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Strategy for ACT/SAT?

This is a discussion on Strategy for ACT/SAT? within the Off Topic forums, part of the Entertainment category; I never used my calculator, and finished every math section in less than 1/2 the time they gave me; I ...
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  1. #16
    Warrior of the Brocoli Senior Member Parasitic's Avatar
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    I never used my calculator, and finished every math section in less than 1/2 the time they gave me; I had the chance to triple-check my answers. I got an 800 on the SAT I math.[/b]
    Not all of us are smart I'm going to retake it with the writing portion soon, took it without before just to get an idea of whats on it...helps if you're currently in school when you take it, I took mine over the summer having not been in any type of educational institution for like 2 months, so I had forgotten almost everything xD

  2. #17
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    whatever u do, dont study last night b4 the test starts^^

    thats the only advice of my side.
    go have fun outside and spend time on the family/friends/gf



  3. #18
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    whatever u do, dont study last night b4 the test starts^^

    thats the only advice of my side.
    go have fun outside and spend time on the family/friends/gf[/b]
    Actually, if you study the night before the concepts are freshly developed in your mind so it actually helps.

    I don't even think you know what the ACT and SAT stand for. Since obviously you are not an American, and the two tests are only offered in America, there is no way you can "offer advice" when you haven't really taken them. Looking for attention again?

  4. #19
    Psy
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    For taking the SATs?

    For the "write your own essay," look up some universal quotes that you can use... like JFK's "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" and compare it to the bible quote that he stole it from. Try not to ramble Remember it's not a journal.

    Do some math drills, don't rely on your calculator (I took my SATs without a calculator, I got the best score on the math section). Everything you learned in algebra/finite math is needed. I can't remember if geometry was a factor, but you will need to know simple formulas like "length x width" = area of a square/rectangle.

    For the reading/mult choice part, don't treat the reading as a task. Read it like you enjoy it. Try to relate the story with events in your life if you can. If you don't enjoy reading, then ignore this last "tip."

  5. #20
    Protoss Arbiter Senior Member
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    Thats not possible even if you are a math hugger. You have to use a calculator for those geometry problems and circle problems.

    Unless they changed the format of ACT/SAT in 5 years, you do have to be familiar with your calculator.

    @ Xtr3m3
    There was no writing section 5 years ago. Also, I don't understand how you can calculate your own score for the practice writing part of the test.

    The optimum strategy is to get familiar with the format of the test. The practice tests by ACT/SAT books helps because they are original tests that were used in previous years. People who make up the ACT tests basically recycle the same test questions with only minor modification. Once you understand what kind of questions will be asked on the test, and become familiar on how to answer those questions, they will come natural to you on the set date.[/b]
    Show me any practice problem that absolutely requires a calculator to do.

  6. #21
    Promise Less, Do More Senior Member Danny's Avatar
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    I'm taking it on Jan 26th So not ready, but... whatever xD [TY USKO! :wub: ]

  7. #22
    cRuX
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    First time I took the ACT I got a 23. I got a 29 on reading and shitty on others. I then studied the ACT books at my school, did some math exersises and shit and retook it the 12th or w.e Everything else raised up but the reading section on that one was fucking bullshit and I got a 23 on it. Got fucking 23 again. Kinda depends on the test you take. But it's how well you can read/comprehend things. Just be good at math and be able to quickly comprehend stuff and you're good to go. English section is just telling whether word is in right spot or used correctly, reading is comprehension, science is just using graphs/charts/figures and then math is just math. Really it's a shitty test if you ask me.

  8. #23
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    Calculator for Geometry and Circle problems? What the hell are you talking about? If you've taken the SAT you'd know that every problem is doable without a calculator. Actually, it'd probably take me longer to do the test with a calculator than without. The only thing I've actually ever used a calculator for on the SAT is playing games after the test.

    Show me any practice problem that absolutely requires a calculator to do.[/b]
    I have taken the ACT and I have taken practice SATs. You do need your calculator, not because problems are doable without calculator, but because of time restraints. You obviously don't want to waste your time doing calculations by hand when you can do it easily with a calculator.

    For example, this was one of the practice SAT problems that I found on the collegebound website.



    The choices for the answers are A) 804 B) 612 C) 806 D) 1020

    Obviously, you can do this by hand. The equation to find the area of a circle is (3.14)®^2.

    If you were to solve this without a calculator you would have to divide the work into 3 parts

    1) 16 x 16 to find r ^ 2
    2) 3 (for simplicity purpose) x 16 ^ 2 which would eliminate choices B and D.
    3) You would have to select between A and C.

    Remember the test is restricted to 1 min per problem. As i said, it is impossible even if you are a math hugger to complete every problem on the test without a calculator. You will run out of time.

