Format of the SAT II Mathematics test level 1 and level 2: 50 multiple-choice questions. Questions covering content typically taught in the first three years (for Level 1) or four years (for Level 2) of college-preparatory mathematics (Students are not expected to have studied every topic on either test.)

Recommended Preparation for the SAT II Mathematics test

Level 1:  Three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra and one year of geometry.

Level 2: More than three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and elementary functions (precalculus) and/or trigonometry. If you have had preparation in trigonometry and elementary functions and have attained grades of B or better in these courses, select Level 2. If you are sufficiently prepared to take Level 2 but take Level 1 in hopes of receiving a higher score, you may not do as well as you expect.

Score: Total score: 200–to–800 scale.

Because the content measured by the two tests differs considerably, you cannot use your score on one test to predict your score on the other or to compare scores.

Geometric Figures

Figures that accompany problems are intended to provide information useful in solving the problems. They are drawn as accurately as possible EXCEPT when it is stated in a particular problem that the figure is not drawn to scale. Even when figures are not drawn to scale, the relative positions of points and angles may be assumed to be in the order shown. Also, line segments that extend through points and appear to lie on the same line may be assumed to be on the same line. The text “Note: Figure not drawn to scale.” is included on the figure when degree measures may not be accurately shown and specific lengths may not be drawn proportionally.

How to Choose Biology-E or Biology-M

-Take Biology-E if you feel more comfortable answering questions pertaining to biological communities, populations, and energy flow.

-Take Biology-M if you feel more comfortable answering questions pertaining to biochemistry, cellular structure and processes, such as respiration and photosynthesis.

You can decide whether you want to take Biology-E or Biology-M on test day by gridding the appropriate code for the test you have chosen on your answer sheet. Only questions pertaining to the test code that is gridded on your answer sheet will be scored.

NOTE: Because there is a common core of questions you are not allowed to take Biology-E and Biology-M on the same test date. You can take them on two different test dates.

Format of the SAT II Biology Test

-60 multiple-choice questions that are common to both Biology-E and Biology-M 20 specialized multiple-choice questions for either Biology-E or Biology-M

-Total of 80 questions answered by each test-taker. Questions may require you to recall and understand the major concepts of biology and to apply the principles, organize and interpret results obtained by observation and experimentation, draw conclusions or make inferences from  experimental data, including data presented in graphic or tabular form or solve problems with simple numerical calculations using the metric system.

NOTE: Calculator use is not permitted.

Recommended Preparation for the SAT II Biology Test

-One-year course in biology

-One-year course in algebra and familiarity with  simple algebraic concepts such as ratios and direct and inverse proportions

-Laboratory experience

Structure of Matter

Atomic Structure, including experimental evidence of atomic structure, quantum numbers and energy levels (orbitals), electron configurations, periodic trends.

Molecular Structure, including Lewis structures, three-dimensional molecular shapes, polarity.

Bonding, including ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds, relationships of bonding to properties and structures; intermolecular forces such as hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole forces, dispersion (London) forces.

States of Matter

Gases, including the kinetic molecular theory, gas law relationships, molar volumes, density, and stoichiometry.

Liquids and Solids, including intermolecular forces in liquids and solids, types of solids, phase changes, and phase diagrams.

Solutions, including molarity and percent by mass concentrations, solution preparation and stoichiometry, factors affecting solubility of solids, liquids, and gases, qualitative aspects of colligative properties.

Reaction Types

Acids and Bases, including Brønsted-Lowry theory, strong and weak acids and bases, pH, titrations, indicators.

Oxidation-Reduction, including recognition of oxidation-reduction reactions, combustion, oxidation numbers, use of activity series.

Precipitation, including basic solubility rules.

Stoichiometry

Mole Concept, including molar mass, Avogadro’s number, empirical and molecular formulas.

Chemical Equations, including the balancing of equations, stoichiometric calculations, percent yield, and limiting reactants.

Equilibrium and Reaction Rates

Equilibrium Systems, including factors affecting position of equilibrium (LeChâtelier’s principle) in gaseous and aqueous systems, equilibrium constants, and equilibrium expressions.

Rates of Reactions, including factors affecting reaction rates, potential energy diagrams, activation energies.

Thermochemistry

Including conservation of energy, calorimetry and specific heats, enthalpy (heat) changes associated with phase changes and chemical reactions, heating and cooling curves, entropy.

Descriptive Chemistry

Including common elements, nomenclature of ions and compounds, periodic trends in chemical and physical properties of the elements, reactivity of elements and prediction of products of chemical reactions, examples of simple organic compounds and compounds of environmental concern.

