• Math Concepts
  
• Sample Problem
  

• Identifying Sentence Errors
  
• Improving Sentences
  
• Improving Paragraphs
  
• The Essay
  

• Short Passage Sample
  

The College Board says: "The new SAT will include expanded math topics, such as exponential growth, absolute value, and functional notation, and place greater emphasis on such other topics as linear functions, manipulations with exponents, and properties of tangent lines. Quantitative comparisons will be eliminated."

• Numbers & Operations - Sequences Involving Exponential Growth, Sets (Union, Intersection, Elements)
   
• Algebra & Functions - Absolute Value; Rational Equations and Inequalities; Radical Equations; Integer and Radical Exponents; Direct and Inverse Variation; Function Notation; Concepts of Domain and Range; Functions as Models; Linear and Quadratic Functions with Equations and Graphs.
   
• Geometry & Measurements - Notation for Length, Segments, Lines, Rays, and Congruence; Trigonometry; Tangent Lines; Coordinate Geometry; Graphs and Functions (with Transformations)
   
• Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability - Data Interpretation, Scatterplots and Matrices; Geometric Probability

Let the function f be defined by f(x) = x² + 8
If m is a positive number such that f(2m) = 2f(m), what is the value of m?

This problem from the TIME online resources shows the more advanced level of algebra required for the new SAT. Some schools may not cover functions and their properties in Algebra I, typically a freshman course. This is a good example of how the SAT has broadened.

To solve this problem, using the definition of the function f...
f(2m) = (2m)² + 8 = 4m² + 8
2f(m) = 2 (m² + 8) = 2m²+ 16
Since f(2m) = 2f(m)...
4m² + 8 = 2m² + 16
2m² = 8
m² = 4
Since m is positive, m = 2. The answer is 2.

The writing section will consist of Identifying Sentence Errors, Improving Sentences, Improving Paragraphs, and the Essay.

The College Board says: "Questions similar to the multiple-choice questions on the SAT II: Writing Subject Test will be included to see how well students use standard written English. The multiple-choice questions will test students' ability to identify sentence errors, improve sentences, and improve paragraphs."

In the following item, students are asked to identify the error in usage.

It is likely that the opening of the convention center,
previously set for July 1, would be postponed
     (A)        (B)                 (C)
because of the bricklayers' strike. No error
     (D)                                          (E)

Correct answer: C
Explanation: "Would be" is the wrong tense of the verb in this sentence. The sentence concerns when the convention center is going to open. This is a time in the future, either July 1 or later if there is a strike. Since the opening will definitely take place, the future tense, "will be," is needed. "Would be" (the conditional tense) indicates only that an event might happen.

In the following item, students are asked to improve the sentence.

Although several groups were absolutely opposed to the outside support given the revolutionary government, other groups were as equal in their adamant approval of that support.

(A) were as equal in their adamant approval of
(B) held equally adamant approval of
(C) were equally adamant in approving
(D) had approved equally adamantly
(E) held approval equally adamant of

Correct Answer: C
Explanation: (C) is correct because it expresses the second part of the sentence in a way parallel to the first part. Two groups are being compared: groups "absolutely opposed to" and groups "equally adamant in." Both phrases now have a common structure: an adverb modifying an adjective followed by a preposition.

Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure and word choice. Other questions refer to parts of the essay or the entire essay and ask you to consider organization and development. In making your decisions, follow the conventions of standard written English.

At one point in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, the evil archaeologist Belloq shows the heroic Indiana Jones a cheap watch. If the watch were to be buried in the desert for a thousand years and then dug up, Belloq says, it would be considered priceless. I often think of the scene whenever I consider the record album-collecting phenomenon, it being one of the more remarkable aspects of popular culture in the United States. Collecting record albums gives us a chance to make a low-cost investment that might pay dividends in the future.

