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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

MaryEllen Yeo, Director

Learning Magic Inc.

508-821-7770

learningmagic@verizon.net

http://www.learningmagic.net

Learning Magic Announces Free College Prep Events

Taunton, MA –March 12, 2012

Learning Magic Inc., a full-service tutoring company located in downtown Taunton, MA has announced two special free events to help students prepare for college entrance exams.

On March 29, 2012 at 7pm, Learning Magic will be hosting a free information night entitled “SAT vs. ACT” where students and their parents can learn the differences between the two tests, and learn from the experts the best ways to prepare.

Then on April 7, 2012, Learning Magic will be offering a free SAT practice test at 9 a.m. Any student may register, and the exam and it’s results are completely free of charge.

Learning Magic has also announced a full schedule of SAT preparatory courses for the spring and summer of 2012. Please call to reserve your spot for either special event or the summer classes.

Learning Magic was founded in 2003 by MaryEllen Yeo and offers one-on-one tutoring in all subjects and at all grade levels. Learning Magic is an approved SES provider and SOMBWA certified. We motivate and build confidence using a personalized approach with certified teachers and special education specialists. It is located at 23 Trescott Street, in historic downtown Taunton.

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The College Application Process!

Next up on our series of College preparation blogs, The College Essay

First off, develop a timeline to help you stay on track. Map out every step, and set your own goals and deadlines ahead of time! Don't let applications wait until the last minute.

Start planning your college essay early, keep a list of possible topics. You never know when inspiration will strike! Expand on each topic as you feel inspired. Most colleges ask for an essay about a "significant experience" and how you were changed or affected by that. Don't be scared to get too personal, this is your opportunity to let your true personality shine.

Proofread, proofread, proofread! Have a trusted English teacher take a look at your essay and make suggestions for you. Have other trusted peers and relatives read it as well and brainstorm together on how to improve it. Different perspectives can only help.

It seems obvious to most, but have a safety school. You can't put all your eggs in one basket, always have a backup plan, and a backup plan to your backup plan. You never know what can happen! Prepare for the unexpected!

And lastly, talk to as many people you can about their own college application experiences. Many people will have things they wish they'd done differently, and you can learn from their mistakes! They'll also have plenty of tips on what DID work for them as well.

The College Search!

The College Search!

Everyone seems to be on a different page as to when exactly the college search should start. Is it too early to start looking at schools in 9th grade? Is it too late when you're in 11th grade? When should you first take the SATs? These are all common concerns, and Learning Magic is here to help you make a few college-related decisions.

Freshman year of high school is not too early to start thinking about college. This is the time you should probably pick up a college guide book, and familiarize yourself with the process. Make it a family affair, the burden of the college search shouldn't fall solely on the student or parents alone.

Sophomore year, college visits are a fantastic idea! Plan family trips around visiting schools, or start locally! Here in New England, we're fortunate enough to be surrounded by hundreds of fantastic colleges and universities. Next time you're in Boston for a Sox game, stop by Boston University or Northeastern, both are easy walks from Fenway. It's good to start looking at schools early, because there's far less pressure on decision-making, you can actually appreciate the experience. It's better to visit when schools are in session, rather than visiting an empty campus to get a good feel for the school.

Visit college fairs! And meet with admissions staff! Consider the admissions staff to be like car salesmen, they'll only focus on the positive aspects of their schools, and gloss over the negatives. So ask probing questions that will get them to admit the truth! Parents and children should both be involved in this part of the process. Each have their own perspectives and priorities as to what's important in a school.

Next week, we'll discuss the College Application Process! Have you started writing your essay yet?!

Mike's Math Corner: Another SAT Example!

Back again with another difficult SAT math problem. This one involves some tough algebra that many students might trip up on. If you're an algebra ace, this problem won't take too much of your time. If you're not, then luckily we have tricks to solve multiple choice questions without doing the algebra at all. In fact, all we'll need to know is PEMDAS. Using the trick, in this case, wont even waste much time.

