SAT Math · 29% of the test

Problem Solving & Data Analysis

Problem Solving & Data Analysis covers ratios and proportional reasoning, percentages, unit conversions, statistical measures, scatterplots and lines of best fit, two-way tables, and probability.

What's actually tested

This category tests the math you'll actually use after high school. Items lean heavily on word problems and on reading information out of tables and charts. The hardest items combine percent change with a unit conversion or with reading a value off a graph; the easiest items are one-step ratio setups.

Subtopics

Click any subtopic to see filed practice questions, worked solutions, and a short tactical guide.

Sample practice questions in this topic

• Easy Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 9:3. If there are 120 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Easy Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 9:2. If there are 33 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 5:3. If there are 24 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 2:3. If there are 25 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 4:7. If there are 121 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Hard Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 9:6. If there are 150 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Easy Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 7:6. If there are 156 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Easy Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 8:7. If there are 105 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 7:7. If there are 126 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 5:5. If there are 70 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Medium Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 4:9. If there are 39 students in the class, how many are boys?
• Hard Ratios, proportions, and units A class has boys and girls in the ratio 5:3. If there are 72 students in the class, how many are boys?

See all 56 questions in Problem Solving & Data Analysis →

How students lose points here

Misreading a two-way table by row when the question asks by column, computing a percent change from the wrong base value, and treating a correlation in a scatterplot as a causation in the answer choice. The good news: nearly every common mistake on this topic comes from one of three or four recurring patterns. Spend an hour reviewing those patterns and your accuracy on this topic typically jumps two or three percentage points immediately, which on a balanced test is worth ten to twenty scaled score points depending on your band.

How to study this topic

Write the units beside every number you compute. Most missed items in this category are unit confusions or base-of-percent confusions, and writing units catches both. For two-way tables, mark in pencil exactly which row or column the question is asking about before you start computing. A reasonable session looks like fifteen practice items, untimed, with you reading the worked solution after every one — even the questions you got right, because being right by accident teaches nothing. After two or three such sessions, attempt a timed mini-set of ten items. If your accuracy stays above 80%, move on. If it doesn't, drill the lowest-accuracy subtopic for another session before you push forward.