SAT Math

Some basic tips, tricks, and rules to remember

Mandeep Singh
Edition 1.0

Table of Contents
GEOMETRY................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 CIRCLES .................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 QUADRILATERALS .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 RECTANGLES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1 SQUARES ................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 PARALLELOGRAMS ................................................................................................................................................................... 2 POLYGONS.............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 CUBES ................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 RECTANGULAR BOX/CUBOID/RECTANGULAR PRISM ...................................................................................................................... 2 CYLINDER ............................................................................................................................................................................... 2 SPHERE .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 RIGHT TRIANGLES/TRIGONOMETRY ............................................................................................................................................ 3 EQUILATERAL TRIANGLES .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 GENERAL PROPERTIES (TRIANGLES) ........................................................................................................................................... 4 PARALLEL LINES ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 COORDINATE GEOMETRY ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 ALGEBRA ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ORDER OF OPERATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 ABSOLUTE VALUES .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 PERCENTAGES ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6 RATIOS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Copyright 2011 Mandeep Singh

DIRECT-INDIRECT RELATIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 7 RATES (GENERAL OVERVIEW) ................................................................................................................................................... 7 AVERAGE SPEED PROBLEMS ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 COMBINED RATE PROBLEMS .................................................................................................................................................... 8 EXPONENT AND RADICAL RULES .............................................................................................................................................. 10 QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

SAT Math breakdown: Numbers and Operations (20-25%) includes percentages, ratios, proportions, number theory, etc. Algebra and Functions (35-40%) includes word problems, algebraic simplification, quadratic functions, absolute values, equations of lines, direct-indirect relationships, etc. Geometry and Measurement (25-30%) Area and perimeter of polygon, circles, volume of box, cube, cylinder, coordinate geometry, slope, parallel and perpendicular lines, etc. Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (10-15%) probability, tables and graphs (data interpretations) and statistics (mean, median, and mode).

1 Here are a few pages of some simple mathematical formulae/facts which you will need for the SAT. Having these understood and committed to memory will not only give you an edge on SAT day, but also give you a boost throughout your academic career.

GEOMETRY
CIRCLE:

Total angle measure of circle is . An arc or a sector of a circle is simply a fraction of that circle. The radius is ALWAYS perpendicular to the tangent line on the tangent point.

QUADRILATERALS: Any four sided figure is a quadrilateral. Sum of angles of a four sided figure is 360. Maximum area for a 4 sided figure of a given parameter is a square i.e. if you are given some length of rope, maximum area will be covered in shape of a perfect square.

RECTANGLE:

SQUARE:

Opposite sides are equal. All angles are 90. Diagonals are equal.

All sides are equal.

2 Diagonals are equal and perpendicular. All angles are 90.

PARALLELOGRAM:

Opposite angles are equal.

POLYGONS: ( CUBE: )

All sides of a cube are equal. There are 6 square faces that make up a cube.

RECTANGULAR BOX/CUBOID/RECTANGULAR PRISM:

There are 6 faces to both a cube and a cuboid. Opposite faces are equal.

CYLINDER:

3 SPHERE:

TRIANGLES: RIGHT TRIANGLES: 5 Pythagorean Theorem can only be applied to right triangles. Sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (tan) ratios (soh-cah-toa stuff) can only be applied to right triangles. The special right triangles are derived from trigonometry, so please know they are related. Side opposite the right angle is ALWAYS the hypotenuse.

Examples: is simply the angle under consideration. = sin is opposite/hypotenuse, cos is adjacent/hypotenuse, and tangent is opposite/adjacent.

This section deserves a nice discussion. Most of the time, your answers on SAT wont have the choice 0.707106781 (i.e. number barf) as one of the answers for a trigonometry problem. So PLEASE, save yourself some time and do trig problems by hand. For example, instead of plugging in So let us look at a 30-60-90 triangle: in your calculator, remember, that .

