Cube Counting Woes

[eilrahcmi]

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alright, so on the first CDP test i got a 20 with 5 minutes to spare

Keys - 11
T/F/E - 14
Angles - 13
Punches - 13
CC - 8
Pattern - 12

everything else comes pretty easy, except cube counting. test 1 didn't have any tricky illusion questions so that leaves me a little worried. on this test i just tried to count to cubes for each question, which didn't work out well obviously. kaplan taught me the chart method, but then timing becomes an issue. it takes so long to fill out the chart then count all of the cubes and stuff.

so any advice on how to do these problems efficiently? this is supposed to be one of the gimme sections!

 

[dwd09]

alright, so on the first CDP test i got a 20 with 5 minutes to spare

Keys - 11
T/F/E - 14
Angles - 13
Punches - 13
CC - 8
Pattern - 12

everything else comes pretty easy, except cube counting. test 1 didn't have any tricky illusion questions so that leaves me a little worried. on this test i just tried to count to cubes for each question, which didn't work out well obviously. kaplan taught me the chart method, but then timing becomes an issue. it takes so long to fill out the chart then count all of the cubes and stuff.

so any advice on how to do these problems efficiently? this is supposed to be one of the gimme sections!

I'm a beast at cube counting. I can help. PM me if you'd like my help.

 

[doc3232]

I don't like Kaplans method for Cube counting.

Just keep practicing those tests. I like to review the ones I missed for a bit.
I only spent like 5-10 mins on tests I took. IMO, it's the practice that gets your score up.

 

[SurfTooth88]

Just count the faces and write them on the computer screen 😀

 

[yankees27th]

I used the Kaplan method. Write the numbers 0-5 on a sheet of paper and tally how many of each there are. Finish the entire figure and then answer the questions. Make sure you count in an organized manner so you don't re-count any cubes. Good luck!

 

[Shjfr]

Just count the faces and write them on the computer screen 😀

Yeah do this if you bombed the sciences and want to get kicked out of the testing center

I get a 15/15 every time using the "Kaplan Method" (tally). I think getting them all right is worth the added time of drawing a chart. It reassures that you counted every cube, and that you counted them only once (if you count all cubes beforehand).

Best of luck.

 

[doc3232]

Yeah do this if you bombed the sciences and want to get kicked out of the testing center

I get a 15/15 every time using the "Kaplan Method" (tally). I think getting them all right is worth the added time of drawing a chart. It reassures that you counted every cube, and that you counted them only once (if you count all cubes beforehand).

Best of luck.

I agree with this.
But everyone is different, some people don't have time and some people need to put that time in other places.
Personally, I spent extra time doing pattern folding. If you realize you are making stupid mistakes doing cube counting then maybe you should spend extra time doing tallies.

 

[joonkimdds]

I count all the cubes 2~3 times and make sure what I counted are indeed right.

 

[doc3232]

I count all the cubes 2~3 times and make sure what I counted are indeed right.

That reminds me...I do exactly this...on the real test I always counted the same number so maybe it didn't help that time.

 

[eilrahcmi]

im just slow with keyholes/punches so i get in a time crunch and rush my counting

i guess i just need some good ole practice

 

[yuppers]

I did the tally technique. Then I had plently of time at the end so I went back to recount without tallying.

 

[eldirty]

I used the Kaplan method. Write the numbers 0-5 on a sheet of paper and tally how many of each there are. Finish the entire figure and then answer the questions. Make sure you count in an organized manner so you don't re-count any cubes. Good luck!

This is the way I did it. The real DAT is different from Crack in that each figure corresponds to multiple questions ... just take your time making sure you have correctly tallied and then answering the next 3-5 questions will be a breeze.

 

[JamesOSU]

alright, so on the first CDP test i got a 20 with 5 minutes to spare

Keys - 11
T/F/E - 14
Angles - 13
Punches - 13
CC - 8
Pattern - 12

everything else comes pretty easy, except cube counting. test 1 didn't have any tricky illusion questions so that leaves me a little worried. on this test i just tried to count to cubes for each question, which didn't work out well obviously. kaplan taught me the chart method, but then timing becomes an issue. it takes so long to fill out the chart then count all of the cubes and stuff.

so any advice on how to do these problems efficiently? this is supposed to be one of the gimme sections!

The Kaplan method works really well. I adapted it to me, maybe my way will help you:

Looking at the figure I start counting at the front-left side. However you count, make sure you do it the same each time, and be thorough! At each cube I cube the sides and write down that number (no chart to make, just a long line of numbers), it's that simple! I don't ever look at my scratch paper/erasable board, just keep looking at the screen. IF you have the erasable board you can write as BIG as you WANT, so you don't have to look down while you tally. My scratch board looks like this:

1,2,3,2,2,2,4,3,1,5,5,2,2,3,2,2,4

After I'm done with that I count how many cubes there are in the figure, then I go back to my list and count those by 5s by drawing a slash every 5th one. so:

1,2,3,2,2/2,4,3,1,5/5,2,2,3,2/2,4

So I can easily tell that is 17. If that matches my count on the screen, I move to the questions.

How many cube had 1 side painted?

Go to the list and count the 1s... and viola!😀