Laboratory

Including knowledge of laboratory equipment, measurements, procedures, observations, safety, calculations, data analysis, interpretation of graphical data, drawing conclusions from observations and data.

* 70 minutes long. Those 70 minutes are divided into three timed sections: two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section.
* Three types of questions. The Critical Reading section contains Sentence Completions, Reading Comprehension questions about short paragraphs (100 words), and Reading Comprehension questions about longer passages (500–800 words).
* Critical Reading Skills. Unlike the old Verbal section, which was essentially a glorified vocabulary test, the Critical Reading section really does test critical reading skills.

The SAT Math Section

* 70 minutes long. The section is divided into two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section.
* Quantitative Comparisons have been cut. The Math section contains the standard multiple-choice questions and grid-in questions.
* New math topics. Math questions cover topics in basic numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. The algebra in the new SAT now includes a bunch of topics from Algebra II.

The SAT Writing Section

* 50 minutes long. There will be 25 minutes to write an essay and 35 minutes for three different types of multiple-choice questions.
* One essay topic. For the essay, you’ll have to take and justify a stance on a broad topic. You won’t have a choice of topics.
* Multiple-choice questions. The Writing section contains three types of multiple-choice questions: Identifying Sentence Errors, Improving Sentences, and Improving Paragraphs.
* Writing skills. The essay and the multiple-choice questions test both your writing skills and your understanding of grammar and language usage.

The Experimental Section
The SAT test also contains a 25-minute experimental section. It doesn’t count toward your final score. It’s in there just so that the test-makers can try out some of their new questions on you.
We know what you’re thinking: It would be nice if you could figure out which one was the experimental section and, since it doesn’t count toward your score, just blow it off during the test. You can’t do that. The experimental section looks exactly like one of the other test sections. Unfortunately, you need to treat every single section of the test as if it counts.

The “crack the test” approach to preparing for the SAT Test is even less effective now. For real improvement on the SAT Test, you must strengthen your problem-solving skills. Students who ace the SAT Test don’t do it by memorizing test-taking tricks. Ask them. They do it by becoming good problem solvers.
Smart Preparation for the SAT Test is not about memorizing the “best way” to solve each “type” of SAT Test question. There are no such “magic bullets,” and trying to memorize each possible “type” is silly, not to mention virtually impossible. This would be like training a baseball player to simply “memorize” every possible scenario in a baseball game, and respond to each one in a pre-programmed way. Ridiculous. Of
course, fundamental skills are important to a good player, but even more important are the systems he or
she uses to respond—flexibly and creatively—to the infinite possibilities that may arise in any game. A good player is one who thinks well. Similarly, to do well on the SAT Test, you must improve your general problem-solving skills, so that you are ready for any crazy problem that might come your way. This process requires being open to new information and discoveries as they come, continually looking for new relationships and patterns in that information, evaluating and reevaluating your progress as you work through problems, and so on.

This is mindful practice, not mindless habit or“quick and easy” tricks. Here are some important questions to think about:
•  As you read, are you in control of how your eyes move through the page? Do you always know what to look for in a passage? Is your mind actively seeking to answer questions as you read and to “construct” a representation of what you read in your mind? Do you consolidate information as you read? Do you notice the structure of the passage as you read? If not, you are not reading mindfully.These skills are crucial to ace the Sat Critical Reading section.
•  As you write, do you stay mindful of the central purpose of your essay? Do you think about different ways of phrasing and arranging your thoughts? Do you address the objections a reader might have to your points? Are you continually checking that your writing is clear and forceful to your reader? If not, you are not writing mindfully. These skills are crucial to ace the Sat Test Essay.

•  When solving a math problem, do you always represent the problem information in a way you can use? Do you look for patterns or repetition in the problem so that you can simplify it? Do you consider the different approaches you could take to solving the problem? Do you have good strategies for checking your work? These skills are crucial to ace the SAT Test Mathematics sections.

Measure understanding of chemistry at a level  suitable for college preparation, independent of the  particular textbook used or instructional approach.

Format  of the Sat II Chemistry Test

-85 multiple-choice questions

-Approximately five questions on equation balancing and/or predicting products of chemical reactions, which are distributed among the various content categories.

Questions cover topics emphasized in most high school courses. Because of course differences, most students will find that there are some questions on topics with which they are not familiar.

Questions may require you to

-recall and understand the major concepts of chemistry and to apply the principles to solve specific problems in chemistry.