4 In sixth grade, I was ordered to memorize this table below:

At this point in your academic career, you are not expected to appreciate the beauty and the symmetry of these functions. You simply have to remember one row from above table and you will know all the special right triangles. Notice the symmetry of sine and cosine function. I suggest you put some time into remembering these ratios. PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM: (obviously, in reference to the third image above). EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE:

All sides and angles are equal. The special area formula can be proven using trigonometry (I suggest you give it a shot, solve for h in terms of a). The altitude is perpendicular to the other side, bisects the angle from its vertex, and bisects the side it is perpendicular to.

GENERAL PROPERTIES: ( )

( -

)(

)(

Herons formula for area can be rather useful at times when you know all the sides. Sum of all the angles in a triangle is 180. Triangle inequality states that sum of any two sides of a triangle is strictly greater than the third side and greater than the difference of the lengths of the other two sides. Measure of the angle is proportional to the length of the side opposite it i.e. the largest side of a triangle is opposite the largest angle. Is two sides are equal (isosceles triangle), the angles opposite these sides are also equal.

5 An exterior angle of a triangle is always the sum of two opposite interior angles i.e.

PARALLEL LINES:

COORDINATE GEOMETRY:

Slope is called because y-coordinates represent the change in vertical component, whereas x-coordinates represent change in horizontal component. Remember, slope is a rate of change. Undefined slope means a vertical line, whereas zero slope means a horizontal line.

y-intercept is where the line crosses the y-axis. We need at least 2 points on the line to get the equation for a line. Slope of parallel lines ( ) is always the same. Slope of perpendicular lines ( ) is always the negative reciprocal (

).

( ALGEBRA: ORDER OF OPERATIONS: P Parenthesis E Exponents

6 M Multiplication D Division A Addition S Subtraction PEMDAS (or BODMAS for those of us of European origin), is not just a funny word we heard about some time during some math class, but it is a one of the most fundamental rules of theoretical mathematics! PLEASE remember the order of operation for your ALL your math work, not just SAT. ABSOLUTE VALUES: Whenever you have a problem with absolute values, you must remember to do both the negative and the positive cases. | | | |

PERCENTAGES:

The % sign gives you a hint; there is a 1-0-0 involved somewhere. To convert a percentage to decimal, divide by 100 and to convert a decimal to percentage, multiply by a 100.

So think about it, when you want to increase something by 50%, just multiply the number by 1.5. Likewise, decreasing something by 50% means multiplying something by 0.5. 5 5 RATIOS: A ratio is simply a fraction. 5 5 5 5 5 5

Imagine a problem which says that some string is in ratio of 5:7. In order to convert this scenario to a fraction, do this: 5 5

You could be given a ratio of something as a:b:c:d:e, it doesnt matter. The parts are still

and so on.

7 Please understand that when statement ratio of x to y is a to b is given, fraction can be set up as given in case one. When statement something (votes for some people, strings of different lengths, cat food for different cats, etc.) are in ratio a:b:c:d, you need to know what the whole is (i.e. fraction being part-over-whole). DIRECT-INDIRECT RELATIONSHIP: Direct relationship means when one thing increases, the other increases and of one thing decreases, the other decreases as well. Indirect relationship means when one thing increases, the other decreases and when one thing decreases, the other increases.

Example 1: x and y are directly related. When y is 5, x is 20. What is the value of x when y is 40? 5

Example 2: x and y are indirectly related. When y is 5, x is 20. What is the value of x when y is 40?

5 RATES: GENERAL OVERVIEW: A rate is nothing more than a quantity which shows how something changes. A positive rate shows growth. A negative rate shows decay. The label of a rate is EXTREMELY important. mi/hr label says how distance (in miles) of something changes over time (in hours). The label can be anything, e.g. lawn/hour, manuscripts/minute, nm/s, etc.

Remember that Note that in the above formula, rate would be in units of distance/time. So, obviously, when a time is multiplied by this rate, we get distance. If the rate was in units of lawn/hour, multiplying by some number of hours will tell you how many lawns you did.

8 So in general: Please note, this is not work as in physics work. AVERAGE SPEED PROBLEM: The average speed IS NEVER THE ARITHMETIC MEAN OF THE SPEEDS. In order to find average speed of something, please calculate the total time for the trip and divide the total distance for the trip by this total time to get the average speed.

