<p>Hi,
I really need help on SAT math section. The first time, my math score was 530 and the second time was 570, and I am going to take the Dec. SAT, I really want to improve my score to the range >700. Im in Calculus BC and doing well, but I don't know why whenever I take the SAT math section, I always spend too much time working on a question and vocabs is also a problem. Im an international student so that lots of vocab words in math I still don't know when I first meet like "tri-factorable", etc.... Can anyone give me some strategy that can help me with my math score? And I also have problems with hard questions sometimes. And sometimes, after I spend lots of time working on a problem and I figure out the answer, I realize for myself a quicker way to solve that problem but it is just too late.</p>
<p>First, stop spending too much time on questions you don’t know. Since all questions are worth the same point it is meaningless too work on one that you don’t know as opposed to one that you’re familiar with. Take a practice test and see what parts of the math you are having issues with. Once you have pinpointed the issue, study intensely on that particular area to improve your score.</p>
<p>I am also inrernational student. Probably you have some problems with math because vocab only would not cause score like that.
Take practice test and identify topics you are less familiar with and review them.
Also remember that no sat math questions are too hard, I mean they will never. Need calculation that’ll feel half of the page. If you stick with some problem, no matter how easy it is, leave it. try again after some time</p>
<p>my math problems are usually sometimes I don’t read the question carefully and i’m also having problem with constant problems, I don’t know how to deal when there is a constant.</p>
<p>Yes, math vocabulary is good to know. “Factorable” just means something can be factored. A “constant” is simply a number that doesn’t change – I don’t know what the problem is.</p>
<p>when I am talking about constant, I mean I don’t know how to treat it, leave it there or assume it as a certain number. And I also have problems with permutations, combinations, probability.</p>
<p>@iAznDude, you’re in BC calculus, though. You should know that, for example, if k is a constant then</p>
<p>d/dx (k*f(x)) = k (d/dx (f(x))</p>
<p>Here, we’re just treating the constant as if it were some fixed number. Of course we don’t know what it is, it’s just a number…</p>
<p>The entire subject of combinatorics has its own separate discussion (since probability is not often mentioned in calculus, unless you take statistics or something). First off, you should know what permutations and combinations are (as well as the difference between them), and how to compute them. Probability problems come in all types, so it takes practice to be able to solve all of them.</p>
<p>I did study permutations and combinations and probability before but at the time, I wasn’t really studying, feel so regretful right now. And yes I know what k is but sometimes when I take the real test, the time pressure always forces me to go through everything as fast as possible and maybe I just feel panicked when I see a problem with k and there is not much time left.</p>
<p>“maybe I just feel panicked when I see a problem with k and there is not much time left.”</p>
<p>Try not to. Don’t let variables or weird function notation or anything else on the SAT intimidate you. Usually those problems are actually fairly easy once you understand what the problem’s saying.</p>
<p>Can I ask you this? how to make an educated guess when we look at a hard math problem and we don’t know where to start and its not really much time left?</p>
<p>Hard to say. Note that if you can eliminate just one answer choice, your expected value at guessing is greater than 0, and in the long run it’s better to guess. If you absolutely have no idea, I probably wouldn’t guess (unless it’s a grid-in).</p>
<p>ok thanks for the advices, do you have any math strategies that I can use?</p>
<p>are you in junior or senior ? Is it your last attempt for SAT ?
I am an international student too and which I was used to raise my score are Dr.Chung Math book and the Blue Book ( you should check carefully the answers after you’ve done the tests).</p>
<p>im a senior and this is my final attempt for SAT, im trying to raise my score high to get scholarships. And well my habit is that I usually check the answer right after I finish each question and that usually leads to no more time left for the last questions.</p>
<p>where i will get old Sat II Maths & physics papers ?</p>