Success step english 9 docx

L Stands for Live Living the problem means pretending you’re actually in the situation described in the word problem. To do this effectively, make up details concerning the events and the people in the problem as if you were part of the picture. This process can be done as you are read- ing the problem and should take only a few seconds. V Stands for View View the problem with different numbers while keep- ing the relationships between the numbers the same. Use the simplest numbers you can think of. If a prob- lem asked how long it would take a rocket to go 1,300,000 miles at 650 MPH, change the numbers to 300 miles at 30 MPH. Solve the simple problem, and then solve the problem with the larger numbers the same way. E Stands for Eliminate Eliminate answers you know are wrong. You may also spend a short time checking your answer if there is time. Sample Question Solve this problem using the SOLVE steps described above. 1. There are 651 children in a school. The ratio of boys to girls is 4:3. How many boys are there in the school? a. 40 b. 325 c. 372 d. 400 e. 468 Answer 1. Subject Experience: You know that 4 and 3 are only one apart and 4 is more. You can conclude from this that boys are a little over half the school population. Following up on that, you can cut 651 in half and eliminate any answers that are under half. Furthermore, since there are three numbers in the problem and two are paired in a ratio, you can conclude that this is a ratio problem. Then you can think about what methods you used for ratio problems in the past. 2. Organize: The clue word total means to add. In the context in which it is used, it must mean girls plus boys equals 651. Also, since boys is written before girls, the ratio should be written Boys:Girls. 3. Live: Picture a group of three girls and four boys. Now picture more of these groups, so many that the total would equal 651. 4. View: If there were only 4 boys and 3 girls in the school, there would still be a ratio of 4 to 3. Think of other numbers that have a ratio of 4:3, like 40 and 30. If there were 40 boys and 30 girls, there would be 70 students in total, so the answer has to be more than 40 boys. Move on to 400 boys and 300 girls—700 total students. Since the total in the problem is 651, 700 is too large, but it is close, so HOT TIP Don’t try to keep a formula in your head as you solve the problem. Although writing does take time and effort, jot- ting down a formula is well worth it for three reasons: 1) A formula on paper will clear your head to work with the numbers; 2) You will have a visual image of the formula you can refer to and plug numbers into; 3) The formula will help you see exactly what operations you will need to per- form to solve the problem. –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 128 the answer has to be less than 400. This would narrow your choices to two. 5. Eliminate: Since you know from the step above that the number of students has to be less than 400, you can eliminate d and e. Since you know that the number of boys is more than half the school population, you can eliminate a and b. Yo u are left with c, the correct answer. Quick Tips and Tricks Below is a miscellaneous list of quick tips to help you solve word problems. Work From the Answers On some problems, you can plug in given answers to see which one works in a problem. Start with choice c. Then if you need a larger number, go down, and if you need a smaller answer, go up. That way, you don’t have to try them all. Consider the following problem: 1. One-fifth of what number is 30? a. 6 b. 20 c. 50 d. 120 e. 150 Tr y c: ᎏ 1 5 ᎏ of 50 is 10. A larger answer is needed. Tr y d: ᎏ 1 5 ᎏ of 120 is 24. Not yet, but getting closer. Tr y e: ᎏ 1 5 ᎏ of 150 is 30—Bingo! Problems with Multiple Variables If there are so many variables in a problem that your head is spinning, put in your own numbers. Make a chart of the numbers that go with each variable so there is less chance for you to get mixed up. Then write your answer next to the given answer choices. Work the answers using the numbers in your chart until one works out to match your original answer. In doing this, avoid the numbers 1 and 2 and using the same num- bers twice. There may appear to be two or more right answers if you do. Sample Multi-Variable Question 2. A man drove y miles every hour for z hours. If he gets w miles to the gallon of gas, how many gal- lons will he need? a. yzw b. ᎏ y w z ᎏ c. ᎏ y w z ᎏ d. ᎏ w z y ᎏ e. ᎏ z y w ᎏ Answer Picture yourself in the situation. If you drove 4 (y) miles every hour for 5 (z) hours, you would have driven 20 miles. If your car gets 10 (w) miles to the gal- lon, you would need 2 gallons. Since 2 is your answer, plug the numbers you came up with into the answer choices and see which one is correct. Choice b equals 2 and is therefore correct. a. yzw 4 × 5 × 10 ≠ 2 b. ᎏ y w z ᎏ ᎏ 4 1 × 0 5 ᎏ = 2 c. ᎏ y w z ᎏ ᎏ 4 1 × 0 5 ᎏ ≠ 2 d. ᎏ w z y ᎏ ᎏ 10 5 × 4 ᎏ ≠ 2 e. ᎏ z y w ᎏ ᎏ 5 × 4 10 ᎏ ≠ 2 Let the Answers Do the Math When there is a lot of multiplication or division to do, you can