ACT Guessing Strategy The Top Mistake Students Make

ACT Guessing Strategy The Top Mistake Students Make SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT doesn't penalize guessing, so you should never leave any answer blank even if you have to take a completely blind guess. Even with this information, students still make one huge mistake. Here we expose the biggest ACT guessing strategy mistake students make, and suggest a much better approach. We've seen students improve 1-2 points immediately after applying this 5-minute strategy. The Biggest ACT Strategy Mistake ACT takers already know not to leave any questions blank – after all, the ACT doesn't penalize guessing. But many students take this to mean that they should spend substantial time on each question. These mistaken students think, "if I have to answer all questions, doesn't it make sense to spend at least 20-30 seconds looking at each?" The answer is a big, fat NO. Let me be clear: you have to give an answer for each question, but you DO NOT need to spend 20-30 seconds looking at each question. I am a strong advocate of blind guessing for many students on many types of questions. First, What Is Blind Guessing? Blind guessing is exactly what it sounds like guessing on a question without even reading it. Just filling in "C" or "G" at random. This might sound crazy, but for many students this is not a bad strategy. How and Why to Use Blind Guessing In particular, you should always blind guess when you encounter a problem way beyond your difficulty threshold. For example if you usually score a 15 on the math section, then most of the problems in the "hard" towards the end of the section will be way above your skill level. You get .20 points (in expectancy) just for blind guessing, which means you have a 1-in-5 chance of getting it right. And it takes 1 second! Now, since these are hard questions, and you usually score a 15, it may take you 2 minutes just to understand each question, and another 2 minutes to eliminate a couple of answer choices. This is a really bad use of four minutes to just get .4 extra points (in expectancy). Besides, you may not even eliminate correctly. Who Should Not Blind Guess: High Scorers High scorers, those with above a 20 on all sections, should not be using Blind Guessing. That's because, to maximize their points, they need to be spending time trying all of the questions. In such a case, since you're reading and understanding all questions anyway, you might as well make a more educated guess by eliminating some answers. When Everyone Should Not Blind Guess: Easy Questions For easy questions (those toward the beginning of the section), everyone should be trying them even if you're a low scorer, these are the questions that will give you your baseline points. On these questions, blind guessing is a big no-no. Recap As a recap, a holistic ACT guessing strategy is made up of three parts: 1. Always answer all questions, even if it means blind guessing last minute. Never leave them blank! 2. If you read a question, make an educated guess by eliminating answers you think are wrong. 3. Do not spend time on all questions: for ones that you know are much too hard for you, intend to blind guess. Read More! How is the ACT scored? Is the ACT easier than the SAT? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

