PAT problem-top/front/end

[saice101]

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So I have my DAT in next few days and Ive been going through some of the PAT questions. As far as the top/front/end question goes I have no $)$($ idea how to imagine them in their 3D shape in my head if I even had hours for each questions (I dont know how some of you guys do this I wish I could too). I use the Visible/Invisible technique by kaplan, which sometimes works and sometimes it doen't. For example for this problem how would I try to solve it? Does anyone have any other/better methods to do these? 😕

 

[DentQT]

Okay, so the way I would do this problem is by counting the "events" which usually eliminates a good 2 sometimes even 3 answer choices. And then i visualize it once i'm down to two choices to see which fits best.

If you don't know what events are, they are changes in the angle or number of "things" happening designated by a line or a dotted line.

So for this problem, I looked at the Front View, and counted its events. There are 6 events (counting from left to right). Now go to your answer choices. A has 6 events, so keep it. B has 8 events, you can eliminate it. C also has 8 events, so you can eliminate that as well. D has 6 events, so keep it.

Now you're down to choices A and D.

Count the events in the End View from left to right again. There are 4 events. Look at choices A and D and count their events, but instead of counting their events from left to right, you count the events from top to bottom. You want that to equal 4 (to match the End View).

Unfortunately, you cannot eliminate either choice, bcuz they both have 4 events from top to bottom. Now you need to visualize the object (try to save visualizing as the last option, it will save you A LOT of time).

By looking at the End View of the object, you can see that the object has something long and flat at the bottom...a space between...and then something else long at the top (the side ways U shape that it makes). Now looking at your answer choices, choice A depicts just that. It does this by the dotted lines. The dotted lines in choice A let you know that there is something underneath the structure.

Sooo that's how I did it, there are other ways...you just gotta find yours and practice it. Once u practice and get the hang of this method, it works amazingly and saves mucho time!! TFE is my best (aside from angles) from all the practice tests i've taken.

Oh and also, there's this thread that explains PAT stuff pretty well too. This guy uses a similar method that i learned except he doesn't call it events. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643

Hope that helped!! Good Luck!!

 

[saice101]

Thanks for the respond and all the explanation that you provided. I have a question, when you say to count the events from left to right for top view (you counted from the top). Does that matter? do you always have to count from the top? could you please tell me the rules for counting events? like in the question below how would you count the events?

 

[njohns24]

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[chromosome21]

try to visualize it. Once you train your eyes, it'd get easier. Go over sama's thread. It'll make you smart in PAT. And get barron's DAT book from any public library for free, and go over all the PAT "rules".

I read many breakdowns where counting lines wasn't so helpful.

I think the second question is explained very well in sama's thread.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643