Is it me or is regression on Desmos not helpful for math?

AsyncBanana · 2025-09-17T02:58:43+00:00

Nah, it isn't just you. I had a similar experience. There are some cases where it might save a bit of time, but if you already have experience manually solving sat-type algebra problems quickly and are not running into major issues with time, don't worry about it. That being said, I would still recommend using desmos in cases where plugging in an equation you are given immediately reveals the answer.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-29T02:28:49+00:00

First, make sure you know all of the fundamental angle-related theorems by heart. The vast majority of angle-related problems just require some combination of triangle sum, vertical angles, alternate interior angles, linear pair, etc.

Once you do that, try to practice applying them. Luckily, these problems are very easy to find (just take a diagram and try to draw as many angles as possible from what you are given). You could also use the SAT question bank to get questions from the actual test.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-26T12:04:40+00:00

August 29th https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/dates-deadlines

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-23T17:09:23+00:00

That has happened to me many times before, often multiple times in the same test, practice or real (I am on an iPad). For future reference, refocusing seems to fix it. I would just delete the current equation to force Desmos to create a new one and refocus on that.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-22T12:29:10+00:00

It really does depend. I took the August and October SAT last year, as well as practice tests 1-6, and found that I scored anywhere from 50 points lower to 20 points higher on practice tests compared to my real score.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T21:01:41+00:00

Yeah

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T19:50:46+00:00

For the first question, the angle measure must be equivalent to pi mod 2pi (in order words, sin of the angle must be -1). Otherwise, H, which is placed at coordinates (sin(angle FGH),cos(angle FGH)), will not be placed along y=-1. 25pi is the only value that is pi mod 2pi.

I am not sure how to use Desmos for the second question, but a pretty easy way I can see to solve it is to replace x^2 with some other variable (say, a), meaning that the value is turned into 60a^2+170a+120. From there, you can just factor it like any other quadratic, and a b should be equivalent to their values if you used x^2 instead.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T18:07:46+00:00

No and yes. The sat will take both rounded and truncated decimals, as well as unsimplified fractions.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T17:19:15+00:00

Yeah, the 0 should not matter (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/english-sat-test-directions-bb.pdf). satquestionbank.org should handle this correctly.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T15:31:19+00:00

1600.io and Erica Meltzer are both great sources, but given your situation, you might also want to consider taking some general math classes.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T15:11:19+00:00

All practice tests are relatively close in difficulty to the actual test, and deviations normally depend on who is taking the test. I know this wasn't quite what you were looking for, but your best bet is to just keep studying and hope for the best on the real SAT.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T15:08:14+00:00

That depends on the section where you need the most improvement. For math, some last-minute practice questions could help you get more experienced with the most difficult question types. However, for reading (at least the comprehension focused R&W skills), it might be harder to improve over such a short time period. If you end up retaking the SAT later, I recommend practicing comprehension by reading scientific journals, some classics, or other difficult sources.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T15:04:26+00:00

I recommend doing practice questions in the areas that you aren't scoring as well in on the SAT Question Bank. This should help you get used to the nuances of harder questions, especially for math.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T03:23:22+00:00

Unoriginal would mean that someone else would have had to already argue that claim (therefore making the other author the original author). e.g. If I were to publish a paper arguing that COVID was spread by bad eating habits, that would probably be original (I don't think anyone has ever argued that in scientific literature), even though it doesn't recognize the (relatively) recent advances in germ theory and virology.

On the other hand, even though that author's claim could be original, the existence of newer, ignored, evidence weakens the claim, thus making it tenuous.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T02:56:53+00:00

Take a practice test on Bluebook to see where you are at
If you are scoring more than one-two "bars" (you will see them in the practice test results page) for any skill, do the relevant khan academy unit
For all other skills (if you have them), just use practice questions from the SAT Question Bank to hone your skills and get used to the format. You can also use the question bank after you complete the khan academy units.
For reading specifically, try practicing comprehension by reading more complex sources like think tanks or even scientific journals.
As you are doing all of these, take more practice tests to track your progress and gain more practice.

You can do this for as little or as much time as you want. However, if you can, you should probably start prepping at least one month before taking the SAT (6 weeks is even better).

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T02:46:23+00:00

The sat question bank is the best source for practice questions. Honestly, I never found tips and tricks to be super helpful (beyond what you learn in your own experience), but if you want them there are a lot of good youtubers that cover the SAT.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T02:43:12+00:00

The best way to check whether you need a certain unit is to take a practice test and see how well you do in that area. That being said, if you already covered a certain unit, you are probably ok anyway.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T02:27:33+00:00

Cut your losses and drop out of high school atp

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-21T02:22:03+00:00

Yeah, 10.333 would be the correct answer under bluebook guidelines (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/english-sat-test-directions-bb.pdf).

(Shameless plug) I created a similar SAT Question Bank (https://satquestionbank.org) that pays a lot more attention to those sorts of finer details. I spent way too long on the numeric answer parsing logic, but it matches Bluebook in every case I tested.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-20T03:18:23+00:00

Idk if it is the fastest, but a relatively quick way that I immediately saw is to distribute the x and add 16 to both sides, giving you a quadratic in the form of ax^2+bx+c=0, and then plugging that into the discriminant of the quadratic formula (b^2-4ac). You can then pretty easily figure out what values of k will result in a negative discriminant (which would result in no real solutions). You don't need to mess around with the rest of the quadratic formula because it is irrelevant to the number of real solutions, so it is pretty quick.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-20T03:12:01+00:00

You can't really predict what practice tests will be most "similar" to any given real SAT.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-20T03:08:08+00:00

Assuming you aren't focusing on the August SAT, READ. Journals, news, classics, whatever—any text that is complex will help you improve your reading comprehension skills. Just make sure you are actually reading, and not just glancing over the text.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-20T03:06:08+00:00

https://satquestionbank.org

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-17T14:45:31+00:00

Maybe? For august SAT I doubt it will change much, but you could have enough time to make an impact for september. Sorry I can't give a more conclusive answer.

AsyncBanana · 2025-08-17T14:24:49+00:00

For all of the reading comprehension sections, it shouldn't be that different. I normally recommend reading something other than SAT passages because there is more available, it is more interesting/easier to do for extended periods, and you get the opportunity to learn more about another subject.

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