Hey there! Algebra’s got a lot of stuff in it, and it takes a while to learn. You can look at a lot of the algebra articles here: http://www.passged.com/student_blogs/curtis/category/algebra/. Here’s the absolute, need-to-know’s:

1) Gotta understand the idea of a variable. A variable is a letter or symbol that stands for something unknown or something that can change. A lot of the time, you’ll see “x” used as a variable: x + 5 = 10 … why do you use a variable? Cuz you want to figure something out, and to put the “something you don’t know” into a math equation you need some sort of symbol for it. That’s where the x comes in. You’ll need to be able to understand what 2x means (2 times x) and mutliply, add, and subtract with variables to move them around.

2) Gotta understand how to move numbers around in an equation. In an equation, you can add the same number to both sides, subtract the same number from both sides, multiply both sides by the same number, or divide both sides by the same number (as long as it’s not zero). Why do you want to do that? So you can move all the numbers to one side, and the variable to the other, and figure out what the variable equals. So, for x + 5 = 10, you can subtract 5 from each side. Then, x = 5. Easy.

3) Gotta be able to see what an equation means in real life. So, take a word problem and make an equation out of it.

4) Understand inequalities, like 4 < 2x or x +5 > 10.

5) Gotta know how to deal with negative numbers and fractions. Why? These are the main things that’ll mess you up in moving around numbers. Better you understand them, the better you’ll do.

6) Helps to know about exponents, like x². You won’t get into real high exponents, jus’ understand what “squared” means (something times itself) and what a square root means.

7) Helps to know about graphing a line… like what’s a slope? How do you get a line on a graph from an equation?
The hardest part is quadratic equations (you can see my article ’bout them). But there’s not gonna be a lot about them on the GED, so no big sweat.

Dat’s the basics. I know it’s a lot, an’ I can’t promise my website covers it all. But your son can always write in to me with special problems if he’s havin’ trouble with something. It’s hard to study on your own, so I totally recommend the GED Academy study program at http://www.passGED.com. It’s got a real complete math course, and if he has a problem he can call up an instructor for help.

Here’s what the coordinate plane answer grid’ll look like on your GED answer sheet:

So, what’s it for? The questions that use this grid ask you to graph a point. Just a dot. That’s all. The point is, where is it? That’s all they want to know. One of these 49 dots is the answer. Well, that’s a big margin for guessin’, jus’ 2% chance to get it right. (How’d I figure the percent chance? If you mark one bubble outta 49 bubbles, that’s a 1 in 49 chance of getting the right bubble… and 49 rounds to 50, multiply both sides by 2 and you got a 2 in 100 chance. That’s 2%. Okay, that’s a sidetrack.)

A “coordinate plane” is jus’ a graph of where something is in comparison to two lines, an x-axis (a line going right and left), and a y-axis (a line going up and down). The two axes are marked “x” and “y” on your graph.

A point you’d want to graph on here would be written like this: (3, -2). The first number is the x, and the second number is the y. To find the point, go to +3 on the x axis:

And then go DOWN 2 (so you’re across from -2 on the y axis):

The point you’re at is (3, -2).

Pretty easy. On the test, the values of x or y can only be 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, or -6. There won’t be any fractions, decimals, or other numbers. So, if you think you know the answer, but it doesn’t fit on the grid, try again!

Another thing, you’ll only fill in only one circle on the grid. The answer to the question will be one single point. Okay, try this GED practice question, using the coordinate plane grid:

In the equation y = 2x + 3, show the location of a point where x = -2.

How’d you do on this? Did you figure it out? They give you one part of the point, -2, but they don’t give you the whole thing. You’ve got to put -2 into the equation for x to find out what y is:

y = 2(-2) + 3

y = -4 + 3 (Hint: A negative number times a positive number gives you a negative number)

y = -1 (Hint: To add a negative and a positive number, subtract the numbers and then give it the sign of the BIGGER number, so -4 + 3 = -1, but 4 + -3 = 1. Don’t let negative numbers throw you on the test!)

So, the point you want to graph is (-2, -1), like this:

Go learn that GED math!

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Knowing What to Study

When you’re taking the GED math test, the first thing you gotta do is figure out what kinda problem you’re looking at. Is this geometry? Is it asking about right angles? Graphing algebra? Adding and subtracting? Figuring percentages? What? Going through a GED practice test and trying to figure out what each question is can help you out. Pay attention to the ones that you think are hard. Don’t just take the practice test…find the hard questions, then figure out what kind of questions they are, and then study how to solve them.

How Much Do You Study?

Once you know what to study, you need to know how much to study. Here’s the 411: You got to study until it’s easy. Or at least not hard. The more problems you do, the easier they get. Believe it or not. That’s why you just keep trying new problems in whatever you’re studying until you get the hang of them. Jus’ like practicin’ anything, like learnin’ to drive.

How Do You Remember How to Solve a Problem?

