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Version 8.0
 SAT MANUAL

MATH INTRODUCTION

447
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Describe the structure of the Math section and the math content it
tests
• Use POOD, Pacing, and Guessing to maximize your score
• Methodically work through word problems using the Word Problem
WRITING

Basic Approach
• Know the basics of using the built-in calculator
• Know how to enter answers for fill-in questions
MATH

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
STRUCTURE

First Module Second Module

(35 minutes) (35 minutes)

WRITING
Easier Harder

1 1 1
2 2 2
Easy 3 3 3
4 4 4

MATH
5 5 5
6 6 6
7 7 7
8 8 8
One of two second modules based
9 9 9
on the results of the first module.
10 10 10
11 11 11
12 12 12
Medium
13 13 13
14 14 14
15 15 15
16 16 16
17 17 17
18 18 18
19 19 19
20 20 20
Hard
21 21 21
22 22 22

Two questions on each module are experimental and do not

impact your score. They are not marked and do not necessarily
follow the order of di culty, so don’t be concerned about a
question that’s easier or harder than you expect.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

MATH CONTENT
Which of the following math topics did you notice on your first practice test?

_____ Elementary school math _____ Trigonometry

_____ Algebra I _____ Pre-Calculus

WRITING

_____ Algebra II _____ Statistics

_____ Geometry _____ Calculus

MATH

Here’s the official breakdown:

By Content
_____ Algebra _____ questions per module

_____ Advanced Math _____ questions per module

_____ Problem-Solving & Data Analysis _____ questions per module

_____ Geometry and Trigonometry _____ questions per module

By Question Type
_____ Problem-Solving _____ questions per module

_____ Word Problems _____ questions per module

By Question Format
_____ Multiple-Choice _____ questions per module

_____ Fill-in _____ questions per module

Knowing the structure and content helps you take the easy test first. e official
order of difficulty can guide you, but what really matters is your Personal Order of
Difficulty.

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
POOD
So how do you know which questions to do and which ones to skip? Make sure to
follow your POOD and focus on these two ideas.

WRITING
Do questions that can be answered quickly and accurately.
Do questions that can be made easier using TPR strategies.

MATH
GUESSING AND PACING
For each question, quickly decide whether you want to Answer and Advance, skip
it for now, or Guess and Go based on your POOD. If you get stuck on a question,
Mark and Move. If you have time for a second pass, go back to the questions you
marked for review, and then try some of the questions you skipped the first time.
Make sure to leave 1–2 minutes at the end to fill in an answer for any questions
you haven’t done yet. Use the review page to see what’s left.

As you practice, you’ll get a better sense of your own POOD (it is personal, after
all), and you might decide to return to a question you skipped or marked before
you reach the end of the module, or you might sense that the difficulty is increas-
ing rapidly and Guess and Go more often towards the end of a module. No matter
what, the goal is to make quick decisions and keep moving.

Multiple-Choice vs. Fill-in

If you have two questions left, one multiple-choice and one fill-in, that seem of
equal difficulty to you, which one should you do? What is the smart choice to im-
prove your chances of getting one more question right?

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

WRITE STUFF DOWN

Whether using the calculator or doing the work by hand, never do math in your
head. Use the scratch paper to stay organized and perform calculations. Here’s
what your scratch paper might look like:
WRITING

10. Target = 2

A) g(–3) = 2(–(–3) – 1) – 2 =
2(3 – 1) – 2 =
2(2) – 2 =
4– 2= 2
MATH

B)

Start C) g(1) = 2(–1 – 1) – 2 =

2(–2) – 2 =
–4 – 2 = –6

D) g(3) = 2(–3 – 1) – 2 =
2(–4) – 2 =
–8 – 2 = –10

11.
similar triangles
12 13 5
= =


24 AC BC


AC = 26 and BC = 10


Perimeter ABC = 24 + 10 + 26 = 60

 
 
 
 

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
RTFQ
To avoid doing unnecessary work or falling for a trap answer, read the final
question. Write down key words from the question on the scratch paper to stay
organized and focused.

What would you expect to be asked if you saw these questions in math class?

WRITING
If 5a – 4 = 2a + 11, _____________________?

3
If a = 35 and a = b , _____________________?
7

Now look at these Digital SAT questions.

MATH
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F___________________

Q___________________

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

BITE-SIZED PIECES
Deal with one small piece of information at a time, eliminating answers as you go.

When there is something to figure out, STOP!

Figure it out and try to use POE before you move on.
WRITING

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of the points?

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
WORD PROBLEMS
Approximately 30% of the math questions on the Digital SAT are word problems. Use a consistent approach on
these questions. Start with RTFQ to avoid getting lost in the text.

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MATH
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WORD PROBLEM BASIC APPROACH

1. Read the Final Question (RTFQ)—Understand the actual
question being asked. Write down key words.
2. Let the Answers Point the Way—Use the answer type to
help determine how to start working on the question.
3. Work in Bite-Sized Pieces—Find one piece to start with,
then work piece-by-piece until the final question has been
answered.
4. Use POE—Check to see whether any answers can be
eliminated after each bite-sized piece.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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READING

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What calculations lead to each wrong answer in the previous question?

A) _________________________________________________

B) _________________________________________________

C) _________________________________________________

D) _________________________________________________

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On the Digital SAT, there are more wrong answers

than right ones. When you find a wrong answer,
cross it o with the Answer Eliminator tool!

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
POE POINT—When attacking the problem in Bite-Sized Pieces,
don’t forget to pause after each piece to see which answers can
be eliminated.

WRITING
BALLPARKING AND ESTIMATING

MATH
Try to eliminate answer choices that can’t possibly be correct
before calculating anything.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Remember to let the answers point the way. Sometimes it’s clear that ballparking is the best place to start. If the
READING

numbers in the answers are spaced far apart, for example, rounding or estimating often gets you close enough to the
correct answer.

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MATH

FILL-INS
Approximately 25% of the Math questions are called Student-Produced Response questions, or fill-ins. Questions
with this format will be scattered throughout each Math module. Instead of clicking on an answer letter, you will
click in a box and enter the numerical answer. e box looks like this:

Fill-in questions are in a di erent format from multiple-choice

questions, but they test the same math topics in the same ways.

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
The Fill-in Instructions
Instructions appear on the left side of the screen for every fill-in question. Save
time by knowing the rules and practicing with them before test day.

e Math Vocabulary 101 chapter includes the full instructions and examples as
they appear in the testing app. Here are some of the key things to know:

WRITING
Follow these rules when entering an answer in the fill-in box:
• Enter up to 5 characters for a positive answer.
• Enter up to 6 characters for a negative answer.

MATH
• Don’t enter extra zeros if the answer is short.
• Do enter as much of a long decimal as will fit.
• Don’t enter a fraction that doesn’t fit.
• Do enter reduced or unreduced fractions that fit.

CALCULATOR USE
e Digital SAT has a built-in calculator. You can also bring your own if it’s from
the approved list. Before you use the calculator, do two things:

1. Read the Final Question.

2. Set up the math on the scratch paper.

Using the Built-in Calculator

To open the calculator that’s built into the testing app, click the Calculator icon in
the upper right corner of the testing screen.

Calculator Reference More

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Calculator Expand
Move the calculator by
clicking and dragging the 5

dots in the black bar.

Expand it by clicking the
Expand button. Close it by
clicking the × in the black -10 -5 0 5 10

bar.
WRITING

Look in the graphing area

for the graphs of equations 5

or expressions.
1
Use the entry fields to enter y = 2x + 3
-10
equations or calculations.
MATH

2
When you see the e calculator adds more
calculator image in this fields as you fill them. x y a ab ¸ funcs
book, look for a hint
about how to use the Enter equations or ( ) < > ´
calculator. The Digital calculations using the
SAT Calculator Guide has on-screen keypad or your |a| £ ³ -
even more information. computer keyboard. π = +
ABC Ö`

Calculator Collapse

10

-10 -5 0 5 10

-5 If the keypad
disappears, click
the icon in the
-10 lower left.

As you prep for the Digital SAT, practice using the built-in calculator. To do so
without having to take a full practice test, open the testing app, select the “Test
Preview” option, navigate to a math question, and open the calculator. You can
also practice with a very similar calculator at Desmos.com.

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

READING
REFERENCE SHEET
e testing app has another button next to the Calculator in the upper right
corner.

WRITING
Calculator Reference More

is opens a Reference Sheet with information that will help with geometry
questions.

MATH
…AND MORE
Finally, there is the More button, which appears in the upper right corner of both
sections of the test. Clicking on it opens the following menu:

? Help Access information on how to use the testing app.

Shortcuts Find a complete list of keyboard shortcuts

you can use.

Unscheduled Break If you take a break, the test timer will keep
running.

! Exit the Exam is will end your test, so only use it if you are
completely finished or if there is an emergency of
some sort.

You are unlikely to need the More menu options unless you need an unscheduled
break. You will know the information in the help menu before you take the official
test, and you should learn any keyboard shortcuts you plan to use before then. You
will also likely not want to end your test early if you are using your time wisely.

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DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• By slowing down, I can ________________________________________.

• Which questions should you focus on in the Math section?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

• What should you do when you want to come back to a question later?

_________________________________________________

• When should you guess on a Math question?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What does RTFQ stand for?

_________________________________________________

 What does that mean?

______________________________________________________________________

• What does it mean to solve a question in Bite-Sized Pieces?

__________________________________________________________________________

• When do you use Bite-Sized Pieces?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What is the Word Problem Basic Approach?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

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 MATH INTRODUCTION

• What are two reasons to use POE?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

• What is Ballparking?

__________________________________________________________________________

• Fill-ins are located at the beginning of / throughout / at the end of the Math modules. Compared to

multiple-choice questions, the format of fill-ins is the same / different but the content they test is

the same / different.

• What is important to keep in mind about calculator use?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

• I should use the scratch paper as much as possible / sometimes / never.

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PLUGGING IN THE
ANSWERS

465
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Explain why Plugging In the Answers is such a powerful technique

• Identify when PITA is possible
• Follow the steps of PITA to accurately and efficiently solve problems
WRITING

N
MATH

W E X
S

X
X
X

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 PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS

READING
PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS (PITA)
When the question asks for a specific amount and the answer choices are numbers in order, use PITA.

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WRITING
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MATH
PITA BASIC APPROACH
1. Rewrite the answer choices and label them—what do the
answers represent?
2. If the question asks for the greatest or least value, start there.
Otherwise, start with one of the answers in the middle.
3. Use Bite-Sized Pieces to work the steps of the problem.
4. Eliminate answers that are too big or too small.
5. When one of the answers works, STOP.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

By plugging in the answers, you can avoid doing time-consuming algebra and falling for trap answers.
READING

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MATH

Plug the points into the simpler equation first.

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HTXDWLRQ a − 5 = − 7 + 3 a + 10

When the answers contain several values or pairs of

values, plug them in one at a time and use POE.

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 PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS

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MATH
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CLUES THAT YOU CAN USE PITA

• The question asks for a specific amount—“how much,” “how
many,” or “what is the value of…?”
• All the answer choices are numbers.
• You get the urge to write your own equation.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

PITA works for word problems, too!

READING

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MATH

What are clues to use PITA for this question?

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 PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS

READING
PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS DRILL
Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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 PLUGGING IN THE ANSWERS

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DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• What are the advantages of Plugging In the Answers (PITA)?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

• What are some clues that you can use PITA?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

• What are the steps for PITA?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

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 MATH
VOCABULARY 101

A good foundation in math terminology and

definitions is key to improving your Math score. In
this chapter, you’ll review the terms and rules you will
need to know for the Digital SAT.

475
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

MATH OPERATIONS
Start with the basics. Match the math terms on the left with the definitions on the
right. Put the letter for the correct definition next to the term.
_____ Sum A. the result of multiplication
_____ Difference B. the result of subtraction
WRITING

_____ Product C. the result of division

_____ Quotient D. the result of addition

What is the order of operations?

MATH

_____________________________________________________________

What’s one famous saying to help you remember the order of operations?

_____________________________________________________________

Translating English to Math

Many Digital SAT questions require you to turn words into math. In the list
below, match the English word or phrase on the left with its math equivalent on
the right. Some terms or symbols might have more than one match.

_____ is, are, were, did, does +

_____ greater than –
_____ less than ×
_____ at least /
_____ no more than =
_____ how much greater than ≠
_____ what >
_____ equals, is equal to <
_____ is not equal to ≥
_____ of ≤
_____ out of x (or any variable)
_____ times
_____ per

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 MATH VOCABULARY 101

READING
Percentages
Questions involving percents are common on the Digital SAT, so let’s go into
detail.

Percent comes from “hundred.” ink of words like century or centimeter. To trans-
late percent into math, divide by 100.

WRITING
25 250 2.5
25% = 250% = 2.5% =
100 100 100

It is possible to convert a percent into a decimal by moving the decimal point two
spaces to the left. However, when the value is not a whole number from 1 to 100,
it’s easy to get confused about where to put the decimal point. Dividing by 100 is

MATH
clear and consistent.

Since of means multiplication, find the percent of an amount by multiplying the

percent by the amount.

25
25% of 60 = (60) = 15
100

Sometimes you will be asked about increasing or decreasing an amount by a per-

cent. Find the percent first, then add it to or subtract it from the original amount.

English term Operation

increase by a percent
decrease by a percent

College Board can assume that you know a lot about how money works in the real
world. ink about what these terms mean in terms of percents—do you multiply
and then add or multiply and then subtract?

Real Life Percent Operation

Discounts
Sales taxes
Income taxes
Interest

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Algebra Vocabulary
Later chapters will go into detail about working algebra questions on the Digital
SAT. Here are some terms to be sure you’re familiar with from the beginning.

A variable is a single, unknown value. e value might be fixed or might vary

based on other parts of the equation. It is represented by an italicized letter, often
x or y, but sometimes other letters such as a, b, or n.
WRITING

A constant always has a single, specific value. It can just be a number in an

equation or, if the value is unknown, it can also be represented by an italicized
letter, frequently c or k. e question will usually state when a letter represents a
constant.

A term is a part of an equation like a word is part of a sentence. It can be a

MATH

number, a variable, or a number multiplied by a variable.

An expression is a combination of terms and mathematical operations that is not

set equal to anything. It is one side of an equation.

An equation consists of two terms or expressions that are set equal to each other.

Label each piece of math on the left with the letter of the correct algebra term on
the right. Some terms may be used more than once and others not at all.

_____ 5x A. variable

_____ 5+x B. constant

_____ x C. term

_____ k D. expression

_____ 5 + x = 12 E. equation

12
_____ kx
5

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 MATH VOCABULARY 101

READING
GLOSSARY
e following list contains useful math terms for the Digital SAT. e ones cov-
ered earlier in this chapter are some of the most important, but the others are
good to know as well. A few topics, such as absolute value and exponents, will be
explored more in later chapters.

Absolute Value: e distance a number is from zero on the number line.

WRITING
Indicated by two vertical lines around a term or expression ( x − ).

Consecutive: Equally-spaced numbers that follow one another from least

to greatest or greatest to least. ( e numbers 2, 3, and 4 are consecutive
integers. e numbers 2, 4, and 6 are consecutive even integers.)

Constant: A value in an expression or an equation that does not change.

MATH
Represented by a letter in italics, often c or k.

Decimal: A way of expressing a fraction in which numbers are divided by ten,

one hundred, one thousand, and other powers of ten.

Denominator: e bottom number in a fraction.

Difference: e result of subtraction.

Digit: A whole number 0 through 9 that is part of a larger number. ( e

number 12 is made up of the digits 1 and 2.)

Distinct: Not the same value.

Divisible: When an integer can be divided by another integer evenly, with no

fraction or decimal left over. ( e number 12 is divisible by 3.)

Equation: Two terms or expressions that are equal to each other. Must have the
= sign (x 2 – 5 = 20).

Even: An integer that is divisible by 2. (Zero is even, and all even numbers end
with 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8.)

Exponent/Power: A number that indicates how many times to multiply a base

number or variable by itself. ( e number 24, where 2 is the base and 4 is
the exponent, becomes 2 × 2 × 2 × 2.)

Expression: A combination of terms and mathematical operations not equal to

something else. Does not have the = sign (x – 5).

Factors: Numbers that a given number is divisible by. ( e number 3 is a factor

of 12.)

Fraction: A way of expressing division of numbers by stacking one over the

other.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Integer: A real number that is not a decimal or a fraction. Integers are commonly
READING

known as whole numbers. ( e numbers 0, 10, and –1,000 are integers.)

Irrational Number: A number that can be expressed as a decimal but cannot be

expressed as a fraction. ( 2 and are irrational numbers.)

Multiples: Numbers that are divisible by a given number. ( e number 12 is a

WRITING

multiple of 3.)

Negative: All real values less than zero. (Zero is not negative.)

Numerator: e top number in a fraction.

Odd: An integer that is NOT divisible by 2. (Zero is not odd, and all odd num-
bers end with 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9.)
MATH

Order of Operations: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division

from left to right, Addition and Subtraction from left to right (PEMDAS).

Positive: All real values greater than zero. (Zero is not positive.)

Prime: A number that has only two factors, 1 and itself. (Some examples of
prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 79. e number 1 is not a prime
number.)

Product: e result of multiplication.

Quotient: e result of division.

Real: All positive and negative numbers, zero, fractions, decimals, and irrational
numbers.

Radical: A term to express the sign.

Rational: A number that can be expressed as a fraction.

Reciprocal: e inverse of a fraction—flip the numerator and denominator.

2 5 1
( e reciprocal of is , and the reciprocal of 5 is ).
5 2 5
Sum: e result of addition.

Variable: A single, unknown value that might be fixed or might vary depend-
ing on other parts of the equation. Represented by an italicized letter,
frequently x or y.

Zero: An even integer that is neither positive nor negative.

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READING
HOW TO ENTER FILL-IN ANSWERS
In addition to knowing basic math vocabulary, you also want to go into the test
already knowing the instructions. ere’s nothing complicated about answering a
multiple-choice question in the testing app, but the fill-in questions can get tricky.
Let’s review those instructions.

e following information appears on the left side of the screen of the testing app

WRITING
for every fill-in question. Read through the directions and examples, then take the
short quiz at the end.

