62% Missed the Fastest RACECAR of ALL TODAY!! SAT 62% WRONG! READ YOUR TUTOR!
Keep Reading On To The Last Part—It’s the Math. We Can Do This! We Can Do This!!!
Why did so many people miss today’s SAT question? It is absolutely the fastest one they have had yet!
In fact, I used the math strategy on it, so it is the perfect way to segue into the mathematics strategy instead of the language arts and other test strategies. This question today should be solved WITHOUT ELIMINATING THE INCORRECT ANSWERS—LIKE A MATH QUESTION.
In the movie The Blind Side, Kathy Bates portrays a tutor who teaches the way I teach, one-on-one, across the curriculum. Like ‘Miss Sue’ in the movie, I have my own personal eccentricities, and I expect each of my students to use her or his personal talents to the fullest. Also, like Miss Sue, I have an extremely high success rate with each and every student. Sometimes it IS rocket science, but you can surprise yourself.
Today’s SAT question and answer is one of the several styles that I call ‘RACECAR’ SAT Q&A. For my students and other readers, you know I use this term because ‘racecar’ is a palindrome; and I do the language arts questions and answers quickly. Therefore, my usual strategy on the racecar is to check the answer by testing each and every answer to eliminate each incorrect answer. A palindrome is a word that reads the same backwards and forwards, ‘racecar’ is the same backwards and forwards. I check the fast answers backwards and forwards.
For several days now, I have been promising to use today, Wednesday, to describe the difference in the strategies for managing mathematics questions on the SAT and other standardized tests. I have said that the difference is extremely important because you must manage the calculating questions in A COMPLETELY OPPOSITE MANNER from the “racecar” questions.
Helpfully, today’s “racecar” SAT question is the very first SAT style language arts question that I solved using the strategy that I use for a mathematics question. This is the way you need to solve mathematics questions. It is also the way to solve questions that require answers involving calculations and applications of rules.
Here is the difference: Do NOT spend time eliminating the incorrect answers.
Here is why: Eliminating the incorrect answers will take too much time and/or be a confusing procedure.
Here is the way to do this type of question:
MATH
Methodically, write out the problem in a new sentence in your booklet or scratch paper.
Act upon what you know, using resources you have (calculator, formulae in booklet, visual)
Teach yourself as you move through the problem once.
Hit the answer sheet and go.
Summary: The strategy is: Instead of answering and checking by eliminating the wrong answers, you find all you know and restate the problem; solve the problem; look for the answer; mark your answer sheet; move on. You work the problem. If you cannot work the problem, guess and go.
Today’s SAT question worked like a math problem because you need to know how to recognize that a rule is broken. There is not a way to try out different things. The very first word is underlined and the word is ‘Origin.’ The very first verb is NOT underlined. The verb is ‘lie.’ In this sentence, this subject (origin is singular) and this verb (lie) do not agree.
More attempts to eliminate other possibilities will just blur this because ‘Origin’ is underlined, but ‘lie’ is not. If Origin is changed to ‘Origins,’ the sentence can be correct. Otherwise, nothing else will fix the sentence because there is no opportunity given to work on the verb in disagreement.
The origin (has to be “origins”) of amusement parks(could be “lies”—but we don’t have this option) lie in ancient and medieval religious festivals and trade fairs, b where merchants, entertainers, and food sellers c gathered d in order to take advantage of the large crowds. e No error
THE ANSWER HAS TO BE A—Taking time to eliminate the other answers will be counter-productive. This is ONE POINT!!!
There is no other way to make subject-verb agreement!
TAKING THIS TO MATHEMATICS—AND STAYING WITH THIS UNTIL WE CAN DO THIS, TOO!!!!
LET’S JUST DO ONE TO SHOW HOW THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE PAST ON THE ELIMINATION OF WRONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
LOOK AT THE MARCH 16th question:
The first thing I want to say about this question is that it is NOT an easy one. The second thing is that it IS fairly easy to do once you write it in the correct ‘sentence.’ This is a good one to notice how comfortable you are with writing the sentence. Just know this: There WILL be questions like this on the test. Some of those questions will not be this difficult. Do not skip them. Try them. Practice some things about these questions ahead of time.
In a class of seniors, there are boys for every girls. In the junior class, there are boys for every girls. If the two classes combined have an equal number of boys and girls, how many students are in the junior class?
The answers are just short—the answer only. You would be working all day to eliminate each one! No way! The correct way to do this is to form a new statement of what the math problem says and to solve it. After you have done this again and again and again (and again), this becomes as fluid as translating from one language to another. You start ‘thinking’ in those terms. Really.
A. 72 B. 80 C. 84 D.100 E. 120
Okay, after reading that question, look at the hint they gave you. This is one time that I am just putting the SAT hint and explanation right here. I cannot improve on their mathematical sentence for you to see. Here is their hint,
The statement about boys for every girls means that out of every students in the senior class, are boys and are girls. In other words, of the class is boys and is girls. Since there are seniors, of , or , must be boys and of , or , must be girls. Let stand for the total number of juniors and express, in terms of , the number of junior boys and the number of junior girls. Then you can write an equation in to represent the fact that the total number of boys (juniors and seniors) is equal to the total number of girls. Solving for will give the total number of juniors.
What I suggest that you do is to draw this out while you are copying how to solve this. When it says to let x stand for the total number of juniors and express in terms of x the number of junior boys and the number of junior girls—draw what x is representing—with little notes to yourself.
Once you have done the above, followed this ‘hint,’ you have to do the following:Among the seniors, there are boys for every girls, so of the seniors, or , are boys and , or , are girls. Among the juniors, are boys and are girls. If stands for the total number of juniors, then are boys and are girls. The total number of senior and junior boys is . The total number of senior and junior girls is . The question states that these quantities are equal, so . Solving this gives , or .
The answer is D. 100. This looks complicated. I KNOW it does to more than a few because many of the responding test-takers missed this one. However, this is NOT as complicated as it looks on this page. If we were sitting next to each other like Michael and Miss Sue, this would even be fun. Come back.judiethcarol&rocketcatmarch2010
