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.
- 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?