Math & Science ACT Workuot

We’ve seen in the Algebra chapter that a smart test-taking strategy, in and of itself, can improve your Math

score. That is no less true for Geometry problems, but for these you typically have to bring a bit more to

the table. ACT doesn’t give you the formulas like SAT does, so you need to have them stored in your

brain (or your calculator) when test day rolls around. Remember, counting Trigonometry, Geometry makes

up about half of any given ACT Math test.

THE BASIC APPROACH

Let’s try a straightforward geometry problem.

22. In right triangle ΔSTU shown below, V is the midpoint of TU. In inches, what is the length of UV?

F. 6

G. 9

H. 12

J. 72

K. 144

Step 1: Ballpark

First, ACT has actually done us a big favor on this problem. While they claim that “illustrative figures are

NOT necessarily drawn to scale,” it’s usually safe to assume that they are at least close. Remember what

we’re looking for here, the length of UV. Look closely at this figure: You can tell just by looking at it that

the longest side is SU, which has a length of 13, so it’s not likely that any smaller part of the triangle will

have a longer length, eliminating (J) and (K). We can probably eliminate (H) as well because SU is so

much longer than UV. This way, if we were running short on time and had to guess, we have improved our

chances of guessing from 20% to 50%. Not bad for no work, huh?