SAT II subject tests and IB

[Forester]

Friend takes Physics SL (7 in SL), got 800 with 2 days study. Guessed 10+ questions.

Edited May 24, 2009 by Forester

[avident]

I'm planning on taking the English Lit, World History and Physics SAT2s in the fall. I was told, however, that English Lit and World History are incredibly hard and I should opt for something like French instead. Is this true? I've studied French for 7 years, but I still suck at it, so I'm not altogether sure if it's the best decision. What about Math 1? Can an SL Math student pull it off?

[bohemian03]

I'm planning on taking the English Lit, World History and Physics SAT2s in the fall. I was told, however, that English Lit and World History are incredibly hard and I should opt for something like French instead. Is this true? I've studied French for 7 years, but I still suck at it, so I'm not altogether sure if it's the best decision. What about Math 1? Can an SL Math student pull it off?

I'm not quite sure about English Lit but I've heard that World History is really hard as well.

Like everyone has said, take Math 2 if you're not bad at math. I'm pretty sure a SL student can pull off Math 2... at least that's what I'm going to do.

[sweetnsimple786]

I'm taking the SAT II physics but in June but I don't have any books for references. Is SAT II physics test hard? What topics does it cover?

The structure is different. It's different from the IB exam, the SATI's, the AP (if you recognize its structure). I took AP Physics B/IB Physics SL this year, and I'm taking Math2, Chem, and Physics in June. I suggest you look through the site below and do the practice tests they provide; it should answer all of your questions. My teacher never followed the IB syllabus for physics, but we got lucky (with the exception of the engery topic.. 8 I think?) because the AP and IB tests covered almost the same things. The SATII test won't require as much revision as the IB test, so that's a plus. However, some of the IB HL stuff is on the SATII test. I don't think that SL people do EM Induction or even magnetism at all. If you haven't covered these topics, then you should know that it's hard--for me, anyways--to learn them on your own.

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/physics/

[life_is_beautiful]

I'm taking the SAT II physics but in June but I don't have any books for references. Is SAT II physics test hard? What topics does it cover?

The structure is different. It's different from the IB exam, the SATI's, the AP (if you recognize its structure). I took AP Physics B/IB Physics SL this year, and I'm taking Math2, Chem, and Physics in June. I suggest you look through the site below and do the practice tests they provide; it should answer all of your questions. My teacher never followed the IB syllabus for physics, but we got lucky (with the exception of the engery topic.. 8 I think?) because the AP and IB tests covered almost the same things. The SATII test won't require as much revision as the IB test, so that's a plus. However, some of the IB HL stuff is on the SATII test. I don't think that SL people do EM Induction or even magnetism at all. If you haven't covered these topics, then you should know that it's hard--for me, anyways--to learn them on your own.

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/physics/

Oh my goodness, THANK YOU so so much! You have officially saved my life, I guess I love sparknotes now:D and you! Wow they sure cover a lot of topics. I'm taking math2 and physics in June too, but I have less than 3 weeks to prepare, and my final exams are next week...the SAT II tests are on the saturday following my IB final exams. Joy. My teacher has not covered optics and mordern physics with us yet, hope they're not too hard

one more question, are they going to provide any physics formulae? or are we supposed to know them all?I just have this feeling that I'm going to forget some of the formulae(eeek)

[sweetnsimple786]

That sounds quite hectic! Good luck with that all!

About optics.. it was different and annoying and hard until I got the hang of it.. Can you ask your teacher to explain some of it? I think that you'll want how to trace rays on mirrors and lenses as well as just understanding the double slit experiment.

Modern physics is more information rather than application. The quantum and nuclear are simple and I learned the stuff from a chemistry class that I took before entering IB/AP.

I just found out that we get no formulas for physics! Ahhh! Also, we can't use a calculator on this exam, so most likely we'll be dealing with A LOT of variable manipulation.

here's a nice site for phys: http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/#satsubjphyssec'>http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/#satsubjphyssec

And here's one for math: http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/ (We'll need a calculator for math, though.)

Don't freak. Just try to absorb as much as you can and don't worry about the rest. I've heard that by the time you get to your second or third test, you're wiped out. Can anyone vouch for that?

[life_is_beautiful]

That sounds quite hectic! Good luck with that all!

About optics.. it was different and annoying and hard until I got the hang of it.. Can you ask your teacher to explain some of it? I think that you'll want how to trace rays on mirrors and lenses as well as just understanding the double slit experiment.

Modern physics is more information rather than application. The quantum and nuclear are simple and I learned the stuff from a chemistry class that I took before entering IB/AP.

I just found out that we get no formulas for physics! Ahhh! Also, we can't use a calculator on this exam, so most likely we'll be dealing with A LOT of variable manipulation.

here's a nice site for phys: http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/#satsubjphyssec'>http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/#satsubjphyssec

And here's one for math: http://www.erikthered.com/tutor/ (We'll need a calculator for math, though.)

