{"id":6075,"date":"2016-03-16t12:18:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-16t19:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=6075"},"modified":"2016-03-14t11:21:15","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14t18:21:15","slug":"sat-no-calculator-section-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/sat-no-calculator-section-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"sat no-calculator section tips"},"content":{"rendered":"
freaking out about the new no-calculator math section on the sat? worried that you won\u2019t have enough time to work through all these tricky problems by hand? don\u2019t fear! practice the following strategies, some of which you could also apply to the calculator section, and pretty soon you\u2019ll be wondering why you needed a calculator in the first place!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n if you feel like your arithmetic skills are a bit rusty, you should focus on honing this skill before you even start actual sat practice. you might feel silly practicing old-school math habits like \u201ccarrying over the one\u201d or using that long division curvy-bar-thingy (does it actually have a name?), but i guarantee that it will take you a long way on the no-calc math section. make a\u00a0<\/span>game<\/span><\/a> out of solving arithmetic problems as fast as you can so that you can bring that speed and accuracy on test day.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n if you\u2019re like me and get confused when it comes to dividing fractions, learn how to recognize the fraction equivalent of decimals immediately. for example, 3\/4 in place of .75 or 1\/20 in place of .05. doesn\u2019t \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>210 = (3\/10)x<\/span><\/i> \u00a0\u00a0look more manageable than \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>210 = 0.3x<\/span><\/i> \u00a0\u00a0when you\u2019re doing it by hand?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n when i say \u201cunpretty coefficients,\u201d i mean whole numbers or rational numbers that are cruelly and unusually long, which crop up a lot in the no-calculator section. when you come across a problem with an equation or two that have unpretty coefficients, chances are highly likely that you can simplify them to make your arithmetic easier. take the following for example:<\/span><\/p>\n find x, if \u00a0\u00a0\u00a01026 = 81x + 54y \u00a0\u00a0and \u00a0\u00a0x + y = 15<\/strong><\/p>\n instead of multiplying the second equation by -81 or -54 and combining it with the first question to solve for x or y \u2013 which sounds like an absolute nightmare \u2013 look for ways to simplify the first equation. can you see that 81 and 54 have a common factor of 9*? if you put those long division skills to use, you can also see that 1026 shares 9 as a factor as well. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n this might sound like a no-brainer, but sometimes when you\u2019re doing math with a system of equations (that is, two equations like the one above), you might find yourself accidentally solving for the variable that you weren\u2019t asked about, which takes away precious time you could be using for the next problem. after simplifying the equations above, we are left with 114 = 9x + 6y and \u00a0x + y = 15. as we want to solve for x, would it be better to multiply the second equation by -9 or -6? if you say -6, you are correct!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n1. bring back all those arithmetic skills you learned in elementary school.<\/h2>\n
2. when you need to divide by a decimal, consider converting it into a fraction.<\/h2>\n
3. simplify \u201cunpretty\u201d coefficients<\/h2>\n
4. always remember to solve for the variable you\u2019re being asked for.<\/h2>\n
5. plug in, plug in, plug in!<\/h2>\n