when you have to guess?? statistically speaking...

[titan3035]

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I hope that I won't have to ever guess, (ya right)....

My question is this:

Should one randomly guess if you dont know the answer on the DAT or is better to pick an answer, say "B", and mark it for EVERY question that you dont know that answer too?

Is there a way to calculate where your best odds would be?

 

[jaerob]

I hope that I won't have to ever guess, (ya right)....

My question is this:

Should one randomly guess if you dont know the answer on the DAT or is better to pick an answer, say "B", and mark it for EVERY question that you dont know that answer too?

Is there a way to calculate where your best odds would be?

Good question.. I've actually been wondering what the best approach would be as well, haha. I doubt there is any right answer.

 

[mochafreak]

I hope that I won't have to ever guess, (ya right)....

My question is this:

Should one randomly guess if you dont know the answer on the DAT or is better to pick an answer, say "B", and mark it for EVERY question that you dont know that answer too?

Is there a way to calculate where your best odds would be?

Well, let's see...I did a PAT practice section first thing this morning (right after waking up...no breakfast, no shower, etc.). I ran out of time and had to guess on the last 7 questions. I went with 'B' and got two right. If I guessed 'A' I would have gotten 3 right. So, my suggestion is to not do that to yourself, unless you want to be in a bad mood the rest of the day...and apparently 'A' is best. 😉

 

[Flipper405]

Well, let's see...I did a PAT practice section first thing this morning (right after waking up...no breakfast, no shower, etc.)...

That's just a brutal way to wake up...

 

[dat_student]

... If I guessed 'A' I would have gotten 3 right. So, my suggestion is to not do that to yourself, unless you want to be in a bad mood the rest of the day...and apparently 'A' is best. 😉

A is best for a good student like you. For a bad student like me D- is also good 😉

 

[mochafreak]

A is best for a good student like you. For a bad student like me D- is also good 😉

What did you do divide your GPA's by a 4.0? I'm a card-carrying member of the distinguished under-3.0 club, btw. 😉

 

[jdcinza13]

I hope that I won't have to ever guess, (ya right)....

My question is this:

Should one randomly guess if you dont know the answer on the DAT or is better to pick an answer, say "B", and mark it for EVERY question that you dont know that answer too?

Is there a way to calculate where your best odds would be?

From what I have been told, on standardized tests there will be the same number of A's, B's, C's and D's. If you want to take a little bit of time, you can make a tick marks for each answer that you have made. At the end of the test, this will help you determine which letter you should mark. If you have fewer C's, then you mark the rest as C's. You are trying to bring everything to the average, or close to it. Supposedly this will give you the greatest statistical chance of getting the questions right over group of questions. Does that make sense?

 

[Comet208]

Does that make sense?

only when all the other answers are correct.

 

[dat_student]

only when all the other answers are correct.

 

[trang]

this is how i [try to] reason....

if there were 5 answer choices and you had no clue of what the answer may be, then your chances of getting it right is 1 out of 5 (20% chance of getting a correct answer). but if you can eliminate an answer, your chances go up by 20% for every answer you do eliminate.

the way i guess is: i pick the first answer choice that i wasn't able to eliminate. say i was able to eliminate choice A and C, well the choice i'd pick would be B. that way you keep your guessing at a random instead of "picking an answer choice just because it's famililar." familiarity doesnt always lead to correctness!

and then i also look at all the answer choices. if there are two answer choices that are total opposites or are highly similar, chances that one of them is correct is good. So i usually pick one of those.

but this is just my opinion, dont hold my methods true and then criticize!! ehehe hope that helps.

 

[dat_student]

Are we allowed to roll dice while taking the test? I think I'll be better off guessing all the answers 😉