by Talal Ali Jan

cracking the
Digital SAT
MATH: ALGEBRA
#03

TUTORIA Ph: + 92 323 409 6656

599 Q Block, Phase 2, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan Ph: +92 313 716 8949
www.tutoriapakistan.com
Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Math
In this manual we’ll:

Ø Review and breakdown all the topics included in the redesigned SAT
Ø Focus on Heart of Algebra
Ø Practice Strategies for different Questions

Timings:

Section Number of Amount of Time Time per Question

Questions
1st Section or Module 22 Questions 35 minutes 1.6 minutes approx.
2nd Section or Module (Adaptive) 22 Questions 35 minutes 1.6 minutes approx.

Topics:

Content Area Topics Covered Number of Questions

Algebra Linear equations in one variable, Linear

equations in two variables, Linear
functions, Systems of two linear ≈35% / 13-15 questions
equations in two variables, Linear
inequalities in one or two variables
Advanced Math Equivalent expressions, Nonlinear
equations in one variable and systems of ≈35% / 13-15 questions
equations in two variables, Nonlinear
functions
Problem-Solving and Ratios, rates, proportional relationships
Data Analysis and units, Percentages, One-variable
data: distributions and measures of
center and spread, Two-variable data: ≈15% / 5-7 questions
models and scatterplots, Probability and
conditional probability, Inference from
sample statistics and margin of error,
Evaluating statistical claims:
observational studies and experiments
Geometry and Area and volume, Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles, Right triangles and ≈15% / 5-7 questions
trigonometry, Circles
Total

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Questions:

Type of Questions Number of Questions

M. C. Q’s ≈ 75%
Student-produced responses ≈ 25%

Some of the questions will include real-world contexts in areas such as science and social studies. These
questions will require you to apply reasoning and critical thinking skills to analyze situations, create
mathematical models, and find relevant solutions. You will also see graphs, charts, and diagrams in some
of the problems and answer choices.

Student-produced Responses

For student-produced response questions, solve each problem and enter your answer as described
below.
• If you find more than one correct answer, enter only one answer.
• You can enter up to 5 characters for a positive answer and up to 6 characters (including the
negative sign) for a negative answer.
• If your answer is a fraction that doesn't fit in the provided space, enter the decimal equivalent.
• If your answer is a decimal that doesn't fit in the provided space, enter it by truncating or
rounding at the fourth digit.
!
• If your answer is a mixed number (such as 3 "), enter it as an improper fraction (7/2) or its decimal
equivalent (3.5).
• Don't enter symbols such as a percent sign, comma, or dollar sign.

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Read the question carefully:

Read through the whole question. Don't assume you understand the question just by reading the first
few words!

Example:

The width of a rectangular field is one-quarter of its length. If the length is 16, what is the perimeter of
the field?

A) 4
B) 24
C) 36
D) 40

Example:
!
Which of the following fraction is less than ?
#

!
A.
"#
!
B.
"$
%
C.
&
'
D.
%

Ø Plug in answer choices:

Some questions may easily be solved with fastest way just by plug in answer choices one by one. For
instance,

Example:

((
What is the largest integer, x, for which is an integer greater than 1?
&)*!

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Ø Replace variables with numbers:

Example:

In y years, Alex will be three times the age of his sister Nancy. Currently, Alex is a years old and Nancy is
n years old. Which of the following expressions is equal to y?

+*%,
A.
$
+-%,
B.
$
C. a - 3n
D. a + 3n

Ø Use Figures:

Example:

What is the area of quadrilateral ABCD?

A. 18
B. 24
C. 30
D. 36

Ø Pay attention to units and variables:

When choosing an answer, double check whether it uses correct unit or scale of measurement (i.e. cm,
km, ml, liter, cm2, etc.). In case your answer is in a unit different from given in answer choices, you must
convert it to the same as given in answer choices.

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Example:

The chart above shows the amount of time Jenny spent on homework in one week. On average, how
many minutes per day did Jenny spend on homework?

A. 1
B. 1.25
C. 60
D. 75

Practice Problem Solving Strategies:

For questions 1-3, cross out answer choices that are definitely wrong without fully solving the
question. Briefly note why you eliminated certain choices. Finally, solve the problem.

1. The spinner abovehas five equal sections, each with a number. What is the probability of spinning
a 3 or a 5?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

!
(A) $
Eliminate? If so, why?

"
(B) Eliminate? If so, why?
$

!
(C) Eliminate? If so, why?
"

#
(D) Eliminate? If so, why?
$

2. Matt has an average of 83% on four math tests. What score would he have to average on his next
two tests in order to have an 85% average on all six tests?