Try writing down the steps you take to solve the type of problem you’re working on. Put them in your own words, so that you can remember them easier. Practice by looking at the steps to help you solve the problem. Then, the next day, without looking at your notes, try to write down the steps from memory and writing them down again. If you practice calling up what you remember, it’ll be easier to remember next time.

How Do You Understand How to Do a Math Problem?

Don’t just go by steps. Try to understand why it’s done that way. Work through an example problem, trying to figure out why you solve it a certain way. If you understand why, you’ll really remember it. Don’t worry about taking a long time with one or two practice problems while you figure it out. This is where the learning happens.

Study the Basics, Learn the Details

Math is like a big tower. If you’re missin’ a brick at the bottom, it’s all gonna come tumbling down. You got to know the basic math if you’re gonna do the harder math, so make sure you know how to work with numbers. Learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in your head. Learn about what fractions, decimals, and percents are, and how to do basic math with them. Learn about different types of numbers (especially negative numbers!) and math symbols. While you’re workin’ you gotta keep track of the little things…and it’s subtracting wrong or dropping a negative symbol that’s gonna trip you up. So study the basics and pay attention to all those little details.

Get all your math skills ready, cuz you can pass the GED math test!

For more information about the GED test or GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.

Take a deep breath! Here’s a breakdown of the formulas. Remember, they’re in the GED test booklet to help you out….

So, what’s it mean? Area is just the amount of space on a surface. That’s all. For a square or rectangle, it’s just the length of two adjoining sides multiplied by each other. So, if you’ve got a 6×4 room, you need 6×4 square feet of carpet…24 square feet.

A parallelogram is just a four-sided figure where the opposite sides are parallel…slanting the same way. It’s like a rectangle, but instead of measuring the length of the sides, you measure 1 flat side, and then the height, straight up. Multiply them together to get area.

A triangle is easy…it’s half a parallelogram, so you get the area by multiplying 1/2 times the base (bottom) times the height (straight up).

A trapezoid is a 4-sided figure with 2 parallel sides. So, the sides that run parallel to each other are different lengths. Add them together and divide by two to get an average…then multiply by the height (straight up).

A circle is a little different… you need to use “pi.” That’s that funny-looking figure…just think of it as 3.14. To get the area (flat surface) of a circle, multiply 3.15 times the radius squared. The radius is the distance from the center of the circle to the edge, and squared just means multiply it by itself. So, if the circle is 4″ across, the radius is 2″, and the area is 3.14 x 2 x 2, or just over 12. (Approximating can be very helpful!)

Next up is perimeter and circumference…

Perimeter is just how long the outside lines of a shape are…so, how much fence you’d need to put around a pasture, or how much framing you’d need to frame a picture. On the square, rectangle, or triangle, or any figure with straight sides, it’s just the length of all the sides added together. Easy.

On a circle, you’ve got to use pi again…so it’s 3.14 x diameter—that’s the length across the center of a circle. For a 5″ across circle, the circumference is just over 15.”

Next is volume…

Volume is like area, except it’s three dimensional. It’s all the space inside something. For area, you multiplied one side times another, right? Well, for volume, you’re just adding a third side… so for a cube or a rectangular solid (like a box) you multiply length x width x height.

A cylinder is like a circle that’s got height. So, for the cylinder, you find the area of the circle at the bottom (pi times radius square, like we did for area), and then multiply it by the height of the cylinder.

Cones and pyramids have a circle or a square at the bottom, and then they come to a point instead of having a similar shape at the other side. So, they’re smaller in volume than a cylinder or rectangular solid. Turns out, they’re exactly 1/3 the volume. So, just find the volume of a cylinder or rectangular solid with the same size end, and divide that number by three. That’s all the formulas mean.

Now the next one…

COORDINATE GEOMETRY
	distance between points = ; (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are two points in a plane.Slope of a line = ; (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are two points on the line.

Sounds confusing! But it’s not so bad, really. Points on a graph are shown by an x and y number, like this: (2, 3) The x number is the first number, and the y number is the second number. The numbers tell you where to find the points on the graph. Well, to find the distance between two points, you basically make a right triangle on the graph, by connecting the points. Then, you can use the Pythagorean formula to find the distance…

The Pythagorean idea is that, in a right triangle, the length of one (short) side squared + the length of the other (short) side squared = the length of the long side squared. That’s what you’re doing here. The distance between the x’s is the length of one short side, and the distance between the y’s is the length of the other short side.
Find the distances, square them, add them together. Then, find the square root…and you’ve got the distance between the two points.

The slope…that sounds confusing, too. But basically, it’s RISE over RUN….that is, how far it is up and down from one point on a line to another, over how far it is across between the same two points.

The next one is the Pythagorean relationship…exactly what I was just talking about. a and b are the two short sides of a right triangle (legs), and c is the long side (hypotenuse). You’ll use this formula whenever you know the lengths of two sides of a right triangle and want to know the third. This one’s a good one to know!

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
	mean = ; where the x’s are the values for which a mean is desired, and n is the total number of values for x.
	median = the middle value of an odd number of ordered scores, and halfway between the two middle values of an even number of ordered scores

“Mean” is what we usually think of as an “average.” In plain English, add up all the numbers you’ve got, and divide by however many numbers you added together.

