Introduction to SAT II Physics - FreeExamPapers

what kinds of optical instruments have what kinds of focal points. All this takes her about
ten minutes, after which she vows never again to make a mistake on a question involving
optics.
Analyzing Molly Bloom
Molly wasn’t content simply to see what the correct answer was and get on with her day;
she wanted to see how and why she got the question wrong and what she should have
done, or needed to know, in order to get it right. So, she spent a little time studying the
question, discovering her mistaken understanding of diverging lenses, and nailing down
the principles behind the situation. If Molly were to take that same test again, she
definitely would not get that question wrong.
Skeptical readers might say, “But she never will take that test again, and she’ll never see
that question again, so wasn’t figuring out her mistake a waste of time?”
No! It’s definitely not a waste of time. Remember that the test is remarkably similar from
year to year—both in the topics it covers and in the way it poses questions about those
topics. Therefore, when Molly taught herself about optics, she actually learned how to
answer similar questions dealing with converging lenses and concave and convex mirrors,
which will undoubtedly appear on every future practice test and on the real SAT II
Physics.
In studying the results of her practice test, in figuring out exactly why she got her one
question wrong and what she should have known and done to get it right, Molly has
targeted a weakness and overcome it.
If you take the time to learn why you got a question wrong and to learn the material you
need to know to get it right, you’ll probably remember what you learned the next time
you’re faced with a similiar question. And chances are excellent that you will be faced
with a similar question.
Molly and You
What if you take a practice test and get fifteen questions wrong, and your errors span all
the major topics in physics? In that case, you should still do exactly what Molly did: take
your test and study it. Identify every question you got wrong, figure out why you got it
wrong, and then teach yourself what you should have done to get the question right. If
you can’t figure out your error, find someone who can.
A wrong answer identifies a weakness in your test taking, whether that weakness is an
unfamiliarity with a particular topic or a tendency to be careless. If you got fifteen
questions wrong on a practice test, then each of those fifteen questions identifies a
weakness in your ability to take SAT II Physics or your knowledge about the topics on the
SAT II Physics Tests. But as you study each question you got wrong, you are actually
learning how to answer the very questions that will appear in similar form on the real
SAT II Physics. You are discovering your exact weakness in physics and addressing them,
and you are learning to understand not just the principles you’re being tested on but also
the way that ETS will test you.
True, if you got fifteen questions wrong, studying your first practice test will take time.
But if you invest that time and study your practice test properly, you will be eliminating
future mistakes. Each successive practice test you take should have fewer errors, meaning
you’ll need to spend less time studying those errors. Also, and more important, you’ll be
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