If you are taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), then you will want to put special emphasis on the Math section during your preparation. Millions of U.S. high school sophomores and juniors take the PSAT every year, which is used to decide who will qualify to apply for the National Merit Scholarship program. While there are also PSAT sections for Critical Reading and Writing, the Math Section accounts for half of your final score, making it a crucial factoring in making the list of qualifiers. The PSAT Math is primarily in a multiple-choice format, along with four questions at the end of each math section where you enter your response in a grid. Even if you’re already a top math student, good preparation will help get you familiar with the test format and the material that will be covered.
A wealth of PSAT Math study material is available with Varsity Tutors’ free Learn by Concept Learning Tool. The topics are set up like an interactive class syllabus, with several broad categories and a series of topics. Clicking on a topic will bring you a series of sample problems. These problems are presented in multiple-choice format, with a math problem and several possible answers. You review the answers, work through the problem, and pick the answer you think is correct. Then you check your answer against the key provided.
However, Learn by Concept’s biggest contribution to your PSAT Math study help isn’t the questions and answers. Rather, it is the detailed explanations that follow each correct answer. Whether you got the answer right or wrong, you can review every step of the process, with every formula and theorem included. If you get the answer correct on the first try, you can check your work and make sure you understand the concepts involved, so you’ll feel comfortable when the test day comes. If your answer is wrong, you can go back and figure out where you took a wrong step, and then determine what you need to do to get moving in the right direction again.
As you prepare for the test, you can use the Learn by Concept tool as a PSAT Math study guide. The tool takes you through the main categories of Algebra, Arithmetic, Data Analysis, and Geometry. You can also focus on any of the hundreds of specific topics. These topics are set up as specific instructions, such as “How to find the area of a circle.” Thousands of example questions mean that nearly any possible PSAT Math subject is shown in the Learn by Concept tool.
Although the Learn by Concept tool is helpful by itself, it is not meant to be used alone. There are several other free Learning Tools to aid your PSAT Math test review. You can take a free Full-Length Practice Test to introduce yourself to the test format and find topics you may need the most help with. Hundreds of shorter free Practice Tests, with both specific topics and general problem sets, will give you additional work on these topics. The Learning Tools Flashcards cover the same topics, in a different format, as the Learn by Concept example questions. The Practice Tests and Flashcards can also be customized to get the most out your study sessions. Using the Question of the Day tool will test your overall knowledge by giving you a random question on a daily basis about a random PSAT Math topic. Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools will help you stay sharp as you prepare for the PSAT Math.
If you need help studying for the Math section of the PSAT, check out the free resources provided by Varsity Tutors in order to get a good sense of the numerous ways in which you can study. You can start by taking a free PSAT Math Diagnostic Test to get a sense of which concepts you know well and which you still need to learn. After that, you can take free PSAT Math Practice Tests to focus on learning the topics that you understand least well. If you don't have time to take an entire PSAT Math Practice Test, you can use Varsity Tutors' free PSAT Math Flashcards to study for shorter periods of time. Also, be sure to check out the PSAT Math Question of the Day for daily practice.
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