    Also, this was only a simple problem. There are problems on the ACT/SAT where you have to find the angles/area/dimensions using trig functions. Once again, I highly doubt anyone average can do that without a calculator in less than a minute per problem.

  9. #24
    Protoss Arbiter Senior Member
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    I have taken the ACT and I have taken practice SATs. You do need your calculator, not because problems are doable without calculator, but because of time restraints. You obviously don't want to waste your time doing calculations by hand when you can do it easily with a calculator.

    For example, this was one of the practice SAT problems that I found on the collegebound website.



    The choices for the answers are A) 804 B) 612 C) 806 D) 1020

    Obviously, you can do this by hand. The equation to find the area of a circle is (3.14)®^2.

    If you were to solve this without a calculator you would have to divide the work into 3 parts

    1) 16 x 16 to find r ^ 2
    2) 3 (for simplicity purpose) x 16 ^ 2 which would eliminate choices B and D.
    3) You would have to select between A and C.

    Remember the test is restricted to 1 min per problem. As i said, it is impossible even if you are a math hugger to complete every problem on the test without a calculator. You will run out of time.

    Also, this was only a simple problem. There are problems on the ACT/SAT where you have to find the angles/area/dimensions using trig functions. Once again, I highly doubt anyone average can do that without a calculator in less than a minute per problem.[/b]
    16^2 is simple to find, it's 256 - you should have memorized up to at least 20 for squares.

    3.14 x 256 is also simple. If you do it mentally, it's 3x256, which is about 3x250, which is around 750. 0.1x256 is 25.6, which is about 25. If you note, this is an underestimation (because you're technically missing a 4x3 and 0.04.... x 256), so it's larger than 775, but pretty close. The only answer choice that's "pretty close" to 775 is 804 or 806, but I can tell right away that your problem isn't a sample problem, because the SAT doesn't work like that.

    First of all, I can tell that's not a true practice problem, because it's pretty much GUARANTEED one of the answer choices should be ~100, because the SAT will give you a choice about the circumference (if you mistake circumference and area). So seeing as how there's no answer choice that's ~100, it's clearly not an SAT question.

    Second, if you're having any time constraints on the math portion, you should definitely be studying a lot harder. On every math section in my school, I've always noticed the entire room finished around 5-6 minutes before time was up, and I'm pretty sure everyone's already double-checked their answers. Again, time isn't a problem.

    Third and lastly, the SAT doesn't try to trick you in the sense of choosing the wrong answer stupidly; instead, they trick you into conceptual errors rather than unforced errors. 806 comes out of nowhere, and it's pretty clear the answer is trying to trick you into a stupid error, not a conceptual error. There is no sense in putting 806 as an answer because:
    1. It's not a multiple of 16.
    2. It's not a perfect square.
    3. It doesn't produce the right answer.
    4. In the interval [805,807) there does not exist a number that is divisible by 16, nor, when divided by pi, will yield another number divisible by 16.

  10. #25
    BrightEyes
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    ACT is pretty simple if you are well oriented with the test. I say get a junp on it when you can (i took mine the first time in 7th grade). Once you get the hang of its its really quite simple. Even though i sucked in math (19) , I still made a 31 because my scores were better on the things i was more comfortable with. So dont sweat it if you fuck one part up a bit, you can be really good at the others and have a decent score. My two cents.

  11. #26
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    For example, this was one of the practice SAT problems that I found on the collegebound website.

    [/b]
    rofl. i hope you're kidding me. Compared to yankee-bois im a genius =.=

    Never had any SAT/ACT shits but talked with a friend, how u can compare college with any of our schools. piece of a cake.

    i had more difficult tests in 6th grade lol^^

  12. #27
    unradsniper
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    rofl. i hope you're kidding me. Compared to yankee-bois im a genius =.=

    Never had any SAT/ACT shits but talked with a friend, how u can compare college with any of our schools. piece of a cake.

    i had more difficult tests in 6th grade lol^^[/b]
    and did you notice the difference between america and whereever u live? ive taken tests in 6th grade in india that im doing right now in high school... but ppl just have more oppurtunities here

    and moe 800 is definetly possible, especially for a chink

  13. #28
    Cocaine
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    Strategy: Dip penis in coffee and drink before beginning the test.

  14. #29
    unradsniper
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    Strategy: Dip penis in coffee and drink before beginning the test.[/b]
    +123456789987654321

  15. #30
    Xtr3m3
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    moemoneyman:

    Here is a SS of score, etc:



    Not everybody is a genius for this shit

    Too bad the test does not involved anything related to Astrophysics or whatnot




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