PAT Angles Tips/Tricks

[Bio Dental Mom]

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So I recently asked about the cube counting and tried it out today and it went well. Now the only thing lacking is pattern folding and angles. Pattern folding I looked through "My Wicked Sick PAT tutorial" thread which I believe is a must (it helped me with top/front/end), but now I was wondering if anyone had any tricks for angles. They all look the freaking same!

 

[UndergradGuy7]

So I recently asked about the cube counting and tried it out today and it went well. Now the only thing lacking is pattern folding and angles. Pattern folding I looked through "My Wicked Sick PAT tutorial" thread which I believe is a must (it helped me with top/front/end), but now I was wondering if anyone had any tricks for angles. They all look the freaking same!

I usually picture someone walking along the angle. Or picture is like a laptop closing. Just by picturing someone walking on the angle, it makes it kind of seem easier to tell which is steeper I think.

 

[lvtran]

I use my fingers to cover part of 2 angles to form a "V" and then see which one is wider/narrower, because usually you only have to discern between 2 at a time based on the choices. Also, if one of the lines is horizontal or vertical, compare how close to the box the other line is.

 

[dufran3]

lvtran I use my fingers to cover part of 2 angles to form a "V" and then see which one is wider/narrower, because usually you only have to discern between 2 at a time based on the choices. Also, if one of the lines is horizontal or vertical, compare how close to the box the other line is.

You cannot do this on the DAT, you are not allowed to touch the screen

 

[sfoksn]

Yes, you are allowed to touch the screen if you would like.

Actually, you are allowed to even use your markers to measure the angle, if you can even do that.

You can't really do it effectively with markers, anyhow.

Bottomline, you can use anything in your items... None of them will be of course effective 🙂

 

[lvtran]

I read the rules, nothing about touching the screen or using your markers for other purposes beside writing. There is something about you may not tamper with testing equipment, though that's pretty vague, maybe referring to pulling the plug or somehow breaking the computer. What about people who have trouble reading on computer screens and have to follow their fingers as they read? There should be a sticky about what you are allowed and not allowed to do during the test, beside the obvious not taking anything inside. One testing center rule was that you cannot remove your jacket once inside the room.

 

[JBarr29]

I dont think the ADA regulates anything about holding fingers up to the screen, but the testing center itself gets pretty nervous. I was warned during the exam when I used my scrap paper. They were nice about it, although definitely hurt my strategy as evident by my score.

 

[UCSD6]

The V-method is terrible, cause it's hard to reproduce those angles by trying to outline the shape with your fingers. I have posted previously about this and I like to use the one finger method. align ur finger perpendicular to the base of the angle and move it very close to the beginning of the angle use ur other hand and do the same thing simultaneously to the other angle. look at the area between your finder and the lines of the triangle. The smaller area = the smaller angle, but make sure your hands are of equal distange from the angles in question. Also it makes it easier to compare just observing when u scale the angle small and the same size.

 

[RHONDAROBINSON]

Does anyone have this link to PAT Tricky?

 

[dentalWorks]

There is no trick for angles... Im sorry to say...

Every person has a different way of seeing things, what works for my eyes might not work for yours. The angles portion of the PAT is mostly instinct, u'll be able to tell the right answer from wrong just by pure instincts.

There are folks around SDN who claim they only miss 2-3 angle questions from Crack DAT PAT, and there are guys (like myself) who miss 4-7 questions each time.... No matter how much I practiced with angles, I didn't notice major improvements... with leads me to conclude that its one of those sections thats kinda built-into you.... you either got it or you don't

 

[jh311]

I thought the real DAT's angles were much harder than any of the 10 CDP test. Usually on CDP, you can at least eliminate 2 of the answers by just comparing which angles are bigger from the answer choices, for example:
A.3<2<4<1
B.3<1<4<2
C.1<2<3<4
D.1<4<2<3

I always look at the answer choices before looking at any of the angles, I say to myself, "is 3 or 1 smaller" then once you have the answer you can elimate 2 of the choices. Let's say 3 is smaller than 1, that eliminates choices C and D. now all you have to do is compare angles 1 and 2 to see which is bigger.

Like I mentioned earlier, the angles on my DAT last summer were IMO harder than the CDP angles, this was mostly because they gave you choices like:
A.3<1<4<2
B.1<2<3<4
C.2<4<1<3
D.4<2<3<1

When I saw this I was like... oh ****. Not only did the angles take tons more time than what I was used to get through that section, but I think I missed more because I lost track of which angles were which and I was nervous. I was getting 22's on all the CDP test and when I took the test, I got a 19 on this section... I was pissed. Bottom line, angles on the DAT are the hardest section, just do your best.

However, I do have a few tips: For angles less than 90, I like to pretend that i'm riding my dirt bike up the "ramp" and then from there, say to myself... which of these ramps will give me the most air off the jump? Obviously the steeper angle is the biggest and the one i'd rather jump off on a dirtbike. Another tip, for angles bigger than 90, I say "which hillside would I rather ski down? The steeper the "ski slope" the smaller the angle. The bigger the angle, the less extreme of a ski hill. These are just a few tips that often help me visualize which is smaller/bigger. Hope this helps. I'm retaking the test in a month to hopefully improve on all my scores from last year. Good luck.

 

[userah]

one of my students suggested thinking of the angles as hands on a clock. Thinking of it in that sense, helped him to visualize minute differences in angles.

another method is once you're down to two choices, imagine which one will be able to eat the other one (therefore being bigger)

See if either of those strategies worked for you

 

[RHONDAROBINSON]

There is a link for My Wicked Sick PAT Tutorial, but I cannot find it. Dental Mom, do you have the link?

Rhonda

 

[lvtran]

The V-method is terrible, cause it's hard to reproduce those angles by trying to outline the shape with your fingers. I have posted previously about this and I like to use the one finger method. align ur finger perpendicular to the base of the angle and move it very close to the beginning of the angle use ur other hand and do the same thing simultaneously to the other angle. look at the area between your finder and the lines of the triangle. The smaller area = the smaller angle, but make sure your hands are of equal distange from the angles in question. Also it makes it easier to compare just observing when u scale the angle small and the same size.

No no, I don't mean reproduce the angle with your fingers, i mean cover up the wide part so that only the "v" remains. Works pretty good with acute angles.

 

[Bio Dental Mom]

Hey Rhonda, I hope this helps! Here is the link to "My Wicked Sick PAT tutorial"

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643

 

[Rlow04]

Lean back. I mean way back.

Yesterday I was doing a CDP full length test with a buddy, and he was sitting at the computer and I was sitting behind him. I normally struggle with angles and miss 4-6, but yesterday they seemed almost easy and I realized it was because I was sitting 6+ feet away from the screen. I'd heard people say that leaning back helped, but it wasn't until I was really far away that I could really tell the difference.

So I guess in the testing center you should scoot your chair back as far as possible and then lean back some more.

Another trick we figured out:
If you are comparing two angles and one of them has a really long leg, move your mouse over the long leg so that it "cuts" the leg down. It really helped on those uneven angles. Does that make sense?