Ocassionally, some of my students get confused as to which way the inequality sign is supposed to go. One way to remember it is to think of an alligator mouth. Alligators are always hungry, so they will want to eat the larger amount. 5 is greater than 2. […]
Math
Math Strategy: Is This Really a Scary Dragon?
Happy Halloween! Since you are going to see many monsters today, I thought I’d talk about how to distinguish the cute wannabes from the truly scary ones. We’ve already talked about vampire bunnies – tough, tricky problems that masquerade as mild-mannered bunnies. Let’s look at the other case – scary-looking dragons that aren’t so intimidating […]
SAT Math Strategy: Grab the Small Pumpkins First!
How can picking pumpkins increase your SAT score? PWN the SAT, in another unique analogy, explains: Imagine you work at a pumpkin farm and you’re being paid $5 per pumpkin harvested. That’s it. No size restrictions. Just $5 per pumpkin. How would you go about picking the different sized pumpkins? Would you lift any heavy ones […]
How I Raised My SAT Math Score by 220 Points
[Note: This refers to the old SAT. However, the process is still the same for the new SAT: take official practice tests, identify your weaknesses, fix the problems, then take another practice test.] I was a 40-year-old new mother at home with her baby, battling sleep deprivation, and desperate to find some sort of intellectual […]
SAT Math Strategies: Match Your Socks
My toddler rarely wears matching socks. No big deal, right? I figure as long as she is wearing clothing, I’m ahead of the game. I am, however, amazed at the number of people that criticize her lack of consistency. And if the SAT saw her feet, it would censure her as well. Because, apparently, it is […]
Math Strategy: Check Your Map
Have you even gotten lost? The question asks for x+2. You solve for x and glance over at the answer choices and sure enough find your answer. Sweet! You circle that answer and hurry off to answer the next question. Whoops! You forgot to re-read the question one last time to make sure you understood […]