How is Math section different with calculators?

[nashmvp]

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Hey for all of you that have taken the DAT b4 AND after calculators were allowed for the QR section---i have a question

How is the QR section different in the DAT now? Are the questions harder? Do they require more precise answers?---or are they basically the same as before calculators were required? Thanks!

 

[casper22]

I just took my DAT yesterday and i though the QR was really harder than all the practice tests and MATH Destroyer... I consider myself to be good with Math and an 18 on QR was really depressing...I was averaging 21-24 on all the practice tests...

I did not do Kaplan tests but from what i have read here, Kaplan is harder so i am assuming that it would be a representative of the actual...

I hope this helps.

 

[nashmvp]

if you dont mind me asking, were there a lot of word problems? or trig? and also did they want like really precise answers?

 

[casper22]

There were few word problems as I had expected, i think only 1 basic trig question...and yes quite a few Geometry questions.. so know those things well...

Regarding precise answers, there was only one question where the answers choices were 0.002 units away... but then it was simple plug and chug...

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

all the math is the same. they added the calculator to buy people some time, although it generally lags and doesn't do much but waste time. I thought the level of difficulty of the math destroyer exams was spot on, however, my exam contained atleast 25-30 word problems. Its not really the level of difficulty, but the time constraint that makes it difficult. The ADA states in their DAT guide that there has been no change to the questions of the math section. I have friends who have taken the exam more than once, and they claim that the problems are of the same hardness.

 

[dentalprodigy]

i took the dat yesterday and agree that the calculator is laggy/buggy.

As for questions I got ;

- the typical combined rate problem w/ a twist (see math destroyer problems on this ) ... its where one person does a fraction of their normal work and the other does the same ... kaplan math tests just had a straight forward version of this problem.

- trig problem (finding total area of house , i think) ... simple multiplication ... exact answer

- algebra simplification problems ...

i could go on and on but just do dat math destroyer and understand every type of problem cuz they repeat over and over.

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

i could go on and on but just do dat math destroyer and understand every type of problem cuz they repeat over and over.

+1

 

[txlonghorn]

I loved the clac on the test. It kinda lags, but not too much. I am good with complex math, but suck with simple calcs - like dividing, etc. I did 7 of the math destroyers and was getting around 30 out of 40 right given the time. On the actual test, I finished 5 minutes early, unlike when I did the math destroyer. The math destroyer has too many complex trig problems - you will prob only see one of these. I thought the actual test was easier than the destroyer, but as I said, I am pretty good with math.

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

lets not forget about good 'ol luck!

my friend had like 8 word problems and the rest were a joke- simplification problems.

I have a theory that the test(s) with the harder math section will have easier reading and vice versa. So either you get pianoed or you get word problems galore...

 

[txlonghorn]

I think you might be right. I didn't have a piano passage, but had one passage that was pretty long (no, it was not the ethics one), but i sucked at RC. I did get many word problems on the test - I think I had a few simple problems and trig, and the rest of them were word problems. The thing is, the word problems were not hard - similar to the destroyer. In fact, I thought the hardest problem I had was on par with the destroyer problems. The rest were all easier than the math destroyer.

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

I think you might be right. I didn't have a piano passage, but had one passage that was pretty long (no, it was not the ethics one), but i sucked at RC. I did get many word problems on the test - I think I had a few simple problems and trig, and the rest of them were word problems. The thing is, the word problems were not hard - similar to the destroyer. In fact, I thought the hardest problem I had was on par with the destroyer problems. The rest were all easier than the math destroyer.

they gotta find a way to kill our AA somehow! luckily I didn't get pianoed because I hate reading 👍

 

[glo1984]

I was pianoed and it was not good. RC-19

I've always had excellence reading ability so I did not study for this section like many others. I just could NOT find the freaking answers, I read that passage like 4 times searching for them, ugh.

 

[txlonghorn]

they gotta find a way to kill our AA somehow! luckily I didn't get pianoed because I hate reading 👍

Wanna trade reading and math scores? lol

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

Wanna trade reading and math scores? lol

sure only if you give me your >1000 hours of volunteer work lol

 

[glo1984]

lets not forget about good 'ol luck!

my friend had like 8 word problems and the rest were a joke- simplification problems.

I have a theory that the test(s) with the harder math section will have easier reading and vice versa. So either you get pianoed or you get word problems galore...

I don't agree with you because I had the Piano passage and had a HUGE amount of word problems!

I knew someone that had only a few word problems with also an easy reading passage...

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

I don't agree with you because I had the Piano passage and had a HUGE amount of word problems!

I knew someone that had only a few word problems with also an easy reading passage...

Lol that sucks I hope you are a good reader