“SAT / ACT / CAHSEE Basics” Resources
This table includes resources you can access to prepare yourself for the basic concepts tested on many exams. Reasoning tests like the SAT test several basic concepts at once (to see if you can pull together all of the concepts to reach the answer) or test simple concepts via complicated sentences (to assess if you can apply the basics to more complex situations). There is nothing new on any of these exams! There are no contemporary applications of the semicolon; the exams just cover the material that you should have learned.
The purpose of this list is to help you refresh–for free–on the basics. To be ready to prepare for the SAT or ACT, you should score 90 percent or better on any of these quizzes. Otherwise, your SAT/ACT prep will be spent remediating you on the basics rather than on teaching you the necessary thinking and strategy skills.
If you do not achieve 90 percent or better on certain areas, either review them on your own or be prepared to spend some of your tutoring time on these concepts.
Abbreviations:
CB = CollegeBoard SAT Prep Book, second edition
ACT = The Real ACT Study Guide
SCM = Saddleback College Matriculation Tests
Activity # Concept Concept (Click on the Link) Notes Actual Problem/s That Use This Concept Date Added Test Section
1 Commas Commas Rules about commas CB 407 #8, 9 / 9/21/10 Writing
2 Commas Commas Quiz on commas 9/21/10 Writing
3 Commas Commas Quiz on commas 9/21/10 Writing
4 Decimals (adding) Adding Decimals 9/22/10 Math
5 Decimals, fractions, percents Decimals, Percents, Fractions Converting from one to the other 9/22/10 Math
6 Exponents Exponents Practices rules of exponents CB 456 #14 9/22/10 Math
7 Prime Numbers Primes Collect 50 stars w/ 90%+ accuracy. Repetitive, noisy game; excellent drill and kill to identify prime vs composite numbers. It's common for test Qs to specify "prime numbers." 9/22/10 Math
8 Linear Equations Linear Equations Practice finding the slope of a line. 9/22/10 Math
9 Order of Operations Order of Op It's sad to miss a problem because you added first and then multiplied. 9/22/10 Math
10 Ratios in word problems Ratios Many test questions are just like these! CB p.528 #9 / CB 545 #9/ ACT p168 #19 / SCM #1, Q5 / 9/22/10 Math
11 Perimeter Perimeter 9/22/10 Math
12 FOIL (Multiply Binomials) Binomials, FOIL CB, p. 396, #14/p.527 #8 9/23/10 Math
13 FOIL (Multiply Binomials) Binomials, FOIL A few methods, quiz at the bottom CB, p. 396, #14 /p.527 #8 9/23/10 Math
14 FOIL (Multiply Binomials) Binomials, FOIL CB, p. 396, #14/p.527 #8 9/23/10 Math
15 Pre-Algebra Basic Equations Basic Equations Building an equation from a word problem CB 396 #7 / CB 457 #16, 19 / CB 529 #14 / CB 543 #1 9/23/10 Math
16 Pre-Algebra Basic Graphing Basic Graphing Reminds you how to find slope-intercept form of a line, etc. 9/23/10 Math
17 Pre-Algebra Fractions Pre-Algebra Fractions Adding fractions, etc. Solve these on paper, just like you should on the exam! 9/23/10 Math
18 Exponents Exponents CB p. 529, #11 / ACT p166 #11 9/23/10 Math
19 Single Variable Equations Single Variable Equations CB, p396 #7, 9/23/10 Math
20 Right Triangles Right Triangles Right triangles, special right triangles CB, p526 #5 / ACT p. 169 # 25 9/23/10 Math, Geometry
21 Area of a Square Area of a Square CB p526 #4, p530 #18, 9/23/10 Math
22 Variation Direct Variation Direct variation CB p527 #6 9/24/10 Math
23 Special Right Triangles Special Right Triangles CB, p526 #5, 9/23/10 Math
24 Literal Equations Literal Equations Questions like "Solve ah + j = t for h" 9/24/10 Math
25 Graphs of Direct Variation Graphs of Direct Variation ` 9/24/10 Math
26 Direct Variation Direct Variation Good directions, followed by practice 9/24/10 Math
27 Direct Variation Direct Variation 9/24/10 Math
28 Area Formulas Area Formulas Very clear, graphic explanation of the area formulas. You need to know these! Memorize sector area, too! 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
29 Parallel Lines Parallel Lines Quick review of parallel lines 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
30 Equilateral Triangles Equilateral Triangles but use this quiz: quiz Quick review of equilateral triangles 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
31 Triangle Inequality Triangle Inequality Remember how "the sum of the measures of any 2 sides of a triangle is > the measure of the third side"?
