“Anyone even thinking of
taking the ACT needs this short but targeted guide to the math section. You
simply can’t afford not to spend the time reading his laser sharp drills that
break down every type of problem on the ACT, show the math behind each type and
then provide drill sections based on that skill set. Even poor math students
can learn to recognize all the types of math on the ACT and learn the ropes
enough to get most of the easy and medium questions right every time. Mr.
Leaf’s guide is even entertaining as he gives the skill sets names like “Green
Circle, Black Diamond” to make it feel like you are skiing rather than slogging
through lessons. If you want a short but concise guide to the ACT with every
trick and mathematical explanation necessary to get a perfect score, this is
the book for you. You may even actually LEARN real math in the process as Mr.
Leaf’s love of the subject shines through so you don’t just feel you are
learning for a test.”
Dr. Michele Hernandez, author of
the bestselling books A is for Admission,
The Middle School Years, and Acing the College Application
“Brian
Leaf knows how to talk with students and in his book, McGraw-Hill’s Top 50 Skills: ACT Math, you can hear his voice loud
and clear.Students who follow Brian’s
“Mantras” and work through the practice questions will gain confidence in their
work, as well as improve their ACT scores.”
Barbara Anastos, former Director,
Monmouth Academy
"Feels like you have an insider divulging
secrets from behind the walls of the ACT! At times going so far as to
circumvent the math skills themselves, Brian gives practical tips and tricks
specifically designed to outwit the ACT's formula, and he does it all with a
sense of humor and fun. Nice job!"
Danica McKellar, actress (The Wonder Years, West
Wing), mathematician, and author of New
York Times bestsellers Math Doesn't
Suck and Kiss My Math
McGraw-Hill's Top 50 Skills: ACT Math
McGraw-Hill's Top 50
Skills: ACT Math pinpoints the obstacles
you face and provides the skills to eliminate them. The book comes with a
pretest so you can identify your weaknesses and then master the essentials for
exam success. The skills are presented in easy-to-negotiate two-page spreads
with step-by-step examples.
Here’s a
sample from the book.
Skill 4
“Mean” Means Average
Every ACT has a “mean”
question.If you didn’t know the term
before and you do by the end of this page, you will gain points!“Mean” is just a fancy term for “average.”So when a question asks for either the “mean”
or the “average” of a bunch of numbers, just add them up and divide by how many
numbers there are:
The ACT throws only two “mean”
curveballs. First, instead of giving you
a list of numbers, they’ll show you the data in a table or graph. This throws kids; it surprises them and they
don’t know what to do. But since you
know to expect it, it’s easy. Just
identify the data and use our average formula: add up the numbers and divide by
how many there are. Once you drill this
topic, you’ll never miss a “mean” or “average” question again!
The second curveball is that
sometimes the ACT whips out a question about median or mode.
These are usually rated “medium” or “hard,”
only because most kids don’t know what these terms mean!Median is the middle number in a list of
numbers, and mode is the number that
occurs the most often. Consider this list: 5, 7, 9, 9, 11, 12, 12, 15, 15, 15,
15.The median is 12 (it’s in the middle
of the list).The mode is 15 (it occurs
most often, 4 times).When you see a
median or mode question, just rewrite the data as a list in order.
ACT Math
