have to memorize all of the formulas. Most of these formulas will be given to you on the test. Your task is to make sure you understand how and when to use them. There may be times when you see a problem that you are unable to solve. Don’t let this stop you! It is impor- tant to break difficult problems down into smaller parts and to look for clues to help you find the solution. Many times, these problems become relatively easy when you simplify them yourself. Test Your Skills To start things off, you will be given a pretest. This test will help you figure out what skills you have mastered and what skills you need to improve. After you check your answers, read through the skills sections and concen- trate on the topics that gave you trouble on the pretest. After the skills sections, you will find an overview of both question types on the Math section: five-choice and grid-ins. These overviews will give you strategies for each question type as well as practice problems. Make sure to look over the explanations as well as the answers when you check your practice problems. Finally, make sure you look up any unfamiliar words in the math glossary on page 255. Learning the language of math is very important to your success on the SAT. Good luck! –THE SAT MATH SECTION– 5658 SAT2006[04](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:43 PM Page 100 –LEARNINGEXPRESS ANSWER SHEET– 101 1.abcde 2.abcde 3.abcde 4.abcde 5.abcde 6.abcde 7.abcde 8.abcde 9.abcde 10.abcde 11. a b c d 12. a b c d 13. a b c d 14. a b c d 15. a b c d 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. ANSWER SHEET 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 • 5658 SAT2006[04](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:43 PM Page 101 –THE SAT SECTION– 102 45˚ 45˚ s s 2s Ί ¯¯¯¯¯ 3x 60˚ 30˚ x 2x h b A = 1 2 bh l w h l w r A = πr 2 C = 2πr r V = πr 2 h h Special Right Triangles V = lwh A = lw • The sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180 ˚ . • The measure of a straight angle is 180 ˚ . • There are 360 degrees of arc in a circle. Ί REFERENCE SHEET 5658 SAT2006[04](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:44 PM Page 102 . luck! THE SAT CRITICAL READING SECTION– 97 5658 SAT2 006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 97 5658 SAT2 006[03](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:42 PM Page 98 What to Expect in the Math Section The SAT Math. drawn from the areas of arith- metic, geometry, algebra and functions, statistics and data analysis, and probability. As in the other sections of the SAT, the problems will be easier at the beginning. section. There are about ten of these questions on the exam. 100 Taking the time to work through this entire math chapter will help you practice the kinds of math ques- tions on the exam and refine the