SAT 8

THE TOP 30 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TOP SCORES IN MATH LEVEL 2

1. FRACTIONS

Make sure you know how to simplify fractions because answers are generally presented in simplest form. Be able to find the least common denominator of two or more fractions. Know how to multiply and divide fractions as well as use mixed numbers and improper fractions. Be comfortable solving fraction problems that involve variables.

See Chapter 4, pp. 41–45.

2. PERCENTAGES

Be able to convert between percents, decimals, and fractions. Be able to recognize the meaning of terminology used in percentage problems in order to solve for an unknown.

See Chapter 4, pp. 46–47.

3. EXPONENTS

Familiarize yourself with the exponential notation and know how to apply the rules of exponents, particularly to simplify an expression containing multiple exponents. Avoid common mistakes with exponents, such as incorrectly addressing negative exponents or multiplying exponents when they should be added. Be aware of rational exponents as well as variables in exponents.

See Chapter 4, pp. 47–51.

4. REAL NUMBERS

Be able to relate the different types of real numbers, and which groups are subsets of other groups. Know the properties of real numbers, including the properties of addition and multiplication. Be able to apply the distributive property. Review absolute value to know:

•what it means

•how it is represented in symbolic form

•how to solve problems involving absolute value

See Chapter 4, pp. 52–55.

5. RADICALS

Know how to find roots of real numbers. Be aware that some problems have two solutions. Know how to:

•identify the principal square root

•use the product and quotient properties of radicals

•determine the simplest radical form

•rationalize a denominator containing a radical for both square roots and cube roots

•use a conjugate, especially when the denominator contains a binomial radical expression

See Chapter 4, pp. 57–60.

6. POLYNOMIALS

Know how to add, subtract, multiply, and factor polynomials. Be familiar with the products of special polynomials, such as (a + b)2, (a – b)2, and (a + b)(a – b). Be able to recognize perfect square trinomials and the difference of perfect squares.

See Chapter 4, pp. 60–64.

7. QUADRATIC EQUATIONS

Know the meaning of each term in the Quadratic Formula. Be able to:

•choose the answer that lists the roots of the quadratic equation

•determine the nature of the roots of a quadratic equation without actually solving for them

•use the discriminant to decide if there are two real rational roots, two real irrational roots, one real root, or no roots

See Chapter 4, pp. 64–68.

8. INEQUALITIES

Know the Transitive Property of Inequality as well as the addition and multiplication properties. Inequalities questions may involve conjunctions or disjunctions, as well as absolute values. Be prepared to relate a solution to a graph.

See Chapter 4, pp. 68–70, and Chapter 6, p. 114.

9. RATIONAL EXPRESSIONS

Know how to simplify rational expressions and solve equations involving rational expressions. Be familiar with the special products studied with polynomials. Be able to multiply, divide, add, and subtract rational expressions.

See Chapter 4, pp. 71–74.

10. SYSTEMS

Review simultaneous equations and equivalent systems. Be able to solve systems by substitution or linear combination. Distinguish between the three possible solution sets: one solution, no solution, and infinitely many solutions. Be familiar with word problems with two unknowns. Know how to set up a system and solve it to find the answer.

See Chapter 4, pp. 74–79.

11. THREE-DIMENSIONAL FIGURES

Study the terminology relating to polyhedra: faces, edges, vertices, or bases. Be able to distinguish among and calculate volume, surface area, and lateral surface area. Review the area formulas for various shapes, such as rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, and circles. Know the characteristics of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres. Be able to find the ordered triple that describes the vertex of a figure graphed in three dimensions.

See Chapter 5, pp. 82–95.

12. COORDINATE GEOMETRY—LINES

Understand plane rectangular coordinate systems. Know how to:

•name the ordered pair describing a point

•find the midpoint of a line segment

•determine the distance between two points

Know how to use these skills to describe a figure, such as finding the area of a parallelogram given a graph.

Be able to find the slope of a line and distinguish between positive and negative slopes. Know that parallel lines have the same slope and perpendicular lines have slopes that are opposite reciprocals. Be able to:

•recognize linear equations in slope-intercept form, point-slope form, and standard form

•determine the x and y intercepts given information about a line

See Chapter 6, pp. 97–106.

13. COORDINATE GEOMETRY—CURVED GRAPHS

Review the standard form for the equation of a circle. Be able to find the x and y intercepts from a given equation or to determine the equation given the center and radius of a circle.

Know the standard form for the equation of a parabola and be able to identify the vertex. Be able to determine whether the vertex is a maximum or a minimum value.

Study the properties of an ellipse and know the standard form for an equation of an ellipse. Be able to find the equation from provided foci of an ellipse and the length of the major axis.

Be able to recognize a hyperbola on a graph and know the standard form for an equation of a hyperbola. Know how to identify the two asymptotes that intersect at the center of the hyperbola.

See Chapter 6, pp. 106–113.

14. POLAR COORDINATES

Be familiar with the polar coordinate system and the relationships you can use to convert between polar coordinates and rectangular coordinates. Be able to rename points between the polar and rectangular coordinate systems.

See Chapter 6, pp. 118–119.

