Anatomy of SAT Geometry
Even without reading this book or preparing
for the SAT in any way, you’d still get some geometry problems right. However,
there’s a big difference between:
-
Sweating out a problem, breathing a sigh of relief
when you finish it, and timidly moving on.
- Answering
a problem, seeing that the next problem contains a particularly
juicy diagram, and licking your chops in expectation of an easy
kill.
You don’t want to sweat through each question. You want
to tear SAT geometry questions apart like a brilliant, vicious,
question-slaying gorgon whose blood rises at the very mention of
Pythagoras. It isn’t as hard as you might think to unlock your inner
Geo-Beast. The mistake many students make is taking the SAT cold.
That’s right, no preparation—not so much as a flip through the information
booklet.
A true Geo-Beast studies her prey well before pouncing.
By familiarizing yourself with every type of geometry question you
can encounter on the SAT, you can approach each geometry question
coolly and calmly, knowing in advance what needs to be done in order
to answer it correctly. It’s about switching from survival mode
to attack mode. It’s attack mode that will help you score high.
In this section, we provide you with an X-ray of SAT geometry.
Later on, we’ll review the subtypes of questions and specific strategies
for approaching each one. By looking at these questions inside and
out, you’ll know more about how The College Board tests your skills
and how to approach each and every question you’ll encounter on
the test.
There are two types of math questions on the SAT: multiple-choice and
student-produced response.