-organize and interpret results obtained by observation and experimentation and to draw conclusions or make inferences from experimental data, including data presented in graphic and/or tabular form.

On this Subject Test:

-a periodic table indicating the atomic numbers and masses of elements is provided for all test administrations.

-problem solving requires simple numerical calculations.

-the metric system of units is used.

NOTE: Calculator use is not permitted.

Recommended Preparation for the Sat II Chemistry Test

-One-year introductory chemistry course at the college-preparatory level

-Laboratory experience, which is a significant factor in developing reasoning and problem-solving skills and should help in test preparation even though laboratory skills can be tested only in a limited way in   a multiple-choice test

-Mathematics preparation that enables handling simple algebraic relationships and applying these to solving word problems

-Familiarity with the concepts of ratio and direct and inverse proportions, exponents, and scientific notation

Score

Total score: 200–to–800 scale.

Answer the easy questions first. Mark only one answer for each question. Pace yourself. Answer the questions you know first and come back later to those you didn’t know. Guess smart. If you can rule out one or more answers as wrong, your chances of guessing correctly among the remaining choices improve. Omit questions only when you have no idea how to answer them.

Use your test book for scratch work. Transfer your answers to your answer sheet. You will receive credit ONLY for what is written on your answer sheet. Mark your answer in the correct column. The answer sheet has five circles for each question. Some questions, though, have only three or four possible answers.

Erasing Answers

If you need to erase an answer, erase it as completely as possible. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you start a test and decide that you are not ready for it, you should cancel your scores. Do not erase all your answers. You must complete a cancellation form.

Canceling Scores

If you want to cancel your scores, you must cancel scores for ALL Subject Tests you take at an administration unless your equipment malfunctions.

Language Tests with Listening

Bring an acceptable CD player to the test center. Your CD player MUST be
1. equipped with earphones
2. portable (handheld)
3. battery operated
You are not allowed to use a CD player with recording or duplicating capabilities. Make sure your CD player is in good working order.

Insert new batteries the day before the test. You may bring additional batteries and a backup player to the test center. Test center staff will not have batteries, CD players, or earphones for your use. You may not share a CD player with another test-taker. If the volume on your CD player disturbs other test-takers, the test center supervisor may ask you to move to another seat.

If your CD player malfunctions:

1. Raise your hand and tell the test supervisor.

2. Switch to backup equipment, if you have it, and continue to test.

3. You may cancel your score on the listening test  if you do not have backup equipment. Scores for other Subject Tests you take that day will not be canceled.

If you encounter problems with your CD, such as occasional skipping, try to work through the problem and keep testing if possible. If necessary, raise your hand and ask the supervisor for a replacement CD. If a replacement is not available, a makeup test will be arranged.

After the Tests

Most, but not all, scores will be reported online several weeks after the test date. Your score report will also be mailed to you and to the high school, colleges, universities, and scholarship programs you indicated when you registered or when you sent additional scores.

SAT Subject Tests (also knows as Sat 2 tests or Sat II tests) are one-hour multiple-choice tests that measure how much you know about a particular academic subject and how well you can apply that knowledge.

Subject Tests fall into five subject areas: English, history, mathematics, sciences, and languages. They help colleges compare the academic achievement of students from different schools where course preparation and academic backgrounds may vary widely.

Subject Test results can be added to your portfolio to support your competency in academic areas, even if the  tests are not required by colleges to which you’re applying.

How Colleges Use Subject Test Scores

Colleges use Subject Test scores, in combination with other information (your high school record, scores from other tests, teacher recommendations, etc.), as a dependable measure of your academic background and achievement and as a good predictor of your future performance. The scores help colleges determine how well prepared you are for different programs, place you in freshman and higher-level courses, and advise you on course selection.

How to Register

All the information you need to register and report scores to colleges is available online at www.collegeboard.com/sat and in the SAT Registration Booklet available in your school counselor’s office.

How to Prepare

Know what to expect on your tests. Study the descriptions of the tests, directions, and sample questions in this website. For Listening Tests, ask your counselor for a copy of the practice audio CD that was sent to your school. Become familiar with the test directions. Some tests, such as the Chemistry Subject Test, may have directions you will need to know before you take the test, so you’re not surprised or confused on test day. Know how the tests are scored. You get one point for each correct answer and lose a fraction of a point for each incorrect answer. Omitted answers are not counted either way.

Take official practice tests and review test-taking approaches with The Official Study Guide for all SAT Subject Tests.

When to Take Subject Tests

Read the test descriptions in this website. See how  much preparation is recommended and when the tests are offered. Ask your teacher or counselor for advice.