ACT MATH SECTION TIPS & TRICKS Outsmart the test makers
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The ACT test writers want you to take a long time on their questions. They will throw awkward wording, unfamiliar vocabulary, and scary-looking equations at you. But… never fear !se the strategies we discussed during ACT test "re" to #!T$%A&T them 'ere are some strategies that will "rove very useful( Plugging in numbers - for questions with )always* and )never* in the question stem, remember that you only need to find #+ counteream"le to cross out the entire &oman numeral. ick a number that satisfies the condition/s0 that are given in the "roblem and test that number against each of their &oman numerals. Backsolving Backsolving - for questions with )largest* or )smallest* in the question stem, you often won1t need to do )real math.* !se the fact that the ACT is multi"le choice to your advantage and test each of the answer choices against the original "roblem. The ACT math section ty"ically lists answers from smallest largest, so start at /or 20 if you are asked for the )largest* and start at A /or 30 if you are asked for the )smallest* Underline/circle/highlight - the ACT math section will include com"le wording and curveballs even on their )easy* "roblems. %ake sure to read each question carefully !nderline4circle4highlight im"ortant information given in the "roblem as well as take note of eactly what they are asking you to look for in their question stem. 3or eam"le, they might want you to find the value of 5 because they know most students will solve for , think they1re done, and then circle the wrong answer 6on1t fall for any of their tricks
A race against the clock
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Time-saving tip! Before tip! Before your ACT, read the directions at the beginning of the test on one of the "ractice eams. The directions are the same on each eam, so if you read them before your real test, you can save time by not reading it again 7ou will have 89 minutes on your ACT math eam to do 89 "roblems. This means that you will have an average of : minute "er question. ;deally, the first <9 "roblems or so will not take you : minute "er question - these are designed to be relatively easy - but the last :=-59 "roblems or so will very likely take you longer than : minute "er question. />ith that being said, it is better to ensure that you get all the "oints "ossible on the questions that you know how to do - es"ecially if we know that the last :9-:= "roblems will definitely be more difficult.0 6on1t be afraid to ski" difficult and time consuming questions and come back to them later The solution may came to you later Bubble your scantron sheet when you reach the end o each page … do +#T wait until the end of the test to bubble all 89 questions ?A$ double check regularly that the bubble you are filling in corres"onds with the question from the test that you intend to fill in. This is es"ecially im"ortant if you decide to ski" a question and come back to it later >hen <9 minutes are remaining, try to be at or around @9. >hen :9 minutes are remaining, try to be at or around @=9. hen your test proctor calls " minutes let# $TOP %AT &OU A'( )O*+, A+) BUBB( *+ T%( '($T O. T%( $A+T'O+0 o $A+T'O+0 o back to any of the earlier questions you said you would )ski" and come back later* and attem"t to render a solution or at the very least rule out any of the answer choices. %ake an educated guess if needed. After doing this, with any remaining time left, work on as many "roblems as you can before time runs out - making sure to erase your guess on the scantron /if it1s different than the
answer you came u" with mathematically0 and bubble each of these questions as soon as you are done with the question
Best practices or guessing 1)isclaimer2 the following is not a guarantee, ust a fairly reliable "attern 1)isclaimer 342 "lease understand that the ti"s below #+?7 a""ly to the math section T%('( *$ +(5(' A '(A$O+ TO (A5( A+& 6U($T*O+ U+A+$('()0 7ou 7ou have nothing to lose by guessing on the ACT for any and all "roblems that you are unsure of. This goes for every section /ece"t for, of course, the essay…0 !nfortunately, not all guesses are created equal. 'ere are some tricks that the ACT test test makers do not want want you to know( know( The "robability of getting a question on the ACT %athematics section correct by random chance is 9.5 or 59D /note( this "robability is 9.5= or 5=D on the &eading and $cience sections0. This means that if hy"othetically4unfortunately you were to run out of time on the last :9 questions of the math section and randomly guess on each one, you can expect to to get 54:9 of those "roblems correct. #f course, to maimiEe your score you want to finish or be very close to finishing ;t is +OT to +OT to your advantage to guess )* on the ACT math section . %any studies have shown that )* is the least common correct answer choice on the math section. >hen guessing, always guess the same letter for for the sake of consistency. robabilistically, it should not matter which letter you guess. 'owever, ; have heard from several sources that )A* /or )3*0 has a slightly higher chance of a""earing near the end of the math section . >hatever letter you choose, choose it in advance of walking into the testing room. •
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7iscellaneous tips beore and on test day The day B(.O'( test day #nly do light studying studying - review your formulas /"robably the best thing you can do for yourself the day before tbh0, skim through notes from this class, brush u" on the format and time allotment of each of the individual tests, and review this ti" sheet of course at a good/nutritious dinner - fish and seafood have been "roven to be good )brain food*F fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are also a good idea ut away electronics at least <9 minutes before bed AC2 7#!& T$T;+ BA - bring your license or school ;6, several /shar"ened0 pencils, pencils, a reliable eraser, your cell "hone /but turn it off before the test0, your calculator , and your ACT admission ticket ,o to sleep early - aim for AT (A$T 8 hours of hours of slee" - slee" always trum"s any additional studying you do on the day before the eam •
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)O +OT $TU)& … $TU)& … you will only unnecessarily stress yourself out ick out a comortable outit to outit to take your test in. !se your best udgment( don1t "ick out shoes you haven1t broken in yet, don1t wear your tightest "air of eans, etc. $eriously The ACT is A7 3&#% $!A&$, T&A+$ 3AT$, A+6 A+7T';+ 3&;6. 3&;6. ;nstead, ;nstead, o"t o"t for fruits, "rotein, nuts, nuts, "eanut "eanut butter butter crackers4sandwiches, milk, yogurt, and water /but not too much water0 much water0 Arrive at your your test site :=-<9 minutes minutes "rior "rior to the start start time.
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6on1t stress Take some dee" breaths, and know that you1re well "re"ared
GOOD LUCK ON YOUR ACT!!! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF YOURSELF
