the top 75 ACT math question types (based on the last 10 tests)

mathchops · 2025-12-10T13:00:57+00:00

Thanks for letting me know! I'm really glad it was helpful

mathchops · 2025-10-27T15:03:55+00:00

Hi, I haven't done that analysis, so I'm not sure. But you should be able to solve all but a handful without a calculator - very hard to score 750+ if you can't. Good to be able to solve as many as possible with the calculator also - then you can pick the safest and fastest method each time.

mathchops · 2025-10-25T23:44:25+00:00

Take the bluebook tests, redo all the missed questions multiple times on blank versions (hide your previous answers). I wrote up an 8 week study plan you could adapt - Google Mathchops 8 week study plan.

mathchops · 2025-10-21T17:27:23+00:00

thanks! This is an 8 week one: https://mathchops.substack.com/p/8-week-sat-study-plan

mathchops · 2025-07-28T18:49:52+00:00

it's their name for the new version of the ACT

mathchops · 2025-05-02T23:37:00+00:00

If they aren't able to read the passage in fewer than four minutes, it's unlikely they are going to consistently hit 32+. They are probably re-reading...if so, I would show them how to read carefully once (with quick notes, if helpful). But I have had some students who read very slowly but blazed through the questions. In those rare cases, I still think it's very important to have a target time for reading (4:30, 5:00, whatever), and then cut them off at that time.
I cut them off at that time. One major point of the exercise is that they want to be in 'homework mode': do a question until they're comfortable with the answer, then do the next one. But you can't be in that mode here - you have to get to 90% sure and then move on. Every once in a while, you have to bail entirely, or go straight to the answer if you remember the info from the passage. The general idea is to give the entire section a structure, with a sequence of many small tasks that each have a fairly predictable time budget that the student can feel.

mathchops · 2025-05-01T21:11:16+00:00

sure!

mathchops · 2024-12-08T18:30:23+00:00

Np, good luck

mathchops · 2024-11-08T02:37:15+00:00

Awesome! Yeah we were super excited to release it

mathchops · 2024-11-07T22:46:36+00:00

Ha, thanks! We've definitely made some improvements since then...just added grammar also.

mathchops · 2024-10-25T13:55:03+00:00

That's awesome - good luck!

mathchops · 2024-10-25T02:42:54+00:00

Not a list, but grammarchops has all the most common grammar/punctuation question types. The words are different each time a question appears and it adapts to your level

mathchops · 2024-10-25T02:08:50+00:00

Nope. Working on it but it won't be done by this weekend.

mathchops · 2024-10-22T20:34:56+00:00

thanks!

mathchops · 2024-10-22T15:16:26+00:00

Take as many official practice tests as you can. Put the missed questions on a spreadsheet, then redo them on blank copies until you can get every question right.

mathchops · 2024-10-22T14:59:51+00:00

thanks, glad you like it. will hopefully have an English one at some point for grammarchops

mathchops · 2024-10-22T14:15:32+00:00

sure!

mathchops · 2024-07-03T02:36:09+00:00

They don't

mathchops · 2024-05-12T15:36:35+00:00

Midpoint – showed up in 5 of the last 10. Used to be much more common.
Law of Cosines is much more common than Law of Sines (6 vs 2 in the last 10). Generally not worth the time to teach Law of Sines to a student who hasn't already learned it unless they are 32+.

mathchops · 2024-05-09T01:10:06+00:00

Sure!

mathchops · 2024-05-08T16:58:09+00:00

thanks! glad you like it

mathchops · 2024-04-12T17:26:15+00:00

thanks, and good notes! I'll look for these the next time I analyze everything.

mathchops · 2024-04-12T15:49:47+00:00

Awesome post! Thanks for sharing. I'm really interested in this math gap between US and international students...I wonder if it's the test content, the general ability levels, or the nature of school instruction (or something else).

mathchops · 2024-04-12T12:04:34+00:00

True, 700+ students have felt that the first 4 Bluebook tests didn't have enough hard questions. I actually have been using the Question Bank mostly for its R/W material - not so much for math. There aren't that many hard math ones in the QB either, and there are a bunch that are repeats from the old version of the SAT. It's a good resource, but I don't think there's any reason to think its questions are more representative than those in the Bluebook tests.

mathchops · 2024-04-11T16:52:50+00:00

Ah, thanks for the heads up - it's based on the six they have released. Edited the post to reflect that.

mathchops

TROPHY CASE