Herons using bread to fish
To do well in the Math Section of the SAT, there is no alternative to knowing math first and then practicing it regularly. In the test, we have to solve more than 40 questions—44, to be exact—in 70 minutes. Therefore, one gets about 90 seconds to solve each question. But 90 seconds is not a lot of time to solve every question in the math section. Some questions require more than 90 seconds to be answered correctly. To free up some time to solve such time-consuming questions, one needs to adopt an effective strategy to save time while answering other questions. One such strategy is to eliminate the wrong choices instead of solving math problems. The use of this elimination strategy demands extensive knowledge of basic math concepts and their application. The following example—Question No. 5, PSAT October 2016—explains the use of this strategy:
Generic Math Strategy:
Solving this question using math requires finding two points on the graph and then using the slope formula to calculate the slope. The coordinates of the x-intercept are ( -3.5, 0) and the y-intercept is (0, 7).
Since the slope of the required line parallel to the given is 2, therefore, Choice D is the correct answer. This approach is mathematically right; however, it is time-consuming. I recommend the following elimination strategy:
Elimination strategy:
- From the graph, it is obvious that line K has a positive slope; therefore, any line parallel to line K must also have a positive slope. Thus, Choices A and B are wrong and hence eliminated.
- Secondly, the x-intercept is half of the y-intercept; therefore, the change in y is always double the change in x while moving along line K; therefore, the answer is choice D.
Although we cannot use this strategy in every question, if one can use it in 5 to 10 questions, then one can free up about 30 to 40 seconds per question to be able to solve other questions requiring more than 90 seconds. Therefore, one should go through the answer choices first to decide how to answer the questions in the given time. Given the steep time budget constraint, it is always helpful to save test time and be able to allocate appropriate time to answer all the questions in the SAT.
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