Quantitative: How the Two Math Sections Work
Two 25-question sections scored as one 50-question total, the quarter-point penalty, back-solving, picking numbers, and doing all of it with no calculator.
7 topics · 31 questions
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Two Math Sections, One Quantitative Score
- How it worksHow do 25 questions in one section and 25 in another combine into a single 500 to 800 quantitative score?
- How it worksHow do the Number Concepts sub-score and the Algebra and Geometry sub-score split the same 50 math questions?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't the second math section harder than the first the way an adaptive test would make it?
- Worked exampleWalk me through turning 38 right, 8 wrong and 4 omitted into an SSAT quantitative raw score.
- Going furtherWhat happens to your total when you burn all your energy on the first math section and rush the second?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Across the two math sections a student gets 39 questions right, w wrong, and leaves 6 blank. A right answer scores 1 point and a wrong answer costs a quarter point. Write an expression, in terms of w, for her raw quantitative score.The Quarter-Point Guessing Penalty
- How it worksHow does a score meter move when plus one and minus a quarter keep dropping onto it question after question?
- How it worksHow does guessing blindly among five choices average out to exactly zero points gained over many questions?
- Worked exampleFind the raw score for a student who gets 40 right, 8 wrong and leaves 2 blank on the math sections.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't leaving a question blank always safer than a guess you have narrowed down to three choices?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the penalty arithmetic on the Elementary SSAT, where a wrong answer costs nothing?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A wrong answer costs a quarter point and a right one scores a point. How many wrong answers exactly cancel 9 right answers?Eliminating Two Choices with Math Facts
- How it worksHow does knowing the answer has to come out negative kill two of the five choices instantly?
- How it worksHow do even and odd rules let you delete answer choices without ever computing the product?
- Worked exampleFind which of 4, 9, 13, 25 and 36 could be the area of a square, using perfect squares alone.
- Worked exampleWalk me through cutting the choices for 17 percent of 62 down to two by noticing the answer sits near 10.
- Going furtherWhat happens to your expected score when eliminating two choices turns a blank into a guess?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
On item 17 a student works out that the answer has to be negative before computing anything. What does that buy her?Back-Solving from the Five Answer Choices
- How it worksHow does testing the middle answer choice first cut the remaining work roughly in half?
- Worked exampleWalk me through back-solving 3x - 7 = 2x + 5 from the choices 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18.
- Worked exampleFind which choice works when a number added to twice itself gives 39, testing 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't back-solving always slower than setting up the algebra and solving it straight through?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Write an expression, in terms of c, for the value of x satisfying 7x - 7 = 2x + c.Picking Numbers When the Choices Contain Variables
- How it worksHow do you pick a safe test number, and why do 0 and 1 make different choices look identical?
- Worked exampleWalk me through picking a number to find which expression is always even: 2n+1, n², 4n-2, n+2 or 3n.
- Worked exampleFind what a price does after a 20 percent rise and then a 20 percent cut, by starting it at 100.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't one successful test number prove that a choice is the right answer?
- Going furtherWhat changes about picking numbers when the problem says the variable is a negative fraction?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A student tests n = 7 on item 16 and asks which expression is even for every whole number n.No Calculator: Mental Arithmetic Shortcuts
- How it worksHow does turning 48 times 25 into 48 times 100 divided by 4 make it a one-second problem?
- Worked exampleFind 15 percent of 80 in your head by taking 10 percent first and then half of that.
- Worked exampleWalk me through adding 1998, 2003 and 1997 by rounding each to 2000 and then correcting.
- Going furtherWhat changes about fraction arithmetic when you cancel common factors before multiplying instead of after?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Work it in your head as a hundred quartered: what is 74 times 25?Pacing an Unspeeded 30-Minute Section
- How it worksHow does a budget of about 72 seconds a question actually get spent across one math section?
- Worked exampleWalk me through a pacing plan that banks time on the first ten questions to spend on the last five.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't skipping a hard question the same thing as giving up on the point it carries?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A math section gives 25 questions in 30 minutes. After 17 minutes a student has answered q of them. Write an expression, in terms of q, for the number of seconds left for each question still to come.AP®, SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board (PSAT/NMSQT® jointly with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation). ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. GRE® is a registered trademark of ETS. LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council. MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. ISEE® and SSAT® are registered trademarks of their owners. None of these organizations is affiliated with, or endorses, Jentoo.