Transcript Chapter 5 How to Solve Test Problems Test Taking Strategy Answering Questions  If you are instructed to mark all correct answers rather than the.

Chapter 5
How to Solve Test Problems
Test Taking Strategy
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Answering Questions
 If you are instructed to mark all
correct answers rather than the single
best answer, the elimination of false
answers in each answer set should be
your strategy
 Whereas normally we search for the
correct answer, here we would search
for the false statements
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Answering Questions
Question: What city(s) is/are in
California?
a. San Diego
b. New York
c. Fresno
d. Denver
e. Barstow
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Answering Questions
 The correct answers are a, c, and e
 Did you eliminate b & d before choosing a, c, & e
 In answering this kind of question, you should
first eliminate the false answers
 if you go through a few questions and find only one
right answer to each question, suspect the directions
were misleading
 change your strategy. Instead of first eliminating
false statements, start searching for the true
statements(s)
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Answering Questions
Word problems are those which
require reading text during the exam
process. You then demonstrate
proficiency or understanding by
choosing correct answers.
The test may be multiple choice, fill in
the blank, true/false, or short essay.
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Answering Questions
The format for most text problems is fairly
standard. A long block of often difficult text
is presented and then several questions are
asked.
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Answering Questions
 Usually the test is divided into sections
 When the test begins, examine the entire
test
 One of the best strategies in test taking is
to start with the easy problems first.
 by answering this way you
 achieve a minimum grade in the fastest time
 know how much time remains for the harder
problems
 get a feel for how the test was constructed
 warm up
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Answering Questions
 Find the section of the test that you are most familiar
with and answer the questions
 Then go to your next best section and answer the
questions
 Continue working your way through the test saving
the hardest part for last
 By following this procedure, you will save time for the
hardest part because of how fast and easy the first
sections were
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Answering Questions
Remember, you must complete at least
90% of the test correctly to receive an A.
Pace your test answering to ensure that
you finish the exam.
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Answering Questions
 Before you read the text part of the
test skim over the questions.
 Hold the questions in your mind as you
read the text
 Read the entire text
 Even if you spot answers, do not return to
the question until you have read the entire
text
 Sometimes information will follow which
changes your understanding of the text
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Answering Questions
If you are allowed to mark the test
material, then bullet • or underline answers
as you find them.
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Answering Questions
Be careful when answering questions on
text that deals with subjects you are very
good in. It might actually be a handicap as
you will anticipate answers on the basis of
your prior knowledge rather than the
information presented. This can happen.
Sometimes the text will state something
you know to be false. Then questions will
be asked concerning that same incorrect
information. If the text is clear, then the
answer must correspond to the text.
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Answering Questions
For example: America’s favorite pastime is baseball. One of
the rules is two strikes and the batter is out; another rule is
five balls and the batter advances to first base.
Question: How many strikes in baseball to get a batter out?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
According to the paragraph, the correct answer is b. In an
actual test, you should choose b. Select your answer
based upon the actual text.
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Answering Questions
 If the test is fifty
minutes long and has
50 questions, simple
math would say spend
one minute on each
question
 Unfortunately,
standardized tests are
usually not that simple
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Answering Questions
 Factors include:





the
the
the
the
the
difficulty of the text
difficulty of the subject matter
length of the text
number of questions on each block of text
amount each counts towards the final grade
 Consider all these factors when taking the
test
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Answering Questions
 Start with what you consider the
easiest section
 make sure you complete the section fast
enough to allow time for the harder
sections
 if you spend too much time answering
the easy questions, you might fail the
test just because you did not answer
enough questions
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Answering Questions
 Stay with the same text material until you have either
run out of time or have answered all the questions to
the best of your ability
 Do not jump around from section to section
 There will be some questions you cannot answer
 for these questions, skim over the answers (where
they are offered)
 go back to the text and scan for keywords or phrases
 eliminate answers that are wrong. If you cannot
eliminate all but one answer, you must decide
whether or not you should guess
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Answering Questions
 The decision to guess should be based on
whether you will be penalized for wrong
answers
 If you are penalized for wrong answers,
use the following rule
 if you can eliminate three of the five possible
answers choose the best remaining answer
 if the remaining two answers seem evenly
possible, then go ahead and guess one of the
two. You have improved your odds from one in
five to one in two
 with 50-50 odds you should guess
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Answering Questions
If there is no penalty for guessing,
eliminate whatever incorrect answers you
can and then guess the same letter
throughout the test.
A B C D E
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Answering Questions
The reason for choosing the same
letter on all pure guesses is that large
standardized tests have their answers
generated randomly. By picking one
letter, you ensure that 20% (on a
test with a – e) correct guess rate. If
you changed your letter randomly, it
is possible you could guess yourself
out of the random answer.
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Answering Questions
 This method should definitely be used when
answering test questions on material you
haven’t even looked at
 Try to complete each section within your
self determined time limit. If you cannot,
guess on a basis of the above and proceed
to the next section. Remember to mark
your guesses (perhaps with a “?” or a “•”)
in case you have extra time at the end of
the test to reexamine them
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Answering Questions
Many text problems involve solving
an algebraic equation. For example, if
the text lists a series of items and
their prices and asks you
for the total, you would
have to add up all the
different prices.
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Answering Questions
 Some text problems might go a step
further and require you to find an unknown
 For example, you are given four tests
scores and need to compute a fifth which
would give a stated average
 For example, (65 + 72 + 85 + 74 + x)/5 = 78.
These kinds of questions are called first degree
questions with a single variable
 Because this level of math is so prevalent in
daily life, it is included in this manual
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Answering Questions
The following steps represent a means of
solving virtually every single variable first
degree word problem.
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Answering Questions
 1. Let x represent the unknown solution
 2. Write expressions in terms of x to represent
other unknown quantities
 3. Translate the sentence(s) into an equation
 4. Solve the equation
 5. Check the solution by substituting it into the
original problem
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Answering Questions
 Twice the sum of a number and 5 is 40. What is the
number
 First, assign x to be the number
 Second, write expression 2 (x + 5).
 Third, translate to the equation
2 (x + 5) = 40
 Fourth, solve the equation
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Answering Questions

To solve any algebraic equation, use the following 4 steps

Step 1. Clear any fractions by multiplying by LCM (Lowest Common
Multiple)

Step 2. Clear parenthesis

Step 3. Do +,- until the variable and its coefficient are isolated on one
side of the equation

Step 4. Divide by the coefficient

Following these steps (since there are no fractions), first
clear parenthesis to get 2x + 10 = 40

Then subtract 10 from both sides to get 2x = 30

Then divide by the coefficient 2 to get the answer x = 15
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