need help in SAT math!

<p>I hate how I'm still making stupid mistakes on the math portion. I either do a calculation wrong, write down a number wrong, or do something else than what the questions asks for. How do I correct making these careless mistakes? I have plenty of time to finish and I know how to do all of them, it's just that all my wrong answers are from stupid mistakes.</p>

<p>Focus harder. Take lots of practice tests. Taking lots of practice tests makes you realize you need to focus harder and helps key you in on what details to look for--like the question asking for something stupid like 2n instead of n. You'll also get more closely acquainted with your calculator and be able to punch in numbers faster...</p>

<p>^^ yep, just take practice tests and your neural net will adapt to the SAT math relatively quickly : )</p>

<p>i definently understand math was my worst section. </p>

<p>yup i agree. just keep practicing. every one you get wrong do at least twenty problems of the same type.
get comfortable with the problem and you wont make stupid mistakes.</p>

<p>Great article on this exact subject:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/AoPS_R_A_Mistakes.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/AoPS_R_A_Mistakes.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>thanks, that article was very helpful.</p>

<p>This is a good habit I developed this year:</p>

<p>Circle or underline important words in the problem. For example:
"60% of 20% of the original number is added to 3."</p>

<p>"60% of 20% of the original number is added to 3."</p>

<p>I would bet big money that people who skimmed through this question would make calculation errors if they didn't read carefully.</p>

<p>Also, if it's a long word problem, it's nice to note "what you need" and "what you know". (This is really helpful in application problems in Calculus if you decide to take that later on, too)</p>

<p>Yep... this raised my math from 670 to 780 and my AP Calc test average from 91% to 97%. :)</p>