use the answers to help you. Suppose you are asked to divide 9,765 by 31. The given answers are as follows: –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 129 a. 324 b. 316 c. 315 d. 314 e. 312 You know then that the answer will be a three- digit number and that the hundreds place will be 3. The tens place will either be 1 or 2, and more likely 1 because most of the answers have 1 in the tens place. Your division problem is practically worked out for you. Problems with Too Much or Too Little When you come across a problem that you think you know how to answer, but there seems to be a number left over that you just don’t need in your equation, don’t despair. It could very well be that the test writers threw in an extra number to throw you off. The key to not falling prey to this trick is to know your equations and check to make sure the answer you came up with makes sense. When you come across a problem that doesn’t seem to give enough information to calculate an answer, don’t skip it. Read carefully, because some- times a question asks you to set up an equation using variables, and doesn’t ask you to solve the problem at all. If you are expected to actually solve a problem with what seems like too little information, experiment to discover how the information works together to lead to the answer. Try the CA tips. More than One Way to Solve a Problem Some questions ask you to find the only wrong way to solve a problem. Sometimes these are lengthy ques- tions about children in a classroom who get the right answer the wrong way and the wrong answer the right way. In this type of question, do the computation yourself, and work from the answers. The choice that gives an answer different from the others has to be the wrong answer. Consider these choices: a. 5% of 60 b. ᎏ 1 5 00 ᎏ × 60 c. 0.05 × 60 d. 5 × 60 ÷ 100 e. 5 × 60 All of the answers compute to 3 except choice e, which turns out to be 300. Therefore, e must be the correct answer.  Math 11: Logic and Venn Diagrams You deserve a break after all your hard work on math problems. This lesson is shorter than the others; unless logic problems give you a lot of trouble, you can prob- ably spend less than half an hour on this lesson. If Problems If problems are among the easiest problems on the test if you know how to work them. A genuine if problem begins with the word if and then gives some kind of rule. Generally, these problems mention no numbers. In order for the problem to be valid, the rule has to be true for any numbers you put in. Sample If Question The following is a typical if problem. Experiment with this problem to see how the answer is always the same no matter what measurements you choose to use. One Success Step for If Problems Pick some numbers and try it out! –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 130 1. If the length and width of a rectangle are doubled, the area is a. doubled b. halved c. multiplied by 3 d. multiplied by 4 e. divided by 4 Answer First of all, choose a length and width for your rectan- gle, like 2′ by 3′. The area is 2 × 3, or 6. Now double the length and the width and find the area: 4 × 6 = 24. 24 is 4 times 6, so d must be the answer. Try a few differ- ent numbers for the original length and width to see how easy these types of questions can be. Practice Try another one: 2. If a coat was reduced 20% and then further reduced 20%, what is the total percent of dis- count off the original price? a. 28% b. 36% c. 40% d. 44% e. 50% Answer Since this question concerns percents, make the coat’s beginning price $100. A 20% discount will reduce the cost to $80. The second time 20% is taken off, it is taken off $80, not $100. Twenty percent of 80 is 16. That brings the cost down to $64 (80 – 16 = 64). The original price of the coat, 100, minus 64 is 36. One hundred down to 64 is a 36% reduction. So two suc- cessive discounts of 20% equal not a 40%, but a 36% total reduction. Venn Diagrams Venn diagrams provide a way to think about groups in relationship to each other. Words such as some, all, and none commonly appear in these types of questions. In Venn diagram problems, you are given two or more categories of objects. First, draw a circle repre- senting one of the categories. Second, draw another circle representing the other category. Draw the second circle according to these rules: 1. If the question says that ALL of a category is the second category, place the second circle around the second category. Example: All pigs (p) are animals (a). 2. If the question says that SOME of a category is the second category, place the second circle so that it cuts through the first circle. Example: Some parrots (p) are talking birds (t). 