By: Krista Hass

You don’t have to be Einstein to pass this test. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way to great success on the ACT.

60 Questions in 60 Minutes This equals out to about one minute per question. Questions will be one of three levels. Basic Problems Word Problems Challenging Problems Go through and do the easiest ones first and come back to the hard questions. Each one is worth one point, they are not graded on difficulty. There is NO penalty for guessing. There is a 20% chance of getting it right, just by taking a guess.

Example of an Basic Question Basic problems are typically short and straight forward and they’re usually the easiest. Example: If 60% of x equals 18, then x = ? A. 3 B. 30 C. 108 D. 300 E. 1,080 Correct Answer: B Solution: is = % of = 60 x ∙ 100 = 1800 ÷ 60 = 30

Word Problems Word Problems are basic problems disguised by words. There’s no need to be intimidated by word problems. You just need to translate the words into a basic problem, and then solve the basic problem. Example: A telephone company charges 10 cents per minute for the first 100 minutes used in a month and 7 cents per minute for each additional minute used. What is the cost for 400 minutes used in one month? F. $21.00 G. $28.00 H. $31.00 J. $38.00 K. $40.00

Word Problem Continued Correct Answer: H Solution: 100 ∙ 0.10 = $ – 100 = 300 over So, 300 ∙ 0.07 = $21.00 And, = $31.00

Challenging Problem Challenging Problems are, well, challenging. They might be very short and direct-looking like basic problems or they might be word problems. In either case, they’re difficult and will require another level of reasoning. Notice how the following question looks relatively simple, but, in fact, is quite difficult. Example: If p 2 + q 2 = -2pq, what is the value of p? A. -1 B. 0 C. 1 D. -q E. q

Challenging Problem Continued Correct Answer: D Solution: This problem would best be done by substituting in each answer to see which is correct. Try answer A. p = -1 (-1) 2 + q 2 = -2(-1)q 1 + q 2 ≠ 2q Try answer B. p = q 2 = -2(0)q q 2 ≠ 0 Try answer C. p = q 2 = -2(1)q 1 + q 2 ≠ 2q Try answer D. p = -q (-q) 2 + q 2 = -2(-q)q 2q 2 = 2q 2 Therefore, D is correct!

Step-by-Step Approach for Maximizing your Score Get the easy points first by attacking the easy and medium problems first. Don’t get bogged down. Sometimes a problem will seem easy, but once you start working on it, it is actually harder than it looked. Eliminate any answers and then move on. It’s ok to skip one and come back to it. Make a second pass through the test to work on the problems you skipped and marked, focusing on the ones you think you have the best chance on. Guess on the remaining questions. Again, guessing is ok. You do NOT loose points for guessing.

Test Methods Working Backwards On a multiple choice test, sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to work backwards like we did in the challenging example. Substitute each of the given answers in to see which is the best fit for the question. Eliminate answer choices and guess. Since there is no penalty for wrong answers, take an educated guess. Eliminate any answers you know are wrong and then take a guess. Once you have eliminated an answer, cross it off it your test booklet to keep from wasting time on it later. Take a look at the following table: # of Answer Choices Eliminated # of Answer Choices Remaining Chances of Guessing Correctly 0520% 1425% 2333% 3250% 41100%

More Math Test Fundamentals Use the available space for scratch work and figuring. Write things out to make sure you’re putting the right numbers in your calculator!!! Carefully read and think about each question. What is the question asking? Does my answer make sense? Slow down. Even though you feel like you have to rush, make sure you take time to carefully read each question. Occasionally, an ACT math question will contain information that is not required to solve the question. There may be one or two of these so don’t be discouraged if you don’t use all of the information given to you in the problem.

More Math Test Fundamentals Cont. Don’t waste time reading the instructions on test day. All of the ACT test instructions are the same from test to test. Familiarize yourself with them before taking the exam. When in doubt, choose C. In science, choose B. Never choose “Not enough information.” Unless otherwise stated, all of the following should be assumed: Illustrative figures are NOT necessarily drawn to scale. Geometric figures lie in a plane. The word line indicates a straight line. The word average indicates arithmetic mean (add them all up and divide by how many)

Calculators Calculators are permitted and recommended. Make sure you KNOW your calculator!!!! Even though ACT says you can take the test without one, bring one. Be sure to read over the list of permitted calculators before taking the test and make sure yours is ok. If you have questions, bring two. I recommend a nice, cheap, Scientific Calculator…it can do basically anything you would ever want! Just make sure it has sin, cos, and tan.

References All of the following information was adapted from The ACT Course Book: Math and Science Teacher's Edition. (2009). Summit Educational Group, Inc.