(A) 85% Eliminate? If so, why?

(B) 87% Eliminate? If so, why?
(C) 89% Eliminate? If so, why?
(D) 91% Eliminate? If so, why?

3. A young plant is growing at constant rate. The graph shows the height of the plant over time.
What is the relationship between d (the day) and H (the height)?

(A) H = 3d Eliminate If so, why?

(B) H = -3d + 2 Eliminate If so, why?
(C) H = 2d + 3 Eliminate If so, why?
(D) H = 3d + 2 Eliminate If so, why?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

For each of the following questions, plug in answer choices to select your answer.

4. If a box of pencils is divided equally among 6 people, there will be 3 pencils left over. If the pencils
are divided equally among 4 people, there will be 1 pencil left over. Which of the following could be
a possible number of pencils in the box?

(A) 23
(B) 33
(C) 43
(D) 53

5. The perimeter of a rectangle is twice its area. Which of the following are possible dimensions of the
rectangle?

(A) 1 by 6
(B) 3 by 12
(C) 4 by 4
(D) 2 by 2

6. Carla has completed 12 of the 47 problems in her math worksheet. If she wants to finish the
worksheet in the next seven minutes, how many problems does she need to complete per minute?

(A) 5
(B) 6
(C) 7
(D) 10

For each question below, pick a number that will simplify the question. Then, use this number to solve
the question.

% '
7. At a school barbecue, of the students ate a hamburger and ate a hot dog. There are twice as
!& !&
many hot dogs in a box as hamburgers. If the students ate 4 boxes of hot dogs, how many boxes of
hamburgers did they eat?

!
8. Rectangle A is 9 times longer than Rectangle B. The width of Rectangle A is # the width of Rectangle
B. The area of Rectangle A is how many times greater than the area of Rectangle S?

9. From 2000 to 2001, the population of fish in a pond grew by 10%. From 2001 to 2002, the
population of fish declined by 5%. By what percent did the population of fish rise from 2000 to
2002?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

10. If a certain maple tree grew by 3 feet and then doubled in height, it would be the same height as a
certain red oak. What is the relationship between the height of the maple tree (m) and the height
of the red oak (r)?

Answer Keys: Problem Solving Strategies

1. B
2. C
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. 12
8. 3
9. 4.5%
10. 2(m + 3) = r

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Fundamental Math Review

In this section, we will review the basic arithmetic that you will need to know for the Math Test. When
you are confident with these basic math concepts, the SAT Math material becomes a lot easier. The
concepts we will review in this section are:
• Properties of Integers
• Factors and Multiples
• Operations
• Fractions
• Ratios, Percentages, Proportions, and Rates
• Exponents and Radicals

Integers

FACTORS AND MULTIPLES

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Operations

Order of Operations

The order of operations is the order that you must follow when carrying out multiple operations:

• Parentheses: Do any operations in parentheses first, following the order of operations within the
parentheses.
• Exponents: Next, evaluate all exponents.
• Multiplication and Division: Multiply and divide from left to right.
• Addition and Subtraction: Add and subtract from left to right.
Example

5 – 3 X 43 ÷ (7 − 1)

FRACTIONS
Addition and Subtraction
' " (
1. Example: Add , , and .
$ # !$

! ! ! !
2. Example: Add + + +
" # ' $

' )
3. Example: $ + !"

' )
4. Example: $
– !"

Multiplication and Division

# !$ !!
1. Example: $ x ## x '$

# )
2. Example: Find '
÷ (.

$ $
3. Example: Divide !(
by *

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Verbal problems involving fractions

Part of a whole
A fraction represents a part of a whole. In dealing with fractional problems, we are usually dealing with a
part of a quantity

1. Example: Andrea and Danny ran for president of the Math Club. Andrea got 15 votes, while
Danny got the other 10. What part of the votes did Andrea receive?

Finding fractions of fractions

! !
1. Example: ' of the employees of Mr. Brown’s firm earn over $20,000 per year. " of the remainder
earn between $15,000 and $20,000. What part of the employees earns less than $15,000 per
year?

!
2. Example: A full bottle of isopropyl alcohol is left open in the school laboratory. If # of the
"
isopropyl alcohol evaporates in the first 12 hours and of the remainder evaporates in the
#
second 12 hours, what part of the bottle is full at the end of 24 hours?

Finding whole numbers

When a fractional part of a number is given and we wish to find the number representing the whole, it is
often easiest to translate the words into mathematical symbols and solve the resulting equation.
"
1. Example: Norman buys a used car for $2400, which is $ of the original price. Find the original
price.

