Could these questions appear on the SAT physics

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>I know that the SAT physics doesn't allow the use of a calculator. However, I ran across some questions on my SAT physics practice test in my mcgraw hill review book that seem impossible to do without a calc.</p>

<p>In two questions, a diagram is drawn with an arrow 65 degrees north of east. The magnitude of the arrow is 400 km/h, and it asks for the northward and eastward velocities, which are (I believe) 400sin65 and 400 cos65 respectively. However the answer choices are </p>

<p>What's the plane's northward speed?
a.160km/h
b.169km/h
c.186.5km/h
d.362.5km/h
e400km/h</p>

<p>What's the plane's eastward speed?
a.169km/h
b.265km/h
c335km/h
d.362.5km/h
e.400km/h</p>

<p>Another question:
An incoming ray of light in a vaccum with a wavelength of 589 nm strikes diamond at an angle of 26 degrees to the normal. If the index of refraction for diamnod is 2.42, the angle of refraction will be.
a.0.41degrees
b.4.3
c.7.21
d.10.4
e18.1
This question snells law, I believe, which is n1<em>sin(angle of incidence)=n2</em>sin(angle of refraction). How am I supposed to find sin26 without a calculator?
Can questions like those above show up on the real test, and if they do, how am I supposed to approach them?</p>

2

<p>Both of those questions would be real stretches on the test. Most calculation problems require very, very limited arithmetic.</p>

3

<p>I agree with ahammond; when I took it, I really only had to use sin & cos of 30 and 60 degrees, though 45 is probably fair game too.</p>

4

<p>I agree the test required very basic arithmetic and the angles were the common ones, so I’m sure these question are not very likely to be on the test and if they do please simply avoid them.</p>

5

<p>These are good examples of poorly written questions in prep books by well-known publishers; none of those questions would appear on the physics subject test. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff is all too common.</p>

<p>Also unfortunately, there is very limited real test material available from the College Board for the physics test, so using third-party materials may be unavoidable. So, if you see a lot of questions like that in a book, try another publisher. Also know the sin and cos of 0, 30, 45, 60, and 90 from memory. :)</p>