kitchen table math, the sequel: help desk - Blue Book

Friday, August 27, 2010

help desk - Blue Book

I can't do problem number 20 on page 401 in the Blue Book. At least not so far.

If you have the book, can you post the solution in the comments threat? I need the solution, not the answer: I have the answer. Have not yet tried to reverse engineer from the answer to the solution. That's next.

I'll scan the problem and post later on.

Thanks!

update - 10:33

solution here

The Official SAT Study Guide

7 comments:

Catherine Johnson said...

It's interesting, watching our progress. For SAT non-aficionados, in the math sections the problems are ordered from easy to hard, levels 1 - 5.

This problem, number 19, is level 5 and C. and I are both flummoxed. As a matter of fact, this is the most flummoxed I've ever been by an SAT math problem.

Meanwhile, problem 19, also level 5, took about 5 seconds to solve -- for C. as well as for me.

But C. missed it because he misread the multiple choice answers & thought his answer wasn't in the queue!

This happens WAY more often than you'd think -- scary.

Happens to me, too.

Is the font size larger on the actual test?

Catherine Johnson said...

ok...looking at it again, I think I know how to solve this...

Catherine Johnson said...

I did it!

I cheated. I looked at the Cliff's Notes page on triangular prisms: Regular Pyramids.

Saw immediately how to do it.

Should have seen it without having to look at Cliff's Notes, but c'est la vie.

Catherine Johnson said...

Here's the easy Level 5 problem:

20. A salesperson's commission is k percent of the selling price of a car. Which of the following represents the commission, in dollars, on 2 cars that sold for $14,000 each?

I kept thinking my answer had to be wrong because this was a Level 5 problem.

C. said he misread the multiple choice answers, which I'm sure is true, but I bet one reason he misread them was that he figured he had to have gotten it wrong!

Anonymous said...

Have you seen the SAT videos at Kahn Academy?

http://www.khanacademy.org/sat

Catherine Johnson said...

I LOVE Khan Academy.

This problem isn't on the site, though. It's one of the new tests in the 2nd edition.

I wish I hadn't assigned these problems ('cause I need to keep the new tests 'new' for me) -- I should have assigned problems from one of the tests I've already worked myself.

Catherine Johnson said...

I asked Chris what he thought when he solved the problem & sure enough: he thought it was too easy so his answer wasn't on the list.