Math: The Digital Test and the Equation Editor
The Equation Editor, the fill-in-the-blank and drag-and-drop item types, the formulas nobody hands you, and the one-way clock you cannot walk back.
15 topics · 58 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
The Equation Editor and Its Palette
- How it worksHow does the Equation Editor build a stacked fraction instead of a slash on one line?
- How it worksHow does each palette button drop in a template with empty boxes waiting to be filled?
- Worked exampleWalk me through the keystrokes that turn an empty answer box into 3x2 over 4.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't typing an answer the way you would scrawl it on paper always register correctly?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Write, in terms of x, the expression you would build in the Equation Editor for three times x squared, all divided by 7.Entering Fractions, Roots, and Exponents
- How it worksHow does the exponent template lift whatever you type next up above the line?
- How it worksHow does the square root template stretch its bar across everything typed inside it?
- Worked exampleWalk me through entering the square root of 2x plus 5 so the bar covers the whole thing.
- Worked exampleWalk me through entering 2 and 3/4 as a mixed number rather than as 23 over 4.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't clicking out of a template the same move as closing a parenthesis?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
Write, in terms of x, the expression meaning 7 over the quantity 7x, with the x parked below the bar.Inequality, Absolute Value, and the Multiplication Dot
- How it worksHow do less than, greater than and their or-equal-to versions differ on the palette?
- How it worksHow does a multiplication dot dodge the confusion an x would cause beside a variable?
- Worked exampleFind the right symbol for at most 12 and for more than 12, then place each on a number line.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a pair of vertical bars around an expression doing the job of parentheses?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Using the absolute value bars on the palette, write the expression, in terms of x, for the absolute value of 2x minus 24.Math Fill in the Blanks
- How it worksHow does a fill-in-the-blank item strip away every clue four answer choices would have leaked?
- How it worksHow does an answer typed through the Equation Editor get judged right or wrong?
- Worked exampleWalk me through entering 0.75, 3/4 and 75 percent and deciding which form the blank wants.
- Going furtherWhat changes about your plan when nobody publishes how many of the 50 math items are blanks?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A Math Fill in the Blank item asks for three quarters of 291. What value should be typed into the box?Multiple Response: Select All That Apply
- How it worksHow does a select-all item score differently from picking one right answer out of four?
- Worked exampleFind every value among -3, 0, 2, 4, 5 and 9 that makes 2x - 1 less than 7.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't it safe to assume a select-all item pays you for the answers you did get right?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Solve 7x - 1 is less than c. Every value below one boundary works. Write an expression for that boundary, in terms of c.Drag and Drop and Inline Choice Items
- How it worksHow does a drag and drop item check a whole matching instead of one selection?
- How it worksHow does an inline choice drop-down keep its options hidden until you open the sentence?
- Worked exampleWalk me through dragging the answers 4, 6 and -2 onto 2x + 3 = 11, x/3 = 2 and 5x = -10.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a drag and drop answer when a tile lands in the wrong zone and you advance?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A drag and drop item asks you to drop the right solution onto each equation. Write an expression for the solution of 7x + 3 = c, in terms of c.Hot Spot and Table Grid Items
- How it worksHow does a hot spot item turn a diagram into a set of clickable answer zones?
- How it worksHow does a table grid item ask you to fill missing values that all obey one rule?
- Worked exampleFind the missing entries of a table where x runs 1, 2, 3, 4 and y follows y = 3x - 1.
Your turneasy1 of 3
A table grid item gives y = 7 when x = 1 and y = 7 plus 7 when x = 2, and every row obeys the same linear rule. Write an expression for y in terms of x.Point Graph: Plotting on a Coordinate Grid
- How it worksHow does clicking a coordinate grid record an exact ordered pair as your answer?
- Worked exampleWalk me through plotting the solution of y = 2x - 1 when x is 3 on a coordinate grid.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't a point placed one square off ever count as close enough on a grid?
- Worked exampleWalk me through plotting the spot where y = x + 2 crosses the vertical axis.
Your turneasy1 of 3
A point graph item asks you to plot points on the line through (0, negative 6) with slope 7. Write an expression for the y-coordinate, in terms of x.Shape Transformation Items
- How it worksHow does a reflection across the vertical axis flip every x coordinate to its opposite?
- How it worksHow does a translation slide every vertex of a figure by the exact same pair of steps?
- Worked exampleFind where a triangle at (1, 2), (3, 2) and (1, 5) lands after reflecting across the vertical axis.
- Going furtherWhat happens to that figure when a 90 degree rotation replaces the reflection?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A vertex at (15, 5) is reflected across the vertical axis. What is the x-coordinate of its image?Solution Set Items (Grade 9 Forms Only)
- How it worksHow does choosing a solid or a dashed line say whether the boundary itself counts?
- How it worksHow does shading one side of each line leave only the overlap as the solution region?
- Worked exampleWalk me through graphing y below 2x + 1 together with y at or above the line through the origin with slope -1.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't a dashed boundary include the points sitting exactly on top of it?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A solution set item draws the two boundary lines y = 7x + b and y = negative x. Write an expression, in terms of b, for the x-coordinate of the point where the two lines cross.No Formula Sheet: What You Have to Memorize
- How it worksHow does a missing reference sheet change which formulas you rehearse before test day?
- How it worksHow do perimeter, area, surface area and volume formulas collapse into one short memorized list?
- Worked exampleFind the area of a circle of radius 7 and the volume of a cylinder 7 tall on that base, from memory.
- Going furtherWhat happens on a question where you half-remember a formula and have to rebuild it?
Your turneasy1 of 3
No formula sheet is provided. Write an expression, in terms of r, for the combined area of 7 circles each of radius r units, leaving π in your answer.Mathematical Terms and Symbols You Are Expected to Know
- How it worksHow do parallel and perpendicular each get marked by a symbol rather than spelled out?
- How it worksHow do the symbols for angle, triangle, line segment and ray differ from one another?
- Worked exampleFind what calling one pair of sides parallel and another perpendicular pins down about a four-sided figure.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't the test define a term for you even when the entire question turns on it?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A four-sided figure has three angles measuring 90 degrees, 90 degrees and 110 degrees. What is the measure of the fourth angle, in degrees?The No-Return Rule on Math Items
- How it worksHow does a one-way path through the math section replace checking your work at the end?
- How it worksHow does having to answer every item before advancing delete skipping as a strategy?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the old advice about flagging hard questions when no flag can be revisited?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A student answers the first 30 math items in 61 minutes. At the same pace, how many minutes would the remaining 20 items take?Dividing 180 Minutes Between Two Subjects
- How it worksHow does splitting 180 minutes across 100 questions set a pace under two minutes apiece?
- Worked exampleFind the per-question pace when 80 minutes go to Math and the other 100 go to ELA.
- Worked exampleFind the time left for the last 20 math items after 55 minutes went to the first 30.
- Going furtherWhat happens to your plan when the time you budgeted runs out with eight questions still ahead?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A student gives 91 of the 180 minutes to the 50 math items. What is the per-question pace, in seconds?Never Leaving an Answer Blank
- How it worksHow does crossing off a single choice lift a guess from one in four to one in three?
- Worked exampleFind the expected number of hits from guessing 10 items after eliminating one choice on each.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't there a penalty for guessing the way older admissions tests used to charge one?
- Ties togetherHow does the no-penalty rule combine with the no-return rule into one decision at every item?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A student guesses on 23 four-choice items after eliminating exactly one choice on each. How many correct answers should the student expect on average?