THE TOP 30 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TOP SCORES IN MATH

LEVEL 2

1. FRACTIONS
Make sure you know how to simplify fractions because answers are generally
presented in simplest form. Be able to find the least common denominator of
two or more fractions. Know how to multiply and divide fractions as well as
use mixed numbers and improper fractions. Be comfortable solving fraction
problems that involve variables.

2. PERCENTAGES
Be able to convert between percents, decimals, and fractions. Be able to
recognize the meaning of terminology used in percentage problems in order
to solve for an unknown.

3. EXPONENTS
Familiarize yourself with the exponential notation and know how to apply the
rules of exponents, particularly to simplify an expression containing multiple
exponents. Avoid common mistakes with exponents, such as incorrectly
addressing negative exponents or multiplying exponents when they should
be added. Be aware of rational exponents as well as variables in exponents.

4. REAL NUMBERS
Be able to relate the different types of real numbers, and which groups are
subsets of other groups. Know the properties of real numbers, including the
properties of addition and multiplication. Be able to apply the distributive
property. Review absolute value to know:
what it means
how it is represented in symbolic form
how to solve problems involving absolute value

5. RADICALS
Know how to find roots of real numbers. Be aware that some problems have
two solutions. Know how to:
identify the principal square root
use the product and quotient properties of radicals
determine the simplest radical form
rationalize a denominator containing a radical for both square roots and
cube roots
use a conjugate, especially when the denominator contains a binomial
radical expression

6. POLYNOMIALS
Know how to add, subtract, multiply, and factor polynomials. Be familiar with
the products of special polynomials, such as (a + b)2, (a b)2, and (a + b)(a
b). Be able to recognize perfect square trinomials and the difference of
perfect squares.

7. QUADRATIC EQUATIONS
Know the meaning of each term in the Quadratic Formula. Be able to:
choose the answer that lists the roots of the quadratic equation
determine the nature of the roots of a quadratic equation without actually
solving for them
use the discriminant to decide if there are two real rational roots, two real
irrational roots, one real root, or no roots
8. INEQUALITIES
Know the Transitive Property of Inequality as well as the addition and
multiplication properties. Inequalities questions may involve conjunctions or
disjunctions, as well as absolute values. Be prepared to relate a solution to a
graph.

9. RATIONAL EXPRESSIONS
Know how to simplify rational expressions and solve equations involving
rational expressions. Be familiar with the special products studied with
polynomials. Be able to multiply, divide, add, and subtract rational
expressions.

10. SYSTEMS
Review simultaneous equations and equivalent systems. Be able to solve
systems by substitution or linear combination. Distinguish between the three
possible solution sets: one solution, no solution, and infinitely many
solutions. Be familiar with word problems with two unknowns. Know how to
set up a system and solve it to find the answer.

11. THREE-DIMENSIONAL FIGURES

Study the terminology relating to polyhedra: faces, edges, vertices, or bases.
Be able to distinguish among and calculate volume, surface area, and lateral
surface area. Review the area formulas for various shapes, such as
rectangles,
triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, and circles. Know the characteristics of
prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres. Be able to find the ordered
triple that describes the vertex of a figure graphed in three dimensions.

12. COORDINATE GEOMETRYLINES

Understand plane rectangular coordinate systems. Know how to:
name the ordered pair describing a point
find the midpoint of a line segment
determine the distance between two points
Know how to use these skills to describe a figure, such as finding the area of
a parallelogram given a graph.
Be able to find the slope of a line and distinguish between positive and
negative slopes. Know that parallel lines have the same slope and
perpendicular
lines have slopes that are opposite reciprocals. Be able to:
recognize linear equations in slope-intercept form, point-slope form,
and standard form
determine the x and y intercepts given information about a line

13. COORDINATE GEOMETRYCURVED GRAPHS

Review the standard form for the equation of a circle. Be able to find the x
and y intercepts from a given equation or to determine the equation given
the
center and radius of a circle.
Know the standard form for the equation of a parabola and be able to
identify the vertex. Be able to determine whether the vertex is a maximum
or
a minimum value.
Study the properties of an ellipse and know the standard form for an
equation
of an ellipse. Be able to find the equation from provided foci of an ellipse
and the length of the major axis.
Be able to recognize a hyperbola on a graph and know the standard form
for an equation of a hyperbola. Know how to identify the two asymptotes that
intersect at the center of the hyperbola.

14. POLAR COORDINATES

Be familiar with the polar coordinate system and the relationships you can
use to convert between polar coordinates and rectangular coordinates. Be
able to rename points between the polar and rectangular coordinate
systems.

