Tips for PAT Keyhole? Really struggling.

[ThunderSplash]

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Hey guys,

The keyhole section is really kicking my butt right now. I've heard of flattening shapes, picturing it in your head, etc, but nothing has worked. Not trying to humble brag but my PAT scores are pretty high except for the fact that it's almost like an instant -15 due to keyhole. Five practice tests and I think the most keyholes I've gotten right was 5-7. I would say proportions are giving me the hardest time. That and I usually go to answers first to use process of elimination. Can anyone give me something new to try or explain what works for you? Thanks!!

 

[virtualmaster999]

Hey! I was bad at keys also, but have gotten much better with practice. What helped me for keys and tfe was to select 15 problems from BC every other day (or do them every day, your choice!). I would still time myself.

As for getting better at the actual shapes, I think it's good to look at "groups". There's usually at least one group (if not two) of similar objects. What I mean by this is you will have a set of two keys that look alike, and then you might have another group of two that has two other similar keys. Look at the groups first..dont go through each individual one if there are groups present! Also, it's useful to look at the ones that "stand out". Usually a good majority of problems have one thta just looks off right away.

Im no PAT expert, but this has definitely helped me go from 6-8 right to 10-12 right, which makes a big difference.

Little points, but hopefully they help! Good luck!

 

[ThunderSplash]

Hey! I was bad at keys also, but have gotten much better with practice. What helped me for keys and tfe was to select 15 problems from BC every other day (or do them every day, your choice!). I would still time myself.

As for getting better at the actual shapes, I think it's good to look at "groups". There's usually at least one group (if not two) of similar objects. What I mean by this is you will have a set of two keys that look alike, and then you might have another group of two that has two other similar keys. Look at the groups first..dont go through each individual one if there are groups present! Also, it's useful to look at the ones that "stand out". Usually a good majority of problems have one thta just looks off right away.

Im no PAT expert, but this has definitely helped me go from 6-8 right to 10-12 right, which makes a big difference.

Little points, but hopefully they help! Good luck!

Great points! Never looked at the group thing. I'll try it on my practice exam tomorrow. As far as what side to look from, I twist the shape in any direction in 3d but it seems like most of the answers are strictly "front", "right side 180 degrees flipped", etc. Is it possible for the view to come in from like a "north-east" direction? Maybe that's where I'm messing up. Thank you for the tips and good luck wishes!!

 

[virtualmaster999]

Great points! Never looked at the group thing. I'll try it on my practice exam tomorrow. As far as what side to look from, I twist the shape in any direction in 3d but it seems like most of the answers are strictly "front", "right side 180 degrees flipped", etc. Is it possible for the view to come in from like a "north-east" direction? Maybe that's where I'm messing up. Thank you for the tips and good luck wishes!!

most of the orientations are usually top front end, with some just looking from the back (opposite of front) or the left (opposite of the right).

No problem btw!

 

[The Dentanator]

Another thing is to always keep in mind, when there are openings or anything in the object, the length/height of opening. This helped me a lot in bootcamp. I applied where I could on the actual DAT. I was also having tons of trouble with keyholes, but if you keep working at it you''ll be fine. I scored a 24 on my actual PAT a couple days ago. Good Luck!