ACT Math Prep Day 1 February 2014 Workshop

60 Questions in 60 minutes Can use calculator

Directions Solve each problem, choose the correct answer, and then fill in the corresponding oval on your answer document. Do not linger over problems that take too much time. Solve as many as you can, then return to the others in the time you have left for this test. You are permitted to use a calculator on this test. You may use a calculator for any problems you choose, but some of the problems may best be done without using a calculator. Note: Unless otherwise noted, all of the following should be assumed. 1.Illustrative figures are NOT necessarily drawn to scale. 2.Geometric figures lie in a plane. 3.The word line indicates a straight line. Discuss more. 4.The word average indicates arithmetic mean. Do not waste time reading this on the actual test!!

Diagrams 1/3 of problems involve diagrams – drawn for you or you draw Answer choice “cannot be determined” is RARE. It is ALMOST ALWAYS wrong with diagram questions. Pg. 23 – Let’s look at Example question.

Pg Example The figure below contains five congruent triangles. The longest side of each triangle is 4 meters long. What is the area of the whole figure? A square meters B. 15 square meters C. 20 square meters D. 30 square meters E. Cannot be determined from the given information.

Story Problems (aka Word Problems) 1/3 of all problems are Story Problems Turn the problem into a more “real” situation by substituting numbers for variables. Use “easy-to-work-with” numbers. Pg. 24 sample problem

Pg. 24 Example Evan drove halfway home at 20 miles per hour, then sped up and drove the rest of the way at 30 miles per hour. What was his average speed for the entire trip? F.20 miles per hour G.22 miles per hour H.24 miles per hour J.25 miles per hour K.28 miles per hour

Make it real 60 miles 20 miles/hour30 miles/hour 120 miles 60 miles/30 mph = 2 hoursNotice a strong distractor answer. 60 miles/20 mph = 3 hours = 5 hours 120 miles/5 hours = 24 mph

Math Concepts 1/3 of all problems You’ll need to refresh yourself on concepts Study 100 Key Math Concepts starting on pg. 763 at the back of the book. Pg. 25 Sample

Pg. 25 If angles A and B are supplementary, and the measure of angle A is 57°, what is the measure, in degrees, of angle B? A.33Supplementary = 180° B.43 C – 57 = 123 D.123 E.147

Triage Triage – sort the questions by level of difficulty. 1.Easy question – calculate and answer now 2.Can answer but will take a little time – circle and come back 3.Cannot answer or calculating will take TOO MUCH TIME - just guess an answer now and move on. If you can quickly eliminate some choices fine but don’t waste time on this when you can spend valuable time on the easier questions and get them right. Remember – no penalties for wrong answers. (See example on pg )

Watch out! Distractors – answer choice looks good but is wrong answer. May be a number that is close to the end of your calculations but not the final answer. Read passage carefully. (See Example. Pg. 49) Hidden answers – some questions have MORE THAN ONE CORRECT ANSWER but only one of them is listed as a choice. For Example: x 2 = 9; x = 3…………….and x = -3. Most likely -3 is the answer.

Answer Grid On math section – Complete 1-2 pages of questions, THEN bubble answers for only those 1-2 pages. Bubble all empty bubbles when there are 1-2 minutes remaining on the test

Take it for a TEST Run Pg #1-10 You have 10 minutes. (one minute per question)

Answers: pg have explanations of answers Answers: 1.D 2.J 3.D 4.K 5.C 6.K 7.B 8.K 9.E 10.K

Reflect 1.Did you take control of the test by doing question triage? 2.Did you spend too long on certain questions? 3.Did you feel panicked? 4.What would you do differently next time?