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Math Problems and such

badger16

Well-Known Member
None
So I've read up on the ASTB but with regards to the math section is it more "math knowledge" or "arithmetic reasoning"? The Arco books split them up and I didn't know if one was more prevalent then the other or what? Also if you had to do it over again would you take the computer version of the test or the written?

Cheers,
Mitch
 

joboy_2.0

professional undergraduate
Contributor
It was like highschool algebra. I don't know what your background or major is, but for an engineer, i breezed through it. I've heard horror stories about computers. I was happy taking the paper version.
 

badger16

Well-Known Member
None
Yeah I was a History Major. Don't have a problem with math...Just haven't seen it(on a test level) in oh 6 or so years, so I was just looking for any insight on what to focus on. I thought/ heard the same thing about the Computer test too.
 

BigRed389

Registered User
None
Yeah I was a History Major. Don't have a problem with math...Just haven't seen it(on a test level) in oh 6 or so years, so I was just looking for any insight on what to focus on. I thought/ heard the same thing about the Computer test too.

If you did well in high school math, you'll be fine. The "toughest" questions are the word problems simply b/c it takes that much more time to read through what it's saying.

But thinking you could just "figure it out" is not a good idea either...very little time per question, so you want to be fast. So that said, the Arco is actually a very reasonable copy of what you'll actually get: do well on that, and you'll be fine.

I also thought the computer version would suck, but the Navy(or whatever designed it-prob ETS) did a really good job.

There are tabs for questions, so you don't have to fumble around with pages. There's also a clock on screen to keep time. It's like a freaking test taking "HUD".

You can also pace yourself within the time limits during breaks...I wanted to just get it the hell over with so I didn't max out the break times and just blasted through the whole thing nonstop.

Finally, and probably the biggest incentive to take the computer version, you and your recruiter can get your scores as soon as you hit submit.
 

Kickflip89

Below Ladder
None
Contributor
The best way to study is to use the ARCO or some kind of high school math test like the SAT / ACT and do TIMED practice tests.

Not doing timed practice tests would be like preparing for the PRT run by walking a lot.

The closest questions to the actual test came from the marine gouge, IMO. What I did was figure out what the minimun questions/minute to finish the ASTB math section was, and then use that number for all the other practice tests.

In fact, here's a sample ASTB-level word problem for you =)

Test A requires 30 problems to be answered in 25 minutes. If test B is 68 problems long, how many minutes should the student take to finish the test if he must work the same number of problems/min as in test A.
 

pilotpete24

New Member
I agree with BigRed in that the computer version was not as bad as I thought it would be. I wanted to take the paper version but I also wanted to get in the Navy as fast as possible, so my recruiter told me to take the computer version.

The best way to study is to use the ARCO or some kind of high school math test like the SAT / ACT and do TIMED practice tests.

I concur 100 percent! Very important. Also use the Marine Gouge found here www.columbia.edu/~mmx1/astb/ :
 
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