CAPT Preparation
Sophomores,
Soon you will be taking the CAPT. Here are some helpful things to keep in mind:
- Remember what range, mean, median and mode are.
- Practice doing simple percentage problems, such as finding sales tax or taking a discount. Convert a percent to a decimal by moving the decimal point over two places to the left.
- Bring a calculator! Make sure that it's one you are familiar with. If you buy a new one, practice with it so that you will know how to do squaring, square roots and other functions on it. If you don't know, ask me or one of your math teachers *before* taking the test. We can't help you once the test is in front of you.
- Know how to use the Pythagorean Theorem. Remember which values go where in the formula. (C is always the hypotenuse!)
- To make a fraction into a decimal, divide the top by the bottom.
- Probability is expressed as a fraction. The numerator (top) is the number of ways to get your desired outcome. The denomenator (bottom) is the number of possible outcomes. If you need to grid this in, make the fraction and then convert it to a decimal (see above).
- Do not be intimidated by ugly formula problems! A formula is a gift. If they give you a formula that you have never seen, you have all the math skills that you need to be able to do it. Take it slowly.
- Do not leave an open-ended question blank if you can help it! Write down anything that you can to start the problem, even if you do not know how to finish it. If you punch something into your calculator, write it down on your paper. The scorers can give partial credit if they can follow your logic.
If you are nervous, ask me or one of your math teachers if you can get some help after school next week. We can look over the practice tests that you did and find out what kinds of problems you will need to focus on at this point.
You have all worked hard to prepare for this test! I have faith in you. Good luck!
