Math Section

[detroitbsktball]

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Hi guys,

I was wondering for those who have already taken the PCAT, which book has math problems that are similar (difficulty level) to the acutal pcat problems. I have the Kaplan book that the the Kaplan classes uses and from what i hear, the kaplan book is detailed (which is good) but doesnt really help in the math portion of the pcat. I heard there is alot of word problems on the test (which is why many ppl seem to never finish) and i looked through the kaplan book and the barron book and both seem to be pretty easy.

So i was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on which book to use?

 

[Farcus]

yeh, lots of rate problems, work rate, probabllity, and word problems in general. at least in january

 

[pkp]

I just took the June one and I felt like none of the study materials were very similar to the PCAT. Cliffs might be the closest, but it does not have any calculus I think. You are probably best off buying the Harcourt tests, taking the exams, and seeing which math areas you are weak in.

 

[jiiniix2]

I agree, Kaplan wasn't a great help on the math section. To me, the questions were similar to those I did in high school when I took calc. So I guess I kind of recommend looking over a calc book if you have the time.

 

[samfromVA]

I do not think that math was all that hard. There were some questions that I thought were, "Well what the hell is this askin," but I imagine those were the 8 extra ones that they put as experiment.

I don't think that u need a whole lot of practice as long as you have some idea about calc, pre-calc, algebra, arithmetic, percentile and median, mode and mean ideas.

So prepare on these areas really well...

Best of luck,

By the way, when I took it, there was not even a single problem involving TRIG functions. So, there you go. I revealed the secret to breaking PCAT into pieces.

 

[lepamplemousse]

Yes there were trig functions on there. On the test I took, I think there were at least 2. Not sure, since I didn't finish the math portion. But according to my friend who took the test last year, there was A LOT of trig. So I think it depends on the test... your best bet is to study for it though.

 

[lepamplemousse]

Crap, I just think I wrote a response to the wrong thread. Sorry, just ignore what I wrote! That's what I get for clicking the 'back' button so many times, and landing on the wrong thread. Oops.

But anyway, Kaplan isn't helpful for the math section. I had to take out my old AP Calculus book, however that wasn't helpful either. I actually haven't found a good book for math. I think I did quite poorly...

 

[tydt]

Just to double check I'm using the 2008-2009 Kaplan book, and the math section is murdering me! Anyone use the the same book that i use and find it any help on their JUNE exam at all? Overall, the subject that I that thought was my strong point turns out to be my weakest, most questions took me at least 2 min. to do since you can't use a calculator in the exam.

I NEED HELP BIG TIME!

 

[FPCPineapple]

For those of you who did extremely well in math, what were some of the things you did to study? I know some people who are naturally good at math, and they didnt have to study as much? Unfortunately I am not one of those people...would you say buying practice books like schuams calculaus or pre-calculus would help?

 

[helloeveryone]

Just to double check I'm using the 2008-2009 Kaplan book, and the math section is murdering me! Anyone use the the same book that i use and find it any help on their JUNE exam at all? Overall, the subject that I that thought was my strong point turns out to be my weakest, most questions took me at least 2 min. to do since you can't use a calculator in the exam.

I NEED HELP BIG TIME!

OMG is that true 😕

 

[mbabbas84]

Math..well.. i really don't think that math was that difficult.. like many have said before, that some of the questions were like.. "what the heck is this??".. but majority of them were str8 forward... In my opinion, KAPLAN does a decent job in preparing your for MATH.. i mean, if you are someone that is not good at math and is going to have a diff time.. then KAPLAN gives you a solid support.. it shows u the basic... like what and overview is.. but if you want to get something similar to pcat.. then go will collins.. I studied from collins which helped me alot... 🙂 good luck

 

[Jetninjin]

OMG is that true 😕

Yes it is true.

 

[nonzerosum]

There is trig on the PCAT??? I thought the geometry section was removed. Is it basic trig like find the length of ______ or is it trig involving calc or the cofunctions or memorization of the unit circle?

The qs in the probability and reading compreh section in the Kaplan 08-09 book is driving me nuts, are the questions really like that on the PCAT?

For the reading comp. will they actually put trick questions like "what is ______ name, derived from?" and it won't explicitly say in the article.

 

[diastole]

For math, I highly recommend paying for the practice exams and taking the test timed. You have to experience the exam to get a real feel for the pacing. Some people are great at math and may not need this but most people have trouble with the pace. It also helps to see what topics they do test on and how they write the questions. After preparing from the Kaplan's book, I was pretty shocked to see topics on the practice PCAT that Kaplan didn't touch. I used mathtv.com to refresh my memory on some things I didn't remember if I didn't have old textbooks around.