A Hypothesis Is a Claim

, The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove Is the opposite of the null hypothesis e. g. , The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove Is the opposite of the null hypothesis e. g. , The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove If the sample mean is close to the stated population mean, the null hypothesis is not rejected. If the sample mean is far from the stated population mean, the null hypothesis is rejected. How far is â€Å"far enough† to reject H0? The critical value of a test statistic creates a â€Å"line in the sand† for decision making — it answers the question of how far is far enough. Type I Error Reject a true null hypothesis Considered a serious type of error The probability of a Type I Error is ? Called level of significance of the test Set by researcher in advance Type II Error Failure to reject a false null hypothesis The probability of a Type II Error is ? Type I and Type II errors cannot happen at the same time A Type I error can only occur if H0 is true A Type II error can only occur if H0 is false Critical Value Approach to Testing For a two-tail test for the mean, ? known: Determine the critical Z values for a specified level of significance ? from a table or computer Decision Rule: If the test statistic falls in the rejection region, reject H0 ; otherwise do not reject H0 State the null hypothesis, H0 and the alternative hypothesis, H1 Determine the appropriate test statistic and sampling distribution Determine the critical values that divide the rejection and nonrejection regions Collect data and compute the value of the test statistic Make the statistical decision and state the managerial conclusion. If the test statistic falls into the nonrejection region, do not reject the null hypothesis H0. If the test statistic falls into the rejection region, reject the null hypothesis. Express the managerial conclusion in the context of the problem p-Value Approach to Testing -value: Probability of obtaining a test statistic equal to or more extreme than the observed sample value given H0 is true The p-value is also called the observed level of significance H0 can be rejected if the p-value is less than ? Hypothesis Testing: ? Unknown If the population standard deviation is unknown, you instead use the sample standard deviation S. Because of this change, you use the t distribution instead of the Z distribution to test the null hypothesis about the mean. When using the t distribution you must assume the population you are sampling from follows a normal distribution. All other steps, concepts, and conclusions are the same. One-Tail Tests In many cases, the alternative hypothesis focuses on a particular direction H0: ? ? 3 H1: ? 3 This is a lower-tail test since the alternative hypothesis is focused on the lower tail below the mean of 3 H0: ? ? 3 H1: ? 3 This is an upper-tail test since the alternative hypothesis is focused on the upper tail above the mean of 3 Proportions Sample proportion in the category of interest is denoted by p When both X and n – X are at least 5, p can be approximated by a normal distribution with mean and standard deviation Potential Pitfalls and Ethical Considerations Use randomly collected data to reduce selection biases Do not use human subjects without informed consent Choose the level of significance, ? , and the type of test (one-tail or two-tail) before data collection Do not employ â€Å"data snooping† to choose between one-tail and two-tail test, or to determine the level of significance Do not practice â€Å"data cleansing† to hide observations that do not support a stated hypothesis Report all pertinent findings including both statistical significance and practical importance A Hypothesis Is a Claim , The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove Is the opposite of the null hypothesis e. g. , The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove Is the opposite of the null hypothesis e. g. , The average diameter of a manufactured bolt is not equal to 30mm ( H1: ? ? 30 ) Challenges the status quo Alternative never contains the â€Å"=†sign May or may not be proven Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove If the sample mean is close to the stated population mean, the null hypothesis is not rejected. If the sample mean is far from the stated population mean, the null hypothesis is rejected. How far is â€Å"far enough† to reject H0? The critical value of a test statistic creates a â€Å"line in the sand† for decision making — it answers the question of how far is far enough. Type I Error Reject a true null hypothesis Considered a serious type of error The probability of a Type I Error is ? Called level of significance of the test Set by researcher in advance Type II Error Failure to reject a false null hypothesis The probability of a Type II Error is ? Type I and Type II errors cannot happen at the same time A Type I error can only occur if H0 is true A Type II error can only occur if H0 is false Critical Value Approach to Testing For a two-tail test for the mean, ? known: Determine the critical Z values for a specified level of significance ? from a table or computer Decision Rule: If the test statistic falls in the rejection region, reject H0 ; otherwise do not reject H0 State the null hypothesis, H0 and the alternative hypothesis, H1 Determine the appropriate test statistic and sampling distribution Determine the critical values that divide the rejection and nonrejection regions Collect data and compute the value of the test statistic Make the statistical decision and state the managerial conclusion. If the test statistic falls into the nonrejection region, do not reject the null hypothesis H0. If the test statistic falls into the rejection region, reject the null hypothesis. Express the managerial conclusion in the context of the problem p-Value Approach to Testing -value: Probability of obtaining a test statistic equal to or more extreme than the observed sample value given H0 is true The p-value is also called the observed level of significance H0 can be rejected if the p-value is less than ? Hypothesis Testing: ? Unknown If the population standard deviation is unknown, you instead use the sample standard deviation S. Because of this change, you use the t distribution instead of the Z distribution to test the null hypothesis about the mean. When using the t distribution you must assume the population you are sampling from follows a normal distribution. All other steps, concepts, and conclusions are the same. One-Tail Tests In many cases, the alternative hypothesis focuses on a particular direction H0: ? ? 3 H1: ? 3 This is a lower-tail test since the alternative hypothesis is focused on the lower tail below the mean of 3 H0: ? ? 3 H1: ? 3 This is an upper-tail test since the alternative hypothesis is focused on the upper tail above the mean of 3 Proportions Sample proportion in the category of interest is denoted by p When both X and n – X are at least 5, p can be approximated by a normal distribution with mean and standard deviation Potential Pitfalls and Ethical Considerations Use randomly collected data to reduce selection biases Do not use human subjects without informed consent Choose the level of significance, ? , and the type of test (one-tail or two-tail) before data collection Do not employ â€Å"data snooping† to choose between one-tail and two-tail test, or to determine the level of significance Do not practice â€Å"data cleansing† to hide observations that do not support a stated hypothesis Report all pertinent findings including both statistical significance and practical importance