If x=5+4t^2 and y=3+2t, what is x in terms of y?

a) y^2-6y+14
b) y^2+6y+14
c) 4y^2-24y+36
d) 4y^2-24y+41
e) 4y^2+24y+41

Yet again, I'll start out using tricks that involve less advanced algebra. Pick a number for 't'. I usually stay away from 0 or 1 when doing this, as multiplying by 1 or 0 can make multiple answers look possible. I'm going with 2. So x=5+4(2)^2-->x=21. And y=3+2(2)-->y=7. Now we just need to plug y=7 into the answer choices and see which one gives us
21.

a)7^2-6(7)+14-->49-42+14=21.... there's our answer already.
b)7^2+6(7)+14-->49+42+14=63
c)4*7^2-24*7+36 -->196-168+36=64
d)4*7^2-24*7+41 -->196-168+41=69
e)4*7^2+24*7+41 -->196+168+41=405

*notice that by choosing 2 for t gave us different numbers for every answer choice. This makes it easy to see the right answer right away.

And if you prefer an algebraic approach to the question, you could solve t in terms of y, and substitute into the equation for x:
y=3+2t-->(y-3)/2=t
Now substitute this value of t into the x equation:
x=5+4t^2--> x=5+4[((y-3)/2)^2] *be very careful in squaring the y-3 here, FOIL* x=5+4(y^2-6y+9)/4 --> x=5+y^2-6y+9 --> x=y^2-6y+14 ...

This is answer a.

Always keep in mind that there is (almost) always more than one way to solve a math problem. On multiple choice questions, working backwards can sometimes be easier and faster than going forwards. Testing your answer choices to match the original question is a great tactic for any question you might get stuck on!

Mike's Math Corner

          Getting ready to take the MCAS or SAT? Do some of those math questions leave you scratching your head wondering where to even begin? Each week I'll be solving a sample MCAS or SAT question. I will start out with ways to eliminate wrong answer choices, or if possible, solve the problem outright without using complicated mathematics. I will then solve the problem 'the hard way', using the tricks from those higher-level math classes.

         This week's problem is a SAT math question involving geometry that I found on analyzemath.com:
 
AC is a diameter of the circle shown below and B is a point on the circle such that triangle ABC is isosceles. If the circle has a circumference of 8 Pi, what is the area of the shaded region?

.

A) 16 - 8Pi
B) 64
C) 8Pi - 2
D) 4Pi -8
E) 4(2 - Pi) 


           This is definitely a 'hard' question. Circles, areas, and not even a radius to work off of. Lets say for a moment you forget how to work with circles completely. Start with the answer choices and USE YOUR CALCULATOR! Answers A and E are both negative numbers.  Areas are never negative, so these are out. Also, if you remember that the formula for the area of a circle has pi in it, any piece of that area has to involve pi as well. Answer B is wrong because it does not have pi, and because its WAY too large. Get this far, and you have a 50-50 shot, and we havn't even done anything yet. Answer C is around 23, and D is around 5. Looks like a pretty small portion of the circle, so I'd guess D if I had to.
        Now for some math. Luckily, they tell you the circumference, and the formula for that is provided on your reference sheet: C=2*pi*r-->8*pi=2*pi*r--->4=r At this point, since the answer choices vary by a large ammount, I would approximate BC as being a bit longer than the radius (say 5), and make a rectangle with height of ~1 (about a quarter of the radius) to approximate the shaded region. This gives you an area of ~5 square units which, yet again, points to answer D. 

        If you're still curious on how to get an exact answer: Because angle B lies on the arc of a circle, and intercepts a diameter, it must measure 90* (this is a geometry theorem). Therefore, the isosceles triangle is a 45-45-90.  Drawing a radius from the center of the circle (call it point O) to point B will make 45-45-90 triangle BOC (altitudes of isosceles triangles drawn from the vertex angle are also angle bisectors). Angle BOC, being 90*, represents a quarter of the whole circle. We can find that area with the formula (1/4)(pi*r^2)=(1/4)(pi*4^2)=4*pi. We can then subtract the area of triangle BOC, to leave us with the exact area of the shaded region. For triangle BOC: A=1/2*B*H=(1/2)(4*4)=8. The shaded region is then: A=4*pi-8, or roughly 5 square units. Answer D

           OK, so in review, on this hard SAT question, it was possible to make an educated guess after doing VERY little math and come up with the correct answer. Using only the formula for circumference, and approximating the shaded region as a simple rectangle also gave us the correct answer. Actually doing the math out was far from easy and, I imagine, time consuming (although congratulations are in order if you did manage to solve it!). Remember that the SAT is a timed test! It is designed around logic and challenges you to come up with simple solutions to complex problems. As such, solving this completely would be considered a waste of valuable time on the real test, and could leave you struggling to finish the section in time.