S S

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MATH
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2
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
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For each answer on the left, circle each form of the answer that can be entered in
the fill-in box and will be accepted as correct.

5
.5 0.5 1/2 5/10
10
WRITING

2π 6.2 6.283 6.2832 2π

2.5 5/2 2.5 21/2 2.50 2 1/2

2,500 2,500 2500 25000

80
− –8/12 –.6666 –80/120 –0.666 –.6667 –2/3
MATH

120

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PLUGGING IN

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Time: 5 minutes

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Identify when Plugging In is possible

• Use Plugging In to solve problems
• Understand why Plugging In is such a powerful technique
WRITING
MATH

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MATH
Which question would be easier to do?

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

PLUGGING IN
If a question on the Digital SAT has variables in the answers, turn the algebra problem into an arithmetic problem
by plugging in numbers. In most cases, Plugging In will be faster, easier, and safer than doing algebra. Learn the
technique now, and we’ll show you how it applies to a variety of questions in later chapters.

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MATH

PLUGGING IN BASIC APPROACH

1. Identify the variable(s).
2. Plug in a number for the variable(s).
3. Work the steps of the problem.
4. Circle the Target Value.
5. Plug in to all four answers, eliminating any that do not
match the Target Value.

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 PLUGGING IN

READING
WHAT TO PLUG IN
Why would it be a bad idea to plug in x = 37 or x = –0.8 on the previous question? Choose numbers that make the
arithmetic as straightforward as possible. Avoid 0, 1, and numbers that are in the question because they are likely to
make more than one answer work.

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2
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MATH
What’s a good number to plug in for m?

CLUES THAT YOU CAN PLUG IN

If one or more of the following is true, plug in!
• The question asks about a relationship between variables
or numbers.
• There are variables in the answer choices.
• The question asks for an “equivalent expression.”
• The question includes the phrase “in terms of.”

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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−3 2
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MATH

−
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Plugging In can be a great tool for word problems, too.

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490 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PLUGGING IN

READING
HIDDEN PLUG-INS
Plugging In is not just for questions with variables in the answer choices—be on the lookout for questions that ask
about changes to values but don’t provide the actual values. Instead of trying to imagine how the numbers behave,
plug in numbers and see what happens.

WRITING
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

PLUGGING IN DRILL
Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

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y = − 18 + 7
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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the rst term of the sequence is ,I HDFK WHUP DIWHU
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494 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PLUGGING IN

• What are the advantages of Plugging In?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

• What are some clues that you can Plug In?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

• What are the steps for Plugging In?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

• What are some good numbers to use when Plugging In to make the math more convenient?

_____________________________________________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 495

LINEAR SOLVING 101

Keep looking for opportunities to use PITA

or Plugging In, but also know the rules for
solving questions algebraically. This chapter
will help you review the basics.

497
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

ALGEBRA VOCABULARY
e Math Vocabulary 101 chapter included several algebra terms. ose are
included below, along with some others that you will need to know.

A variable is a single, unknown value. e value might be fixed or might vary

based on other parts of the equation. It is represented by an italicized letter, often
x or y, but sometimes other letters such as a, b, or n.
WRITING

A constant always has a single, specific value. It can just be a number in an

equation or, if the value is unknown, it can also be represented by an italicized
letter, frequently c or k. e question will usually state when a letter represents a
constant.

A term is a part of an equation like a word is part of a sentence. It can be a

MATH

number, a variable, or a number multiplied by a variable.

A coefficient is the number or constant multiplied by a variable. In the term

5x, the coefficient is 5 and the variable is x. A variable by itself has an invisible
coefficient of 1.

An expression is a combination of terms and mathematical operations that is not

set equal to anything. It is one side of an equation.

An equation consists of two terms or expressions that are set equal to each other.

A linear equation contains at least one variable, but no variable is raised to a

power greater than 1. It forms a straight line when graphed.

A nonlinear (or exponential) equation contains at least one variable with an

exponent of 2 or higher. It forms a parabola or other curve when graphed.

A solution is a value for a variable that makes an equation or inequality true.

An inequality has a range of solutions.

A system consists of two or more equations or inequalities. e solution to a

system must make all of the equations and/or inequalities true.

“Equivalent To” ≠ “Equals”

Some math questions on the Digital SAT will ask for an expression that is equivalent
to another expression. is means that the two expressions have the same value
10
but look different. For example, 5x is equal to 5x, but 5x is equivalent to x.
2

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READING
MANIPULATING EQUATIONS
Solving for a variable is a key skill you can expect to use on the Digital SAT. e
question might tell you directly to solve for a variable, but solving for an unknown
value (i.e., a variable) is at the heart of many word problems, too.

When you are solving, the first step is often to combine like terms. e like terms
in an equation or expression are the ones that have the same variable raised to

WRITING
the same power. Numbers without variables are also considered like terms. In the
equation 4x 2 + 2x + 5 = x 2 + 5x – 4, for example, 4x 2 and x 2 are like terms, 2x and
5x are like terms, and 5 and –4 are like terms.

Linear Equations

MATH
SOLVING AN EQUATION
Isolate the variable.
• Get the variable on one side of the equals sign and the
numbers on the other.
• Add, subtract, divide, or multiply both sides of the
equation to gather like terms.
Treat both sides equally.
• Perform the same operations on both sides of the equation.

Solve for x in each of these equations.

1. 6 x + 3 = 15 5. 2( x − 7 ) = 6 x + 10

3x 2x
2. + 9 = 33 6. −5 = 9
4 4

3. 3( x + 5) = 23 7. 4( x − 5) + x = 25

4. 12( x − 4 ) = 36

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Inequalities
An inequality is similar to an equation except that the two sides are compared to
each other instead of equal to each other. One side can be less than (<), greater than
(>), less than or equal to (≤), or greater than or equal to (≥) the other side. Solving an
inequality is just like solving an equation. ere’s just one more rule to follow.
WRITING

If you multiply or divide both sides by a negative

number, flip the inequality sign.
MATH

Solve for x in each of these inequalities.

1. 3 x − 8 < 12 + 5x

2. 7 x − 5 < 13 + 4 x

7 − 2x
3. < −5
3

Absolute Value
Here’s one more term to know:

Absolute Value is the distance from zero on the number line. e result is that a
negative value becomes positive, and a nonnegative value stays the same.

In the number line below, 3 and –3 are both 3 units away from zero. e absolute
value of 3 is 3, and the absolute value of –3 is 3.

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

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READING
Try some examples:

1. −3 + −5 = ______________________________________________________

2. 4 7 _______________________________________________________

3. If − −2 + x = −1 , x = __________________________________________

WRITING
4. If −8 + x = 3, x = _______________________________________________

NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS

MATH
When a question asks for the number of solutions to a linear equation, follow the
rules below.

A linear equation with one variable has 0 real solutions when the variable term
is the same but the constant is different. ere are no values for the variable that
make the equation true. ( e equation 4x + 4 = 4x – 4 has no real solutions.)

A linear equation with one variable has 1 real solution when the variable terms are
different. ere is exactly one value for the variable that makes the equation true.
( e equation 7x + 6 = 3x + 10 has exactly one real solution.)

A linear equation with one variable has infinitely many solutions when the
variable terms are the same and the constants are the same. ere are an infinite
number of values for the variable that make the equation true. ( e equation
8x + 1 = 8x + 1 has infinitely many solutions.)

A linear equation with one variable will never have 2 solutions. e exception is
when there is an absolute value, as described above.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Write in the number of real solutions for each equation below. For practice with
the built-in calculator, enter each side of the equation in its own entry field and see
what the graph shows.

1. 2x + 5 = 5x + 2 _______________________________________

2. 2x + 5 = 2x + 5 _______________________________________
WRITING

3. 2x + 5 = 2x – 4 _______________________________________

4. 2 + 5x = 5x + 2 _______________________________________

5. 5x + 2 = 2x – 5 _______________________________________
MATH

6. 5x + 2 = 2x + 2 _______________________________________

7. 5x + 2 = 5x – 5 _______________________________________

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503
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
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LINEAR SOLVING 101 REVIEW DRILL

Time: 5 minutes

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 LINEAR SOLVING

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Does the built-in graphing calculator give you another option?

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Know when to solve for a variable or variables

• Be able to solve for a variable or variables in equations and
inequalities
• Determine the number of solutions to an equation, or find the value
WRITING

of a constant given the number of solutions to an equation

• Solve equations involving rational expressions and absolute value
• Solve systems of equations and inequalities
MATH

BEYOND PLUGGING IN
Plugging In and Plugging In the Answers are great tools for a wide variety of ques-
tions. But what do you do when Plugging In isn’t an option or PITA seems too
complicated or time-consuming?

Finding the Solution

If you can’t use Plugging In or PITA and need to solve for a variable, you need to
isolate that variable. We covered the basics in Linear Solving 101, so this chap-
ter will focus on some of the strange ways College Board might present solving
questions.

Isolate the variable. Perform the same operations

on both sides of the equation.

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Which do you prefer: PITA or solving?

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Which do you prefer: Plugging In or solving?

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

R Scratch Paper
READING

:KDW LV WKH YDOXH RI a LI a

WRITING

You don’t always need to completely isolate the

variable to answer the question. RTFQ!
MATH

Inequalities
Working with inequalities is a lot like working with equations, in that you must perform the same operations on
both sides of the inequality. However, there is one important difference. Do you remember the difference from your
Linear Solving 101 homework?

x y
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WKH JLYHQ LQHTXDOLW

x y

x y

x y

x y

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 LINEAR SOLVING

READING
Rational Equations
College Board also likes to test rational equations, which are equations made up of fractions. Rational equations can
often be solved by PITA or Plugging In. However, when this is too complicated, cross-multiplying is a good alternative.

R Scratch Paper

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16
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16
31

24
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Which is faster here—PITA or cross-multiplying and solving?

Solving with pencil and paper can sometimes be faster

and more accurate than using a calculator.

Another way College Board may present solving with fractions looks like the question below. When you need to find
a common denominator, try a useful shortcut called the Bowtie Method.

7 1 1
,I − = y + 3 y ZKDW LV WKH YDOXH RI y
9 6 8 8

Calculators can help with fractions, but be sure to enter

everything correctly!

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

BOWTIE METHOD
1. Multiply diagonally up (opposing denominators and
numerators).
42 9
7 1
−
9 6
WRITING

2. Carry up the addition or subtraction sign.

42 − 9
7 1
−
9 6
MATH

3. Add or subtract across the top.

42 − 9
7 1 33
− =
9 6

4. Multiply across the bottom.

42 − 9
7 1 33
− =
9 6 54

5. Reduce, if necessary.

42 − 9
7 1 33 11
− = =
9 6 54 18

11
Now set equal to the other side of the equation and solve for y!
18

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Rational expressions are undefined when the
denominator is equal to 0.

Number of Solutions
Sometimes, a Digital SAT question won’t ask you for the solution to a given equation at all but will ask how many
solutions the equation has. In other cases, you will be told how many solutions there are and asked to solve for a vari-
able or constant using that information.

x x
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=HUR

([DFWO RQH

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Be sure to memorize the rules for the number of

solutions to a linear equation, found in the
Linear Solving 101 chapter, before test day.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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9z − c
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if the equation has in nitely many solutions?
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MATH

Which do you prefer? Plugging In or solving?

Absolute Value
On some questions with an absolute value, you may need to treat the absolute value symbols like parentheses to
combine like terms and solve.

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9 1 − x − 3 1 − x = 42

The built-in calculator is a solid option. Just be sure

to enter everything carefully.

If |x| = c, then x = c or x = –c.

512 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 LINEAR SOLVING

READING
Systems of Equations
When given two equations with two variables, there are a number of approaches for solving them. e way the equa-
tions are written and what the question is asking will determine whether you use elimination or substitution to solve.

R Scratch Paper

WRITING
y x
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MATH
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need to solve for one variable, try to make the other
one disappear! Sometimes, you may need to
manipulate one of the equations first.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 513

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

R Scratch Paper
READING

x y
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ZKDW LV WKH YDOXH RI x

What strategy can you use when asked for a specific value?
Why is that not the best approach on this question?

Call on the Calculator

e built-in graphing calculator is a great option for questions about systems! You will learn more about how to use
it later.

514 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 LINEAR SOLVING

READING
LINEAR SOLVING DRILL
Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

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WRITING
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MATH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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READING

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x y
WRITING

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MATH

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516 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 LINEAR SOLVING

• What is one essential math strategy you can use when Plugging In and PITA are not effective options?

______________________________________________

• What is the ultimate goal when you are solving for a variable?

______________________________________________

• What should you do when asked for the value of an expression?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• When solving an inequality, when do you need to flip the inequality sign?

_____________________________________________________________

• When do you use the Bowtie Method?

_____________________________________________________________

• How many solutions are possible for a linear equation with one variable and no absolute value bars?

______________________________________________

• What is important to remember when you are solving an equation with an absolute value?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• What are two ways to solve systems of equations without using a calculator?

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

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 NONLINEAR
SOLVING 101

The Linear Solving 101 chapter provided you with

a foundation in the fundamentals of linear solving
that are key to improving your Math score. In this
chapter, you’ll review the terms and rules related
to nonlinear solving concepts that you will need for
the Digital SAT.

519
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

QUADRATICS
Consider the following equation.

x + 12 = 7x

You may be able to solve this fairly easily, but what if the question were a bit
harder?
WRITING

x 2 + 12 = 7x

is is an example of a quadratic equation. Quadratic equations are equations

that can be put into the following form:

ax2 + bx + c = 0
MATH

is form is known as the standard form, and this type of equation appears
frequently in the Digital SAT Math section. Fortunately, it is one that you can
learn to solve.

FACTORING
e first thing to do is move everything to one side of the equation so that 0 is on
the other side. In this equation, subtract 7x from both sides to get

x 2 – 7x + 12 = 0

Now, factor the left side. e three terms do not have any common factors, but
that’s not a problem. First, write down the following:

(x )(x )=0

e next thing to notice is the sign of the c term. If the c is positive, the signs in
the factors match each other and the sign of the b term. If, instead, the c term is
negative, the signs in the factors will be different. In this case, c is positive and b is
negative, so you can add the minus signs to each factor.

(x − )(x − )=0

Now, find two factors of 12 (the c term) that have a sum of 7 (the b term). e fac-
tors of 12 are 1 and 12, 2 and 6, and 3 and 4. Of these three pairs, only 3 and 4
have a sum of 7. erefore, the factored equation is

(x – 3)(x – 4) = 0

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
So how do you solve this equation? Remember that if a product equals 0, at least
one of the two factors must be 0. Set each factor equal to 0 and solve.

(x – 3) = 0 or (x – 4) = 0

WRITING
x=3 or x=4

3 and 4 are the solutions, or roots, of the equation. With quadratic equations,
there may be (and often will be) two distinct solutions. Let’s look at another
example.

x2 + x – 6 = 0

MATH
is time, the sign of the c term is negative. Remember, when this happens, the
signs of the factors should be different, so write

(x + )(x − ) = 0

Because the signs are different, you also need two factors of 6 that have a differ-
ence of the b term, which in this case is 1. e factors of 6 are 1 and 6 or 2 and 3.
Because 2 and 3 have a difference of 1, these must be the factors. e larger
factor always gets the sign of the b term. Since b is positive, factor this as

(x + 3)(x – 2) = 0

Now just set each factor equal to 0 and solve. What are the solutions to this
equation?

FOIL
Sometimes, the Digital SAT will give the factored form and ask for the expanded
form. In this case, use the FOIL method. FOIL stands for

First

Outer

Inner

Last

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

If you’re given the expression

(x + 5)(x – 2)

First, multiply the first terms

(x + 5)(x – 2) = x2 …
WRITING

en, multiply the outer terms

(x + 5)(x – 2) = x 2 – 2x …

en, multiply the inner terms

MATH

(x + 5)(x – 2) = x 2 – 2x + 5x …

en, multiply the last terms

(x + 5)(x – 2) = x 2 – 2x + 5x – 10

Finally, combine like terms to get

(x + 5)(x – 2) = x 2 + 3x – 10

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
QUADRATICS PRACTICE
Solve the following quadratic equations.

1. x2 + 3x + 2 = 0 6. x2 + 10x = 24

WRITING
2. x2 – 6x + 5 = 0 7. 5x = 14 – x 2

MATH
3. x2 + 2x – 8 = 0 8. x(x + 6) = −9

4. x2 – 3x – 10 = 0 9. x2 – 4 = 0

x −8 4
5. x2 = 5x + 6 10. =−
4 x

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

EXPONENTS
Exponents are a shorthand way of indicating that a number (known as the base) is
multiplied by itself: the exponent tells you how many times. 73 = 7 × 7 × 7.

Put these exponent

rules all together Whenever the bases are the same
WRITING

and the acronym is

MADSPM. • to multiply the quantities, keep the base and add the
exponents.
M ______________ • to divide the quantities, keep the base and subtract the
A ______________
exponents.
• to raise the quantity to another power, multiply the
D ______________ exponents.
MATH

S ______________ If quantities with the same base and exponent are added or sub-
tracted, just add or subtract the coe cients and do nothing to the
P ______________ base or exponent.
M ______________

Basic Rules
1. ( x 2 )( x 3 ) = 5. (2 x ) 2 3
=

x6 8x 3
2. = 6. =
x2 4x 2

3. (x ) 4 2
= 7. 3x 2 + 5x 2 =

4. 2x 2 × 6 y3 = 8. 2x2 + 4 y3 =

ere are also some special exponent rules that work in combination with the
basic MADPSM rules.

Any number to the exponent 0 is 1.

Any number to the exponent 1 is itself.

1 to any exponent is 1.

0 to any exponent (besides 0) is 0.

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
A negative number raised to an even exponent is positive.

A negative number raised to an odd exponent is negative.

A fraction between 0 and 1 raised to a positive exponent gets smaller.

