Improving Math Scores

[eleanor_rigby]

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I took the PCAT twice last year and the results for quantitative ability were:

Test 1: 89
Test 2: 64 😕 😡

I can ace calculus and other higher math courses, but my basic math skills is sub-par and seems to dwindle with time. I want my math score up in the 90's when I retake the exam in June.

Should I get an algebra/trig workbook and get in time to work on a few problems a day or are there any other suggestions from those of who you had a score of 90+ on the quantitative section.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Slangindempillz]

I took the PCAT twice last year and the results for quantitative ability were:

Test 1: 89
Test 2: 64 😕 😡

I can ace calculus and other higher math courses, but my basic math skills is sub-par and seems to dwindle with time. I want my math score up in the 90's when I retake the exam in June.

Should I get an algebra/trig workbook and get in time to work on a few problems a day or are there any other suggestions from those of who you had a score of 90+ on the quantitative section.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

If you feel very confident in calculus, I wouldn't spend alot of time in that area, but I would try and get some books that might help you in the other areas. I would have a problem recommending a good book for that though. I would try going to Barnes and noble and just looking through the books in an attempt to find questions similar to the ones on the pcat.

Sorry that I am not much help, I just wouldn't know a good book for that particular area unless I went to the book store and looked around.

 

[Benzoic Acid]

I have yet to take the PCAT, but I have the same issue as you, or I did. All you gotta do is stop using your calculator and when you study stuff with math, even if the problem is really nasty, with fractions and decimals, do it and keep doing it. Within 3 weeks of doing this with every math problem in chemistry or whatever will get you up to par.

 

[RachGator]

Practice rounding nasty numbers to numbers close and easy to work with. For instance, if a number is 9.5 use 10 (if the other numbers are farther away-meaning not ALL close to 10). Also, work in timed conditions this close to the exam. Many people can handle the math but speed gets them. Choose whether to tackle a problem, do it and move on. Don't get bogged down. Good !

 

[twester]

Time is getting a little short, but I used the Schaum's books to refresh algebra and trig. They have thousands of problems in them. Most public and university libraries have them.

Good luck.

 

[fob12]

Time is getting a little short, but I used the Schaum's books to refresh algebra and trig. They have thousands of problems in them. Most public and university libraries have them.

Good luck.

I don't think there is trigonometry on the PCAT. But geometry and calculus are on it.

 

[AznGTOi3oi]

yea i was gonna ask that question does the PCAT have trig on it, like sine and cosine. because i went through barrons and kaplans and they don't seem to mention any trig. However the cliff practice tests tend to have a few problems on it. Would greatly apperciate it if someone knows the answer to this question thanks

 

[tennismn]

Kaplan makes a GRE/GMAT Math Workbook that has loads of practice problems for the quantitative part of the PCAT. I used it when I took my test last year, and it helped me out a lot.

I found out that I remembered a lot of the stuff after working the problems, but just looking at them without any preparation was kind of scary. I ended up with a 98 percentile overall, so I contribute most of that to the help I got from this workbook. Check it out.

 

[purpleheart1]

Kaplan makes a GRE/GMAT Math Workbook that has loads of practice problems for the quantitative part of the PCAT. I used it when I took my test last year, and it helped me out a lot.

I found out that I remembered a lot of the stuff after working the problems, but just looking at them without any preparation was kind of scary. I ended up with a 98 percentile overall, so I contribute most of that to the help I got from this workbook. Check it out.

When I took the PCAT last October I was scared because although math was not a problem for me, I was surprised to see a lot of sin/cosine and a lot of unfamiliar math questions. Make sure that you are comfortable with fractions, percent conversions, and finding the unknowns. These were not hard for me but sin/cosines and I have seen 1/sin 1/cos and stuff like that even cos^2. Oh well, I am glad that I took it and it's over with and I scored a 96% on the qualitative section. I almost ran out of time. No matter what make sure you fill all the ovals before time is up. I studied from the Kaplan and I also went online to the Kaplan website. They have a section devoted for calculus. Good luck. It didn't help me that much since I didn't think what I reviewed really helped me during the test. My friend's boyfriend had to tutor her cal ii but i didn't think it would help that much anyhow.

Good luck with the test,