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SAT Math: Concepts And Tricks

Subjects : sat, math
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Area of Triangle = 1/2 (base)(height) - the height is the perpendicular distance between the side that's chosen as the base and the opposite vertex






2. Volume of a Cylinder = pr^2h






3. When a line is tangent to a circle the radius of the circles perpendicular to the line at the point of contact






4. 2pr






5. Negative exponent: put number under 1 in a fraction and work out the exponent Rational exponent: square root it- 1. make the root of the problem whatever the denominator of the exponent is 2. the exponent under your root sign is the numerator of the






6. Probability= Favorable Outcomes/Total Possible Outcomes






7. Integers that have no common factor other than 1 - to determine whether two integers are relative primes break them both down to their prime factorizations






8. Expressed A?B (' A union B ') - is the set of all members contained in either A or B or both.






9. Factor can be divisible (factor of 12 and 8 is 4). Multiple is a multiple (multiple of 12 and 8 is 24).






10. To solve a proportion - cross multiply






11. To convert a mixed number to an improper fraction - multiply the whole number by the denominator - then add the numerator over the same denominator - to convert an improper fraction to a mixed number - divide the denominator into the numerator to get






12. To find the reciprocal of a fraction switch the numerator and the denominator






13. To divide fractions - invert the second one and multiply






14. Add up numbers and divide by the number of numbers - Average=(sum of terms)/(# of terms)






15. Average A per B: (total A)/(total B) - Example: average speed formula - total distance/ total time - Basically: Don't just average the 2 speeds






16. Use this example: Example: after a 5% increase - the population was 59 -346. What was the population before the increase? Work: 1.05x=59 -346 Answer: 56 -520






17. Use special triangles - pythagorean theorem - or distance formula: v(x2-x1)²+(y2-y1)²






18. Factor out the perfect squares






19. A rectangle is a four-sided figure with four right angles opposite sides are equal - diagonals are equal; Area of Rectangle = length x width






20. To evaluate an algebraic expression - plug in the given values for the unknowns and calculate according to PEMDAS






21. To multiply or divide integers - firstly ignore the sign and compute the problem - given 2 negatives make a positive - 2 positives make a positive - and one negative - and one positive make a negative attach the correct sign






22. Example: If the ratio of males to females is 1 to 2 - then what is the ratio of males to people? - work: 1/(1+2) answer: 1/3






23. Multiply te coefficients and the variables separately Example: 2a*3a Work: (23)(aa) Answer: 6a^2






24. you can add/subtract when the part under the radical is the same






25. Part = Percent x Whole






26. A square is a rectangle with four equal sides; Area of Square = side*side






27. Multiply the exponents






28. The median is the value that falls in the middle of the set - the mode is the value that appears most often






29. Combine like terms






30. The 3 angles of any triangle add up to 180 degrees - an exterior angles of a triangle is equal to the sum of the remote interior angles - the 3 exterior angles add up to 360 degrees






31. 1. Re-express them with common denominators 2. Convert them to decimals






32. Divisible by 3 if: sum of it's digits is divisible by 3 - divisible by 9 if: sum of digits is divisible by 9






33. Direct variation: equation: y=kx - where k is a nonzero constant trick: y changes directly as x does inverse variation: equation: xy=k trick: y doubles as x halves and vice-versa






34. Similar triangles have the same shape: corresponding angles are equal and corresponding sides are proportional






35. Combine equations in such a way that one of the variables cancel out






36. To find the slope of a line from an equation - put the equation into slope-intercept form (m is the slope): y=mx+b






37. To find the prime factorization of an integer just keep breaking it up into factors until all the factors are prime






38. 1. turn it into ax^2 + bx + c = 0 form 2. factor 3. set both factors equal to zero 4. you get 2 solutions






39. # associated with of on top - # associated with to on bottom Example: ratio of 20 oranges to 12 apples? Work: 20/12 Answer: 5/3






40. Integers are whole numbers; they include negtavie whole numbers and zero - Rational numbers can be expressed as a ratio of two integers - irration numbers are real numbers that cant be expressed precisely as a fraction or decimal.






41. Add the exponents and keep the same base






42. Domain: all possible values of x for a function range: all possible outputs of a function






43. To add or subtract fraction - first find a common denominator - then add or subtract the numerators






44. Subtract the smallest from the largest and add 1






45. A sector is a piece of the area of a circle. If n is the degree measure of the sector's central angle then the formula is: Area of a Sector = (n/360) (pr^2)






46. Sum=(Average) x (Number of Terms)






47. pr^2






48. Notation: f(x) read: 'f of x' evaluation: if you want to evaluate the function for f(4) - replace x with 4 everywhere in the equation






49. To add a positive and negative integer first ignore the signs and find the positive difference between the two integers - attatch the sign of the original with higher absolute value - to subtract negative integers simply change it into an addition pr






50. Surface Area = 2lw + 2wh + 2lh