SAT*
Math
Prep Course
JEFF KOLBY
KUNDA VAMSIDHAR
Nova Press
* SAT is a registered trademark of
the College Entrance Examination
Board, which was not involved in
the production of, and does not
endorse, this book.
,Additional educational titles from Nova Press (available at novapress.net):
SAT Prep Course (640 pages, includes software)
GRE Prep Course (624 pages, includes software)
GRE Math Prep Course(528 pages)
Master The LSAT (560 pages, includes software, and 2 official LSAT exams)
GMAT Prep Course (624 pages, includes software)
GMAT Math Prep Course (528 pages)
GMAT Data Sufficiency Prep Course (422 pages)
The MCAT Physics Book (444 pages)
The MCAT Biology Book (416 pages)
The MCAT Chemistry Book (428 pages)
ACT Math Prep Course (402 pages)
Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL® iBT: (394 pages, includes audio CD)
500 Words, Phrases, Idioms for the TOEFL® iBT: (238 pages, includes audio CD)
Law School Basics: A Preview of Law School and Legal Reasoning (224 pages)
Vocabulary 4000: The 4000 Words Essential for an Educated Vocabulary (160 pages)
Copyright © 2010 by Nova Press
All rights reserved.
Duplication, distribution, or data base storage of any part of this work is prohibited without prior written
approval from the publisher.
ISBN 10: 1–889057–73–8
ISBN 13: 978–1–889057–73–6
SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the
production of, and does not endorse, this book.
Nova Press
11659 Mayfield Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: 1-800-949-6175
E-mail:
Website: www.novapress.net
, iii
ABOUT THIS BOOK
If you don’t have a pencil in your hand, get one now! Don’t just read this book—write on it, study it,
scrutinize it! In short, for the next four weeks, this book should be a part of your life. When you have
finished the book, it should be marked-up, dog-eared, tattered and torn.
Although the SAT is a difficult test, it is a very learnable test. This is not to say that the SAT is
“beatable.” There is no bag of tricks that will show you how to master it overnight. You probably have
already realized this. Some books, nevertheless, offer "inside stuff" or "tricks" which they claim will enable
you to beat the test. These include declaring that answer-choices B, C, or D are more likely to be correct
than choices A or E. This tactic, like most of its type, does not work. It is offered to give the student the
feeling that he or she is getting the scoop on the test.
The SAT cannot be “beaten.” But it can be mastered—through hard work, analytical thought, and by
training yourself to think like a test writer. Many of the exercises in this book are designed to prompt you to
think like a test writer. For example, you will find “Duals.” These are pairs of similar problems in which
only one property is different. They illustrate the process of creating SAT questions.
The SAT math sections are not easy—nor is this book. To improve your SAT math score, you must
be willing to work; if you study hard and master the techniques in this book, your score will
improve—significantly.
This book will introduce you to numerous analytic techniques that will help you immensely, not only
on the SAT but in college as well. For this reason, studying for the SAT can be a rewarding and satisfying
experience.
To insure that you perform at your expected level on the actual SAT, you need to develop a level of
mathematical skill that is greater than what is tested on the SAT. Hence, about 10% of the math problems
in this book (labeled "Very Hard") are harder than actual SAT math problems.
Although the quick-fix method is not offered in this book, about 15% of the material is dedicated to
studying how the questions are constructed. Knowing how the problems are written and how the test
writers think will give you useful insight into the problems and make them less mysterious. Moreover,
familiarity with the SAT’s structure will help reduce your anxiety. The more you know about this test, the
less anxious you will be the day you take it.
,
Math
Prep Course
JEFF KOLBY
KUNDA VAMSIDHAR
Nova Press
* SAT is a registered trademark of
the College Entrance Examination
Board, which was not involved in
the production of, and does not
endorse, this book.
,Additional educational titles from Nova Press (available at novapress.net):
SAT Prep Course (640 pages, includes software)
GRE Prep Course (624 pages, includes software)
GRE Math Prep Course(528 pages)
Master The LSAT (560 pages, includes software, and 2 official LSAT exams)
GMAT Prep Course (624 pages, includes software)
GMAT Math Prep Course (528 pages)
GMAT Data Sufficiency Prep Course (422 pages)
The MCAT Physics Book (444 pages)
The MCAT Biology Book (416 pages)
The MCAT Chemistry Book (428 pages)
ACT Math Prep Course (402 pages)
Speaking and Writing Strategies for the TOEFL® iBT: (394 pages, includes audio CD)
500 Words, Phrases, Idioms for the TOEFL® iBT: (238 pages, includes audio CD)
Law School Basics: A Preview of Law School and Legal Reasoning (224 pages)
Vocabulary 4000: The 4000 Words Essential for an Educated Vocabulary (160 pages)
Copyright © 2010 by Nova Press
All rights reserved.
Duplication, distribution, or data base storage of any part of this work is prohibited without prior written
approval from the publisher.
ISBN 10: 1–889057–73–8
ISBN 13: 978–1–889057–73–6
SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the
production of, and does not endorse, this book.
Nova Press
11659 Mayfield Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: 1-800-949-6175
E-mail:
Website: www.novapress.net
, iii
ABOUT THIS BOOK
If you don’t have a pencil in your hand, get one now! Don’t just read this book—write on it, study it,
scrutinize it! In short, for the next four weeks, this book should be a part of your life. When you have
finished the book, it should be marked-up, dog-eared, tattered and torn.
Although the SAT is a difficult test, it is a very learnable test. This is not to say that the SAT is
“beatable.” There is no bag of tricks that will show you how to master it overnight. You probably have
already realized this. Some books, nevertheless, offer "inside stuff" or "tricks" which they claim will enable
you to beat the test. These include declaring that answer-choices B, C, or D are more likely to be correct
than choices A or E. This tactic, like most of its type, does not work. It is offered to give the student the
feeling that he or she is getting the scoop on the test.
The SAT cannot be “beaten.” But it can be mastered—through hard work, analytical thought, and by
training yourself to think like a test writer. Many of the exercises in this book are designed to prompt you to
think like a test writer. For example, you will find “Duals.” These are pairs of similar problems in which
only one property is different. They illustrate the process of creating SAT questions.
The SAT math sections are not easy—nor is this book. To improve your SAT math score, you must
be willing to work; if you study hard and master the techniques in this book, your score will
improve—significantly.
This book will introduce you to numerous analytic techniques that will help you immensely, not only
on the SAT but in college as well. For this reason, studying for the SAT can be a rewarding and satisfying
experience.
To insure that you perform at your expected level on the actual SAT, you need to develop a level of
mathematical skill that is greater than what is tested on the SAT. Hence, about 10% of the math problems
in this book (labeled "Very Hard") are harder than actual SAT math problems.
Although the quick-fix method is not offered in this book, about 15% of the material is dedicated to
studying how the questions are constructed. Knowing how the problems are written and how the test
writers think will give you useful insight into the problems and make them less mysterious. Moreover,
familiarity with the SAT’s structure will help reduce your anxiety. The more you know about this test, the
less anxious you will be the day you take it.
,
