<p>Hey, College Confidential. I'm having trouble with getting a perfect on the math section. I don't want to sound boastful but I am pretty proficient at the subject(800 Math Level II, taking BC Calculus, AIME qualifier) and know the SAT Math curriculum like the back of my hand. Unfortunately for me though, I fall suspect to careless mistakes. </p>
<p>The SAT and PSAT I took both yielded 3 mistakes which is pretty disappointing because I was relatively certain that I got full marks. I try to go through a section carefully and mark anything I feel a bit uncomfortable about to go back to them. I never do practice exams because I know the material but maybe I should start doing those for practice anyways? What do you guys think? Got any better test taking tips?</p>
<p>I know it seems a bit stupid to ask for advice on avoiding careless mistakes but it's worth a try right? Thanks, everyone.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. Just stupid errors. I would advise triple checking (if you have that much time) and solving the problem a different way when you check. Then plug the answer in to make sure it makes sense. I’m clearly way below you guys in math (86 in Trig Honors), but an 800 shouldnt be that hard to get for all of us.</p>
<p>I think the easiest way to guarantee an 800 in the SAT I Math section is to get and use a Ti-89 or Ti-NSpire CAS. Saves a boatload of time on simple calculation, especially when your brain is wired to work with series and integrals, not basic algebra.</p>
<p>What I did was do every problem just by hand, then check with calculator before marking the answer. If there was a disparity, I’d type it in again to be safe then reread the question.</p>
<p>Woah, thanks, crouch88. I guess I should had used the search button before I made a thread.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to try to read each problem extremely carefully and do it all in one run. I don’t know why, but I can’t catch my errors when I do a double check.</p>
<p>Slowly work through each problem. Use your calculator to check all of your answers. Don’t think about yourself making careless errors, just do the problem first without looking at any of the answers.</p>
Worked fine for me. I’d argue that for trig identities and solving quadratics, the Ti-89 is generally faster and less prone to error.</p>
<p>As for time, I finished quickly enough that I spent a good 5 minutes on every math section looking around since I had already quadruple-checked every problem. Fast reading comprehension (10 seconds) -> plug n chug in calculator (15 seconds) -> bubble (5 seconds) = 30 seconds per problem. Finishes each math section in like half the time.</p>
<p>edit:
Here’s an example from one of the later math questions (taken off Sparknotes; I don’t have my blue book on hand):</p>
<p>For all x != 2, the expression (2x^2-5x+2)/(x^2-4)=</p>
<p>Comprehension: Recognize that the expression is undefined for x = 2, and that the problem wants the expression simplified.</p>
<p>Calculator: Enter (2x^2-5x+2)/(x^2-4), copy the simplified result, and select the right answer.</p>
<p>As opposed to factoring to (2x-1)(x-2)/[(x+2)(x-2)], which takes a decent amount longer thanks to the coefficient on the x^2.</p>
<p>Bam. Hardest part is typing the expression into the calculator.</p>
<p>CommonerCoffee, I’d suggest that you look at your errors, and see whether any patterns emerge. Typical sources of error on the SAT math are:
a. Misreading the question–happens more often than you might guess.
b. Making simple arithmetic errors–I have fallen prey to this sometimes.
c. Not watching out for parentheses.
d. Overlooking some possibilities. Not likely if you are an AIME qualifier, but people sometimes forget that a circle can be tangent to another internally as well as externally, or that skew lines exist in 3-D. The SAT is full of places where you might accidentally assume that the variables are positive or the quantities are integers.</p>
<p>If there’s any pattern in your errors, then you know what to focus on.</p>
<p>Also, instead of checking your work, where you may repeat the same error, try re-solving the questions from scratch, in a different way. Then only check any where the answers differ from what you got at first. You will probably have time for this.</p>