SAT Math: Triangle Sides and Angles (part 2)

Following up on part 1, a harder triangles question.

Answer in the comments.

Also from SAT Unlocked II, a list of the Official SAT Study Guide (OSSG) questions that test this topic:

SAT Math: Triangle Sides and Angles (part 1)

Here are the basic SAT triangle side and angle rules you need to know, along with two example questions from SAT Unlocked II.

Answers in the comments.

Part 2

SAT Math: Cross Multiplying

To solve ratio problems, cross multiply to find missing values.

Here is an example question from SAT Unlocked II.

See answer in the comments section.

Also from SAT Unlocked II, a list of the Official SAT Study Guide (OSSG) questions that test this topic:

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What are SAT Percentiles?

SAT Percentiles tell you the percentage of SAT test takers you performed better than. For example, if your score is in the 75th percentile, you performed better than approximately 75 percent of students who took the test.

Although percentiles for each SAT subject vary from test to test, scores generally break down into the following percentiles:

Notice that there is a 50 percentile jump between 500 and 700.

As you can see, improving your SAT score by even just a few points can have a big impact on your overall percentile rank.

From my SAT training guide: SAT Unlocked.

SAT Writing: Adverbs

About once per test, an SAT Error ID question will leave the ‘ly’ off the end of an adverb. An adverb is a word, usually ending in ‘ly’ (like ‘clearly’, ‘mostly’ or ‘faithfully’), that helps describe (or modify) an adjective, a verb, or another adverb.

Incorrect:
Researchers examined the constant changing river bed for signs of invasive species.

Problem: The adverb ‘constant’ is missing ‘ly’.
(The river bed can not both be ‘constant’ and ‘changing’ at the same time.)

Correct:
Researchers examined the constantly changing river bed for signs of invasive species.

Tip: The phrase ‘constant changing’ is an SAT favorite when testing adverbs.

From SAT Unlocked, which includes a complete list of the practice questions in The Official SAT Study Guide that test this SAT Writing rule.

SAT Math: Sets Terminology (w/ example)

Here are the SAT Math ‘Sets’ terms you should know.

Set questions ask you to compare overlapping groups to determine which members are in each set.

Example:

See comments for answer and explanation.

From my SAT guide SAT Unlocked, which includes a complete list of practice questions in The Official SAT Study Guide that test this SAT Math topic.

SAT Writing: Watch Out for Sentence Fragments

Complete sentences always contain both a subject and a main verb (or “predicate”).

About two times per test, SAT Writing will include question containing a ‘Sentence Fragment’ – in other words, a sentence that is simply not complete.

Incorrect:
Jesse Owens, the first man to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad, and setting world records in three of four events at the 1936 games in Berlin.

Problem: The sentence is not complete because it lacks a main verb.

Correct:
Jesse Owens, the first man to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad, set world records in three of four events at the 1936 games in Berlin.

Tip:
Sentence fragment questions appear almost exclusively on Improving Sentences questions.

From SAT Unlocked, which also includes a complete list of the practice questions in The Official SAT Study Guide that test this SAT Writing rule.

How are SAT Math Sections Organized?

SAT Math consists of 54 total questions tested in three sections.

SAT Math includes 2 types of questions:

• 44 Multiple Choice (MC): Typical SAT question with 5 answer choices.
• 10 Grid-In (GI): Enter an actual value on your answer sheet, instead of simply filling in a multiple choice oval.

SAT Math questions appear in order of difficulty from easiest at the beginning to hardest at the end. In the section with Grid-In questions, the Multiple Choice questions end with hard questions and then the Grid-Ins start over with easy questions.

Tip: The harder the question, the less obvious the answer. Because questions at the beginning of the section are easier, the answer choices tend to be straightforward. However, as the section progresses, the test makers throw in trick answers to try to fool you. At the beginning of a section, the most obvious answer is usually the right one. Near the end of the section, the most obvious answer is often the wrong one.

From my SAT training guide: SAT Unlocked.

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