3. If the question says NO, meaning that none of the first category is in the second category, make the second circle completely separate from the first. Example: No cats (c) are fish (f). HOT TIP When choosing numbers for if problems, choose small numbers. When working with percents, start with 100. –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 131 Sample Venn Diagram Question 3. All bipeds (B.) are two headed (T.H.). Which diagram shows the relationship between bipeds and two-headed? a. b. c. d. e. Answer The question says ALL, so the two-headed shape, in this case, a square, is around the triangle denoting bipeds. The answer is d. More than Two Categories Should there be more than two categories, proceed in the same way. Example: Some candy bars (c) are sweet (s), but no bananas (b) are candy bars. The sweet circle will cut through the candy bar circle. Since the problem did not specify where bananas and sweet intersect, bananas can have several positions. The banana circle can be outside both circles completely: The banana circle can intersect the sweet circle: Or the banana circle can be completely inside the sweet circle but not touching the candy bar shape: HOT TIP Even when there are no pictures of Venn diagrams in the answers, you can often solve this type of problem by drawing the diagram one way and visualizing all the possible positions of the circles given the facts in the problem. –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 132  Writing 1: Outlining the Essay You will be required to write two essays during your test time. One essay may be a persuasive essay, and the other a narrative or story essay. The persuasive essay question will ask your opinion, usually on a current or well-known issue. You will need to convince the reader of your side of the issue. The story essay question will often concern a person or event in your life that has influenced you in some way. You will need to commu- nicate your experience to the reader in such a way that the reader will be able to understand and appreciate your experience. The evaluators are not concerned about whether or not the facts are correct—they are solely judging your writing ability. Unlike math, writing is flexible. There are many different ways to convey the same meaning. You can pass the test with any logical arrangement of para- graphs and ideas that are “clearly communicated.” Most CBEST and English instructors recommend a five-paragraph essay, which is an easy and acceptable formula. The five-paragraph essay assures that your ideas are logically and effectively arranged, and gives you a chance to develop three complete ideas. The longer and richer your essay, the better rating it will receive. The first step in achieving such an essay is to come up with a plan or outline. You should spend the first four or five of the 30 minutes allowed in organiz- ing your essay. This first writing lesson will show you how. The rest of the writing lessons will show you where to go from there. Outlining the Persuasive Essay Below are some tips on how to use your first four or five minutes in planning a persuasive essay, based on an essay topic similar to the one found in the diagnos- tic exam in Chapter 3. Sample Persuasive Essay Question 1. In your opinion, should public schools require student uniforms? Minute 1 During the first minute, read the question carefully and choose your side of the issue. If there is a side of the issue you are passionate about, the choice will be easy. If you know very little about a subject and do not have an opinion, just quickly choose a side. The test scorers don’t care which side you take. Minutes 2 and 3 Quickly answer as many of the following questions as apply to your topic. These questions can be adapted to either side of the argument. Jot down your ideas in a place on your test booklet that will be easily accessible as you write. Examples of how you might do this for the topic of school uniforms are provided here. 1. Do you know anyone who might feel strongly about the subject? Parents of school-age children, children, uni- form companies, local children’s clothing shops. 2. What reasons might they give for feeling the way they do? Pro: Parents will not have to worry about what school clothing to buy for their children. Children will not feel peer pressure to dress a certain way. Poorer children will not feel that their clothing is shabbier or less fashionable than that of the more affluent children. Uni- form companies and fabric shops will receive business for the fine work they are doing. Con: Parents will not be able to dress their children creatively for school. Children will not have the opportunity to learn to dress and match their clothes very often. They will not be able to show off or talk about their new clothes. Clothing shops will lose money, –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 133 . use the answers to help you. Suppose you are asked to divide 9, 765 by 31. The given answers are as follows: –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 1 29 a. 324 b. 316 c. 315 d. 314 e. 312 You know then that the answer. to see how the answer is always the same no matter what measurements you choose to use. One Success Step for If Problems Pick some numbers and try it out! –CBEST MINI-COURSE– 130 1. If the length. time checking your answer if there is time. Sample Question Solve this problem using the SOLVE steps described above. 1. There are 651 children in a school. The ratio of boys to girls is 4:3.