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Server, IAAS Essay

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Server, IAAS - Essay Example Cloud computing can be stated as a model for facilitating on-demand, convenient and ubiquitous access to shared pool of computing and configurable resources. This resource sharing platform helps in achieving economies of scale and coherence. The concept of cloud computing is based on a broader aspect of shared services and converged infrastructure. Cloud resources are also dynamically reallocated along with being accessed by multiple users. The entire approach of cloud computing has shifted focus towards OPEX model from basic infrastructure of CAPEX model. This study would reflect upon one of the cloud computing services, known as IAAS. Infrastructure as a service or IAAS is a basic cloud service platform. This mainly refers to online services which abstract user from data partitioning. There are some additional resources offered by IAAS clouds such as raw block storage, firewalls, disk-image library, load balancers, virtual local area networks, software bundles and object storage. W indows Server is a known technology or application based on the concept of IAAS. It is a brand name given to bundle of server operating systems, which are launched by Microsoft. The first server edition was named as Windows NT 3.1; however, there have been advancements in developing Windows Server. This study shall analyse key vulnerabilities witnessed by Windows Server and mitigation strategies implemented over the years. There are some general approaches too that can safeguard the system from external threats.

American Industrial Revolution Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Essay

American Industrial Revolution Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Essay Example These factors all allowed Pittsburgh to become the major American city contributing to the Industrial Revolution, and Pittsburgh's connections with the rest of the United States helped to spawn the Industrial Revolution in other parts of the country. In order to understand why Pittsburgh was such a key player in America's Industrial Revolution, one must trace the city's boom back to the start of the Industrial Revolution within the city's own boundaries. The start of the Industrial Revolution in Pittsburgh can be traced all the way back to the start of the nineteenth century. The low cost of coke, and iron, alongside the large amount of coal found near Pittsburgh contributed to the development of the iron industry within the city, and later, within America (Bernal, 1970, p. 83). Most of the iron production during this time period used charcoal as a source of fuel. However, the discovery of the abundance of minerals around Pittsburgh introduced a new and better way to produce iron. This occurred mainly because coal can create a higher temperature, and is thus more effective for burning in comparison to charcoal. Furthermore, the coal found outside of Pittsburgh was excellent in quality, and was vary abundant (Derry and Williams, 1993, p. 94). For example, coal seams were discovered to be at least four to ten feet in thickness outside the city, and when compared to London, Pittsburgh's coal turned out to be of better quality, more abundant, and most importantly, more profitable. The early production of iron nails, balls, and different farm tools began to occur, and eventually these products were widely available to the public. In 1812, Pittsburgh developed the first iron rolling mill, using the development of the steam engine. This first mill spawned many other mills using steam engine power, and the city grew as a result (Hannegan, 2000, p. 23). By 1815, Pittsburgh could be called the biggest city in the east. This advancement in iron technology in the city opened the door to allowing Pittsburgh to become a major city within the Industrial Revolution. Obviously having better quality coal than London, which was at the heart of the Western Industrial Revolution, is an early indicator of how important Pittsbur gh was becoming to the rest of the United States. The coal developments in Pittsburgh inspired the rest of the United States to revise its approach to goal development. After the development of the iron mills came the development of glass factories, pottery mills, breweries, grist mills, nail mills, steam engine factories, cotton factors, and printing offices. The glass factories were yet another important development to the Industrial Revolution and the rest of the United States. Not surprsingly, plate glass saw very limited residential use in the 1800's. In Boston some of the wealthiest people had begun to use polished plate glass instead of sheet glass in their front windows before 1850. In 1897 the Marsh Plate Glass Company developed a continuous lehr (oven) for annealing plate glass, reducing the carefully controlled cooling time from three days to three hours. Oldhousejournal online

