Start Getting More Hard SAT Math Questions Correct

Today we are going to discuss how to start getting some of the more difficult SAT math questions correct. This information is very important if you are a student currently scoring between a 500 and a 600 in SAT math.

For the purposes of this article we consider a question “hard” if it appears in the last third of questions in each “part” of an SAT math section (think of each math section as split into two parts – a multiple choice part and a grid in part). For example, in the 20 question section, we consider the last 5 multiple choice questions, and the last 2 grid in questions hard.

Here are four effective tips that will help you get more hard questions correct.

1. Do not go with your first instinct on hard questions. For more information on this folllow this link: Should You Go With Your First Instinct To Take Guesses in SAT Math?
2. Redo hard questions you get wrong every few days until you can get them right on your own – even if you understand the solution completely. This is extremely important. Remember that you learn from your mistakes, not from your successes!
3. Pay particular attention to what a hard question is asking for. Is the question asking for x or 5x? Is it asking for a quotient or a remainder?
4. Make sure that you are practicing using SAT specific math strategies on harder problems. Even basic strategies like starting with choice (C), taking guesses, picking numbers, and changing fractions to decimals can make hard questions very easy to solve. More advanced strategies like Xiggi’s formula, and moving the sides of a figure around can be found in a good SAT math prep book.

I want to emphasize that it is not enough to simply know lots of SAT specific strategies. You must practice implementing them at the right times. As a very simple example, if question number 15 has variables in the answer choices, DO NOT try to solve this problem using algebra. Use the strategy of picking numbers instead. This particular strategy is very basic and involves substituting in specific numbers for the variables before solving the problem.

As an example, let’s look at this problem.

There are b bricks that need to be stacked. After k of them have been stacked, then in terms of b and k, what percent of the bricks have not yet been stacked?

Since this is a percent problem we choose 100 for the total number of bricks. So b = 100. For k, let’s choose 25, so that 25 bricks have been stacked, and 100 – 25 = 75 have not been stacked.

Since we started with 100 as our total, 75% of the bricks have not been stacked. Remember to put a big, dark circle around 75%. We make the substitutions b = 100 and k = 25 into each answer choice.

     (A) 100/7500 ~ 0.0133% (~ means “is approximately”)

     (B) 7500/100 = 75%

     (C) 10,000/25 = 400%

     (D) 2500/100 = 25%

We now compare each of these percents to the percent that we put a nice big, dark circle around. Since (A), (C), (D) and (E) are incorrect we can eliminate them. Therefore the answer is choice (B).

Important note: (B) is not the correct answer simply because it is equal to 75%. It is correct because all 4 of the other choices are not 75%. You absolutely must check all five choices!

For an example of one of my more advanced strategies at work, watch the video below where I give a complete solution of another Level 5 SAT math problem.

Click Play In The Video Below To Learn An Advanced SAT Math Strategy

If you want to learn all of the strategies necessary to keep you from getting these last few difficult problems wrong, then you may want to check out my “28 SAT Math Lessons” series. Each book in this series is targeted for students in a specific score range. Get the book for your score range and you will learn all the strategies you need to get to the next score level. In addition you will be provided with hundreds of practice problems all targeted specifically for you. Click on the pictures below for links to the books’ Amazon pages.

Click Play in the Video Below to Learn How Stop Getting Those Last Few Hard SAT Math Questions Wrong

Best of luck,

Dr. Steve
Get 800

p.s.: Here is a special offer on all of my SAT math prep books: SAT Math Prep Books Full Bundle