WRITING
Special Rules
x5
1. = 5. 0243 =
x5
2. x0 = 6. (−2 )2 =

MATH
3. x1 = 7. (−2 )3 =
2
4. = 1
  =
1, 276
1 8.
2

Call On the Calculator

Some questions about exponents will be easier to do with a calculator. Practice
with your own calculator if you’re planning to use it on test day. If you decide to
use the built-in calculator, there are two useful buttons for exponents:

is button squares the number, variable, or term that you entered

a2 before clicking the button. Put everything that needs to be squared in
parentheses because (x + 2)2 is not the same as x + 22.

is button takes the first number, variable, or term you enter and
ab raises it to the power of the second number, variable, or term you
enter. To enter 2 3, for example, type or click 2, click the ab button,
then type or click 3.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

EXPONENTS PRACTICE
Simplify all of the following expressions.

57
1. 6. (3x4 + 2x 3)x 2
54
WRITING
MATH

x3x 4 53 × 6 4
2. 7.
x2 25 × 6 2

7 2 × 75
3. (3x3y6z5)4 8.
74

15 x 5 y 3
4. 53 – 33 9.
3x 3 y 5

9x 3 y 4
5. 10. (x–4y3z –5)(x5y–2z6)
3 xy 2

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
ROOTS
In the same way that division is the opposite of multiplication and subtraction is
the opposite of addition, finding the root of a number is the opposite of raising a
number to an exponent. erefore, you can use roots to solve equations involving
exponents. For instance, what is the value of x in this equation?

x 2 = 81

WRITING
What does the equation say? ere is some number, x, that when multiplied by
itself is 81. What number multiplied by itself is 81? Both 92 and (–9)2 = 81.

is idea is related to finding the square root. e symbol, called a radical,

is used to represent square roots. So 81 is another way to write “the square root

MATH
of 81.” It is important to note that, while either –9 or 9 might have been squared
to get 81, “the square root of 81” is defined as only the positive option, 9. If a
Digital SAT question had –9 as a choice for the square root of 81, you would be
marked incorrect for choosing it.

You may have noticed that some square roots are easy to figure out, like the square
root of 100, which is 10. Numbers with square roots that are whole numbers are
called perfect squares.

e fastest way to find the square root of a number that is not a perfect square is to
use a calculator. Another way is to break the number down into two factors, one of
which is a perfect square. Consider the following example.

75 = 25 × 3

Break up the square root into two square roots. Note that you can break apart
square roots only with multiplication and division.

75 = 25 × 3

Now, find the square root of 25.

75 = 5 × 3

Finally, write the 5 right next to the square root of 3 to represent the multiplication.

75 = 5 3

e square root is now in its most reduced form.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Rationalizing the Denominator

In order for a fraction to be in its simplest form, there cannot be a root in the
denominator (bottom) of the fraction. Let’s say that the final result after working
a problem is the following:
x
2
WRITING

You aren’t allowed to leave that 2 in the denominator, so you need to get rid
2
of it. To do this, multiply by . Because any number divided by itself is 1,
2
you aren’t actually changing the value of your original fraction; you’re just playing

with its formatting. en, just multiply across to get the simplified fraction.
MATH

x 2 x × 2 x 2
× = =
2 2 2× 2 2

Your new answer has the same value as the original, but it doesn’t have a root in
the denominator, so it’s in its simplest form.

x
i. Can you rationalize this denominator? ______________________
3

Combining Roots
You can add or subtract square roots only when the numbers under the square
root sign are the same.

1. 4 x +2 x =

2. 9 x −3 x =

Multiplication and division are more flexible: different values can be combined
under the root.

3. ( x )( y ) =
x
4. =
y

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
Call On the Calculator
Digital SAT Math questions rarely ask about roots directly, but you will often
need to take a root while solving an algebra question. Practice with your own
calculator if you’re planning to use it on test day. If you decide to use the built-in
calculator, there are two useful buttons for roots:

is button takes the square root of the number, variable, or term that

WRITING
you enter after clicking the button.

n is button is hidden in the functions menu. Click on “funcs” or

“functions” and then scroll to the bottom of the menu. e button
takes the nth root of the number, variable, or term that you put under
the root sign. To find the cube root of 27, for example, click the but-
ton first, then type or click 3, then type the right arrow or click under

MATH
the root sign, then click or type 27.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

ROOTS PRACTICE

48
1. 100b 2 6.
3
WRITING

121
2. 3
125 7.
MATH

169

64
c6
3. 8.
4 c4

63 x 4 y 3
4. 31 × 31 9.
7x2 y

x2 36
5. y2 10. −
49

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 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
Working with Fractional Exponents
Remember that mathematicians use exponents and roots as shortcuts to represent
repetitive multiplication and division. Well, sometimes you need to symbolize a
square root as an exponent. e way you do this is with a fractional exponent.
ink of a fractional exponent like a tree: the power is on top and the root is at the
power

WRITING
bottom. is is represent by .
root

Consider the following example.

1
92

MATH
1
Notice that the exponent in this case is . at means 1 is the power, or the
2
exponent, and 2 is the root. is is the way to symbolize a square root, so this
1
expression is equivalent to 9 , or 3. What if you’re given 64 3 ? Once again, 1 is
the power, or the exponent, but this time 3 is the root. erefore,

1
64 3 = 3 64

Sometimes, you will see a fractional exponent with a number other than 1 in the
numerator, like this one:

3
42

3
is time, the fraction is a little more complicated. e exponent represents a
2
two-part calculation: the 3 represents the exponent by which the base, which in

this case is 4, is raised.

e 2 represents a square root, just like before. So the solution will look something
like the following.
3
42 43 64 8

For fractional exponents, you can choose to apply either the exponent or the root
first. is can also be written as ( 4 )3 = 23 = 8 .

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Working with Negative Exponents

According to the MADSPM rules of exponents, when you are Dividing num-
bers with the same base, you Subtract the exponents. As you saw in the Special
Rules on the previous page, this will sometimes result in a negative exponent. A
number raised to a negative exponent can be written as a fraction with 1 in the
numerator and the base raised to a power in the denominator. Here are two ways of
approaching one exponent problem.
WRITING

x2 x⋅x x/ ⋅ x/ 1 x2
= = = 2 =x
2−4
= x −2
x 4
x ⋅ x ⋅ x ⋅ x x/ ⋅ x/ ⋅ x ⋅ x x x4

is means that 12 = x −2 . erefore, another way to think about negative expo-

MATH

x
nents is that they are a way to write reciprocals. is will also work if the negative
exponent is in the denominator of a fraction.

x2 x2 1 x 2 x3 2+3 x2 2 − ( −3 ) 2+3
−3
= ⋅ −3 = ⋅ = x 2 ⋅ x3 = x = x5 =x =x = x5
x 1 x 1 1 x −3

When you see a negative exponent, make it positive and take the reciprocal. If the
negative exponent is in the denominator, it will move to the numerator, and vice
versa. Here’s another example with numbers instead of variables.

2
5 52 1 1 23 23 8
3
2 1 23 52 1 52 25

532 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

READING
FRACTIONAL AND NEGATIVE EXPONENTS PRACTICE
Use MADSPM and the rules for negative and fractional exponents to rewrite the following expressions. Your answer
should not contain negative or fractional exponents.

1
 1 3

WRITING
1
1. (64d )
4 2
6.  64 2 
 

MATH
1
x2
2. 812 7.
x4

3
2 −
 −1 2
3. 8 3 8.  25 2 
 

9. ((3x y ) ) 2
−3 5 −4
4. x −2

1 2
5. (16x 2 y 6 ) 2 10. (216x y )
9 6 3

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NONLINEAR SOLVING

535
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

NONLINEAR SOLVING 101 REVIEW DRILL

Time: 5 minutes

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Solve quadratics through factoring

• Use the built-in calculator to solve quadratics when factoring is
difficult
• Use the discriminant to determine the number of solutions to a
WRITING

quadratic
• Solve questions related to exponential growth and decay
• Successfully work with exponents and roots
MATH

538 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING

READING
WORK YOUR QUAD(RATIC)S
Questions that ask for the factors or solutions to quadratics can often be solved with PITA or Plugging In. Take a
look at several ways the Digital SAT will test quadratics.

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MATH
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and using POE after every piece.

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WKH HTXDWLRQ x x

When a quadratic is in the form ax 2 + bx + c = 0:

b
The sum of the solutions equals - .
a
c
The product of the solutions equals .
a

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 539

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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What can you do when the question asks for a

MATH

specific value and the answers are numbers?

NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS
Another way to find the solutions to a quadratic that is difficult to factor is to use the quadratic formula:

−b ± b 2 − 4ac
x=
2a

If a question asks about the number of solutions to a quadratic, use the part of the quadratic formula known as the
discriminant.

For a quadratic in the standard form ax 2 + bx + c, where a, b,

and c are real numbers, the discriminant is D = b 2 – 4ac.
• If the discriminant is positive, the quadratic has
two real solutions.
• If the discriminant equals zero, the quadratic has
one real solution.
• If the discriminant is negative, the quadratic has
no real solutions.

540 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING

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WRITING
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We’ll show you in a later chapter how to use a
graphing calculator to answer questions like this.

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Which of your Digital SAT Math strategies will help here?

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 541

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GROWTH AND DECAY

Another way the Digital SAT tests nonlinear algebra is by asking about the exponential growth or decay of some
countable item, such as number of bacteria or dollar value, over time. If something is increasing or decreasing by a
constant percent or multiplier over a set period, use the exponential growth/decay formula.

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OR DECAY FORMULAS

WRITING

When the growth is a percent of the total population, use

final amount = original amount (1 ± rate)number of changes .
When the growth is a multiple of the total population, use
final amount = original amount (multiplier)number of changes.
MATH

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What other strategy could you use?

542 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING

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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 543

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Some exponential growth or decay questions will ask you to adapt formulas for different units of time.
READING

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What skill can you use when the question asks about
the relationship between variables and there are
variables in the answer choices?

544 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING

READING
EXPONENTS AND ROOTS
Many questions involving exponents and roots can be solved with PITA or Plugging In. Knowing the exponent rules
(MADSPM) can also help. See the Nonlinear Solving 101 chapter for a review of the exponent rules and of working
with negative and fractional exponents.

WRITING
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M ____________________________
A ____________________________
D ____________________________
S ____________________________
P ____________________________
M ____________________________

With fractional exponents, the numerator is the exponent, and the

denominator is the root. You can apply either one first to make the
calculations easier. For negative exponents, calculate the positive
exponent, then take the reciprocal.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 545

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

NONLINEAR SOLVING DRILL

Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

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548 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 NONLINEAR SOLVING

• What is the standard form of a quadratic equation?

_________________________________________________

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F _________________________

O ________________________

I _________________________

L _________________________

• What is the quadratic formula?

_________________________________________________

• For a quadratic, the discriminant is ______________________________________________.

• If the discriminant is positive, the quadratic has __________ real solution(s). If the discriminant is

zero, the quadratic has __________ real solution(s). If the discriminant is negative, the quadratic has

__________ real solution(s).

• What formula do you use when a value is increasing or decreasing by a percent over time?

__________________________________________________________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 549

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• What formula do you use when a value is increasing or decreasing by a multiple or fraction over
time?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What are the basic rules for manipulating exponents?

M ________________________

A _________________________

D ________________________

S _________________________

P _________________________

M ________________________

• What do the numerator and denominator represent in fractional exponents?

_________________________________________________

• What do you do to manipulate negative exponents?

__________________________________________________________________________

550 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 SAT MANUAL

FUNCTIONS

551
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Interpret function notation in a variety of questions

• Work with input and output values to answer questions about
functions
• Identify the type of function based on a description
WRITING

• Use PITA, Plugging In, and POE on questions about functions

MATH

552 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

READING
INPUT/OUTPUT
A function is a machine for producing ordered pairs. An x-value is the input of the function, and the corresponding
y-value is the output. is y-value is usually referred to as f (x). e f in f (x) is not a variable; it’s just the name of the
function.

Scratch Paper

WRITING
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MATH
The x goes into the function machine, and the
y comes out, so f (x) = y.

College Board could also ask for the x-value that must be put into the function to get a certain y-value out.

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What should you do when you see

numbers in the answer choices?

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 553

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

On some questions, you will be given two input/output pairs or a table of corresponding values and must identify the
READING

function that could be defined by those values.

R Scratch Paper
Which equation de nes linear function g LI g
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WRITING

gx x

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MATH

gx x

Identifying Function Types

One question type on the Digital SAT will describe a function and ask you to determine the type of function it is.
Look for key words and use POE.

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554 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

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READING
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Questions about function types are easy to recognize by their

answers.
Determine whether there is an increase or decrease to
eliminate half the answers.
If the function is changing by a constant amount with each
new input, it is linear.
If the function is changing by a percent or multiplier of the
previous output, it is exponential.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 555

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

FUNCTIONS IRL
Functions may show up in the form of word problems as well.

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For word problems containing functions, read carefully for key words,
and look for ways to Plug In or PITA.

556 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

READING
ADVANCED FUNCTIONS
Harder functions questions will take the basics we’ve already covered and combine or build on them to make a
question more difficult or more time-consuming.

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WRITING
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MATH
x f x

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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 557

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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READING

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558 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

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READING
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MATH
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Don’t forget your POOD on complicated functions

questions. If you do tackle them, work in Bite-Sized
Pieces and look for ways to Plug In.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 559

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

FUNCTIONS DRILL
Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

R Scratch Paper
WRITING

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560 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

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READING
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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 561

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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READING

x f x
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562 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 FUNCTIONS

• In a function, x is the ___________________ and y is the ___________________.

• f (x) = ___________________

• When a question gives the function and an input value, _________________________________.

• When a question gives the function and an output value, ________________________________.

• When a question gives pairs of input and output values and asks for the function, ___________________.

• When a question asks what type of function matches a description, work in _________________________

and use _________________________________.

• For word problems containing functions, read carefully and look for ways to ___________________ or

___________________.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 563

 SAT MANUAL

REPRESENTATION AND
INTERPRETATION

565
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Consistently apply the Word Problem Basic Approach

• Quickly recognize when a word problem is a Representation or
Interpretation question
• Apply a variation of the Word Problem Basic Approach to
WRITING

Representation questions
• Apply a variation of the Word Problem Basic Approach to
Interpretation questions
MATH

566 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

READING
WHEN SOLVING ISN’T THE SOLUTION
Some questions on the Digital SAT aren’t about solving. Instead, they will ask you to find what represents a situation
or to identify the interpretation of something in context. ese are typically word problems, so let’s review the Basic
Approach.

WRITING
WORD PROBLEM BASIC APPROACH
1. Read the Final Question (RTFQ)—Understand the actual
question being asked. Write down key words.
2. Let the Answers Point the Way—Use the answer type to
help determine how to start working on the question.
3. Work in Bite-Sized Pieces—Find one piece to start with,

MATH
then work piece-by-piece until the final question has been
answered.
4. Use POE—Check to see whether any answers can be
eliminated after each bite-sized piece.

Representing a Situation
When a Math question on the Digital SAT asks for the answer that represents the situation described in the
question, translate the words into math one piece at a time and eliminate after each piece.

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Need a refresher on translating English into math?

Math Vocabulary 101 has what you need.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 567

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

REPRESENTATION QUESTION BASIC APPROACH

1. Read the Final Question (RTFQ) and let the answers point
the way—Together, the question and answers will tell you
that you’re dealing with a Representation question.
2. Translate English into math—Find one piece of information
WRITING

and translate the English into math using Bite-Sized Pieces.

3. Use POE—Eliminate any answers that do not translate the
piece of information correctly.
4. Keep eliminating—Repeat steps (2) and (3) until only one
answer remains.
MATH

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Do the answer choices look like a familiar formula?

How does that help you answer the question?

How to Spot a Representation Question

1. The question asks what represents, models, or gives a
situation, number, or total.
2. The answers contain one or more equations, inequalities, or
functions.

568 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

A system is made up of two or more equations or inequalities. When a question asks for a system that represents a

READING
situation, that means there’s more to work with in the answer choices and more ways to eliminate!

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What else could you do when a question is about the

relationship between variables and there are variables
in the answer choices?

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 569

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

INTERPRETATION IN CONTEXT
Some Digital SAT Math questions will give you the equation or graph that represents a situation and then ask you
to interpret part of the equation or graph. For this kind of question, you will continue to rely heavily on Bite-Sized
Pieces and POE.

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570 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

READING
Interpretation Basic Approach
1. Read the Final Question (RTFQ)—Know what part of the
equation or graph the question is asking about.
2. Translate and label—Find one piece of information and
translate the English into math using Bite-Sized Pieces.
Label the equation or graph with that information.

WRITING
3. Use POE—Eliminate any answers that do not make sense
with the labels.
4. Keep eliminating—Repeat steps (2) and (3) until only one
answer remains.

MATH
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If you get struck translating and labeling, try plugging

in some numbers to see how things fit together.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 571

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Follow the same Interpretation Basic Approach if the question asks you to interpret part of a graph.
READING

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572 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

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READING
For linear graphs that represent an amount over time,
• the slope represents the rate of change.
• the y-intercept represents the initial amount.
• the x-intercept represents the time at which the amount is 0.

WRITING
Finally, you may be asked to perform a basic calculation based on the interpretation of two values in an equation.

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You can’t use POE on fill-in questions, but keep

translating in Bite-Sized Pieces.

IDENTIFYING REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION QUESTIONS

Practice recognizing these question types by marking whether the information indicates that you’re dealing with a
Representation (R) question or an Interpretation (I) question.

e final question is “What is the best interpretation of the vertex of the graph?” R I

e final question is “Which of the following represents this situation?” R I

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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 573

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION DRILL

Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

R Scratch Paper
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574 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

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READING
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 575

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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 REPRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

• What is the Word Problem Basic Approach?

1. _______________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________

• What steps should you follow when asked for a representation of a situation?

1. _______________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________

• What steps should you follow when asked for the interpretation of part of an equation or a graph?