Ecstasy :: essays research papers

â€Å"Ecstasy† Damages the Brain and Impairs Memory in Humans   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In an article that was found at NIDA NOTES on the Internet, titled â€Å"Ecstasy â€Å" Damages the Brain and Impairs Memory in Humans, discusses the horrible effect that this popular drug has on the human body. In a supported study conducted by NIDA, it had shown the direct evidence the use of MDMA, which is also known as ecstasy has on causing brain damage. Using brain-imaging techniques the study had found that MDMA harms neurons that release serotonin, which is a brain chemical that plays a very important roll in regulating memory and our other functions. In other studies researches have found that people who do this drug have memory problems only two weeks after doing the drug. MDA does change your brain and the consequences are harmful. This is mainly for young people who are using the drug the most heavily. In a brain imaging study, researches took brain scans of 14 MDA users who had not used any psychoactive drug, including MDA for th ree weeks. Brain images were also taken of 15 people who had never used MDMA. In the people who had used the drug the images had shown a significant reduction of the number of serotonin transporters. The results were that the people who had used MDMA lost more of these then people who had never done the drug before. The lost of memory was also tested on MDMA users. 24 MDMA users and 24 people who had never done the drug before were tested for memory. Compared to the non-MDMA users the MDMA users had significant trouble in visual and verbal memory. The side effects are growing, and it was proven that use of this drug could damage your brain and give you server memory loss.

Gestalt Psychology Reflection Essay

At almost the same time the behaviorist revolution was gathering strength in the United States, the Gestalt revolution was taking hold of German psychology. Gestalt theories followed the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The main founders of Gestalt Psychology are Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang KÃ ¶hler. Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler worked in establishing theories of Gestalt Psychology. Kurt Koffka His main focus was in the field of cognition and psychological development. Wolfgang KÃ ¶hler also journeyed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands off Africa’ s, to study chimpanzees. KÃ ¶hler suggested that Gestalt theory was a general law of nature that should be extended to all the sciences. The six perceptual organization principles are as follows: Chapter 12 Figures 12.1 (a) (b) (c) (d) 1. Proximity: Parts that are placed close together, they tend to be perceived as a group (a), the circles in three double columns rather than as one large collection. 2. Continuity: There is a tendency in our perception to follow a direction, to connect the elements in a way that makes them seem continuous or flowing in a particular directions. (a) you tend to follow the columns of small circles from top to bottom. 3. Similarity: Similar parts tend to be seen together as forming a group. (b), the circles and the dots each appear to belong together, and you tend to perceive rows of circles and rows of dots instead of columns. 4. Simplicity: A good gestalt is symmetrical, simple and stable and cannot be made simpler. (c) are good Gestalt because they are clearly perceived as complete and organized 5. Closure: There is a tendency in our perception to complete figures, to fill in gaps. (c), you perceive three squares even though the figures are incomplete. 6. Figure/Ground: We tend to organize perceptions into the object being looked at and the background against which it appears. (d) the figure and the ground are reversible, you may see two faces or you may see a vase, depending on how your perception is organized. References Schultz, D. (2011). A history of modern psychology (10th edition) Chapter 12

Strontium - Elements in Fireworks

Metal salts are important in fireworks and other pyrotechnics. One of the most common metallic elements is strontium, which is atomic number 38 on the periodic table, with element symbol Sr. However, the pure metal isnt used. Fireworks are made using strontium salts, especially  strontium carbonate (SrCO3) and strontium nitrate (Sr(NO3)2). Strontium nitrate acts as both a colorant (the strontium part) and an oxidizer (the nitrate portion). Strontium salts impart a red color to fireworks. Strontium compounds are also important for stabilizing fireworks mixtures. Youll find it in emergency flares, including road flares and flare guns. Is Strontium Toxic? Strontium is one of the safest metals found in fireworks (biologically speaking). As with other metals, it has its uses, but overexposure can lead to problems. Strontium chloride is found in some toothpastes intended to reduce tooth sensitivity. It forms a barrier over the nerve endings in tooth dentin that is exposed by receding gums. Strontium supplements are available, said to aid bone health. In Europe, strontium ranelate is available by prescription to reduce fracture rate from osteoporosis. The strontium compounds available online or in the United States are more commonly strontium citrate or strontium chloride, which have not been shown to be effective for osteoporosis. While exposure to trace levels of strontium isnt a concern, taking a large amount of it is associated with side effects, including blood clots and heart damage. Sources J. Paul MacMillan, Jai Won Park, Rolf Gerstenberg, Heinz Wagner, Karl Kà ¶hler, Peter Wallbrecht Strontium and Strontium Compounds in  Ullmanns Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH: Weinheim.ONeill GT, Rolfe LR, Kaufman MH. Developmental potential and chromosome constitution of strontium-induced mouse parthenogenones (1991)  Mol. Reprod. Dev.30:214-219​.Pradyot Patnaik.  Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals. McGraw-Hill, 2002.