Four Answer Choices: Guessing, Elimination, and Backsolving

Four answer choices instead of five changes the math of guessing. A blind guess among five choices is a 20 percent shot. Drop to four, and that jumps to 25 percent, with no extra work. Knock out even one choice you know is wrong, and a guess among the rest climbs to 1 in 3. This is why a blank answer is always worse than a guess: a blank is a guaranteed zero, while a guess is never worse than 25 percent and often better.

Backsolving flips the usual order of operations. Instead of setting up an equation and solving for x, you take each answer choice and plug it into the problem, checking which one makes the equation true. This works because the answer is sitting right there among the four choices. It is often faster than algebra, especially on quadratics or equations with fractions, because testing a number is simpler than factoring or using the quadratic formula. Start with one of the middle-sized choices. If it is too big or too small, that tells you which direction to try next, so you rarely need to test all four.

Both tricks matter most for pacing. Since items run roughly easiest to hardest, early questions often solve fastest by straightforward math, while later, messier ones are exactly where backsolving and elimination save time. Treat guessing, elimination, and backsolving as a toolkit: use whichever gets you to a confident choice with the least work, then move on.