1. _______________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________

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DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• What are some terms that indicate a Representation question?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

• What are some terms that indicate an Interpretation question?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

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 WORKING WITH
DATA 101

Questions about data on the Digital SAT will

test statistical concepts, looking up information
on a figure, or both. This chapter covers the
basics of both.

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VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS
Many questions on the Digital SAT involve visual representations—such as charts,
graphs, and tables—of real-world data. You might be asked to look up something
on the figure or to apply your knowledge of statistical measures.

No matter what type of figure you’re working with, this is always the first step:
WRITING

Figure Out the Figure

Before diving into the question, examine these key elements:

• Description
MATH

• Labels

• Units

With that in mind, here are the types of figures you might encounter.

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 WORKING WITH DATA 101

READING
Scatterplots
In a scatterplot graph, each dot represents one data point. Sometimes a line or
curve of best fit will be drawn to represent the equation that most closely matches
the data.

WRITING
When working with graphs, always read the
description, labels, and units before working on
the question.

MATH
e scatterplot shows the grams of protein and grams of fiber in twelve brands of
whole-wheat bread.

8
7
6
Fiber (grams)

5
4
3
2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Protein (grams)

1. What are the label and units along the horizontal (x) axis? ___________________

2. What are the label and units along the vertical (y) axis? ______________________

3. How much fiber is in the bread with 6 grams of protein? ____________________

4. How much protein is in the bread with 7 grams of fiber? ____________________

5. According to the line of best fit, approximately how many grams of fiber

would be in the bread with 10 grams of protein? _______________________

6. How many grams of protein are in the bread that is closest to the line of

best fit? __________________________________________________

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Bar Graphs and Histograms

A bar graph is another way to represent data. Rather than giving points, a bar
graph represents the values with a bar. A histogram is just a bar graph in which
each bar represents a range of values rather than a specific value. e height of the
bar corresponds to the value on the y-axis. As with scatterplots, read the descrip-
tion, labels, and units first.
WRITING

e bar graph shows the unemployment rate in the United States from 2006
through 2011.

12

10
% Unemployment
MATH

0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year

1. What is the label along the horizontal (x) axis? ___________________

2. What is the label along the vertical (y) axis? ______________________

3. What is the lowest unemployment rate shown? _________________________

4. For what year was the unemployment rate the highest? _________________

5. What was the unemployment rate during the last year shown? __________

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Two-Way Tables
Two-way tables give counts for data according to two variables. ey have catego-
ries listed across the top and down the left side of the table. Before working on the
question, read the description and headings.

e table summarizes the preferred beverage for a group of men and women.

WRITING
Coffee Tea Hot Chocolate Total
Men 923 254 89 1,266
Women 655 362 193 1,210
Total 1,578 616 282 2,476

MATH
1. What are the labels on top? ___________________________________________

2. What are the labels on the left side? ___________________________________

3. What is the total number of people represented in the table? ____________

4. What is the total number of people who preferred tea? _________________

5. How many women are represented in the table? ___________________

6. How many men preferred hot chocolate? ______________________________

7. How many women preferred coffee? ___________________________________

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Frequency Tables
A frequency table provides a type of shorthand for listing many values. It has two
columns: one column contains the values, and the other column contains the
number of times each value occurs—or its frequency.

e frequency table shows the number of holly trees within each acre in a forest.
WRITING

Number of Holly Trees Number of Acres

0 2
1 0
2 5
3 7
4 2
MATH

5 3
6 1

1. How many total acres were surveyed? __________________________

2. List the number of trees in each acre: ___________________________

________________________________________________________

3. How many acres contain 5 holly trees? __________________________

4. How many total holly trees are in those acres? ____________________

5. What is the most frequent number of holly trees in an acre? _________

6. What is the greatest number of holly trees in any single acre? ________

7. How many total holly trees are in all the surveyed acres? (Hint: multiply
across each row and add the results.) ___________________________

________________________________________________________

8. What is the average number of holly trees per acre? (Hint: divide the
total number of trees by the number of acres.) ____________________

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Dot Plots
A dot plot uses one dot to represent one data point, and the number of dots in a
column shows how often that value occurs. You can also visualize a curve above
the dot plot to get a sense of the standard deviation of the data, a topic covered
later in this chapter.

Here’s the data about holly trees in a forest that was in the frequency table above,

WRITING
now shown as a dot plot. e numbers along the bottom represent the number of
trees, and each dot represents an acre that has that number of trees. ere are 2
acres with 0 trees, 0 acres with 1 tree, 5 acres with 2 trees, and so on.

MATH
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

STEM-AND-LEAF PLOTS
Once in a while, College Board may ask you about a stem-and-leaf plot or a box
plot (also known as a box-and-whisker plot). e good news is that these questions
are usually pretty straightforward if you understand the basic concepts.

Suppose that a class earned these quiz scores: 65, 70, 70, 78, 80, 81, 84, 86, 89, 89,
93, 93, 93, 98, 100.

A stem-and-leaf plot would illustrate the data as follows:

6 5
7 0 0 8
8 0 1 4 6 9 9
9 3 3 3 8
10 0

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BOX PLOTS
A box plot shows the data broken into quartiles. Using our fifteen quiz scores, the
box plot would be illustrated as follows:

65 78 86 93 100
WRITING

Here is what all the parts of the box plot represent.

Box
Whisker Whisker
MATH

Min Lower Upper Max

Quartile Median Quartile
Q1 Q2 Q3

For the quiz scores, 86 is the median, and this is the line inside the box, also
known as the second quartile. e lower quartile and upper quartile are the medians
of the lower and upper halves of the data, respectively, and are represented by the
ends of the box.

Q1 Q2 Q3

65 78 86 93

e horizontal lines on a box plot, called the whiskers, extend to the lowest data
point on the left and the highest one on the right. Here, those points are 65 and
100, respectively.

Minimum Q1 Q2 Q3 Maximum

65 78 86 93 100

A box plot shows the spread of the data by the width of the whiskers or halves of
the box. Here, because the left whisker appears to be the longest, we know that the
data points in the lowest 25% are spread out the most. Also, the interquartile range
is the range of the middle 50%: Q3 – Q1, or the width of the box.

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From a stem-and-leaf plot or a box plot, you can determine the median and range
of the set of data. It is also possible to calculate the mode and mean from a stem-
and-leaf plot and the interquartile range from a box plot. We’ll cover some of these
concepts in greater detail in the next chapter.

WRITING
Two Tools to Use
To make sure you find the correct value on a figure, do one of these things:

• Use the edge of your scratch paper as a straight edge on the computer

MATH
screen.

• Move the mouse pointer up and down or left and right using your
mouse or trackpad (only if you trust yourself to trace straight lines).

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STATISTICAL MEASURES
Now that you know how to understand figures and look up data, let’s see what else
you can do with data.

Statistics Vocabulary
WRITING

Statistics in real life—or in a stats class at school—can get very complicated very
quickly. Fortunately, the Digital SAT sticks to a few basic terms and concepts.

e mean of a list of numbers is the sum of all of the numbers divided by how
many numbers there are. On the Digital SAT, mean and average mean the
same thing.
MATH

e median of a list of numbers is the number exactly in the middle when the list
is in order. “Median” sounds like “middle,” and that’s what it is.

e mode of a list of numbers is the number that appears most often in the list.
“Mode” sounds like “most,” and that’s what it is.

e range of a list of numbers is the difference between the greatest value and the
least value. Find these values and subtract.

Standard deviation is a measure of how numbers are distributed around the

mean. e Digital SAT will not ask you to calculate standard deviation, so
think of it as a measure of how spread out the numbers are.

Mean = Average
e simplest way to calculate the mean, or average, of a list of numbers is with the
TAN equation:

Total = Average × Number of things

T = AN

No matter which two pieces of the equation the question gives you, plug them
into the equation and solve for the third piece. Try using T = AN to answer the
following questions.

1. What is the average of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5? _________________________

2. What is the average of 2, 4, 6, and 8? ___________________________

3. What is the average of 2, 5, 10, 12, and 16? ______________________

4. What is the total if 5 numbers have an average of 8? _______________

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5. What is the total if 12 numbers have an average of 1.5? ______________

6. How many items are in a list that adds up to 99 and has an average

of 11? ____________________________

WRITING
Median = Middle
When a list of numbers is small, it is easy to cross off numbers from each side
to find the number in the middle. When a list has an odd number of items, the
median is the one number that is right in the middle. When a list has an even
number of items, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. Take a
look at these two examples:

MATH
Item 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Item 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Number 8 9 10 11 12 Number 8 9 10 11

Median = 10 Median = 9.5

What do you do when the list is longer and it will take too much time to write
out all of the numbers and cross out from the ends? Well, because median means
middle, cut the list in half.

e first example above has 5 items (also called terms or elements). Cut 5 in half to
5
get = 2.5, then round up to 3. e third item is the median, like 10 was in the
2
first example.

4
e second example above has 4 items. Cut 4 in half to get = 2, but notice
2
that we need the average of the 2nd item and the item to the right of it—the 3rd
item—to find the median of 9.5.

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Here are two more examples:

If a list of numbers has 33 items, divide by two and round up: the
median is the 17th item.

If a list of numbers has 78 items, divide by two and take the average
of that item and the item to the right: the median is the average of
WRITING

the 39th and 40th items. If you wrote out the entire list, there would
be 39 – 1 = 38 items to the left of the 39th item and 78 – 40 = 38
items to the right of the 40th item. ose two items are exactly in
the middle.

Circle the correct answer for these examples.

MATH

1. If a list has 49 items, which of the following is the median?

the value of the 24th item

the value of the 25th item

the average of the values of the 24th and 25th items

2. If a list has 48 items, which of the following is the median?

the value of the 24th item

the average of the values of the 23rd and 24th items

the average of the values of the 24th and 25th items

3. If a list has 150 items, which of the following is the median?

the average of the values of the 74th and 75th items

the average of the values of the 75th and 76th items

the value of the 75th item

4. If a list has 155 items, which of the following is the median?

the value of the 78th item

the average of the values of the 77th and 78th items

the value of the 77th item

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Mode = Most
ere is nothing complicated about finding the mode of a list of numbers: simply
look for the number that appears most often. Because this is relatively simple,
questions will often ask you to compare the mode to other statistical measures or
to find the mode from a visual representation, such as a stem-and-leaf plot or a
frequency table.

WRITING
Range = Greatest Minus Least
Range is also relatively straightforward, but watch out for lists of numbers that are
not in order. Simply find the largest number and the smallest number on the list
and subtract.

MATH
Standard Deviation = Spread
Standard deviation is similar to range in that it shows how spread out a group of
numbers is. However, standard deviation takes it further by relating the spread to
the center, or the mean. Questions about standard deviation will often include a
visual representation of the data, so think of it in terms of curves.

Large standard deviation Normal standard deviation Small standard deviation

Determine These Stats, Stat!

Match the value to the statistical measure for this list of numbers:

1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6, 10, 10, 11, 18, 18, 20

Mean ________ A. 19

Median ________ B. 4

Mode ________ C. ???

Range ________ D. 8

Standard deviation ________ E. 9

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DATA

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WORKING WITH DATA 101 REVIEW DRILL

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GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Understand and apply concepts of mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation
• Know how to find information using visual representations of data
WRITING

APPLYING STATISTICAL CONCEPTS

Math questions on the Digital SAT often test statistical concepts with word problems or visual representations of
data. In either case, read carefully, use your scratch paper, and work in Bite-Sized Pieces.
MATH

Mean = Average
When working on questions about the mean, or average, of a list of numbers, remember to use the T = AN equation.

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Median = Middle
e median is the middle number in an ordered list of numbers. If there is an even number of elements in the list,
the median is the average of the two numbers in the middle.

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Mode = Most and Range = Greatest Minus Least

e mode is the number that appears most often in a list of numbers. Range is the difference between the greatest and
least elements of a list of numbers.

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Standard Deviation = Spread
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WRITING
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MATH
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Time: 8 minutes

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• What is the definition of mean?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What formula can you use to organize your information on average questions?

_________________________________________________

• What is the definition of median?

__________________________________________________________________________

• How do you calculate the median when the list of numbers has an even number of items?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What is the definition of range?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What is the rough definition of standard deviation?

__________________________________________________________________________

• In a frequency table, the left column shows the values / frequency of each value and the right
column shows the values / frequency of each value.

• Each dot in a dot plot represents ____________________________.

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 COORDINATE
GEOMETRY 101

Skilled use of a graphing calculator—either your

own or the built-in calculator—is key to improving
your Math score on the Digital SAT. However, you
also need an understanding of how graphs work.
This chapter focuses on the terminology and rules
related to graphs in the xy-plane.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GRAPHING BASICS

Functions or Equations
Questions on the Digital SAT that deal with graphs in the xy-plane might use
“y =” or “ f(x) =” to show the equation that defines the graph. e “ f(x)” notation
WRITING

indicates a function, but both forms mean the same thing: the y-value of a point
on a graph is determined by what happens with the x-value on the other side of the
equation. us, one of the simplest but most important things to remember about
graphs is this:

f(x) = y
MATH

Call on the Calculator

e built-in graphing calculator will help immensely on many questions about
graphs. It probably does things that your handheld calculator can’t do, or at least
does them more easily. You can use your own calculator on the Digital SAT, but
try out the built-in calculator to learn its features.

If you haven’t already done so, read Section 2 of the Digital SAT Calculator
Guide available in your student dashboard to learn more about using the built-in
graphing calculator.

Graph the following using the built-in calculator:

y = –2x + 3
f(x) = –2x + 3

If you entered them correctly, these equations show the same line. at’s because
f(x) = y.

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY 101

READING
LINEAR GRAPHS

Slope

rise y 2 − y 2

WRITING
=
run x 2 − x 1

Line #1

MATH
Plot these ordered pairs and draw a line to connect them.

(–4, –5) y
(–2, –1)
(1, 5)
(3, 9)

1. Use (1, 5) and (3, 9) to calculate the slope. (Which one is y1, and
which one is y2? It doesn’t matter! Just be consistent: Match the
x-coordinates in the same order.)

_____________________________________________________________

2. At what y-value does the line cross the y-axis? _____________________

3. What does x equal when the line crosses the y-axis? ________________

e (x, y) point where the line crosses the y-axis is called the y-intercept.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Slope-Intercept Form
One form of a linear equation that you will see on the Digital SAT is called
slope-intercept form. You probably remember this from school, but here’s a quick
review.
WRITING

Slope-intercept form
y = mx + b

4. What does m represent? ______________________________________________

MATH

5. What does b represent? _______________________________________________

6. What do x and y represent? ___________________________________________

7. What is the slope-intercept form of Line 1? ____________________________

Standard Form
Another form of a linear equation, called standard form, appears less often but is
worth knowing.

Standard form
Ax + By = C

A C
In standard form, the slope is – and the y-intercept is .
B B

Line #2
e equation of a line in standard form is given as 3x + 2y = 14.

1. What is the slope of the line? ______________________________

2. What is the y-intercept of the line? __________________________

3. What is the equation of the line in slope-intercept form?

_____________________________________________________

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY 101

READING
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
Plot the ordered pairs for each of these three lines, draw the three separate lines,
label them, then calculate the slope for each. (Note that you already have the
y-intercept for each line—look at the third ordered pair in each line.)

Line #3 Line #4 Line #5

WRITING
(–4, 2) (–4, –8) (–4, 10)
(–2, 3) (–2, –7) (–2, 6)
(0, 4) (0, –6) (0, 2)
(2, 5) (2, –5) (2, –2)
(4, 6) (4, –4) (4, –6)

MATH
y

1. What is the slope-intercept form of Line #3? _____________________

2. What is the slope-intercept form of Line #4? _____________________

3. What is the slope-intercept form of Line #5? _____________________

4. What is the relationship between Lines #3 and #4? ________________

5. What is the relationship between their slopes? ___________________

6. What is the relationship between Lines #3 and #5? ________________

7. What is the relationship between their slopes? ___________________

8. At how many points do lines 3 and 4 intersect? __________________

9. At how many points do lines 3 and 5 intersect? __________________

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

e points where graphs intersect are called solutions. Some questions will ask
READING

you how many solutions there are. Others will ask for the coordinates of a point of
intersection.

For questions about points of intersection or the number of solutions, try graph-
ing the equations in the built-in calculator. Each point of intersection will be
indicated by a gray dot, and you can click on the dot to see the (x, y) coordinates
WRITING

of the point.

NONLINEAR GRAPHS
MATH

Parabolas
Most of the graphs of nonlinear equations or functions on the Digital SAT will be
of parabolas, which are the result of graphing a quadratic.

Use the built-in calculator to graph each of the following:

y = x 2 – 2x – 15
Remember! f(x) = y f(x) = (x + 3)(x – 5)
y = (x – 1)2 – 16

All three produced the same graph. ese are examples of the three forms of
quadratics that you will see on the Digital SAT.

You learned about quadratics in the Nonlinear Solving 101 and Nonlinear Solving
chapters. Here’s a quick overview, but review those chapters if you’ve forgotten the
details.

The standard form of a quadratic equation is y = ax 2 + bx + c.

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY 101

READING
e built-in calculator shows the minimum or maximum of the parabola—
b
also known as the vertex—as a gray dot. If necessary, you can use – to find
2a
the x-coordinate of the vertex, and then plug that value into the standard form
quadratic to find the y-value of the vertex.

WRITING
e built-in calculator also shows the solutions—also known as x-intercepts or
roots—as gray dots. Another way to find the solutions to a quadratic is to convert
standard form into factored form. You have likely spent a lot of time moving
between these two forms in school, and you practiced it earlier in this book.

MATH
The factored form of a quadratic equation is
y = a(x – m)(x – n), where m and n are
the x-intercepts of the parabola.

e third form of a quadratic is vertex form.

The vertex form of a quadratic equation is

y = a(x – h)2 + k.

e following information is shown in vertex form.

• e minimum or maximum value (also known as the vertex) is (h, k)

• e sign of a determines what direction the parabola opens. If a > 0,

the parabola opens up. If a < 0, the parabola opens down.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Call on the Calculator

Use the built-in graphing calculator for the exercise below.

