Ease Into Prep with an SAT^® Question of the Day

Difficulty:Medium

Category:Problem Solving and Data Analysis / Rates, Ratios, Proportions, and Percentages

Strategic Advice:Check that you answered the right question. Make sure your answer satisfies allof the guidelines given in the bulleted list as well as the criteria set forth in the question itself (includes as many lots as possible).

Getting to the Answer:Start with the smallest possible lot size, 3,000 square feet. The next lot must be at least 30% larger, so multiply by 1.3 to get 3,900 square feet. Then, round up to the next thousand (which is not necessarily the nearest thousand) to meet the tax assessment requirement. You must always round up because rounding down would make the subsequent lot size less than 30% larger than the one before it. Continue this process until you reach the maximum square footage allowed, 15,000 square feet.

3,000 × 1.3 = 3,900→4,000

4,000 × 1.3 = 5,200→6,000

6,000 × 1.3 = 7,800→8,000

8,000 × 1.3 = 10,400→11,000

11,000 × 1.3 = 14,300→15,000