Seconds per Item, Section by Section

The pace of a section comes from two numbers: how many minutes it runs, and how many questions sit inside it. Convert minutes to seconds, divide by the question count, and you get the average seconds per question. English, with its shorter passages and quicker grammar calls, runs at a noticeably faster clip than math, where even one question can demand several steps of setup. That difference in average pace is exactly why English can feel calm and math can feel tight, even when both sections are well-timed.

Work the two cases directly. English gives 35 minutes for 50 questions: 35 x 60 = 2100 seconds, and 2100 / 50 = 42 seconds per question. Math gives 50 minutes for 45 questions: 50 x 60 = 3000 seconds, and 3000 / 45 is about 67 seconds per question. Same method both times: minutes to seconds, then divide by what's left to answer.

That average is a planning number, not a rulebook. A section is not 50 questions of identical difficulty; some take ten seconds, some take two minutes, and the payoff for a correct answer is the same no matter which it is. Spending an even slice of time on every question means overpaying for the easy ones and running out of runway for the few that actually need the extra seconds. The average per-question time tells you the budget for the whole section. Where you actually spend those seconds, question by question, is a separate decision, and it connects directly to pacing strategy: bank time on the fast questions so the slow ones can borrow it.