Graph the following system:

f(x) = x + 3
WRITING

y = x 2 – 2x – 15

1. What are the coordinates of the x-intercept of the line?

______________________________________________________

2. What are the coordinates of the x-intercepts of the parabola?

MATH

______________________________________________________

3. What are the coordinates of the minimum of the parabola?

______________________________________________________

4. How many solutions does the system have?

______________________________________________________

5. What are the coordinates of the solution(s) to the system?

______________________________________________________

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READING
COORDINATE GEOMETRY EQUATIONS

Lines
y2 − y1
• Slope:

WRITING
x2 − x1

• Slope-intercept form: y = mx + b

• Standard form: Ax + By = C

MATH
Parabolas
• Standard form: y = ax 2 + bx + c

• Factored form: y = a(x – m)(x – n)

• Vertex form: y = a(x – h)2 + k

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COORDINATE
GEOMETRY

617
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

COORDINATE GEOMETRY 101 REVIEW DRILL

Time: 5 minutes

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MATH

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

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READING
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Apply skills of graphing in the xy-plane to questions about lines

• Apply skills of graphing in the xy-plane to questions about parabolas
• Use the built-in graphing calculator for questions about graphing
lines and parabolas
WRITING

• Use POE, PITA, and Plugging In to simplify graphing questions

MATH

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

READING
LINES IN THE COORDINATE PLANE
As you saw in Coordinate Geometry 101, there are three important equations for working with the graphs of straight
lines.

Linear Equations

WRITING
• Slope-intercept form: y = mx + b

• Standard form: Ax + By = C
rise y 2 − y 2
• Slope = =
run x 2 − x 1

MATH
Use your knowledge of these forms to answer questions about features of graphs.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

Knowing the slope of a line is essential when you need to determine if that line is parallel or perpendicular to a
second line.
WRITING

Parallel lines have the same slope and no

solutions.
Perpendicular lines have negative reciprocal
slopes and one solution.
MATH

R Scratch Paper
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perpendicular to the line de ned by the equation
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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

READING
CURVES IN THE COORDINATE PLANE
Many graphing questions will ask about the different forms of equations that define a parabola. Be sure to know
which forms of quadratics are useful for determining particular features of the graph. Keep in mind that the built-in
graphing calculator, or your own calculator, can be quite helpful on many of these questions.

WRITING
Quadratic Equations
• Standard form: y = ax2 + bx + c

• Factored form: y = a(x – m)(x – n)

MATH
• Vertex form: y = a(x – h)2 + k

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Coordinate Geometry 101 has a trick for finding

the vertex in standard form, but what are
two other options?

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

POWERFUL “P” STRATEGIES

Many of the core Math strategies are helpful on questions about graphs, especially PITA, Plugging In, and POE.

R Scratch Paper
WRITING

y
5
4
3
2
1
x
O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
–1
MATH

–2
–3
–4
–5

Which of the following equations could de ne the

li ne of best t in the scatterplot?

y x

y x

y x

y x

Will the slope of the line be positive or negative?

What can you eliminate based on this Bite-Sized piece?

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

R Scratch Paper

READING
y

y = g(x)

WRITING
x
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MATH
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1 2
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( x + 2)
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gx − 3

( x − 2)
1 2
gx −3
3

Try plugging points from the graph into the function.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS

Slopes and Systems of Equations

• If two equations represent the same line,
WRITING

the system has infinitely many solutions.

• If two equations represent parallel lines,
the system has no solutions.
• In both cases, the lines have the same slope.
MATH

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

Some questions will ask about the solution(s) to a system with one linear and one nonlinear equation. You can use

READING
the discriminant, as described in Coordinate Geometry 101, or use the built-in graphing calculator along with PITA
or Plugging In.

The number of solutions to a system of equations is the

WRITING
number of times the graphs of the equations intersect
in the coordinate plane.

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MATH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

COORDINATE GEOMETRY DRILL

Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

R Scratch Paper
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WRITING

x
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MATH

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

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READING
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WRITING
MATH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY

• For questions about the graphs of functions or equations, remember that f(x) = ___________ .

• What is the formula for the slope of a line? _______________________

• e slopes of parallel lines are _______________________ .

• e slopes of perpendicular lines are __________________________________________________________.

• What are three names for the point(s) where a graph crosses the x-axis?

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

• What are the three forms of a quadratic equation?

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

• e roots of a quadratic can be found using the _______________________ form.

• e minimum or maximum of a quadratic can be found using the _______________________ form.

• Which three “P” strategies help on questions about the graphs of functions or equations?

____________________________

____________________________

____________________________

• Which tool in the testing app can make a big difference on graphing questions?

_____________________________________

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 PROPORTIONAL
RELATIONSHIPS 101

The Math Vocabulary 101 chapter went over some

of the terms you need to know in order to translate
English into Math. This chapter will further explore
the ways that numbers relate to each other and how
to express those relationships mathematically.

633
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

RATIOS & PARTS

Most of the ways to express the relative relationships of numbers are part-to-whole

relationships. Ratios, on the other hand, are part-to-part relationships. Ratios can
part
be written as part or as part:part. For example, if a school newspaper has a ratio
5
WRITING

of 5 news articles to 2 editorials, the ratio can be written as or as 5:2. Use the
2
fraction form when entering ratios into a calculator.

1. Marie lives with her mother, father, one sister, and five
brothers. Everyone in her family is either a woman or a
man.
MATH

i. What is the ratio of women to men in the family? _____________

ii. What is the ratio of children to parents? _____________________

iii. How many people are there in the family in total? _____________

iv. What fraction of the family is men? ________________________

PARTS & WHOLES

Do numbers mean much without context? Try the examples below to find out.

1. A friend tells you she has read half of her homework

assignment. Is that many or few pages?
A. Many.
B. Few.
C. Who knows?

2. Another friend tells you he has done 100 pages of his

homework assignment. Is he almost done?
A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Who knows?

3. You tell your mother you’ve spent 2 hours on

homework. How many more hours are left to finish?
A. A ton.
B. None—it’s time to play some video games.
C. Who knows?

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 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 101

4. You tell your mother you’ve done 75% of your

READING
homework. Does she know what portion you have left
to do?
A. Yes.
B. No.

As you can see, you need to know the whole before you can evaluate the part.

WRITING
Unless you know the total pages of homework assigned, you can’t judge whether
“half ” is impressive (1,000 pages assigned) or pitiful (2 pages assigned). Similarly,
either completing 100 pages or doing 2 hours of work could be just the beginning
or close to the end. Digital SAT questions about proportional relationships will
give you what you need to determine the numbers and the relationship.

MATH
Fractions & Decimals
Fractions and decimals are two different ways of expressing the same part-to-
whole relationship. If 4 numbers in a list of 10 numbers are odd, for example, the
part-to-whole relationship can be written in several forms:

4 2
= = 0.4
10 5

If you are more comfortable with one form—either fractions or decimals—you

can convert one to the other. However, the best thing to do is use the built-in cal- Use a calculator to save
culator or your own calculator. A calculator can convert fractions to decimals and time and avoid making
vice versa, can reduce fractions, and can handle mixed numbers, as long as you mistakes with fractions
and decimals.
enter them carefully.

Call on the Calculator

Review the first section of the Digital SAT Calculator Guide
and practice using the built-in calculator to work with
fractions and decimals.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Proportions
When numbers are proportional, they maintain the same part-to-whole relation-
ship when they increase or decrease. To solve a proportion question, set up two
equal fractions and cross-multiply to find the missing value.

1. On a bookshelf with 50 books, 4 out of every 10 books

WRITING

are non-fiction, and the rest are novels.

i. How many of the books are non-fiction? ____________________

ii. What proportion of the books are novels? ___________________

iii. How many of the books are novels? _______________________

Here’s what the math looks like to answer the question “How many of the books
MATH

are non-fiction?”
4 x
=
10 50

Cross-multiply to get (10)(x) = (4)(50), which becomes 10x = 200. Divide both
sides of the equation by 10 to get x = 20. ere are 20 non-fiction books.

Percents
Percents are a special kind of part-to-whole relationship in which the whole is
always 100. To convert a percent into a fraction or decimal, divide by 100.

60
60% = = 0.6
100
The Math Vocabulary 101
chapter has more informa-
tion about percents.
To convert a decimal or fraction into a percent, multiply by 100.

25
0.25 = 25% =
100

You may also be asked to calculate a percent increase or decrease. Use the follow-
ing formula.

Percent Change = Difference × 100

Original

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 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 101

READING
Putting the Parts Together
Use the data in the table below to answer the questions that follow.

1. e table shows the number of students who received

each grade in a class.
A B C D F

WRITING
7 10 5 1 2

i. What is the ratio of students who got an A to students who got

a B? ________________________________________________

ii. What percent of students got a C? _________________________

MATH
iii. What proportion of students got an F? _____________________

iv. What grade did 40% of the students get? ___________________

Margin of Error
A margin of error uses percents to give a range for random sampling errors in a
survey or poll. It indicates how much the results might change if the poll were re-
peated or if the entire population were asked instead of a random sample.

For example, if a survey shows that 70% of randomly sampled test-takers prefer
the Digital SAT to the paper-and-pencil SAT, and there is a margin of error of
± 5%, that means it is highly likely that between 65% and 75% of all test-takers
prefer the Digital SAT.

PROBABILITY
You learned about statistical measures in the Working with Data chapter. One
more statistical concept is probability, which is a specific kind of proportion.
When working with probability, think of the part as the # of outcomes that fit
requirements, or what you want, and the whole as the total # of possible outcomes,
or total.

# of outcomes that fit requirements

Probability =
total # of possible outcomes

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

ink about flipping a coin and hoping it comes up tails. ere is 1 side—tails—
that gives you want you want, and 2 sides—heads and tails—that are the total
1
possible outcomes. So, the chance of the coin coming up tails is , or a 50%
2
probability.

Want
WRITING
MATH














Total

e # of outcomes that fit requirements won’t always be 1, however. When more

than one thing gives you what you want, either add up those things and put them
in the numerator or find the probability of each outcome that gives you what you
want and add them together.

Let’s say you’re rolling a standard six-sided die and want an even number.

Want or Want or Want























Total

You could roll a 2, 4, or 6 to get what you what, which means the number of

outcomes that fit requirements is 3 out of a total # of possible outcomes of 6, for

3 1
a probability of . e other option is to think of “or” as addition: there is a
6 6
1 1
chance of rolling a 2, a chance of rolling a 4, and a chance of rolling a 6.
6 6
1 1 1 3
e chance of rolling a 2 or a 4 or a 6 is + + = .
6 6 6 6

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 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 101

READING
RATES AND UNIT CONVERSION
A rate shows the relationship between two values, usually speed or work over
time. A snail might crawl at a rate of 1.2 millimeters per second, or a journalist
could publish 4 articles per week. Rates can be expressed as fractions but are often
written out.

Miles per hour is an example of a rate: it is the number of miles traveled for every Per usually means

WRITING
1 hour. Once you know the rate, you can set up equal proportions to find different division. Percent means
values. Let’s use a rate of 40 miles per hour. divided by 100. Miles per
hour means the number
of miles divided by the
40 miles 80 miles 20 miles number of hours.
= =
1 hour 2 hours 30 minutes

MATH
Notice that the last rate switched from hours to minutes. ere are 60 minutes
in 1 hour, so 30 minutes is the same as a half-hour. Some Digital SAT questions
will require you to convert units. e question will give you the conversion if the
test-writers think it’s something that isn’t common knowledge. For example, you
would not be given the conversion for minutes to hours but would be given the
conversion for feet to miles.

To convert units, set up equal proportions. Always label the units to keep the
numerators and denominators consistent. Let’s say a question asks you how many
inches are in 5 feet and tells you that 1 foot = 12 inches. Set up a proportion, being
sure to match the up the units. It doesn’t matter which way you set up the frac-
tions as long as the units match up. Here are two versions that both work:

12 inches x inches
=
1 foot 5 feet

12 inches 1 foot
=
x inches 5 feet

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becomes x = 60. ere are 60 inches in 5 feet. If you invert one of the fractions by
5
mistake, you will get x = , so always use the scratch paper for conversions and
12
write down the units.

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PROPORTIONAL
RELATIONSHIPS

641
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Understand and apply concepts of ratios, proportions, probability, and percents

• Work with rates and convert units
WRITING

RATIOS = PART-TO-PART
Ratios relate one part to another part. When one part changes value, the value of the other part must change to
maintain the same ratio.
MATH

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642 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

READING
PART-TO-WHOLE RELATIONSHIPS
Two “P” words, Proportions and Percents, relate a part to a whole. Like ratios, these can be written as fractions.

Proportions

AND
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LANGUAGE
WRITING
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WRITING
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Sometimes you’ll be asked about increasing or decreasing an amount by a percent.

READING

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Review the Math Vocabulary 101 chapter for

a refresher on translating words into math
and working with percents.

644 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

READING
Margin of Error
Percents are also used in questions that test margin of error. A margin of error gives a percent by which survey results
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R Scratch Paper

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

To answer other margin of error questions, you will need to use percents to find a numerical value or range of values.
READING

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646 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

READING
PROBABILITY = CHANCE

# of outcomes that fit requirements

Probability =
total # of possible outtcomes

WRITING
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

READING
Rates and Unit Conversions
A rate typically gives an amount of work or a distance per a unit of time. Because per means division, the rate is the
work or the distance divided by the time.

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units.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS DRILL

Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

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WRITING

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650 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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652 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

• What does a ratio represent?

_________________________________________________

• To solve a probability question, set up equal ______________ and _____________________.

• To convert a percent to a fraction, ______________________________________.

• What is the formula for probability?

____________________________________________________________________________

• When working with rates, be sure to match up the ___________________.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 653

 GEOMETRY AND
TRIGONOMETRY 101

Approximately 15% of the questions on the Digital SAT

cover Geometry and Trigonometry topics. That’s between 5
and 7 total questions split between the two modules. The
questions cover a wide range of topics, and you might not
see everything covered in this chapter on your test. Review
everything in this chapter, apply it during your preparation,
and use your POOD to answer Geometry and Trig questions
that you understand. Guess and Go on ones you don’t.

655
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

REFERENCE INFORMATION
Calculator Reference More

Reference Sheet Collapse

 2x 60° 45°
1
•
r h b
c x s s 2
w
30°
WRITING

45°
b a x 3 s
A = πr2 A = w
C = 2πr A = 12 bh c2 = a2 + b2 Special Right Triangles

•r h
h r h
h
w r w
MATH

 
V = wh V = πr2h V = 43 πr3 V = 13 πr2h V = 13 wh

The number of degrees of arc in a circle is 360.

The number of radians of arc in a circle is 2π.
The sum of the measurements in degrees of angles of a triangle is 180.

FORMULAS OF BASIC SHAPES

e test-writers are nice enough to provide a Reference Sheet with the basic geom-
etry facts and formulas. You can open it at any time by clicking on the Reference
icon in the upper right corner of the testing app.

Calculator Reference More

Check anything you don’t remember, but you can save time by knowing the
information by heart. Try to work the following questions without using the
information on the Reference Sheet, and make a note to memorize anything you
had to look up. If anything stumps you that isn’t on the Reference Sheet (not
all of these are), make sure to study those until you can always recall them from
memory.

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
Area

Figure Formula

Square

Rectangle

WRITING
Parallelogram

Triangle

B C

MATH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Perimeter
How do you get the perimeter of any figure with sides?

_______________________________________________________________
WRITING

Circles
It’s easier to think of the formulas for circles together.

Area Circumference
MATH

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Volume

Figure Formula
Cube

Rectangular solid

Cylinder

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Geometry IRL
Some geometry questions will take the form of word problems. For example, a
question could ask for the area of square floor tile or the volume of a brick. Focus
on the geometric shape rather than the real-world details, and see if the units pro-
vide a clue. For example, the phrase “cubic feet” indicates a 3-D shape, and those
have volume.

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
ANGLES
e Digital SAT will test the measure of degrees in given shapes. Fill in the chart
below with the measure, in degrees, of each angle and shape. If you aren’t sure,
look it up!

Figure Degrees

WRITING
Right Angle

Straight Line

Triangle

Quadrilateral

MATH
Circle

A B

xº yº
C

Note: Figure not drawn to scale.

Don’t forget about
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variables.
y

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

100º

yº
xº
WRITING

6. In the gure above, what is the value of x y

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MATH

Parallel Lines and Angles

When a line intersects two parallel lines

• Two kinds of angles are formed: big angles and small
angles.
• Each big angle is equal to the other big angles.
• Each small angle is equal to the other small angles.
• Any big angle plus any small angle is 180°.

660 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
45
A

B
d

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WRITING
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MATH
a 160
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DQJOH b

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

RIGHT TRIANGLES
If you know two sides of a right triangle, you can find the third side using the
Pythagorean eorem.

Pythagorean Theorem: a 2 + b 2 = c 2
WRITING

(where c is the hypotenuse)

Fill in the third side of each triangle listed below. You are likely to see some
Pythagorean Triples on the Digital SAT, which means that all three sides are
MATH

integers. e table below includes the best-known of these, but you are likely to
encounter Pythagorean Triples with larger numbers, as well.

a b c

1 10

3 4

5 13

8 10

7 25

2 2 3

5 5 2

6 7

3 6

4 2 8

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
Special Right Triangles
Special right triangles are unique in that we know the measurement of every angle
and every side without using trigonometry. You may have spotted them in some
of the triangles in the previous chart. If you can spot them and memorize the rela-
tionships, you’ll save yourself some time. But if you can’t, the Reference Sheet and
the Pythagorean eorem will come to the rescue.

WRITING
45 o
o
x 2 30
x x 3 2x

MATH
45 o o
60
x x

a. e triangle on the left is an isosceles right triangle because the legs are
both x. What is the measure of each angle in an isosceles right triangle?

______________________________________________________

b. An equilateral triangle is a triangle with 3 equal sides and 3 equal

angles. What is the relationship between an equilateral triangle and the
special right triangle on the right?

______________________________________________________

c. How can a 30-60-90 triangle be used to find the height of an

equilateral triangle?

