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Introduction to SAT II Physics - FreeExamPapers

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Scoring Your Practice Test<br />

After you take your practice test, you’ll no doubt want <strong>to</strong> score it and see how you did. But<br />

don’t just tally up your raw score. As a part of your scoring, you should keep a precise list<br />

of every question you got wrong and every question you skipped. This list will be your<br />

guide when you study your test.<br />

Studying Your… No, Wait, Go Take a Break<br />

You know how <strong>to</strong> have fun. Go do that for a while. Then come back when you’re<br />

refreshed.<br />

Studying Your Practice Test<br />

After grading your test, you should have a list of the questions you answered incorrectly<br />

or skipped. Studying your test involves going down this list and examining each question<br />

you answered incorrectly. Make sure not just <strong>to</strong> learn the right answer but also <strong>to</strong><br />

understand why you got the question wrong and what you could have done <strong>to</strong> get the<br />

question right.<br />

Why Did You Get the Question Wrong?<br />

There are three main reasons why you might have gotten an individual question wrong.<br />

1. You thought you knew the answer, but, actually, you didn’t.<br />

2. You couldn’t answer the question directly, but you knew the general principles<br />

involved. Using this knowledge, you managed <strong>to</strong> eliminate some answer choices<br />

and then guessed among the remaining answers; sadly, you guessed incorrectly.<br />

3. You knew the answer but somehow made a careless mistake.<br />

You should know which of these reasons applies <strong>to</strong> every question you got wrong.<br />

What You Could Have Done <strong>to</strong> Get the Question Right<br />

If You Got a Question Wrong for Reason 1 or 2: Lack of Knowledge<br />

Reasons (1) and (2) are variants of one another, and there is a pretty smooth continuum<br />

that runs between them. Both result from a lack of knowledge of some of the principles of<br />

physics. Discovering a wrong answer in this domain gives you an opportunity <strong>to</strong> target<br />

your weakness. When addressing that weakness, make sure that you don’t just look at the<br />

facts. For example, if you got a question wrong that dealt with resis<strong>to</strong>rs in parallel, don’t<br />

just memorize the rule for calculating the <strong>to</strong>tal resistance of a set of resis<strong>to</strong>rs in parallel.<br />

Ultimately, you want <strong>to</strong> understand why that rule is the way it is. And don’t s<strong>to</strong>p there.<br />

You should next review resis<strong>to</strong>rs in series and DC circuits in general. Make sure you’re<br />

comfortable with Kirchhoff’s Rules: they’re useful in sorting out how current and voltage<br />

work in a circuit.<br />

When studying the questions you got wrong, always remember that it’s important <strong>to</strong><br />

focus on the essence of each question and <strong>to</strong> understand the principles that would lead<br />

you <strong>to</strong> a correct answer on similar questions.<br />

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