Don't freak. Just try to absorb as much as you can and don't worry about the rest. I've heard that by the time you get to your second or third test, you're wiped out. Can anyone vouch for that?

Oh no...tracing rays...I do not like the sound of that...I'm not that worried for physics as I am for math, since my physics exam is going to cover most of the topics in the SAT II anyway. As for math, I think I'm screwed. Need all my time to cram for my finals, don't even know if I have time for the SAT IIs. Should've thought of that before I registered for the subject tests! and the fact that we're not allowed to use caculators just freaks me out because I live on calculators

And thank you so much for the websites!They're really helpful!

I heard that you have to do around 55 questions in 60 minutes for math, is that true?(and I'm assuming for physics as well)??

Oh am I anxious

[life_is_beautiful]

Friend takes Physics SL (7 in SL), got 800 with 2 days study. Guessed 10+ questions.

Wow...I'm jealous. Wish I could do that

When you say he/she studied for 2 days, do you mean literally 2 days, or like 3~4 hours per day?

[sweetnsimple786]

don't worry about math so much. it covers lots of topics but doesn't go very in-depth (except functions). 50Q, 60minutes

phys 75Q, 1hour

[Forester]

3-4 hours each day.

[life_is_beautiful]

3-4 hours each day.

WOAH! How the hell did he/she pull it off? Any tip please? I am giving a second attempt on my SAT II physics in one week; don't have a lot of time for revision looking at the amount of work I have at the moment.

I do physics HL, average is a 5

I think the main problem is I do the questions too slowly. Did your friend just keep on writing and automatically skip the questions that he/she couldn't do? Or did he/she gave those harder questions some shots too?

[sweetnsimple786]

I don't think that a score in IB necessarily correlates well with your score on the SAT2. I can't even remember if answering a question wrong counts against you. I think it does. So only guess if you can eliminate 2-3 choices. They say if you can eliminate one, guess. Don't listen! Try to eliminate at least two before you guess.

And from my experience, skip the ones you don't know! They are all worth the same number of points. If you have time at the end, go back. Also, read the question thoroughly. And if the question seems too easy, it's probably a trap. If ALL questions seem too easy, then you're really smart and it's not a trap

What I did the morning of is reviewed all the formulas I'd need that I compiled the week before. It was pretty overwhelming! Good luck!

And since you can't use a calculator [if I'm remembering correctly], you're almost guaranteed to see five or six sin30 or cos 60. =)

[Bee =3]

I couldn't be bothered to read all the posts, so much of what I say may have already been said BUT here goes:

For anyone who is relatively okay in maths, I would definitely recommend Maths Level 2. It may not be easier than Level 1 (though the difference is minor), you can get an 800 despite getting a few wrong answers, which is not the case of Maths Level 1. In other words, the grade boundaries are much more flexible. One thing I've come to notice about SATs, the harder they are, the more lenient they are with scores.

Literature SUCKS. Especially if you're used to IB Literature, multiple choice style questions asking you about what the character is feeling? Wow. I have never hated an exam writer more in my life. The answers are based hugely on assumptions and deductions. I guess it reflected on my scores because that was my lowest scores, yet, funnily enough, the exam with the highest percentile? If you reckon percentiles matter, take a shot.

On another note, most Ivy Leagues (and many other universities) require 2 SAT Subject tests, which you really need to do. Don't consider the possibility of replacing them with IBs unless they explicitly say so (as in the case of NYU Abu Dhabi). The only university I've seen so far that asks for 3 subject tests is Harvard so in that case you're going to have to sit for 3.

From what I've gathered, for most US universities, IB is useful to show that you have had a 'challenging' courseload, i.e. it's good for the holistic admission process, the scores and specifics don't actually matter much at that stage. IB becomes useful though, once you're IN the university as they count for credits, allowing you to skip several classes.. ^^

Hope it helps!

[Putturani]

I am confused about which SAT II tests I should do. I take SL maths and I'm pretty good at it, I take HL Eng and I'm doing pretty well there too. I also take HL physics (big mistake I know) but I don't take any other science and I don't take history either. Should I take Math II, Eng Lit and Physics? Or should I not take either physics or eng lit and study a completely different science instead?

[sweetnsimple786]

If you took a science before you did IB, maybe. But honestly, unless you don't know anything about physics, take phys. There's probably going to be some stuff that the SAT covers that your class won't, so it'll still take some extra studying, but it won't be that bad. I've heard Lit is like reading a passage and inferring things from it. My friend said she didn't like it at all, and it's not something you really do in IB. I think some people are better at it than others, but it's a skill that can be learned. I don't know which other subjects you'd want to take.

If you're taking your IB exams in 2011, then I suggest you wait until IB2 before taking your SAT2s. They are supposed to show mastery over a subject. If you're just starting a subject, why would you want to take them anytime soon? I can understand if you're finished with the course and want to take the test before you forget anything, but is that the case?

Definitely look through Sparknotes.com. And look about getting prep books. There are some really cheap ones on Amazon.