Harvard2011

"Sat Math Question

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Hey guys - wondering if any of you can crack this one.

"If a and b are positive integers and (a^(1/2)*b^(1/3))^6 = 432, then what is the quantity of ab?" - so far i solved it only through looking at the answers and using factors of those answers to plug it back into the first equation to see if it equals 432. Got lucky and got it. Any ideas? Let me know if you guys need the answers."

I believe this question was posted in another thread... ?

How can you use the Ti-89 Titanium to do things like this?

harry3734

nope...i tried

Retribution

Umm, does the answer happen to be 12?

Btw, is this a SAT I question?

Harvard2011

"Umm, does the answer happen to be 12?

Btw, is this a SAT I question?"

Yes... The Answer is 12... I believe so....

zephyr462

ahhhh thank you very much harvard, havnt even thought about that way. - Been trying to manipulate the exponents, gone into log and stuff. lol nice. Yea i tried searching for it.. to no avail, sorry

gcf101

Re: post 211.
Harvard, unfortunately, you can't use TI-89 for solving this - it does not solve in integers.

Only a small help:
factor(432) gives you
2^4 * 3^3.

Retribution

(a^(1/2)*b^(1/3))^6 = 432

a^3*b^2=432

a^3*b^2=3*144

√(a^3)(b^2)=√3*144
ab√a=12√3
a=3, b=4
b can also equal to -4 but in this case ab=12 (a=3, b=4) and I'm guessing that this is a grid-in so there can't be any negative grid-in answers.

odyssy5red

Learning vocab is a HUGE waste of time. I studied nothing but vocab words from various SAT books, and it nothing to help my score. Going over grammar with someone who knows it is a great way to raise your writing score; don't bother with vocab.

zephyr462

Thanks retribution for another great way of looking at it!

zephyr462

I agree with oddyssy on that matter. When you are not looking to score a near perfect in the sat, you shouldn't worry too much about the vocabulary portion of the cr sections and instead should focus on where your efforts can pay off much quicker. However, if you are looking for near perfection, perhaps a better vocabulary will help boost your score to get ya that last couple of points.

KhoaNguyen

Oh!I have read some posts & Xingi said that the CB prep book is the best .But how about Barron, Kaplan workbooks.....Are they fine?

harry3734

nope...they dont have accurate practice tests

fewfdsagdsag

NEVER use any other company's tests:
1. They have typos, while the ETS ones are all meticulous
2. Their explanations for their answers sometimes contradict those of ETS, so your thinking process will be skewed, especially for CR
3. Just use past tests from the SAT and SAT II writing. . .

KhoaNguyen

Really ?But many students in my country use Barron ,Kaplan prep books while there is only one book of CB ( 10real SAT or sth else).?

fewfdsagdsag

CollegeBoard has like two huge books. . .which is enough . . i personally would do each book over two or three times to make sure you understand your mistakes and recognize CB's stupid patterns. and memorize a lot of vocab. . .I don't know why Xiggi's against this. . .even if you know all of CB's secret strategies, you're still screwed if you don't know what "sophistry" means. . .(i thought it had something to do with sophisticated, but I was WAY wrong) . . .but I guess that people in Asian countries study a lot of vocab already (I hope that wasn't too bad of a stereotype. . .)