Example: Some Generic Name goes 100 km at 50 km/hr and then travels 50 km at 65 km/hr. What is the average speed? If you put 5 5 as the answer, I am sure that the computer checking your answers will laugh (even though computers do not understand humour). Let us do the problem the right way. 5

5 5 5

5 5

5 5 5

Please note that it is best to work with variables and symbols until the very end. That is where you should plug in your numbers. Having to write numbers every step of the way wastes time and makes the work very messy. COMBINED RATE PROBLEMS: When I was a student, these problems read more like SKIP IT. These combined rate problems are some of the hardest to wrap your head around, but if the information is broken down into small pieces, it isnt so bad. Rule 1: Find the individual unit rates i.e. find the amount of work per unit time. E.g. work/hr, lawn/minute, tree house/day, buttons/day, gallons/second etc. for 1 person, pump, machine, etc. Rule 2: Combine the individual unit rates to find the total combined working rate. Rule 3: Solve the problem given.

9 The above rules are rather vague (I am working on it). This is because there are three types of combined rate problems: 1. Some individuals or different groups working on something, how fast will they do it together? 2. Some people or things working together over some time, how much work does one person or thing do over some amount of time? 3. Person A does something in time a, person A and person B do same thing in time ab, find time for person B alone. All general problems will require similar techniques. Example 1: Pump A can remove 1000 liters of water in 10 hours and pump B can remove 750 liters of water in 15 hours. How much water do they remove working together in one day? 5 5 5 . 5 5

Note that it will rate should always be

5 Example 2: A plane running on engine A flies 1000 km in 5 hours. When running both engine A and B, plane flies at 1000 km in 2 hours. How fast will the plane fly with just engine B? How long will it take to go 3000 km? 5 5

Example 3: x people working at the same rate on a project finish the project in h hours. How much work can one person do in k hours? (Problem from Red Math Belt)

10 ( ( ) )

EXPONENT AND RADICAL RULES:

( (

) )

Above rules are extremely important to remember. Having a good understanding of these rules is required to do all exponential growth problems. Following are two example problems which require above rules. Example 1: 5 (5 ) 5 5 5 5 5 ( ) 5

Example 2: A microbe doubles every 45 minutes. Assuming you started with 1 microbe, what is the total count after 6 hours?

( ) ( )

( )

5 5

11 ( ) ( )

QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS: Working with quadratic functions is another extremely important skill you should have learned in high school. Remember, SAT is a test to see what you have learned during high school and to see if you are ready to enter the real world. What we do for SAT is not just for SAT, these are skills that you will need. Identities to memorize: ( ( ) ) ( )( )

A solution to a quadratic equation is a value of x which makes the equation equal to 0. The solution to an equation (quadratic or not) is one of the most important disciplines of mathematical study. There are a number of ways we can use to find solutions. Quadratic formula and factoring equations are two most popular at high school level. Quadratic formula is used for quadratic equations which cannot be factored. Remember, the degree of the polynomial (the highest power) is equal to the number of solutions the equation must have. Whether these solutions are real or complex (imaginary), that is a different discussion entirely. Therefore, a quadratic equation has 2 solutions (as the highest power is 2). Factoring Methods: The following method is exactly the same as the method you have learned, but this method involves a little more writing. If you write down all your steps, the probability of getting something wrong is minimized.

NOTE: the equation MUST be set to 0 before one can proceed with finding solutions. Step 1: multiply a and c. Step 2: find factors of ac which add to b. Step 3: Finish the problem. Above steps may seem value, but let us see a few examples. Example 1:

( (

) )(

( )

Above steps is the minimum amount of work you should put in any factoring problem. It is VERY easy to get signs wrong with the usual method.

12 Example 2:

( ( )(

( )

If an equation cannot be factored i.e. there are no integer multiples of ac which add up to b, quadratic equation must be used. If, however, the quantity , no real solutions exist (think about it, quadratic formula has , if one takes square root (or an even root) of a negative number, you get complex/imaginary numbers).