______________________________________________________

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

A C
WRITING

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MATH

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
CIRCLES
If you know just one thing about a circle, you know everything. Fill in the CArd
chart below to practice finding anything you need for a circle question using any
piece of information the question gives you.

Circumference Area radius diameter

WRITING
d
pd or 2pr pr 2 2r
2

C A r d

MATH
10

36p

4p

18p

144p

14

9p

20p

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 665

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

TRY SOME TRIG

READING

You may have good memories, bad memories, or no memories at all about the trig-
onometry you learned in school. For the Digital SAT, there are two main things
to know.

SOHCAHTOA
WRITING

e three primary trig functions—sine, cosine, and tangent—describe relation-

ships among sides and angles in a triangle. On the Digital SAT, you can expect
these to be tested in the context of a right triangle. Remember them with the
acronym SOHCAHTOA:

opposite adjacent opposite

sin = cos = tan =
MATH

hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent

Opposite means the side of the triangle across from the angle you’re interested
in. Adjacent means the side next to the angle you’re interested in that isn’t the
hypotenuse. e hypotenuse is the side opposite the right angle, and it is always the
longest side of the triangle.

In the figure below, the side labeled 9 is opposite angle B and adjacent to angle C,
the side labeled 40 is opposite angle C and adjacent to angle B, and the side labeled
41 is the hypotenuse.

Use the triangle below to answer the following questions.

41
40

A 9 C

What is the value of sin(B)? _________

What is the value of cos(C)? _________

What is the value of tan(B)? _________

What is the value of tan(C)? _________

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
Radians
e other piece of trig to remember for the Digital SAT is radians. If you
remember the unit circle from school, you know where radians come from.
All that matters, though, is the relationship between radians and degrees. e
Reference Sheet provides this, and you can also memorize the following ways to
convert.

WRITING
2π radians = 360 degrees
π radians = 180 degrees

When you are asked to convert radians to degrees or degrees to radians, set up a
proportion using one of these conversions, and solve for the unknown value.

MATH
PROVE IT
e only time you will be asked to do something that resembles a geometric proof
is when a question asks about similar or congruent triangles.

Two triangles are similar when at least one of the following is true:

• All three angles of the triangles are congruent (AAA).

• Pairs of sides of the triangles are in proportion, and the angle in
between those sides is congruent (SAS).
• All three sides of one triangle are in proportion to the corresponding
three sides of the other triangle (SSS).

Two triangles are congruent when at least one of the following is true:

• All three sides are equal (SSS).

• Two pairs of angles and the side between them are equal (ASA).
• Two pairs of sides and the angle between them are equal (SAS).
• Two pairs of angles and a side that isn’t between them are equal
(AAS).

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Take a look at the three triangles below, then answer the following questions. e
figures might not be drawn to scale, so don’t rely entirely on how they look. Fig-
ures on Digital SAT questions will usually say “Note: Figure not drawn to scale.”
Even when the figure looks accurate, use labels on the figure and information in
the question to avoid assuming something that isn’t true.

B E
WRITING

85°
25 25

85° 20° 75°

A C D F
MATH

75°
30

20°
G I

Are triangles ABC and DEF similar? Yes No

Are triangles ABC and GHI similar? Yes No

Are triangles DEF and GHI similar? Yes No

Are triangles ABC and DEF congruent? Yes No

Are triangles ABC and GHI congruent? Yes No

Are triangles DEF and GHI congruent? Yes No

668 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
VOCABULARY
Sometimes, the key to getting a question right is knowing the geometry vocabu-
lary. In the list below, the terms with * next to them show up frequently on the
Digital SAT, while the other terms are less common. e definitions for these vo-
cabulary words can be found in the Glossary at the end of this chapter. Fill in the
ones you already know, and look up the rest in the Glossary. Make sure to write
down and study any you didn’t know.

WRITING
Term Definition
Arc*
Area*
Bisect

MATH
Chord
Circumference*
Circumscribed
Collinear
Congruent*
Diagonal (of a polygon)
Diameter*
Edge (of a 3-D figure)*
Equilateral triangle*
Face (of a 3-D figure)*
Inscribed
Isosceles triangle*
Parallel*
Perimeter*
Perpendicular*
Plane
Polygon
Quadrilateral*
Radius*
Regular polygon
Sector
Similar*
Surface area*
Tangent
Vertex/Vertices

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

FUN FACTS ABOUT FIGURES

Read and review the following facts you need to know about plane geometry. Put
an “x” next to any rule(s) that you don’t know, and make sure to study them until
you do.

Line Facts
WRITING

Lines
• A line has no width and extends infinitely in both directions.
• Any line measures __________ degrees.
• If a figure on the SAT looks like a straight line, and that line looks
like it contains a point, it does.

Line segments
MATH

• A line segment is a part of a line and has two _______________.

• e degree measure of a line segment is __________.

Perpendicular
• Two lines that intersect in a __________ angle are perpendicular and
their __________ are negative reciprocals.

Angle Facts
• ere are __________ degrees in a right angle.
• When two straight lines intersect, angles __________ each other are
equal.
• ere are __________ degrees in a straight line.
• Two lines are ___________________ when they meet at a 90° angle.
• e sign for perpendicular is __________ .
• ere are __________ degrees in a triangle.
• ere are __________ degrees in any four-sided figure.

Triangle Facts
In any triangle
• e __________ side is opposite the largest angle.
• e __________ side is opposite the smallest angle.
• All angles add up to __________.
• Area = ____________________
• e __________ is the perpendicular distance from the base to the
opposite vertex.
• __________________ is the sum of the sides.

In an isosceles triangle
• Two __________ are equal.
• e two __________ opposite the equal __________ are also equal.

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

In an equilateral triangle

READING
• All three __________ are equal.
• All angles are each equal to __________.

Four-Sided Figure Facts

In a quadrilateral

WRITING
• All four angles add up to __________.

In a parallelogram
• Opposite sides are __________ and equal.
• Opposite angles are __________.
• Adjacent angles are _______________ (add up to 180°).
• Area = ____________________

MATH
• e height is the _______________ distance from the base to the
__________ side.

In a rectangle
• Rectangles are special parallelograms; thus, any fact about parallelo-
grams also applies to rectangles.
• All 4 angles are each equal to __________.
• Area = ____________________
• Perimeter = ______________________________
• e diagonals are __________.

In a square
• Squares are special rectangles; thus, any fact about rectangles also
applies to squares.
• All 4 sides are __________.
• Area = __________
• Perimeter = __________
• e diagonals are _______________.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Circle Facts
Circle
• ere are __________ degrees in a circle.

Radius (r)
• e distance from the __________ to any point on the edge of the
circle
WRITING

• All __________ in a circle are equal.

Diameter (d)
• e distance of a line that connects two points on the edge of the circle,
passing through the __________
• e longest __________ in a circle
• Equals twice the __________
MATH

Chord
• Any _______________ connecting two points on the edge of a circle
• e longest chord is called the _______________.

Circumference (C)
• e __________ around the outside of the circle
• C = __________

Arc
• Any part of the _______________
• e length of an arc is _______________ to the size of the interior
angle.

Area
• e amount of space within the _______________ of the circle
• A = __________

Sector
• Any part of the __________ formed by two __________ and the out-
side of the circle
• e area of a sector is _______________ to the size of the interior angle.

672 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY FORMULAS
Here’s a list of the geometry and trig formulas that could show up on the Digital
SAT. Although the Reference Sheet includes many of these, knowing them well
can save time on the test.

WRITING
Circles
• Area: A = pr 2
• Circumference: C = 2pr = pd
• Arc length: r q, where q is the central angle in radians or equal to the
central angle when both the arc length and the central angle are in
degrees.

MATH
Triangles
1
• Area: A = bh
2
• Perimeter: P = sum of the sides

• Pythagorean eorem: a 2 + b 2 = c 2

SOHCAHTOA
opposite
• sin(q) =
hypotenuse
adjacent
• cos(q) =
hypotenuse
opposite
• tan(q) =
adjacent

Quadrilaterals
Parallelograms
• Area: A = bh
• Perimeter: P = sum of the sides

Rectangles
• Area: A = lw
• Perimeter: P = 2( l + w )

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Squares
• Area: A = s 2
• Perimeter: P = 4s

Polygons
WRITING

• Sum of angles in an n-sided polygon: (n − 2)180

(n − 2)180
• Angle measure of each angle in a regular n-sided polygon:
n

3-D Figures
MATH

• Surface area of a rectangular solid: S = 2 (lw + lh + wh )

• Surface area of a cube: S = 6s 2
• Surface area of a right circular cylinder: S = 2 r 2 + 2 rh
• Surface area of a sphere: S = 4pr2
• Volume of a cube: V = s 3
• Volume of a rectangular solid: V = lwh
• Volume of a right circular cylinder: V = pr 2h
4 r3
• Volume of a sphere: V =
3

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101

READING
GLOSSARY
Arc: Any part of the circumference of a circle
Area: e size of a surface, or the amount of space inside the boundary of a 2-D
shape
Bisect: To cut in half

WRITING
Chord: Any line segment connecting two points on the edge of a circle
Circumference: e distance around the outside of a circle, or the circle’s perimeter
Circumscribed: Surrounded by a circle as small as possible
Collinear: Lying on the same line
Congruent: Equal in size

MATH
Diagonal (of a polygon): A line segment connecting non-adjacent vertices
Diameter: e distance of a line that connects two points on the edge of a circle,
passing through the center
Edge (of a 3-D figure): A line segment that joins two vertices on the boundary or
where faces meet
Equilateral triangle: All sides are equal and each angle measures 60°
Face (of a 3-D figure): Any of the individual surfaces of a solid object
Inscribed: An angle in a circle with its vertex on the circumference or, more
generally, one shape within another so that their boundaries touch but do not
intersect
Isosceles triangle: A triangle with two equal sides
Parallel: Two distinct lines that do not intersect
Perimeter: e total distance around the edge of a 2-D figure
Perpendicular: At a 90° angle
Plane: A flat surface extending in all directions
Polygon: A closed figure with three or more sides
Quadrilateral: A four-sided figure
Radius: e distance from the center to any point on the edge of a circle
Regular polygon: A figure with all equal sides and all equal angles
Sector: Any part of the area formed by two radii and the outside of the circle
Similar: Equal angles and proportional sides
Surface area: e sum of areas of each face of a figure
Tangent: A line that intersects a circle at one point on the circumference, forming
a right angle with the radius that extends from the center to that point
Vertex/Vertices: A corner point. For angles, it’s where two lines meet. For
figures, it’s where two adjacent sides meet.
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GEOMETRY AND
TRIGONOMETRY

677
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

Calculator Reference More

Reference Sheet Collapse

 2x 60° 45°
1
•
r h b
c x s s 2
w
WRITING

30° 45°
b a x 3 s
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•r h
h r h
h
w r w
MATH

 
V = wh V = πr2h V = 43 πr3 V = 13 πr2h V = 13 wh

The number of degrees of arc in a circle is 360.

The number of radians of arc in a circle is 2π.
The sum of the measurements in degrees of angles of a triangle is 180.

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

READING
GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 101 REVIEW DRILL
Time: 5 minutes

R Scratch Paper
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Scratch Paper
READING

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WRITING

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MATH

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READING
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MATH

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Use the Geometry Basic Approach on all geometry questions

• Solve questions related to lines and angles
• Solve questions related to triangles and circles, including ones involving trigonometry
• Solve questions related to overlapping shapes
WRITING

• Solve questions related to volume

GEOMETRY
As with many other questions in the Math modules of the Digital SAT, keeping the information organized and
MATH

having a plan of attack will help with geometry questions.

Geometry Basic Approach

1. Draw a figure on your scratch paper.
2. Label all information from the question on the figure.
3. Write down formulas.

Apply the Geometry Basic Approach to the following question.

Scratch Paper
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1
4
x

1
2
x

682 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

READING
LINES AND ANGLES
Many geometry questions about lines will be about parallel or perpendicular lines. Questions about angles are often
about congruent angles, right angles, or two angles that add up to 90°.

When parallel lines are intersected by the same line, two kinds
of angles are created—BIG and small.

WRITING
• BIG angles = BIG angles
• small angles = small angles
• BIG + small = 180 degrees

MATH
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y°

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Redraw the figure and label it with

information from the question.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

TRIANGLES
Triangle questions on the Digital SAT will cover some of these same ideas about lines and angles, as well as other
topics such as area, perimeter, similarity, and trigonometry.

Pythagorean Theorem
WRITING

You are likely quite familiar with this method of finding the third side of a right triangle. Keep an eye out for
Pythagorean Triples and special right triangles to save time.

Pythagorean Theorem: a 2 + b 2 = c 2, where c is the hypotenuse

MATH

R Scratch Paper

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684 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

READING
Similar and Congruent
Figuring out that the two triangles were similar was necessary in the previous question. Some questions will ask
about the information needed to determine whether two triangles are similar or congruent. Review the rules in the
Geometry and Trigonometry 101 chapter, and learn the following definitions.

WRITING
Two triangles are similar when they have equal angles and proportional sides.
Two triangles are congruent when they have equal angles and equal sides.
All congruent triangles are similar, but not all similar triangles are congruent.

MATH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

TRIGONOMETRY
e Digital SAT contains a small amount of trig. Knowing the basic definitions of sine, cosine, and tangent will be
helpful.

SOHCAHTOA
WRITING

sin = cos = tan =

MATH

R Scratch Paper
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b°

X
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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

READING
RADIANS AND DEGREES
Radians and degrees are different ways of measuring angles. e built-in calculator has both modes—and your
calculator probably does, too—so make sure the calculator you use is in the mode you need for the question you’re
working on.

WRITING
To convert radians to degrees, set up a proportion:
p radians
=
180 degrees

or

MATH
2p radians
=
360 degrees

R Scratch Paper
7p
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

CIRCLES
Central angles of circles may also be measured in radians. Aside from basic circle questions about circumference and
area, College Board may ask about a slice of a circle (a sector) or a part of the circumference (an arc) formed by the
central angle.
WRITING

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MATH

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5p
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To find an arc length of a circle in radians, use

s = r q, where s is the arc length, r is the radius,
and q is the central angle.

Arcs and sectors are proportional to the central angle of a circle.

part central angle arc length sector area

= = =
whole 360° 2 r r2

688 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

READING
OVERLAPPING SHAPES
When given one shape inside another, use the information given about the first shape to determine the necessary
information about the second shape.

R Scratch Paper

WRITING
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MATH
p

VOLUME
Volume measures shapes in three dimensions rather than two dimensions, but the Geometry Basic Approach still
applies.

R
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cm

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY DRILL

Time: 8 minutes

Use your POOD to decide how many questions to attempt and the best order for you. Do the easy drill first!

R Scratch Paper
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MATH

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690 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

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READING
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MATH
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DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• How do you access geometry facts and formulas in the testing app?

__________________________________________________________________________

• What three steps should you follow for all geometry questions?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

• What two kinds of angles are created when two parallel lines are both intersected by another line,
and how are those angles related?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

• What is the Pythagorean eorem?

_________________________________________________

• What are three examples of Pythagorean Triples?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

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 GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

• What are two characteristics of similar triangles?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

• What are two characteristics of congruent triangles?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

• What are the three definitions that make up the mnemonic SOHCAHTOA?

_______________________ _______________________ ________________________

• What is a formula for converting between radians and degrees?

_____________________________________

• What can you do when there are overlapping shapes?

__________________________________________________________________________

• How do you approach geometry questions about volume?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

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 ADVANCED
COORDINATE
GEOMETRY

695
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GOALS
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to accomplish the following:

• Apply the skill of graphing in the xy-plane to more unusual concepts

• Know how to work with the equation of a circle in the xy-plane
• Understand how changes to an equation will shift the graph in the
WRITING AND

xy-plane
LANGUAGE

• Know how to work with functions of different degrees in the xy-plane

MATH

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 ADVANCED COORDINATE GEOMETRY

READING
CIRCLES IN THE COORDINATE PLANE
Like parabolas, circle equations in the xy-plane also have a standard form, and College Board likes to ask questions
about circles in non-standard form. Just as with parabolas, knowing the parts of the standard form and how to
manipulate circle equations into different forms can be useful.

WRITING AND
LANGUAGE
The standard form of a circle is (x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r 2,
where (h, k) is the center and r is the radius.

MATH
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Don’t waste time trying to complete the square or

using other methods you learned in school. Use the
built-in graphing calculator for circle questions.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

TRANSLATING GRAPHS
Occasionally, a question will ask about a translation of a graph, also known as transforming a graph. e graph
changes position based on a change to the function or equation. It might move up, down, left, right, or a combina-
tion of directions.
WRITING AND
LANGUAGE

R Scratch Paper
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MATH

In relation to f(x):
• f(x) + k is shifted upward k units in the xy-plane.
• f(x) – k is shifted downward k units in the xy-plane.
• f(x + k) is shifted to the left k units in the xy-plane.
• f(x – k) is shifted to the right k units in the xy-plane.

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 ADVANCED COORDINATE GEOMETRY

R Scratch Paper

READING
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WRITING AND
LANGUAGE
x y

x y

x y

MATH
To help visualize the way graphs shift, graph
the equations with the built-in calculator.

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GRAPHS OF HIGHER-DEGREE FUNCTIONS

Most of the nonlinear graphs on the Digital SAT are parabolas, but there will be
the occasional third- or fourth-degree polynomial. Depending on the question,
some or all of the following approaches will be useful.

• Count the number of x-intercepts.

• Plug in points from the graph.
WRITING

• Use a graphing calculator.

• Recognize the shape of the graph.

To utilize the last approach, it helps know what graphs with an x 3 or x4 term look
like. When counting the x-intercepts, keep your eyes open for a double root.
MATH

ird-degree polynomial with Fourth-degree polynomial with three

one real root distinct real roots

e function on the right above has a “double root,” which means that the
graph touches the x-axis at one point—(0, 0)—before bending away again in the
opposite direction. is means that the equation of the line will have the factor
that yields that value of x raised to an even exponent (in this case, the x is squared).

