{"id":7773,"date":"2016-09-20t12:43:32","date_gmt":"2016-09-20t19:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/act\/?p=7773"},"modified":"2021-09-17t06:09:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17t13:09:10","slug":"15-key-concepts-act-math-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/act\/15-key-concepts-act-math-review\/","title":{"rendered":"15 key concepts to review for act math"},"content":{"rendered":"
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did you know that the majority of act test-takers find the math test<\/a> to be the hardest section on the exam? it\u2019s true: act math<\/a> can look off-putting at first glance. but it doesn’t have to be a struggle. with these 15 key concepts to review for act math, you have your road map to act math success!<\/p>\n a few notes:<\/strong> 1. mean, median, and mode<\/strong><\/p>\n ah yes: mean, median, and mode. they\u2019re simple concepts to learn, but you don\u2019t want to get them mixed up on test day.<\/p>\n 2. probability<\/strong><\/p>\n if you want the odds to be in your favor, there\u2019s one big rule to remember about probability.<\/p>\n 3. absolute value<\/strong><\/p>\n if you see a vertical lines on either side of a number, that\u2019s absolute value. if those lines are around a negative number, treat the number like a positive number as you solve an equation.<\/p>\n 4. writing expressions and equations<\/strong><\/p>\n from time to time, you will come across a word problem that contains an algebraic expression or equation. when you see one of these questions, have your pencil out and ready to underline this key information.<\/p>\n 5. multiplying binomials<\/strong><\/p>\n you may know this one as foil (first outer inner last). though easy with a little practice, double check your work, especially if there are one or more negative numbers involved.<\/p>\n 6. inequalities<\/strong><\/p>\n the main thing to remember as you practice inequalities is that you should treat them like any other equation. the only difference is that when you multiply or divide by a negative number, switch the sign!<\/p>\n 7. relationships between the sides of an equation<\/strong><\/p>\n if you\u2019re having trouble figuring out the relationships between the sides of an equation, here are two things to remember.<\/p>\n 8. functions<\/strong><\/p>\n first of all, if you see \u2018f(x)\u2019, don\u2019t freak out. \u2018f(x)\u2019 is no different than \u2018y\u2019 in an equation. and if you see a compound function, like (f(g(x)), it\u2019s time to plug and play. but instead of plugging a number into a function, you\u2019re plugging one function into another function.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 9. logarithms<\/strong><\/p>\n now, these are pretty rare on the act. even so, they\u2019re important to know, no matter what<\/em> your score goal. logarithms<\/a> are the inverse of exponential functions. that may sound scary, but it\u2019s surprisingly easy to remember after studying an example and applying the same rules to a few practice problems.<\/p>\n 10. conic sections<\/strong><\/p>\n these questions will test your knowledge of parabolas, ellipses, and circles.<\/p>\n 11. the equation of a line<\/strong><\/p>\n good ole\u2019 y=mx+b. ‘m’ is the slope of your line, and ‘b’ is the y-intercept.<\/p>\n 12. simple three-dimensional geometry<\/strong><\/p>\n on some questions you will be asked to find the surface area, volume, or diagonal length of a cube or other rectangular solid\/prism. here are a few quick equations and tricks to remember.<\/p>\n 13. sohcahtoa <\/strong><\/p>\n sohcahtoa is a great mnemonic device to remember how to calculate the sine, cosine, and tangent of any triangle.<\/p>\n 14. solving triangles<\/strong><\/p>\n applying your sohcatoa knowledge to a triangle, it is possible to solve for \u2018x\u2019 when \u2018x\u2019 is the unknown length of one of the triangle\u2019s sides.<\/p>\n 15. trigonometric graphs okay, to correctly answer the 1-2 questions concerning trigonometric graphs, you need to memorize the three graphs that represent the following equations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n now, if you know what these graphs look like in their simplest forms, it becomes a lot easier to match an equation to graph, even if the equation represents a graph where the amplitude or period has been stretched. as you go through examples, you will discover that matching a graph to the right equation (or vice versa) becomes surprisingly easy.<\/p>\n well, magooshers, i hope this article has helped you refresh some crucial math topics. i certainly had a few flashbacks to high school math classes while writing it. no matter which math topics stump you, focus on your weaknesses as you prepare for test day (ratios giving you trouble? here’s how to solve them<\/a>!). apply your newly-honed skills to practice problems before sitting down to a full-length practice test<\/a>. if you do that, you are on your way to act math test success!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" there’s a lot to know in order to do well on the act math test. in this article, review 15 key concepts that will help you succeed on test day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[9],"ppma_author":[24915],"class_list":["post-7773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","tag-act-math"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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pre-algebra (20-25%)<\/h2>\n
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elementary algebra (15-20%)<\/h2>\n
intermediate algebra (15-20%)<\/h2>\n
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coordinate\/plane geometry (20-25%)<\/h2>\n
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trigonometry (5-10%)<\/h2>\n
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final thoughts<\/h2>\n