“Median” is just the middle number, if you put a group of numbers in order from smallest to largest (that’s what it means by ‘ordered scores’). If there are an even amount of numbers, there won’t be a middle number…so you use the number halfway between the two middle numbers.

The last items are simple interest….so if the GED asks you about interest on a loan, you’ll calculate interest by multiplying the principal (amount borrowed) by the interest rate and multiplying that by the amount of time of the loan (usually in years).

Distance = rate x time is about how far you can go, how fast. So, if you’re traveling at 30 miles per hour for 6 hours, you’ll go 30 x 6 miles, or 180 miles.

Total cost = (number of units ) x (price per unit) is something you do every day…
if you’re buying 5 bananas, and bananas cost 20 cents each, how much is the total cost? It’s the number of bananas times the price per banana…or 5 x 20 cents, or 100 cents, or $1.

Don’t let the formulas confuse you! Most of it is pretty straightforward…

Good luck! And don’t panic!

Hi, everyone! I know that a lot of people have trouble with the math test. And I’ve heard more than one person say that they’ve taken it more than once…gotten close to passing, but just can’t get all the way. I know it’s frustrating! But it’s possible to pass. Here are my suggestions…

• Focus on taking practice tests and sample GED questions…especially ones that include the solutions, so that you can really get how to answer the questions. Try to find a study solution that will guide you through how to choose the correct answer, not just how to do different kinds of math. It’s a different experience taking the math test than just trying to do the math problems.

• Pick one or two areas that you KNOW are on the test and that you KNOW give you problems… and really learn them through and through. For example…there are always questions about right triangles…or just angles in general. What about graphing equations? You know that’s on the test.Study the basics. Learn to do simple math in your head, and how to handle positive and negative numbers, fractions, and decimals while you’re working. The better you know basic math, the better you’ll do on ALL kinds of math.

• Practice with word problems. Most of the GED math test is word problems, so having a good strategy to tackle them really helps!

Here are some links to more advice and help on the GED math test:
http://www.passged.com/leonards_mail/2008/02/11/ged-math/
http://www.passged.com/leonards_mail/2007/12/18/ged-math-tips/
http://www.passged.com/leonards_mail/2007/10/22/interpreting-charts-and-graphs-on-the-ged/
http://www.passged.com/leonards_mail/2007/09/27/practice-test-guide-math/
http://www.passged.com/leonards_mail/2007/04/13/how-to-pass-the-math-test/

I get that word problems and practice questions really help for GED math. So, next time I’ll kick in with a practice GED word problem, and the right answer…so you can see how to get there. Write a comment if you got an area that you want to see a practice question for…algebra? geometry? right angles? decimals? Let me know what you need to learn…

First thing, you gotta figure out how much you gotta study. Take a GED practice test, so you’ll know what you’ll score. Then, take whatever GED tests you can pass right away. Once you’ve passed one test, it’s out of the way, and you don’t have to worry about it no more. Here’s a link to find a GED test center: http://www.acenet.edu/resources/GED/center_locator.cfm

Since you’re here in my blog, it’s prolly like most people… you need help with GED math. Hey, I’ll give you as much help as I can. The biggest thing to pass the GED is to get the basic math down. Start with knowin’ how to do word problems, and work on bein’ able to work with fractions, decimals, ratios, and other kinds of math ideas that’s on all kinds of problems. The more you practice basic math, the easier the harder math stuff will be.

Work on it every day. That’s the other thing. If it’s important, you can spend an hour a day practicing. You’ll prolly need more help than just my blog. Get a good book. Or a good study program. Also, check out high schools and colleges around you to see if there’s any adult ed classes. And keep with it! Just an hour a day. You’ll get there, quicker than you think.

For more information on the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at passged.com

Out of what 50 questions on the math test how many should i get right just to be safe in order yo pass? Also what sections should i study on the most?

Sincerely,

S. Sain-Mellner in Virginia

The GED don’t really go by how many questions you get right. They see how good you do against all the other people takin’ the test. So, it all depends on the version of the test you get. Stinks, right?

To really know you gonna pass, though, try to get 35 out of 50 right. But you may be okay with less, depends on how good you do on the other tests and how hard the test is. To be sure, go for the 35 right…

Now, what to study most? Best thing to study is basic math. Practice doin’ word problems, and doin’ math in you head. The reason is, this is gonna help you on all the math questions. The harder stuff’ll help you with one or two questions, but practicin’ word problems and doin’ math faster in your head (mental math) is gonna help the most with all the questions. Here’s some places to go for word problems:

http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.word.problems.html

http://www.studygs.net/mathproblems.htm

http://www.how-to-study.com/solving-math-word-problems.htm

And here’s some places to go for mental math:

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~jameis/Math/D.mental/DEY1.html

http://mathforum.org/t2t/faq/faq.tricks.html

http://blog.thembid.com/index.php/2007/07/14/do-math-quickly-in-your-head/

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passged.com.