The Math section formulas

Don't forget that many formulas are right there in the front of the math section: the area of a circle, the circumference of a circle, etc. Even the 30-60-90 right triangle is right there, with formulas to determine the sides.
I have seen so many students forget about those formulas. It's like a legal cheat sheet. So turn to the first page of the math section whenever you need a formula you can't remember.
You won't see everything.
So remember your perfect right triangles:
3-4-5 6-8-10 9-12-15 etc.
5-12-13 10-24-25 15-36-39 etc.
7-24-25 14-48-50 21-72-75 etc.

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Books

So what books do I recommend?
You need to learn the tricks and practice, practice, practice by taking the tests.
You should get "Cracking the SAT" and "11 Practice Tests." There is a "Cracking the SAT" with a DVD.
The DVD is just some people going over various sections. It's somewhat helpful but not necessary. I listed it just in case you are interested.

Here are the must-have books from Amazon Canada followed by Amazon U.S.

Canadians








U.S. Residents








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The dreaded partial answer in the SAT math section

So you do all the work and you've solved for x. You fill in the answer. Then you check, and it's wrong. You go over your work again, and again!
"This stupid answer sheet is wrong!" you yell out.
Then you realize your mistake. The question asked, "What is x - 2?"
You answered "What is x?"
Whenever you read math questions, you should underline the key part of the question, such as "What is x-2?"
Then, when you complete your work, go back to the underlined words, and make sure you answer the question.
Getting x was a lot of work. Don't ruin it by not subtracting 2 to get the right answer.

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John McCain and Barack Obama can teach SAT students -- what not to say

If you are a student studying for the SAT and you're confused about grammar, you are not alone.
The presidential candidates made several mistakes in the debate last week.
I checked out the transcript of the debate and confirmed that I didn't hear them incorrectly.
Recognizing these errors can help SAT students on the grammar section.
I've also included a grammatical error by the transcribers who had a bad case of comma splice.

I'll start with a transcription error:

I like Meg Whitman [former CEO of eBay and current McCain campaign adviser], she knows what it's like to be out there in the marketplace.

The mistake. These are two sentences. "I like... " and "She knows...." They cannot be connected with a a comma. That's a comma splice.

How would you correct it? Use a period or semicolon instead of a comma.

I like Meg Whitman [former CEO of eBay and current McCain campaign adviser]. She knows what it's like to be out there in the marketplace.

OR

I like Meg Whitman [former CEO of eBay and current McCain campaign adviser]; she knows what it's like to be out there in the marketplace.


Another mistake:
McCain: "But you know, one of the real catalysts, really the match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

The error: The word "one" refers to two things: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So you can't use the word "one." McCain should have used the word "two."
And she should have said "matches" and "were."

Obama: "The middle-class need a rescue package."
The error: "Class" is a singular noun. So the middle class "needs" a tax cut.

So if you're struggling with the grammar section, have faith. You can become a world leader some day.

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However...

Many of my students in the Vancouver area study hard for the grammar section of the SAT, however they miss the problem with this sentence.
So what's wrong with the above sentence?
It's called a comma splice -- two sentences joined by a comma.
Students study (subject verb)
they miss (subject verb)
You may counter that the two sentences are joined by "however."
But the word "however" is not a conjunction, so it cannot join two sentences.
If a student sees "however" in a sentence, the word should raise a red flag. He or she immediately should see if "however" connects two separate sentences.
The error can be fixed by joining the sentences with a semicolon or period.
Or the word "although" can be substituted for "however," as "although" is a conjunction.
Examples of the corrected sentence:
Many students study hard for the grammar section; however, they miss the problem with this sentence.
Many students study hard for the grammar section. However, they miss the problem with this sentence.
Many students study hard for the grammar section, although they miss the problem with this sentence.