SAT

📘 SAT study guides (4)

Start with the maths vocabulary: many students know the maths but lose marks on the English wording. Words in Context vocabulary, grammar rule cards and original practice questions are being added. SAT is a trademark of College Board; check the official site for the latest test details.

Grammar rule cards (240 practice questions)

Reading and Writing practice (100 questions)

Math practice (100 questions)

⏱ Timed module practice (Reading and Writing · Math)

• neutral

  adjectiveAWL 6

  Not supporting either side; or neither positive nor negative.

  A good report presents information in a neutral way.

• nevertheless

  adverbAWL 6

  Despite what has just been stated

  The task was difficult; nevertheless, they succeeded.

• no solution

  phrase

  When no value makes an equation or system true, for example parallel lines that never meet.

  The system has no solution because the lines are parallel.

• nonetheless

  adverbAWL 10

  In spite of what has just been said; however.

  The task was difficult; nonetheless, she finished on time.

• nonlinear

  adjective

  Not forming a straight line; describing relationships such as quadratic or exponential ones.

  The data show a nonlinear relationship.

• nostalgic

  adjective

  Feeling happy and a little sad when remembering the past.

  The narrator is nostalgic about his childhood summers.

• novel

  adjective

  In context: new and original in an interesting way (not "a book").

  The researchers proposed a novel method for cleaning water.

• nuanced

  adjective

  Showing small but important differences in meaning or opinion.

  The essay offers a nuanced view of the debate.

• numerator

  noun

  The top number in a fraction.

  In 3/8, the numerator is 3.

• object

  verb

  In context: to say you disagree with or oppose something.

  Several residents objected to the new highway.

• objective

  noun / adjectiveAWL 5

  An aim you want to achieve; based on facts, not feelings.

  Try to give an objective view of both sides of the argument.

• observational study

  noun

  A study where researchers observe without controlling who receives a treatment.

  An observational study cannot prove cause and effect.

• obtuse angle

  noun

  An angle larger than 90 degrees but smaller than 180 degrees.

  A 120° angle is an obtuse angle.

• on the other hand

  phrase

  A transition that introduces a different or opposite point.

  Solar power is clean. On the other hand, it depends on the weather.

• opposite side

  noun

  In a right triangle, the side across from the angle being used.

  The opposite side of angle A is BC.

• optimistic

  adjective

  Hopeful and confident about the future.

  The authors are optimistic that the species will recover.

• order of operations

  noun

  The rule for the order in which to calculate: brackets, exponents, multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction.

  Use the order of operations to evaluate 3 + 4 × 2.

• ordered pair

  noun

  A pair of numbers (x, y) that gives the position of a point.

  The ordered pair (3, −2) is a solution to the equation.

• outlier

  noun

  A value that is much larger or smaller than the other values in a data set.

  Removing the outlier lowers the mean.

• output

  noun

  In maths, the value a function gives for an input, usually y or f(x).

  The output of f(3) is 10.

• parabola

  noun

  The U-shaped graph of a quadratic function.

  The parabola opens downward because a is negative.

• paradox

  noun

  A situation or statement that seems impossible because it contains two opposite facts.

  It is a paradox that more choice can make people less happy.

• parallel lines

  noun

  Lines in the same plane that never meet and have the same slope.

  Parallel lines have equal slopes.

• parallelogram

  noun

  A quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides.

  Opposite angles of a parallelogram are equal.

• per cent

  nounAWL 1

  One part in every hundred (also written percent, mainly in US English).

  Around 70 per cent of respondents agreed with the proposal.