!
2. Example: The gas gauge on Mary’s car reads ( full. She asks the gasoline attendant to fill the
tank and finds she needs 21 gallons. What is the capacity of her gas tank?

Solving with letters

1. Example: It takes Mr. Cohen X days to paint his house. If he works for D days, what part of his
house must still be painted?

!
2. Example: Sue buys 500 stamps. X of these are 10-cent stamps. of the remainder are 15-cent
#
stamps. How many 15-cent stamps does she buy?

!
3. Example: John spent $X on the latest hit record album. This represents + of his weekly
allowance. What is his weekly allowance?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Percentages
Finding a percent of a number
1. Example: Find 30% of 200.

2. Example: Find 32% of 84

!
3. Example: Find 12 " % of 112.

Finding the number when a percent is given

1. Example: 7 is 5% of what number?

"
2. Example: 40 is 66#% of what number?

To find what percent one number is of another

1. Example: 30 is what percent of 1500?

2. Example: 12 is what percent of 72?

Verbal problems involving percent

Percent of increase or decrease
The percent of increase or decrease is found by putting the amount of increase or decrease over the
original amount and changing this fraction to a percent by multiplying by 100.

1. Example: The number of automobiles sold by the Cadcoln Dealership increased from 300
one year to 400 the following year. What was the percent of increase?

2. Example: The Sunset School dismisses 20% of its staff of 150 due to budgetary problems. By
what percent must it now increase its staff to return to the previous level?

Discount
1. Example: A store offers a 25% discount on all appliances for paying cash. How much will a
microwave oven marked at $400 cost if payment is made in cash?

2. Example: Johnson’s Hardware Store is having a moving sale in which everything in the store
is being marked down 20% with an additional 5% discount for paying cash. What will be the
net cost of a toaster, paid with cash, marked at $25?

Profit and loss

1. Example: A radio sells for $40, giving the dealer a 25% profit. What was his cost?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

!
2. Example: Joan’s Boutique usually sells a handbag for $80, which yields a 33 # % profit. During a
special sale, the profit is cut to 10%. What is the sale price of the handbag? Solution: $80
!
represents 133 #
% of the cost.

Ratios and proportions

A ratio is a comparison between two quantities. In making this comparison, both quantities must be
expressed in terms of the same units.

1. Find the ratio of the shaded portion to the unshaded portion.

2. A big bowl holds 4 quarts of soup. If 1/3 cup of soup mix makes 2 quarts of soup, how many big
bowls can be filled with the soup made from 4 cups of soup mix?

(A) 1
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 24
(E) 96

3. Zhang Lei spent $20.00 during his last outing at the bowling alley. This included a one-time shoe
rental fee of $3.50. He spent the rest of the money on bowling a number of games. If it took
Zhang Lei 45 minutes to bowl each game and he spent 2 hours and 15 minutes bowling, how
much did it cost per game?

A. 3
B. 5.50
C. 6.67
D. 7.34

4. During a timed test, Alexander typed 742 words in 14 minutes. Assuming Alexander works at
this rate for the next hour, which of the following best approximates the number of words he
would type in that hour?

A. 53
B. 840
C. 3180
D. 44520

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

5.

A quilter wants to make the design shown above using the Golden Ratio. Specifically, he wants
the ratio of the triangle heights A:B and B:C to each equal 1.62. If the quilter makes the triangle
height A = 8, approximately how tall should he make triangle height C?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6

6. Elena is conducting a study about the effects of toxins in the water on the hormones of fish.
Elena surveys 350 male fish in a river and finds that 150 of the male fish have egg cells growing
inside them. According to Elena's survey, what is the ratio of male fish with egg cells to male fish
without egg cells in the river?

A. 3:4
B. 3:7
C. 4:5
D. 4:7

7. The ratio of the amount of vitamin A in cow milk to the amount of vitamin A in goat milk
is 3 to 4. If a liter of cow milk has 1560 international units of vitamin A, how many units of
vitamins are in a liter of goat milk?

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Exponents and Radicals

Exponent Rules:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Example 4

What is the value of x: 43 + 43 + 43 + 43 = 2x

Example 5
!
(")-" + 3&

What is the value of the expression above?

A. 3/4
B. 5/4
C. 4
D. 5

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

HOMEWORK

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

ANSWERS

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Cracking the Digital SAT – Manual #3 Math – Algebra

Talal Ali Jan 20

Cracking the SAT Getting Up To Speed #1

com

TUTORIA Ph: + 92 323 409 6656

Ph: +92 313 716 8949
599 Q Block, Phase 2, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan
www.tutoriapakistan.com
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