CB 545 #6, 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
32 Triangle Inequality Triangle Inequality These questions are in terms of letters. 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
33 Triangle Inequality Triangle Inequality These questions are in terms of numbers. 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
34 Percent Coming! Find the percent of a value, especially in a multi-step word problem. CB 517 #13, 518 # 15, 9/24/10 Math, Arithmetic
35 Circle Parts Circle Parts Review of circle parts. 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
36 Circle Area Circle Area Circle area, sector area 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
37 Operations Coming! Plug values into a formula and solve for the needed term SCM #1 Q7 9/24/10 Math, Algebra
38 Translation of a Graph Coming! Which way did the graph move from its original function? CB 547 #14, 9/24/10 Math, Geometry
39 Average Coming! Average (arithmetic mean) in a word problem CB 517 #11, 9/24/10 Math, Arithmetic
40 Passive Tense Coming! 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
41 Subject/Verb Agreement Subject/Verb Agreement Coming! CB 409 #12/ CB 410 #23, 28/ CB 472 #20, 22, 25 / CB 533 #15. 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
42 Adverbs Adverbs Coming! CB 408 #14, 17 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
43 Verb Tense Verb Tense Coming! CB 409 #15 / CB 471 #13, 14. 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
44 Verb Form Verb Form Coming! E.g.: Changing 'suppressing' to 'to suppress.' Raise/rise. CB 409 #16 / CB 410 #20, 25 / 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
45 Conjunctions Conjunctions Coming! E.g.: Either/or, neither/nor CB 409 #18 / 471 #15 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
46 Pronouns Pronouns Coming! his, her, their / its,their / me, I CB 409 #19 / CB 410 #26 / CB 471 #12 / CB 472 #28 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
47 Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Cliffs Notes article on parallelism CB 410 #21, 29 / CB 471 #17, 18 / CB 533 #12, 13. 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
48 Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Quiz 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
49 Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. You can type in the sentence and see if you got it correct. 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
50 Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. Parallel Structure in Nouns, Verbs, etc. I like this quiz because it has a "none of the above" option that is similar to the "no error" test answers. 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
51 Be-verbs, Helping Verbs Be-verbs, Helping Verbs Coming! CB 471 #21 / CB 472 #21 / 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
52 Usage Errors Usage Errors Coming! CB 472 #26 / 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
53 Wordiness Wordiness Coming! Eliminate 'being' from a sentence CB 533 #14 9/24/10 Writing, Grammar
54 Integers Integers! Many problems use the word integers. You must know that INTEGERS = 0 and the positive and negative counting. 9/24/10 Math, Algebra, Pre-algebra
55 Integers, add and subtract Integers, add and subtract Add and subtract positive and negative numbers 9/24/10 Math, Algebra, Pre-algebra
56 Pythagorean Theorem Pythagorean Theorem Coming! ACT p.169, #20, 25. 10/2/10 Math, Algebra, Geometry
57 Factoring Polynomials Factoring Polynomials ACT p.169, #23. 10/2/10 Math, Algebra
58 Trigonometry Trigonometry Coming! SOH CAH TOA ACT p.170 #28 10/2/10 Math, Algebra
59 Graphing Graphing Coming! ACT p.171 #31. 10/2/10 Math, Algebra
60 Matrix Matrix Coming! ACT p.169, #25 10/2/10 Math, Algebra 2
61 Volume Volume Coming! ACT p.166 #11 10/2/10 Math, Geometry
62 Circles Circles Coming! ACT p.166 #11 / p. 169 # 25 10/2/10 Math, Geometry
63 Vocabulary Practice ACT Vocab Quiz Quizlet test for the words found in the story on p. 184 ACT p.184 10/2/10 Reading, Vocabulary
64 Vocabulary Practice SAT Vocab p. 390 Quizlet test for the words found in the SAT sentence completion on p. 390 CB p.390 10/5/10 Reading, Vocabulary
65 Vocabulary Practice SAT Vocab p. 402 Quizlet test for the words found in the SAT sentence completion on p. 402 CB p.402 10/5/10 Reading, Vocabulary
66 Dividing Decimals Dividing Decimals SCM #1, Q3 10/2/10 Math, Arithmetic
67 Subtracting Decimals Subtracting Decimals SCM #1, Q4 10/2/10 Math, Arithmetic
68 Order of Operations Order of Operations Game This great game makes you think quickly to determine the next operation, an essential skill for algebraic success. (Click Bigger in the top right-hand corner to expand the game screen.) 10/2/10 Math, Algebra
69 Factoring Polynomials Factoring Polynomials Glencoe textbook quiz 2/13/11 Math, Algebra
70 Factoring Polynomials Factoring Polynomials Quiz about factoring concepts, memory tricks, and patterns 2/13/11 Math, Algebra
71 Factoring Polynomials Factoring Polynomials Worksheet and quiz specifically on difference of squares problems 2/13/11 Math, Algebra
72 Factoring Polynomials Factoring Polynomials Worksheet and quiz specifically on greatest common factor (GCF) problems 2/13/11 Math, Algebra
73 Parallelism Errors Parallelism Errors Explanation, Exercises, and Worksheets 2/13/11 Writing, Grammar
74 Sentence Completion, Test 1 Sentence Completion, Test 1 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
75 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 1 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
76 Sentence Completion, Test 2 Sentence Completion, Test 2 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
77 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 2 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
78 Sentence Completion, Test 3 Sentence Completion, Test 3 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
79 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 3 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
80 Sentence Completion, Test 4 Sentence Completion, Test 4 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
81 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 4 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
82 Sentence Completion, Test 5 Sentence Completion, Test 5 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
83 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 5 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
84 Sentence Completion, Test 6 Sentence Completion, Test 6 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
85 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 6 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
86 Sentence Completion, Test 7 Sentence Completion, Test 7 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
87 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 7 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
88 Sentence Completion, Test 8 Sentence Completion, Test 8 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
89 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 8 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
90 Sentence Completion, Test 9 Sentence Completion, Test 9 Practice these exercises compliments of MajorTests.com. 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
91 Quizlet test for Sentence Completion, Test 9 Coming! 2/21/11 Reading, Vocabulary, Strategy
92 Simplify radicals Simplify radicals with a matching game
93 Essay Prompts 1 Essay Prompts and Types SAT, ACT essay 4/4/11 Writing, Essay
94 Essay Prompts 2 Essay Prompts and Types Here is his companion YouTube video with some great tips!
Essay Prompts and TypesSAT, ACT essay
4/4/11 Writing, Essay