15. TRIGONOMETRY

Know the sine, cosine, and tangent trigonometric ratios for an angle. Be able to determine the length of a side of a triangle from a given angle. Know the reciprocal functions of secant, cosecant, and cotangent. Recognize the cofunction identities and be able to use them to solve for unknown values. Know how to use inverse functions, including the arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent.

Familiarize yourself with special right triangles. Also know the trigonometric identities, be able to convert to radian measure, and be prepared to use the laws of sines and cosines. Review the double angle formulas for sine, cosine, and tangent.

See Chapter 7, pp. 121–135.

16. INTRODUCTION TO FUNCTIONS

Review function notation and know how to determine the domain and range for a given function. Be able to differentiate between linear functions and quadratic functions as well as even and odd functions. Know how to use the vertical line test to determine if a graph represents a function or a relation. Familiarize yourself with graphs of common functions, such as an identity function, constant function, absolute value function, squaring function, and cubing function.

See Chapter 8, pp. 137–142.

17. WORKING WITH FUNCTIONS

Be able to recognize and evaluate the following types of functions:

•composition functions

•identity functions

•zero functions

•constant functions

•quadratic function

•inverse functions

•rational functions

•polynomial functions (especially first-degree and second-degree polynomial functions and the properties of their graphs)

Be able to determine if a function is decreasing, increasing, or constant. See Chapter 8, pp. 143–154.

18. SPECIAL FUNCTIONS

Practice working with the following types of special functions:

•exponential functions: recognize the graphs and know how to determine if two exponential functions are the same

•logarithmic functions: know how to evaluate logarithms and inverses of logarithmic functions; review common logarithmic functions

•trigonometric functions: be able to relate trigonometric relationships to their graphs, and recognize such graphs as that of sine and cosine

•periodic functions: be able to decide if a function is periodic and identify a graph of a periodic function

•piecewise functions: be able to attribute a graph to a piecewise function

•recursive functions: know how to identify a specific term in a given sequence; the Fibonacci Sequence is an example of this type of special function

•parametric functions: be able to recognize the graph of a parametric function and to determine its domain

See Chapter 8, pp. 154–170.

19. MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Be able to determine a measure of central tendency, including mean, median, and mode. Understand how a change in data will affect each measure of central tendency. Know how to calculate the standard deviation and to find the range of data along with the interquartile range.

See Chapter 9, pp. 172–175.

20. DATA INTERPRETATION

Know how to interpret data presented in histograms, pie charts, frequency distributions, bar graphs, and other displays. Review how information is provided in each type of display.

Be able to evaluate a set of data and determine which type of model best fits the data. Make sure you are familiar with linear, quadratic, and exponential models.

See Chapter 9, pp. 175–181.

21. PROBABILITY

Be able to identify a sample space and an event, and then use this information to calculate the probability of dependent and independent events.

See Chapter 9, pp. 181–183.

22. INVENTED OPERATIONS AND “IN TERMS OF” PROBLEMS

Familiarize yourself with invented operations, which are mathematical problems that show a symbol, unfamiliar but defined for you, that represents a made-up mathematical operation. Know how to use the definition to solve for a given variable, and to solve for more than one unknown variable.

See Chapter 10, pp. 185–186.

23. RATIO AND PROPORTION

Familiarize yourself with solving straightforward proportions in which you cross multiply to solve for an unknown. Understand how to set up these proportions for diagrams and word problems.

See Chapter 10, pp. 186–187.

24. COMPLEX NUMBERS

Review the form of a complex number and know how to perform mathematical operations on complex numbers, including operations that involve absolute value. Understand how to find the complex conjugate of a denominator to simplify a quotient.

See Chapter 10, pp. 187–189.

25. COUNTING PROBLEMS

Study the Fundamental Counting Principle and be able to recognize mutually exclusive events. Know how to determine the number of possible combinations and how to use a factorial to solve problems involving permutations.

See Chapter 10, pp. 189–191.

26. NUMBER THEORY AND LOGIC

Be comfortable with the properties of positive and negative numbers, prime numbers, integers, and odd and even numbers. Be able to evaluate various even/odd combinations of two numbers and draw a conclusion about the result of an operation performed on the numbers.

Review conditional statements, inverses, and contrapositives.

See Chapter 10, pp. 191–194.

27. MATRICES

Understand how to identify the value of variables within a matrix that is set equal to another matrix or to the determinant. Know how to find the sum or product of two matrices.

See Chapter 10, pp. 194–196.

28. SEQUENCES AND SERIES

Review the difference between finite and infinite sequences. Be able to compare arithmetic and geometric sequences. Know how to choose the nth term in a specific sequence or to find a common ratio given two terms in a sequence.

Understand how series are related to sequences. Be able to find the sum of a finite arithmetic sequence, a finite geometric sequence, or an infinite geometric sequence. Study the appropriate formulas for each task.

See Chapter 10, pp. 197–201.

29. VECTORS

Know what a vector is and how it is described. Review resultants and norms.

See Chapter 10, pp. 201–202.

30. LIMITS

Review the meaning of a limit and how limits are indicated by symbols. Know how to find the limit of a function f (x) as x approaches a given value or infinity.

See Chapter 10, pp. 202–203.

McGRAW-HILL’s

SAT

SUBJECT TEST

MATH LEVEL 2

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