700 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 ADVANCED COORDINATE GEOMETRY

R Scratch Paper

READING
WRITING AND
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MATH
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y x −x

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y x −x

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 701

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

• What is the standard form equation of a circle?

_________________________________________________

• What tool is useful for questions about transforming graphs?

_________________________________________________

• When counting the number of roots for a third- or fourth-degree polynomial, look out for

_________________________________________.

702 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 MATH REVIEW
WORKSHEET

As you get closer to your test date, it will be helpful to review

everything you’ve learned so far. Use the following chapter to
write down the strategies, formulas, and other information
that you want to have ready to go on test day. Go back to
earlier chapters and look up anything you don’t remember.

703
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

STRATEGIES
ese should all be second nature by now, but make sure you apply all of these strategies and follow every
step. Writing something down helps it stick in your memory, so grab a pen or pencil and fill in the informa-
tion below.

POOD
WRITING

O
MATH

I use this to...

RTFQ

is helps me to...

704 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 MATH REVIEW WORKSHEET

READING
POE

WRITING
E

is is useful when...

MATH
Word Problem Basic Approach

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Step 4.

Scratch Paper
I plan to use my scratch paper...

Built-In Calculator
I plan to use this tool...

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Plugging In the Answers (PITA)

Step 1.

Step 2.
WRITING

Step 3.

Step 4.

Step 5.
MATH

is works well on questions that...

Plugging In

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Step 4.

Step 5.

is works well on questions that...

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 MATH REVIEW WORKSHEET

READING
FACTS AND FORMULAS
Many of the key concepts and formulas you should know for the Digital SAT are in the rest of this chapter.
However, it is not a comprehensive list. Go back through the earlier chapters and make a note of anything
in a curved box or a chapter summary.

WRITING
Fundamentals of Solving
Order of Operations

MATH
M

Algebra
e basic rule of algebra is...

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Exponents
MADSPM

M
WRITING

S
MATH

ese rules apply when...

Growth and Decay

When the growth is a percent:

When the growth is a multiple:

Functions

f(x) =

In a function, x is

In a function, y is

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 MATH REVIEW WORKSHEET

READING
Data and Stats
Three elements to identify in a visual representation of data

1.

WRITING
2.

3.

MATH
Statistical Terminology

Mean means...

Average Formula:

Median means...

Mode means...

Range means...

Standard deviation means...

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Coordinate Geometry
Linear Equations

Slope-intercept Form:
WRITING

Standard Form:

Slope Formula:
MATH

Quadratics and Parabolas

Standard form:

Factored form:

Vertex form:

FOIL:

e vertex in standard form:

e sum of the solutions in standard form:

e product of the solutions in standard form:

Quadratic Formula:

Discriminant:

e discriminant tells me...

710 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 MATH REVIEW WORKSHEET

READING
Circles in the Coordinate Plane
Standard Form:

WRITING
Proportional Relationships

Proportions:

MATH
Percents:

Probability:

Geometry and Trigonometry

Quadrilaterals

Area of a square:

Area of a rectangle:

Perimeter of a square:

Perimeter of a rectangle:

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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

Triangles

Area:

Perimeter:
WRITING

Pythagorean eorem:

Trig Functions
MATH

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 MATH REVIEW WORKSHEET

READING
Circles

Area:

Circumference:

WRITING
Degrees and radians conversion:

MATH
Volume

Rectangular solid or prism:

Cylinder:

Sphere:

Cone:

Right rectangular pyramid:

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QUESTION
IDENTIFICATION DRILL

715
 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

GETTING STARTED
One of the most valuable pacing skills on Digital SAT Math is simply getting
started on a question. ere’s no need to plan out the entire question in advance:
just complete the first bite-sized piece and determine what to do next.

POOD and Pacing

WRITING

• If the first step and each subsequent step are clear,

Answer and Advance.
• If the first step is clear but a later step is confusing,
Mark and Move.
• If the first step isn’t clear now but might be later,
skip for now.
MATH

• If the first step isn’t clear and never will be, Guess and Go.

Identifying the First Step

You have seen throughout this book that some questions call for a specific strategy
(such as PITA) while some question types (such as Representation or Geometry)
have a basic approach. e clues about which strategy or approach to use are in
two places:

How to Identify the Best Approach

• Use the Question—look for key words in the question

stem, especially in the final question.
• Use the Answers—note the features of the answer choices,
such as variables, words, or equations.

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 QUESTION IDENTIFICATION DRILL

READING
The Options
e list below doesn’t include every approach you might use on the Math section
of the Digital SAT, but it covers the major methods that you have learned.

PITA

AND
Plugging In

LANGUAGE
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WRITING
Solve algebraically
Graphing calculator
Geometry Basic Approach
Skip for now
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MATH
QUESTION IDENTIFICATION DRILL
e examples below show part of the question (usually the final question) and a
description of the answer choices. Don’t try to answer the question because that
will be impossible without the full question and answer choices. Instead, choose
an approach from the list of options above to indicate how you would approach
the question. ere might be more than one approach that would work, so pick
your top method for that question.

1. Which of the following could be the coordinates of point D?

e answers contain pairs of (x, y) coordinates.

My method: ______________________________

2. ...which of the following expressions is equivalent to...

e answers contain expressions with variables.

My method: ______________________________

3. How many solutions does the given system of equations have?

e answers contain statements, including “infinitely many.”

My method: ______________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 717

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

PITA
Plugging In
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Solve algebraically
Graphing calculator
Geometry Basic Approach
Skip for now
WRITING

Guess and Go

4. What is the best interpretation of the y-intercept in this context?

e answers contain descriptions.

MATH

My method: ______________________________

5. e function p reaches its maximum value at what value of x?

e answers contain numbers in order.

My method: ______________________________

6. What is the measure of angle C?

e answers contain numbers of degrees in order.

My method: ______________________________

7. What are all values of b that satisfy the equation...

I. 1
II. 4

e answers contain combinations of Roman numerals.

My method: ______________________________

8. Which expression correctly expresses y in terms of x and z?

e answers contain expressions with three variables.

My method: ______________________________

718 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 QUESTION IDENTIFICATION DRILL

READING
PITA
Plugging In
Translate/Label in Bite-Sized Pieces and use POE
Solve algebraically
Graphing calculator
Geometry Basic Approach
Skip for now

WRITING
Guess and Go

9. How much money did Sally earn from selling $5 toys?

e answers contain dollar amounts in order.

MATH
My method: ______________________________

10. Which equation represents the total storage space, s, required for the
game and l levels?

e answers contain linear equations with two variables.

My method: ______________________________

11.

Cups of lemonade sold Profit made

25 $5.00
50 $17.50
100 $42.50
200 $92.50

Which of the following correctly determines the total profit P(x), in

dollars, from selling x cups of lemonade?

e answers contain functions with one variable.

My method: ______________________________

12. What is the volume, in cubic inches, of the pyramid?

is is a fill-in question, so there are no answer choices.

My method: ______________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 719

 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL
READING

PITA
Plugging In
Translate/Label in Bite-Sized Pieces and use POE
Solve algebraically
Graphing calculator
Geometry Basic Approach
Skip for now
WRITING

Guess and Go

13. Which of the following best models the value, v, of stocks m months
after the initial investment?
MATH

e answers contain growth/decay functions with variables.

My method: ______________________________

14. Which of the following could be the equation of the graph shown?

e answers contain linear equations with two variables.

My method: ______________________________

720 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 QUESTION IDENTIFICATION DRILL

READING
START TO FINISH
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 DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

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© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 727

 SAT MANUAL

PREPARING FOR
TEST DAY

729
DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

PREPARING FOR TEST DAY

Congratulations! You’ve now learned how to approach all of the different types of
questions on the Digital SAT. If you have some time between now and test day,
however, or if you think you may take the Digital SAT again in a few months,
how should you continue to study on your own?

Resources
What are some resources available to you as you continue to study on your own?

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

____________________________ ____________________________

Study Time
If your test is within the next three weeks, we recommend that you continue to
prep for the Digital SAT every day for 30 minutes. If your test isn’t for a month or
more, try to do a 30-minute session about three times per week until your test is a
few weeks away.

Avoid Burnout and Reduce Stress

In the last week before your test, focus on your stronger areas.

If you know you need to keep working on SAT prep but start to feel
burned out, try mixing up your study methods.

Try doing lower-pressure activities that don’t give you a score, such as
reviewing class recordings, to reduce anxiety.

Review all of your work carefully instead of doing more and more
drills or practice tests.

730 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PREPARING FOR TEST DAY

Pre-Test Timeline
Now: Download and install the Bluebook app on your laptop or tablet if you will
be bringing your own device. It’s okay to go ahead and open the app to make sure
it works.

Five days before your test: Open Bluebook and you should see your registration
listed. Go through the exam setup, which will confirm that your device meets the
requirements, and then your admission ticket will be generated. You’ll be able to
email it to yourself or print it. We recommend that you do both, just in case.

The Night Before the Test

Here are some possible ways to spend the night before the test. Select whether each
is a good idea or a bad idea.

Good idea Bad idea

Reading a thrilling book _________ _________

Hanging out with friends but coming

home early _________ _________

Binge-watching a new TV show _________ _________

Staying up late cramming for the test _________ _________

Taking a bubble bath _________ _________

Playing a board game with your family _________ _________

Playing an engrossing video game _________ _________

Setting an alarm for an hour before bedtime

to start winding down _________ _________

Studying for 30 minutes if it makes you

feel more relaxed _________ _________

Not studying at all because you know

you’re prepared _________ _________

Going to bed at 6  _________ _________

Going to a wild party _________ _________

Meditating or engaging in other

mindfulness activities _________ _________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 731

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Here are some other tips for the night before the test:

Pack your bag. Gather everything you will need for test day.

Charge your device.

Set out comfortable clothes to wear.

Avoid electronics for an hour before bedtime.

Make a list of anything you need to remember in the morning.

Go to bed about 9 hours before you plan to wake up. Set a back-
up alarm just in case.

What to Bring on Test Day

Your laptop or tablet, if bringing your own. See device require-
ments at the end of this chapter. e device should be fully charged,
but it’s a good idea to bring your charging cable as well, though
there’s no guarantee you’ll be near an outlet. It’s fine to bring an
external mouse for a laptop or a tablet, but external keyboards are
allowed only for tablets. Also, make sure to follow the instructions
sent to you by College Board about how and when to download the
testing app.

Your admission ticket. You can present it digitally on a phone or

show the printout.

Acceptable photo ID. is must be government- or school-issued

(such as a driver’s license, passport, or school ID) and contain a
recent, recognizable photo and your full, legal name exactly as it ap-
pears on your admission ticket.

Pencils or pens. Either is fine, and it’s okay to bring several. Differ-
ent colors of pens can make your math work easier to organize. You
won’t be filling out a paper bubble sheet, so there’s no need to worry
about a specific type of writing implement.

An acceptable calculator, if bringing your own. Check the Col-

lege Board website if you’re not sure whether yours is allowed.

732 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PREPARING FOR TEST DAY

Nice to Have
A watch. Even though you will have a timer throughout each mod-
ule of the test, it may be helpful to have a watch for your ten-minute
break.

A bag. It’s fine to bring a bag or backpack to hold your possessions;

just make sure to remove anything that isn’t allowed.

A small snack and drink for the break. ink granola bar and
water bottle.

Don’t Even Try It

Cell phones. ese aren’t technically forbidden, but there are serious
consequences (such as your test and the tests of students around you get-
ting canceled) if your phone makes a sound or is seen during the test.

Smart watches, Bluetooth devices (such as wireless earbuds), and

any other tablet or laptop besides the one you will be testing on.

Highlighters, colored pencils, paper, notebooks, books, scissors,

rulers, compasses, or earplugs.

It’s the Big Day!

On test morning, give yourself plenty of time to get ready so that you can have a
relaxing morning. Here are some other good ideas:

Eat a good breakfast.

• Do a little exercise and/or take a shower.

• Don’t try anything that you don’t normally do.

• Give yourself plenty of time to get to the testing center.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 733

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

WHAT TO EXPECT ON TEST DAY

Make sure to arrive on time. See your admission ticket for the arrival time and
address of your testing center. In most cases, doors open at 7:45 and close at 8:00.
We recommend planning to arrive by 7:30.

Testing usually starts between 8:15 and 8:45. Bluebook will guide you through the
instructions, and the proctor will give you a start code, at which time the test will
begin. You’ll need to close all other applications on your device.

During the break, leave your device open and keep your calculator on your desk.
If you leave the room, bring your ID with you, as it may be checked when you
come back. You can bring your snack and drink with you, but leave your phone in
its secure location if you brought it.

e proctor will collect your scratch paper when the test is over, which should be
before noon.

The First Run is a Practice Run

If possible, plan to take the Digital SAT more than once. Of course, if you ace it
on the first try, you can be done, but this helps take some of the pressure off of
your first time taking it.

Stick to the Plan!

A standardized test is exactly that. It is more or less the same every time it’s given.
is means that you know exactly what to expect. Don’t panic and go back to
what you might have done before your preparation. Stick to the plan and do what
you have been preparing to do. You’ve got this!

734 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PREPARING FOR TEST DAY

DEVICE REQUIREMENTS
All devices must be able to connect to WiFi and be charged enough to stay on for
3 hours. ey must also have the latest version of Bluebook installed. Here are the
specific devices that are allowed and their requirements.

Windows laptops/tablets
Windows 10 or later operating system
Minimum 1 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, and 250 MB free hard drive
space
Minimum laptop screen size 10 inches, minimum tablet size 8 inches
Minimum screen resolution 1024 × 768

Mac laptops
MacOS 11.4 or later operating system
Minimum 1 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, and 150 MB free hard drive
space
Minimum screen size 10 inches and minimum resolution 1024 × 768

iPads
iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 or later, iPad (5th generation or later), and iPad
Mini 4 or later
iPadOS 13.4 or later operating system
16 GB or more with 150 MB free storage
Minimum size 8 inches and minimum resolution 1024 × 768

School-Managed Chromebooks
No personal Chromebooks allowed
Must be from 2017 or later and must be run in kiosk mode
Chrome OS v83–98 and Chrome OS 100+ operating systems
(Version 99 not allowed)
At least 150 MB free storage
Minimum screen size 10 inches and minimum resolution 1024 × 768

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 735

 SAT MANUAL

ANSWER KEY

737
DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

MATH

MATH VOCABULARY 101 Percentages

increase by a percent multiply, then add
decrease by a percent multiply, then subtract

Math Operations Discounts multiply, then subtract

D. Sum the result of addition Sales taxes multiply, then add
B. Difference the result of subtraction Income taxes multiply, then subtract
A. Product the result of multiplication Interest multiply, then add
C. Quotient the result of division

e Order of Operations: Parentheses; Exponents;

Multiplication and Division; Addition and Algebra Vocabulary
Subtraction
C. 5x term
Famous Saying: PEMDAS or Please Excuse My
Dear Aunt Sally D. 5 +x expression

A. x variable

Translating English to Math B. k constant

= is, are, were, did, does
> greater than E. 5 + x = 12 equation
< less than
12
≥ at least C. kx term
≤ no more than
5
– how much greater than
x what
= equals, is equal to How to Enter Fill-in Answers
≠ is not equal to
5
× of .5 0.5 1/2 5/10
/ out of 10
× times 2π 6.283
/ per
2.5 5/2 2.5 2.50

2,500 2500
8
− –8/12 –.6666 –0.666 –0.667 –2/3
120

740 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 ANSWER KEY

LINEAR SOLVING 101 NONLINEAR SOLVING 101

Linear Equations Quadratics

1. –2, –1
1. 2 2. 1, 5
3. –4, 2
2. 32 4. –2, 5
8 5. –1, 6
3.
3 6. –12, 2
4. 7 7. –7, 2
5. –6 8. –3
6. 28 9. –2, 2
7. 9 10. 4

Inequalities Exponents
1. x > –10
2. x<6
3. x > 11 Basic Rules
1. x5
2. x4
3. x8
Absolute Value 4. 12x 2y3
1. 8 5. 8x 6
2. –3 6. 2x
3. 3 7. 8x 2
4. 5 or 11 8. 2x 2 + 4y3

Special Rules
Number of Solutions 1. 1
1. 1 2. 1
2. infinitely many 3. x
3. 0 4. 1
4. infinitely many 5. 0
5. 1 6. 4
6. 1 7. –8
7. 0 1
8.
4

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 741

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Exponents Practice 8. c
1. 53 = 125
2. x5 9. 3xy
3. 81x12y24z20 6
10. −
4. 125 – 27 = 98 7
5. 3x 2y2
6. 3x 6 + 2x5 Fractional and Negative Exponents
7. 5 × 62 = 5 × 36 = 180 Practice
8. 73 = 343
5x 2 1. 8d2
9. 5x 2y–2 or 2
y
10. xyz 2. 9

3. 4
1
Roots 4.
x2
5. 4xy3
Rationalizing the Denominator
6. 2
x 3 1
i. 7. or x–2
3 x2
8. 125 or 5 5
Combining Roots x6
1. 6 x 9.
9 y 10
2. 6 x 10. 36x 6y4
3. xy
x
4.
y

Roots Practice
1. 10b

2. 5

3. 4

4. 31
x
5.
y
6. 4
11
7.
13

742 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 ANSWER KEY

WORKING WITH DATA 101 Statistical Measures

Mean = Average
Visual Representations 1. 3
2. 5
3. 9
Scatterplots 4. 40
1. Protein (grams) 5. 18
2. Fiber (grams) 6. 9
3. 5 grams
4. 9 grams
5. 6.5 grams Median = Middle
6. 4 grams 1. the value of the 25th item
2. the average of the values of the 24th and
25th items
Bar Graphs and Histograms 3. the average of the values of the 75th and
1. Year 76th items
2. % Unemployment 4. the value of the 78th item
3. 3.9%
4. 2010
5. 9.2% Determine These Stats, Stat!
E. Mean 9
D. Median 8
Two-Way Tables B. Mode 4
1. Preferred Beverage A. Range 19
2. Men and Women C. Standard deviation ???
3. 2,476
4. 616
5. 1,210
6. 89
7. 655 COORDINATE GEOMETRY 101

