Math Section: TEAS

ReOxyS · Aug 13, 2014

I found the test to be 100% true to the ATI study guide. Although, I will say that the ATI study book did not explain a few things very well. Khan Academy was immensely helpful with explaining them, though.

Math is my least favorite subject. But, I got 100% on that part of the TEAS. That's a pretty good recommendation for Khan Academy, I do believe :)

Jessica92 · Aug 13, 2014

Thanks ReOxyS for your response! I think I'm more worried abut the math than the science!

nlitened · Aug 14, 2014

I found the math to be basic. If you have taken college algebra then you will have no problem with this section.

ReOxyS · Aug 14, 2014

I found the math to be basic. If you have taken college algebra then you will have no problem with this section.

Truthfully, it was pretty basic. I think a lot of us have a tendency to over-think it, and that's why we may not do so well. Sometimes an answer really is straightforward - and we need to accept it.

SeattleJess · Aug 14, 2014

The TEAS math section was very, very basic. The only surprise was absolute values. And if you learn the materials in the ATI guide then it is no surprise at all when you hit that expected absolute value problem. I'm no genius by a long shot but I, too, scored 100% on the math section. The science section was harder and more detailed than the ATI study guide so be sure to spend time studying that!

Jessica92 · Aug 14, 2014

Thank you SeattleJess and nlitened for your responses! I feel relieved now. I must have looked over that math section in the ATI book ten or more times already! I still feel I need to look it over so as I will not forget any little detail. Good luck to anyone taking this exam! :yes:

LoyalWeim · Aug 14, 2014

I found the math to be quite easy but it seems that some struggle with the limited time aspect of the exam. Have you timed yourself doing the math section of a sample test?

I also used Khan's Academy for some of the science material as well. He really does great work! In particular, check out Khan's videos for the chemistry material!

Regards,

LW

Jessica92 · Aug 14, 2014

I haven't yet timed myself LoyalWeim, but I will do that. Would you say that some struggle with the time due to nerves, or just over thinking the problem?

Also, Khan's Academy is excellent for the Chemistry! I took Organic Chemistry last year so I have retained some information, but I need to look over that section again just to be sure I really know it. Overall, the Chemistry seems pretty basic. (At least I hope so!)

LoyalWeim · Aug 15, 2014

The math material is pretty basic stuff. However, some people just really have a difficult time with math. The ATI study manual covers the math material very well. It seemed quite representative of the math on the actual exam. One has about 45 min. to complete 30 questions in the math section. Note, however that there are an additional 20 test questions not accounted for in the sample tests so in reality, one has less time.

For me, I had more difficulty in completing the reading section on time. I finished with about 2 minutes to spare. The math literally took me about 15 - 20 minutes, but I am pretty strong in math. If you are one that struggles with math then you need to practice, practice, practice. Math is one of those areas that should be somewhat easier to prepare for given enough practice!

For some people, it seems that the TEAS-level math is really not all that difficult except for the fact that they must solve them more quickly- and as you noted are under stress. The mind can sure find itself in a dreaded gridlock state if stress is involved and some of the questions stump you. I have experienced this before myself. If I struggle with several questions in a row, I begin to doubt myself. If you overprepare for your weak areas then this is much less likely to happen because you will truly know the material.

A simple pointer that I think some folks miss on the math problems...

Read the explanations in the ATI manual. Many of the problems can be solved without writing a single thing on paper! You might not even realize this because for example, you already know how to solve say:

Solve 0.002 x 0.025:

A. 0.005

B. 0.0005

C. 0.00005

D. 0.000005

I am guessing that some people actually do the multiplication... that math on paper. This is not necessary and only costs you precious time that you might actually need for a more difficult problem. You should be able to easily see that 2x25 = 50. In fact, this is already obvious simply because the answers available all have "50" in them. It is therefore only necessary to know the decimal location in the answer. Since the two terms have 3 digits each to the right of the decimal, our answer needs to have six digits which give us:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

50 => 5.0 => 0.50 => 0.050 => 0.0050 => 0.00050 => 0.000050, so the answer is C.

A little bit of practice and you will see just how easy this problem is to solve. Use a calculator to confirm your practice answers if necessary or calculate them by hand. Note that if you have a question that has two larger numbers then it might be necessary to actually perform the hand calculation. For example:

Calculate 2.785 x .0357.

I would not be able to do this in my head! In this case, I would calculate the answer by hand unless for some reason my answer choices make it obvious.... like the following:

A. 238.7639

B. 6.572

C. 0.0994245

D. 1.8972

Note that I made up this question with the answers... but my point is that in this case I can see the answer here without really doing any actual calculations. I know for sure that A and B cannot be the answer because starting with 2.xxx times a very small fraction cannot yield an even larger result! So already, I know the answer must be C or D. Given that the fraction is small at 0.0357, I can tell the answer is less than 1 so can deduce the final answer as C.

There are so many shortcuts like this that one can apply for other problems as well. Everybody is different so if you are not comfortable doing this then simply practice doing math problems repeatedly. Once you have all the different math principles down then it simply comes down to making sure that you are fast enough.

Regards,

LW

Jessica92 · Aug 15, 2014

Thank you LoyalWeim for your detailed response! I definitely have a little less jitters now. I think I have the math concepts down pretty well, its just I have to make sure that I am quick enough.

Also, during the exam are you given breaks in between each section? I know the test is like 3 hours long, but do some people finish earlier than that? And do you get your results right away if it is computerized?

~Jess

LoyalWeim · Aug 16, 2014

Hi Jessica92,

I believe the questions that you have vary based on the testing site. I do not think they all do it the same. The one at UT Tyler allows breaks but only between sections. I took a restroom break between the math and science sections. And, I believe if you choose to take the test electronically by computer then yes, you should see the results immediately. Our site did not allow us to use the printer, but this really is not a problem because you can obtain your results yourself once you get home. Just log into ATI testing website and retrieve your TEAS report.

Regards,

LW