1. Strategies to help maximize your marks.
Math Workout for the New SAT – The Princeton Review.

2. Helpful Hints
This isn’t the kind of test you get in math
class at school.
You need special techniques for handling
SAT problems.
If you do the SAT math problems like you
would do in class, you waste time and
throw away points.

3. Sections of the test
There are 3 sections to the Math test.
1. 20 question Problem-Solving (m.c)
2. 10 Problem-Solving (m.c), 10 Grid-in
3. 15 Problem-Solving (m.c)
Questions in each section are arranged in
an special order of difficulty.

4. Pacing
Almost everyone works too fast on SAT tests! The test
is designed NOT to be completed!
You will hurt your score by working too fast.
If you miss about 5 or 6 questions in each section, you
are probably about the right pace.
If you are NOT missing any questions but are NOT
finishing, then guess more aggressively and work
faster.

5. Pacing
10 Q. Problem- Solving
20 Q. Problem- Solving
10. Grid-In
Question Difficulty Question Difficulty
Q. 15-20 HARD Q. 18-20 HARD
Q. 7-14 MEDIUM Q. 14-17 MEDIUM
Q. 1-6 EASY Q. 11-13 EASY
Q. 8-10 HARD
Q. 4-7 MEDIUM
15Q. Problem- Solving Q. 1-3 EASY
Question Difficulty
Q. 11-15 HARD
Q. 6-10 MEDIUM
Q. 1-5 EASY

6. Scoring
1 Point each correct answer
0.25 Point each wrong answer
Blank questions lose no points

7. Calculators
Calculators can only calculate, they cant think!
THNINK BEFORE YOU PUNCH
Tips to Calculator Happiness:
 Use a calculator that follows order of operations.
 Estimate your answer first.
 Check each number after you punch it in.

8. Careless Mistakes
Some common mistakes to watch for:
 Misreading the question
 Computation error
 Punching the wrong thing on the calculator
 Failing to estimate first
 Answering a different question than the
one being asked
 On a medium-hard question, stopping too
soon when you may be almost there.

9. Strategies
Guessing
If you come across a question you get
stuck on. Should you leave it?
NO
Not if you can cross out a WRONG choice.

10. When do I guess?
Always be aware of where you are in the test.
Easy Questions – easy answers
Hard questions – hard answers
Good guess
 Geometry drawn to scale, where you can approximate
length or area.
 Any Grid-in you have an answer for.
Bad Guess
 Obvious answers on hard questions
 Long, complicated word problems
 Questions you don’t have time to read.

11. Plugging In
One of the most powerful strategies on the SAT’s.
The idea of taking all the variables – like x, y, z
In the question and replacing them with actual
numbers.
You don’t have to generate the answer yourself. It
allows you to check which of the answers is the
correct one.
This turns an algebra problem into simple
arithmetic!

12. How do I know when to Use Plugging In?
 The question will be straight forward.
e.g. How old is Bob?, or How many
potatoes in the bag?
 There are variables in the answer choices.
 The question says something like
“in terms of x”
 The question asks for a percentage or
fractional part of something, but doesn’t
give you actual amounts.

13. Tips for Plugging-In Happiness
 Pick easy numbers like 2, 10, 100 etc
Avoid picking 0, 1 or any number that is one of
the answers.
 If your chosen number leads to UGLY
computations, then bail out and pick an
easier number.
 The answers are in numerical order, so you
may be able to eliminate answers that are too
big or too small. If the answer to © was too
small, then try the bigger answer choices.

14. Plugging-In Example
Jill spent x dollars on toys and 12 dollars on socks. If the
amount Jill spent was twice the amount she earns in a week,
how much does Jill earn each week in terms of x?
a) 2(x + 12)
b) 2x + 24
c) (x/2) + 12
d) (x+12)/2
Solution: Lets plug in 100 for x. That means that Jill spent a total
of $112. If that was twice her weekly salary, then she makes
half of $112, or $56.
Now plug in 100 to see which answer gives us $56.

15. Practice Quiz
EASY
If p is an odd number, which of the following
must also be an odd number?
a) p + 1
b) p / 2
c) p + 2
d) 2p
e) p -1
Answer – C. Lets make p = 3 and try in the
answer choices.

16. Medium
If y / 3 = 6x, then in terms of y, x = ?
a) 3y
b) 2y
c) y
d) y/2
e) y / 18
Answer: E. Plug in y = 36, which makes x = 2. Now
plug y = 36 into the answer choices.