15. TRIGONOMETRY
Know the sine, cosine, and tangent trigonometric ratios for an angle. Be able
to determine the length of a side of a triangle from a given angle. Know the
reciprocal functions of secant, cosecant, and cotangent. Recognize the
cofunction
identities and be able to use them to solve for unknown values. Know how
to use inverse functions, including the arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent.
Familiarize yourself with special right triangles. Also know the trigonometric
identities, be able to convert to radian measure, and be prepared to
use the laws of sines and cosines. Review the double angle formulas for sine,
cosine, and tangent.

16. INTRODUCTION TO FUNCTIONS

Review function notation and know how to determine the domain and range
for a given function. Be able to differentiate between linear functions and
quadratic
functions as well as even and odd functions. Know how to use the vertical
line test to determine if a graph represents a function or a relation.
Familiarize
yourself with graphs of common functions, such as an identity function,
constant
function, absolute value function, squaring function, and cubing function.

17. WORKING WITH FUNCTIONS

Be able to recognize and evaluate the following types of functions:
composition functions
identity functions
zero functions
constant functions
quadratic function
inverse functions
rational functions
polynomial functions (especially first-degree and second-degree polynomial
functions and the properties of their graphs)
Be able to determine if a function is decreasing, increasing, or constant.

18. SPECIAL FUNCTIONS

Practice working with the following types of special functions:
exponential functions: recognize the graphs and know how to determine
if two exponential functions are the same
logarithmic functions: know how to evaluate logarithms and inverses of
logarithmic functions; review common logarithmic functions
trigonometric functions: be able to relate trigonometric relationships
to their graphs, and recognize such graphs as that of sine and cosine
periodic functions: be able to decide if a function is periodic and identify
a graph of a periodic function
 piecewise functions: be able to attribute a graph to a piecewise
function
recursive functions: know how to identify a specific term in a given
sequence; the Fibonacci Sequence is an example of this type of special
function
parametric functions: be able to recognize the graph of a parametric
function and to determine its domain

19. MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Be able to determine a measure of central tendency, including mean,
median,
and mode. Understand how a change in data will affect each measure of
central
tendency. Know how to calculate the standard deviation and to find the
range of data along with the interquartile range.

20. DATA INTERPRETATION

Know how to interpret data presented in histograms, pie charts, frequency
distributions, bar graphs, and other displays. Review how information is
provided
in each type of display.
Be able to evaluate a set of data and determine which type of model best
fits the data. Make sure you are familiar with linear, quadratic, and
exponential
models.

21. PROBABILITY
Be able to identify a sample space and an event, and then use this
information
to calculate the probability of dependent and independent
events.

22. INVENTED OPERATIONS AND IN TERMS OF PROBLEMS

Familiarize yourself with invented operations, which are mathematical
problems
that show a symbol, unfamiliar but defined for you, that represents a
made-up mathematical operation. Know how to use the definition to solve
for a given variable, and to solve for more than one unknown variable.

23. RATIO AND PROPORTION

Familiarize yourself with solving straightforward proportions in which you
cross multiply to solve for an unknown. Understand how to set up these
proportions
for diagrams and word problems.

24. COMPLEX NUMBERS

Review the form of a complex number and know how to perform
mathematical
operations on complex numbers, including operations that involve
absolute value. Understand how to find the complex conjugate of a
denominator
to simplify a quotient.

25. COUNTING PROBLEMS

Study the Fundamental Counting Principle and be able to recognize mutually
exclusive events. Know how to determine the number of possible
combinations
and how to use a factorial to solve problems involving permutations.

26. NUMBER THEORY AND LOGIC

Be comfortable with the properties of positive and negative numbers, prime
numbers, integers, and odd and even numbers. Be able to evaluate various
even/odd combinations of two numbers and draw a conclusion about the
result of an operation performed on the numbers.
Review conditional statements, inverses, and contrapositives.

27. MATRICES
Understand how to identify the value of variables within a matrix that is set
equal to another matrix or to the determinant. Know how to find the sum or
product of two matrices.

28. SEQUENCES AND SERIES

Review the difference between finite and infinite sequences. Be able to
compare
arithmetic and geometric sequences. Know how to choose the nth term in
a specific sequence or to find a common ratio given two terms in a sequence.
Understand how series are related to sequences. Be able to find the sum
of a finite arithmetic sequence, a finite geometric sequence, or an infinite
geometric sequence. Study the appropriate formulas for each task.

29. VECTORS
Know what a vector is and how it is described. Review resultants and norms.

30. LIMITS
Review the meaning of a limit and how limits are indicated by symbols. Know
how to find the limit of a function f (x) as x approaches a given value or
infinity.