Quantitative on Practice test

[Brandie28]

For the first Pearson practice test the quantitative section seems to be very time consuming! Ive taken the PCAT before and I know its difficult to finish this section in time but this seems ridiculous! Is this just me?

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[illiniguy09]

I didn't take the Pearson Practice test but math is definitely the hardest section to finish on time, esp. without a calculator! I took the June pcat and the math was nearly impossible to finish, it was ridic! I ended up blindly guessing on more than 10 questions! A fews days ago, I took the final in the Kaplan 08-09 book and again, I had trouble with the math because of time. A lot of the problems require SIMPLE math that is long and tedious, but under timed pressure, I always make some STUPID simple math mistakes....which is why I need a calculator! I hate it when I do get the right answer after "guestimating" a decimal, but then the answers choices are large fractions that are really close...but anyway, I always hear people complaining about the math so I wouldn't think you'd be the only that feels that way about the practice.

 

[mug3n]

I had trouble on the practice and real PCAT too.

The best thing to do is that if you can't think of the general steps you need to solve the question within a few seconds, skip it. Don't try to blindly work it out and waste the 40 minutes of time that you have. Do whatever that immediately comes to mind and you'll get through a lot of it. I managed to get it down to 4-5 incomplete questions with around 5 minutes left.

 

[ffpickle]

the key, like the OP's all said, is to recognize content you are comfortable with versus that which does not seem familiar.

skip a question if you have no clue and come back to it.

work on approximations too: i remember some questions, i would get down to something like 137/279 * 100% where the choices are

a) 17.6%
b) 63.1%
c) 51.2%
d) 49.1%

you should recogize that double 137 is 274, so your answer will be just below 50% (ie. since 137/274 = 50% we know that 137/279 = slightly below 50%). the only realistic answer would be d)

little tricks like that might help.

also, know what to do as soon as you see a question. if they're asking about period, chances are you will set the domain equal to 2*pi and solve.

ex. what is the period of f(x) = ln(sin(2x-Pi))

right away, set 2x - Pi = 2*Pi
Then, 2x=3Pi
x=1.5 * Pi = period

other things to recognize are absolute values (know you must consider two cases, 1) if the stuff inside the abs. value is negative & 2) if the stuff inside the abs. value is positive)

also soon as you see something like a square root of something equals something else, solve for x, you should think square both sides.

it's all about recognizing question types IMO

 

[alphaRx]

I have a couple of questions for those who have already taken the PCAT>..

1) Is there any questions related to the unit circle on the PCAT? Should i waste my time memorizing it?

2) Which method is the best to find area under the curve?

 

[jackal head]

1) Is there any questions related to the unit circle on the PCAT? Should i waste my time memorizing it?

x2

 

[mug3n]

Probably not, I remember seeing that one on the practice test and I was completely baffled by it. Couldn't even understand the explanation.

IMO if there's something too difficult for you to grasp in a reasonable amount of time, don't bother with it. Worst thing that can happen is that you take a 25% chance on the PCAT and guess. Better to stick with the stuff you know and get better at that.