Comparative Observations on SAT-II C
(Barron’s)
[Following are the observations made
by Rafiul Azam and Borno on SAT-II C Barron’s Book. Some of the recommendations
differ from each other.]
Rafi’s Observations
While going through Barron’s SAT-II C Mathematics book after completing Khan Academy
and SAT II Mathematics from The Princeton Review, I experienced a few new
things and a harder version of Mathematics (SAT II C). Khan Academy provides the
most basic knowledge about how the fundamental things, which we already learnt
in O levels, AS.
I personally recommend going through Princeton’s
SAT-II Maths because there are some essential and new things needed to be
learnt before shifting to more advanced Barron’s. Things like formula of
Ellipse, Conic sections, Polar Coordinates and some few other things are to be
learnt from Princeton Review first and after that a student can surely go
through Barron’s. Barron’s dispenses some really hard topics in Maths and it’s
strongly recommended for someone determined to get a perfect 800 in SAT II
Maths. It is the book that will answer some unanswered questions which you
always ignored doing A levels (you may have thought that it might be
unnecessary) and will show you the elaborate works on (1) trigonometry, (2) functions,
(3) permutations and (4) variation. Only Core Mathematics 1, 2 and 3 are needed
to sit for SAT II exam because the partial fractions, further Binomial
Expansion, further differentiation and integration are not needed for SAT II.
Barron’s book shows the special angles which have a
pattern to show the values for different sine, cosine and tangent angles which
will save much time in the exam hall. There are graphs which show inverse
functions clearly showing how they were formed. I always faced problems in domains and ranges but this area
is organized so well and the explanations are so well described that I do not
have any more doubts in it. Barron’s book contains maths of limitations, which
I personally found complicated during A2 but the concept is crystal clear now
because of Barron’s elaborated explanation of how it is derived. The 3D vector
was not much detailed in Princeton Review but in Barron’s, it is not only there
but shown where it is derived from and where it is used.
Most importantly, Barron’s Maths has standard test
questions which actually are quite hard to solve. I believe if someone gets
through the whole book attentively and spends a week on it, one will have the
ability to score a perfect 800 in SAT II Mathematics.
Borno’s Observations:
Princeton just touches the tip of the iceberg of
A-levels mathematics, which is almost 70 percent of what we’ll need to study
and has clear and concise elaboration of individual chapters but lacks further
emphasis on some topics such as (1) higher degree polynomial graphs and more
advanced and detailed lessons on (2) sketching and determining types of graphs (which
is required in SAT). Barron’s also has emphasis on further pure mathematics with
topics such as (1) multivariable functions and (2) imaginary numbers. Barron’s
focuses on improving one’s basic knowledge about general mathematics and hence
goes deep into its roots, which is necessary to answer concept based questions.
Barron’s also has after chapter exercises with clear explanation for answers to
individual questions, it has all the questions necessary and a variation of
questions and topics like no other (Princeton SAT and Khan Academy). Overall it
is the complete book to study in order to excel in SAT 2 Level 2 Mathematics.
Borno and Siam Added following Comments on 24th September
Long term review: Barron’s might seem
like the complete book to study for SAT Maths level 2 and after I divulged
further and further into the chapters, I discovered not only does it have
everything every other book or website has to offer, it also has all the
emphasis on each and every concept in a concise but detailed form. It might be
absurd to come across questions like for example:
If ((3,2), (4,2), (3,1),(7,1),(2,3)) is to be
a function which of the following must be removed from the set ? (Barron’s
Chapter 1.1 exercises Q1) Initially it might look like something you’ve never
come across your AS or A2 but answer is (3,2) or (3,1) because every ordered
pair must have a different x-element (3 in this case) in order to be a
function.
Another example might be in chapter
3.1 (Trigonometry) where they introduce new terms like initial side, terminal
side and Example 1 from the same chapter: Express sin 320 in terms of angle
theta and angle beta.
One might argue that spending time on
questions like these are futile, but remember these are concept-based questions
and anyone with a proper caliber in general mathematics should be able to
answer these questions without any difficulty. So does questions like these
come in the real SAT exams? Not always. But these questions help examiners
determine a candidate’s proficiency and understanding of Mathematics so a few
might pop-up in the exam. If one completes the Barron’s SAT Maths Level 2 book,
not only will it benefit one from being able to answer both concept-based and
complex questions, but it will help one build an understanding of Mathematics
like no other.