Frequency Tables
1. 20 Linear Graphs
2. 0, 0, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4,
4, 5, 5, 5, 6
3. 3 Line #1
4. 15 1. 2
5. 3 2. 3
6. 6 3. 0
7. 60
8. 3

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 743

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Slope-Intercept Form PROPORTIONAL

4. slope
5. y-intercept
RELATIONSHIPS 101
6. any ordered pair on the line
7. y = 2x + 3
Ratios & Parts
1. i. 3:6 or 1:2

Standard Form ii. 7:2

iii. 9
6 2
Line #2 iv.
9
or
3
3
1. –
2
2. 7
3 Parts & Wholes
3. y=– x+7 1. C
2
2. C
3. C
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines 4. A
1
1. y= x+4
2
1
2. y= x–6 Proportions
2
1. i. 20
3. y = –2x + 2
4. parallel 6 3
ii. or
5. same 10 5
6. perpendicular iii. 30
7. negative reciprocals
8. 0
9. 1
Putting the Parts Together
1. i. 7:10
Nonlinear Graphs ii. 20%
2
iii.
Call on the Calculator 25
1. (–3, 0) iv. B
2. (–3, 0) and (5, 0)
3. (1, –16)
4. 2
5. (–3, 0) and (6, 9)

744 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 ANSWER KEY

PLANE GEOMETRY 101 Angles

Right Angle: 90°
Straight Line: 180°
Formulas of Basic Shapes Triangle: 180°
Quadrilateral: 360°
Area Circle: 360°
Square: A = s2
5. B
Rectangle: A = lw
6. 80
Parallelogram: A = bh
1
Triangle: A = bh
2 Parallel Lines and Angles
1. 20 7. 135°

2. 36 8. 40°

Perimeter Right Triangles

Add up all the sides
a b c

Circles 1 3 10
Area: A = πr2
Circumference: C = πd or 2πr 3 4 5

3. 49π 5 12 13

6 8 10

Volume 7 24 25
Cube: V = s3
2 2 3 4
Rectangular Solid: V = lwh
Cylinder: V = πr2h 5 5 5 2
4. 4 6 7 85

3 3 3 6

4 2 4 2 8

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 745

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Special Right Triangles Prove It

a. 45°:45°:90° Yes, triangles ABC and DEF are similar.
b. e 30°:60°:90° triangle is half of an Yes, triangles ABC and GHI are similar.
equilateral triangle.
Yes, triangles DEF and GHI are similar.
c. Divide it into two identical 30°:60°:90°
triangles. Yes, triangles ABC and DEF are congruent.
No, triangles ABC and GHI are not congruent.
9. 4 2
No, triangles DEF and GHI are not congruent.
10. 5 3

Fun Facts About Figures

Circles Line Facts
• Any line measures 180 degrees.
C A r d
• A line segment is a part of a line and has
p p two endpoints.

p p • e degree measure of a line segment is

180 degrees.
p p
• Two lines that intersect in a right angle are
p p perpendicular and their slopes are negative
reciprocals.
p p
Angle Facts
p p
• ere are 90 degrees in a right angle.
p p
• When two straight lines intersect,
p 9p angles opposite each other are equal.
p p • ere are 180 degrees in a straight line.
p p • Two lines are perpendicular when they
meet at a 90° angle.
p p
• e sign for perpendicular is ⊥.
• ere are 180 degrees in a triangle.
SOHCAHTOA
• ere are 360 degrees in any four-sided
9 figure.
sin(B) =
41

9
cos(C) =
41

9
tan(B) =
40

40
tan(C) =
9

746 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 ANSWER KEY

Triangle Facts In a rectangle

In any triangle • Rectangles are special parallelograms;
thus, any fact about parallelograms also
• e longest side is opposite the largest applies to rectangles.
angle.
• All 4 angles are each equal to 90°.
• e shortest side is opposite the smallest
angle. • Area = length × width = lw
• All angles add up to 180°. • Perimeter = 2(length) + 2(width) = 2l + 2w
1 1 • e diagonals are equal.
• Area = (base × height) = bh
2 2
In a square
• e height is the perpendicular distance
from the base to the opposite vertex. • Squares are special rectangles; thus, any
fact about rectangles also applies to
• Perimeter is the sum of the sides. squares.
In an isosceles triangle • All 4 sides are equal.
• Two sides are equal. • Area = (side)2 = s2
• e two angles opposite the equal sides are • Perimeter = 4(side) = 4s
also equal.
• e diagonals are perpendicular.
In an equilateral triangle
• All three sides are equal.
Circle Facts
• All angles are each equal to 60°.
Circle
• ere are 360 degrees in a circle.
Four-Sided Figure Facts
Radius (r)
In a quadrilateral
• e distance from the center to any
• All four angles add up to 360°. point on the edge of the circle
In a parallelogram • All radii in a circle are equal.
• Opposite sides are parallel and equal. Diameter (d)
• Opposite angles are equal. • e distance of a line that connects two
points on the edge of the circle, passing
• Adjacent angles are supplementary (add through the center
up to 180°).
• e longest chord in a circle
• Area = base × height = bh
• Equals twice the radius
• e height is the perpendicular distance
from the base to the opposite side. Chord
• Any line segment connecting two points
on the edge of a circle
• e longest chord is called the diameter

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DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Circumference (C)
QUESTION IDENTIFICATION
• e distance around the outside of the
circle DRILL
• C = 2πr = πd 1. A PITA
2. B Plugging In
Arc 3. D Graphing Calculator or Solving
Algebraically
• Any part of the circumference
4. A Translate/Label
• e length of an arc is proportional to the 5. C PITA or Graphing Calculator
size of the interior angle. 6. C Geometry Basic Approach and
maybe PITA
Area
7. C Plugging In
• e amount of space within the bound- 8. D Plugging In or Solving
aries of the circle Algebraically
9. C PITA
• A = πr2
10. A Translate/Label or Plugging In
Sector 11. C Plugging In
12. 140/3, Geometry Basic Approach
• Any part of the area formed by two radii 46.66,
and the outside of the circle or 46.67
• e area of a sector is proportional to the 13. A Plugging In or Translate/Label
size of the interior angle. 14. B Graphing Calculator or
Plugging In

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 SAT MANUAL

PACING REVIEWS

749
DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

PACING REVIEW FOR PRACTICE TEST #2

Before you attempt your second practice test, review your previous test to look for areas of strength and
weakness and revisit the pacing strategies that we discussed in the introduction chapters. Use the score re-
port from your most recent test to complete the following exercises.

Your scores from your first practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Section Analysis of the First Practice Test

Reading and Writing Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Reading questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Vocabulary ___________ out of ___________ questions

Purpose ___________ out of ___________ questions

Dual Texts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Retrieval ___________ out of ___________ questions

Main Idea ___________ out of ___________ questions

Claims ___________ out of ___________ questions

Charts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Conclusions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Reading categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Reading categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

750 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Reading portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

How many Writing questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Complete Sentences ___________ out of ___________ questions

Connecting Clauses ___________ out of ___________ questions

Punctuation with Describing Phrases ___________ out of ___________ questions

Lists ___________ out of ___________ questions

No Punctuation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Verbs ___________ out of ___________ questions

Pronouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Modifiers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Transitions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Rhetorical Synthesis ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Writing categories with 3 or more questions, which categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which Writing categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 751

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Writing portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the RW modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Math Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Math questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Plugging In the Answers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Plugging In ___________ out of ___________ questions

Linear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nonlinear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Functions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Representation and Interpretation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Working with Data ___________ out of ___________ questions

Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

752 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Proportional Relationships ___________ out of ___________ questions

Geometry and Trig ___________ out of ___________ questions

Advanced Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

Now figure out how many you missed based on the question type:

Multiple-choice ___________ out of ___________ questions

Fill-ins ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Math categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Math categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many were careless errors (you used the correct
method but got the wrong answer due to misreading or making a simple math mistake)? __________

How many did you miss but feel you could now get right with the strategies and skills you’ve learned in
class? __________

How can you avoid making these mistakes next time?

________________________________________________________________________________

How many questions did you miss because you didn’t know how to do them? ___________________

Which errors are easier to fix: careless errors or those due to not knowing a concept?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the Math modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 753

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Write down two other things you plan to do differently on the Math section of the next practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Overall Goals
Your score goals for the second practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Remember that you have not yet covered all strategies and question
types in class. On your first pass, attempt questions that you know you
can do quickly and with good accuracy. If you have time for a second
pass, attempt questions that will take longer or that you aren’t as
accurate with. Your goals for pacing and the types of questions you
will answer on this test will probably be di erent from those you will
attempt on subsequent tests.

754 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

PACING REVIEW FOR PRACTICE TEST #3

Before you attempt your third practice test, review your previous test to look for areas of strength and weak-
ness and revisit the pacing strategies that we discussed in the introduction chapters. Use the score report
from your most recent test to complete the following exercises.

Your scores from your second practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Section Analysis of the Second Practice Test

Reading and Writing Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Reading questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Vocabulary ___________ out of ___________ questions

Purpose ___________ out of ___________ questions

Dual Texts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Retrieval ___________ out of ___________ questions

Main Idea ___________ out of ___________ questions

Claims ___________ out of ___________ questions

Charts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Conclusions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Reading categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Reading categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 755

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Reading portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

How many Writing questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Complete Sentences ___________ out of ___________ questions

Connecting Clauses ___________ out of ___________ questions

Punctuation with Describing Phrases ___________ out of ___________ questions

Lists ___________ out of ___________ questions

No Punctuation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Verbs ___________ out of ___________ questions

Pronouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Modifiers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Transitions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Rhetorical Synthesis ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Writing categories with 3 or more questions, which categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which Writing categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

756 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Writing portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the RW modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Math Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Math questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Plugging In the Answers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Plugging In ___________ out of ___________ questions

Linear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nonlinear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Functions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Representation and Interpretation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Working with Data ___________ out of ___________ questions

Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 757

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Proportional Relationships ___________ out of ___________ questions

Geometry and Trig ___________ out of ___________ questions

Advanced Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

Now figure out how many you missed based on the question type:

Multiple-choice ___________ out of ___________ questions

Fill-ins ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Math categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Math categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many were careless errors (you used the correct
method but got the wrong answer due to misreading or making a simple math mistake)? __________

How many did you miss but feel you should have gotten right? is could mean you forgot to use a
strategy you learned in class or otherwise have the skills to do but did not solve the problem correctly or
skipped it. __________

How can you avoid making these mistakes next time?

________________________________________________________________________________

How many questions did you miss because you didn’t know how to do them? ___________________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the Math modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two other things you plan to do differently on the Math section of the next practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

758 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Overall Goals
Your score goals for the third practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Which topics that were recently covered in class will you focus on for the third practice test?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Which topics from earlier in the course do you need to review based on your performance on the second
practice test?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

To review those topics, which resources will you use? Circle one or more.

Class recordings Homework sections (including Math 101s) Office hours (if offered)

Supplemental tests Supplemental books (if available) Ask instructor for advice

On your first pass, attempt questions that you know you can do quickly
and with good accuracy. If you have time for a second pass, attempt
questions that will take longer or that you tend to get wrong. Make sure
to enter an answer for any questions you do not plan to work on.

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 759

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

PACING REVIEW FOR ADDITIONAL PRACTICE TESTS

Before you attempt your next practice test, review your previous test to look for areas of strength and weak-
ness and revisit the pacing strategies that we discussed in the introduction chapters. Use the score report
from your most recent test to complete the following exercises.

Your scores from your most recent practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Section Analysis of the Most Recent Practice Test

Reading and Writing Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Reading questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Vocabulary ___________ out of ___________ questions

Purpose ___________ out of ___________ questions

Dual Texts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Retrieval ___________ out of ___________ questions

Main Idea ___________ out of ___________ questions

Claims ___________ out of ___________ questions

Charts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Conclusions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Reading categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Reading categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

760 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Reading portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

How many Writing questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Complete Sentences ___________ out of ___________ questions

Connecting Clauses ___________ out of ___________ questions

Punctuation with Describing Phrases ___________ out of ___________ questions

Lists ___________ out of ___________ questions

No Punctuation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Verbs ___________ out of ___________ questions

Pronouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Modifiers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Transitions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Rhetorical Synthesis ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Writing categories with 3 or more questions, which categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which Writing categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 761

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things you plan to do differently on the Writing portion of the RW section of the next
practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the RW modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Math Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Math questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Plugging In the Answers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Plugging In ___________ out of ___________ questions

Linear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nonlinear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Functions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Representation and Interpretation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Working with Data ___________ out of ___________ questions

Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

762 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Proportional Relationships ___________ out of ___________ questions

Geometry and Trig ___________ out of ___________ questions

Advanced Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

Now figure out how many you missed based on the question type:

Multiple-choice ___________ out of ___________ questions

Fill-ins ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Math categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Math categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many were careless errors (you used the correct
method but got the wrong answer due to misreading or making a simple math mistake)? __________

How many did you miss but feel you should have gotten right? is could mean you forgot to use a
strategy you learned in class or otherwise have the skills to do but did not solve the problem correctly or
skipped it. __________

How can you avoid making these mistakes next time?

________________________________________________________________________________

How many questions did you miss because you didn’t know how to do them? ___________________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the Math modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two other things you plan to do differently on the Math section of the next practice test:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 763

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Overall Goals
Your score goals for the next practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Which topics that were recently covered in class will you focus on for the next practice test?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Which topics from earlier in the course do you need to review based on your performance on the most
recent practice test?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

To review those topics, which resources will you use? Circle one or more.

Class recordings Homework sections (including Math 101s) Office hours (if offered)

Supplemental tests Supplemental books (if available) Ask instructor for advice

On your first pass, attempt questions that you know you can do quickly
and with good accuracy. If you have time for a second pass, attempt
questions that will take longer or that you tend to get wrong. Make
sure to enter an answer for any questions you do not plan to work on.

764 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

PACING REVIEW FOR THE DIGITAL SAT

You’ve made it through the course and your Digital SAT is fast approaching. Let’s revisit your pacing strat-
egy one more time to maximize your score on the real Digital SAT. Use the score report from your most
recent test to complete the following exercises.

Your scores from your most recent practice test:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Section Analysis of the Most Recent Practice Test

Reading and Writing Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Reading questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Vocabulary ___________ out of ___________ questions

Purpose ___________ out of ___________ questions

Dual Texts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Retrieval ___________ out of ___________ questions

Main Idea ___________ out of ___________ questions

Claims ___________ out of ___________ questions

Charts ___________ out of ___________ questions

Conclusions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Reading categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Reading categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 765

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things that you want to remember to do on test day for the Reading portion of the RW
section:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

How many Writing questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Complete Sentences ___________ out of ___________ questions

Connecting Clauses ___________ out of ___________ questions

Punctuation with Describing Phrases ___________ out of ___________ questions

Lists ___________ out of ___________ questions

No Punctuation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Verbs ___________ out of ___________ questions

Pronouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nouns ___________ out of ___________ questions

Modifiers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Transitions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Rhetorical Synthesis ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Writing categories with 3 or more questions, which categories were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which Writing categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

766 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many of those questions do you feel you fully
understand and should have gotten right? __________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things that you want to remember to do on test day for the Writing portion of the RW
section:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the RW modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Math Section
Module 1: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

Module 2: How did you do with pacing? Circle one:

Finished with over 3 minutes left Finished just about on time Ran out of time

How many Math questions did you miss on Module 1? ___________ On Module 2? ___________

How many questions did you miss in each category?

Plugging In the Answers ___________ out of ___________ questions

Plugging In ___________ out of ___________ questions

Linear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Nonlinear Solving ___________ out of ___________ questions

Functions ___________ out of ___________ questions

Representation and Interpretation ___________ out of ___________ questions

Working with Data ___________ out of ___________ questions

Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 767

DIGITAL SAT MANUAL

Proportional Relationships ___________ out of ___________ questions

Geometry and Trig ___________ out of ___________ questions

Advanced Coordinate Geometry ___________ out of ___________ questions

Now figure out how many you missed based on the question type:

Multiple-choice ___________ out of ___________ questions

Fill-ins ___________ out of ___________ questions

Of the Math categories with 3 or more questions, which 3 were your greatest strengths?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

In which 3 Math categories did you miss the most questions?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Review the explanations for the questions you missed. How many were careless errors (you used the correct
method but got the wrong answer due to misreading or making a simple math mistake)? __________

How many did you miss but feel you should have gotten right? is could mean you forgot to use a
strategy you learned in class or otherwise have the skills to do but did not solve the problem correctly or
skipped it. __________

How can you avoid making these mistakes on the Digital SAT?

________________________________________________________________________________

How many questions did you miss because you didn’t know how to do them? ___________________

Which questions did you spend time on but now realize you should have skipped?

________________________________________________________________________________

Based on all the analysis of the Math modules, is there anything you would do differently in terms of how
you navigated the modules?

________________________________________________________________________________

Write down two things that you want to remember to do on test day for the Math section:

1. ______________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

768 | © TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC

 PACING REVIEWS

Overall Goals
Your goals for the real Digital SAT:

Reading and Writing Section: ________ out of 800 Math Section: ________ out of 800

Which topics that were recently covered in class will you focus on for the Digital SAT?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

Which topics from earlier in the course do you need to review based on your performance on your most
recent practice test?

_________________________ _________________________ _________________________

To review those topics, which resources will you use? Circle one or more.

Class recordings Homework sections (including Math 101s) Office hours (if offered)

Supplemental tests Supplemental books (if available) Ask instructor for advice

On your first pass, attempt questions that you know you can do quickly
and with good accuracy. If you have time for a second pass, attempt
questions that will take longer or that you tend to get wrong. Make
sure to enter an answer for any questions you do not plan to work
on. Never revisit a question you have worked through to completion;
changed answers are almost always incorrect.

You’ve got this!

© TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC | 769