When my aunt collected them in the mid-sixties, nobody regarded them as investments. A young fan shelled out dollar after dollar at the corner record store for no other reason than to assemble a complete collection of her favorite musical groups— in my aunt's case, the Beatles and the Supremes. By committing so much of her allowance each week to the relentless pursuit of that one group not yet in her collection—the immortal Yardbirds, let us say—she was proving her loyalty to her superstars.

The recording industry is a capitalist enterprise and so this hobby has become one. Just as everyone has heard of the exorbitant prices being paid for the Beatles' first album in mint condition, so everyone is certain that a payoff is among each stack of old records. But if that album was buried somewhere in my aunt's closet of dusty records, she never knew it. Long before she learned it, she had thrown them out.

In the context of the first paragraph, which revision is most needed in
sentence 3?

(A) Insert "As a matter of fact" at the beginning.
(B) Omit the words "it being."
(C) Omit the word "scene."
(D) Change the comma to a semicolon.
(E) Change "think" to "thought" and "consider" to "considered."

Correct Answer: B
Explanation: The words "it being" are unnecessary.

The College Board says: "Students will be asked to write an essay that requires them to take a position on an issue and use examples to support their position. The essay section will assess students' ability to write on demand. We recognize that an essay written in a short amount of time will not be polished, but represents the initial phase of the writing process: the first draft."

Directions: Consider carefully the following excerpt and the assignment below it. Then plan and write an essay that explains your ideas as persuasively as possible. Keep in mind that the support you provide—both reasons and examples—will help make your view convincing to the reader.

Please note that the essays are considered "first drafts" and are scored holistically. This means readers will award a score according to the overall quality of the essay. They will take into account aspects of writing such as the development of ideas, supporting examples, organization, word choice, and sentence structure.

The principle is this: each failure leads us closer to deeper knowledge, to greater creativity in understanding old data, to new lines of inquiry. Thomas Edison experienced 10,000 failures before he succeeded in perfecting the lightbulb. When a friend of his remarked that 10,000 failures was a lot, Edison replied, "I didn't fail 10,000 times, I successfully eliminated 10,000 materials and combinations that didn't work."

Myles Brand, "Taking the Measure of Your Success"

Assignment: What is your view on the idea that it takes failure to achieve success? In an essay, support your position using an example (or examples) from literature, the arts, history, current events, politics, science and technology, or your experience or observation.

The College Board says: "The critical reading section, currently known as the verbal section, will include short reading passages along with the existing long reading passages. Analogies will be eliminated, but sentence-completion questions will remain. Reading passages will range from 500 to 800 words. The new short reading passages will be paragraphs of about 100 words, followed by questions similar to questions on the longer reading passages."

Directions: The passage below is followed by two questions based on its content. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Dinosaurs have such a powerful grip on the public consciousness that it is easy to forget just how recently scientists have become aware of them. A two-year-old child today may be able to rattle off three dinosaur names, but in 1824 there was only one known dinosaur. Period. The word "dinosaur" didn't even exist until 1841. Indeed, in those early years, the world was baffled by the discovery of these absurdly enormous creatures.

1. The reference to the "two-year-old child" (line 2) primarily serves to
(A) challenge a popular assumption
(B) highlight the extent of a change
(C) suggest that a perspective is simplistic
(D) introduce a controversial idea
(E) question a contemporary preoccupation

Correct answer: B

Explanation: Choice (B) is correct because the reference to the "two-year-old child" who can "rattle off three dinosaur names" shows how dramatically the situation has changed since 1824. Today even little children know more about dinosaurs than many scientists did in the 1820s.

2. The statement "Period" in line 4 primarily serves to emphasize the
(A) authoritative nature of a finding
(B) lack of flexibility in a popular theory
(C) stubborn nature of a group of researchers
(D) limited knowledge about a subject
(E) refusal of the public to accept new discoveries

Correct answer: D

Explanation: Choice (D) is correct because the word "Period" gives emphasis to the preceding statement that "there was only one known dinosaur" in 1824. Clearly, people at that time had "limited knowledge" about dinosaurs.