Technical Math I Penn Foster

[ShotoJuku]

[SIZE="4"]Congrats - You Did It!!!![/SIZE]

[never2late]

Geezer,

I bet you do well! I did way better with Statistics. Penn Foster from my stand point, does everything to try and help you. BTW, none of the questions on the Technical Math were multiple choice and you had to show the workthroughs, so with your Statistics final, if you get even a handful of multiple choice questions, that will help with time.

You and I are in a similar boat in that we both have less than four classes remaining...I have the Financial Mgmt final this week (Penn Foster) and I take the two TECEP tests (OP's Mgmt and Business Policy) by the 19th. To say that I am relieved to have passed the Technical Math course is an understatement.

Did you take Statistics, Tech Math and Financial Mgmt from Penn Foster? Are all proctored finals? Can you go as quickly as you want on each? How long did you have to wait for your proctored exams?

Thanks for the input!

never2late

[skyfall123]

Did you take Statistics, Tech Math and Financial Mgmt from Penn Foster? Are all proctored finals? Can you go as quickly as you want on each? How long did you have to wait for your proctored exams?

I took Info Literacy, Tech Math and Financial Mgmt from Penn Foster. The format is the same for all (see original post above). Go at your own pace. I did the coursework for FM in less than a week.

There are three things that can delay the process....
1) Not requesting overnight shipping of materials (snailmail takes 1-2 weeks), the time to get your proctor approved and failing a section or test (5 days needed before a retake). They grade the proctored exam QUICKLY.

I took FM based on a recommendation of another poster because I own a business and am really swamped right now and trying to complete the BGB degree before the end of Nov. The PF format allowed me to work through the FM courses at night without the stress or worry. I figured that I could always take the DANTES if I tanked the FM final, but I think I will be OK and the book that came with the course is OUTSTANDING and will make a great reference book for years to come as opposed to just taking the DANTES.

At $75 the Info Literacy is a no-brainer, the Technical Math $165 that covers the Algebra pre-req is a godsend (thanks Shoto and others for paving the way with PF) and I would recommend the FM $165 for the book alone.

Mary Ann knows me by now and is pulling strings right and left to speed the process. PF # is 1-888-427-1000 where you can order the individual classes as opposed to the normal program format shown on the website. Of course clear all classes with your Excelsior advisor beforehand...they must be ACE approved to qualify.

[jec959]

I took the finanacial management course with P.F. and Geezer is absolutely correct the book was outstanding the exam though it took me the hour to finish it was very doable. I enjoyed this class a lot and the CSU Pueblos ops management course builds right on it.

[snazzlefrag]

Hi All,

Just letting you know that I will be taking the proctored final exam, for Technical Math I, today at 4pm. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Anybody who knows me, knows that I am totally freaking out right now. But I have studied extremely hard for this exam, and feel that I DO have a really good grasp of everything. So we'll see how it goes.

I will post some feedback about the entire course once I get back.

Fingers and toes crossed,
Snazzlefrag

[skyfall123]

You are going to pass!!! You are going to pass!!!You are going to pass!!!You are going to pass!!!You are going to pass!!!You are going to pass!!!

[jec959]

Good luck, I will second Geezers subliminal messages, you are going to pass, you are going to pass, you are going to pass.

[ShotoJuku]

[SIZE="2"]

All Prayers on deck @ 1600 Hours!!

[/SIZE]

[snazzlefrag]

Okay, it's over and done with now.

I obviously don't want to jinx myself, but I feel like I probably passed this exam.

Bad News:
I found it hard to complete this exam in one hour. You HAVE to show all your working out for every question. This was very time consuming because I ended up writing down calculations that I could have quickly and easily done in my head.

Good News:
I was able to finish the exam in the allotted time....but only by the skin of my teeth. I was writing non-stop for the entire 60 minutes, and my hand is STILL aching and sore several hours later.
--

I felt so stressed out by this exam that I came home after taking it, and crashed in bed for eight hours straight. I believe I had a similar physiological response after completing the Statistics exam too. Maybe it's part of the whole math anxiety thing. Then again, I was up all night studying prior to taking the exam, so maybe my body just needed to catch up.

Alright, on to some tips and tricks.

The exam is 60 minutes long. Even though it is possible to finish within this time limit, you have to work as fast as you can for the entire hour in order to do it. So make sure you index the study books thoroughly and in a very organized way. Even though this is an open-book exam, you don't have much time to go searching through the books.

They give you only two pieces of paper on which to write ALL your work for the 15 questions. For that reason, you should be careful not to write too big, or use up too much space for each answer. I drew a vertical line down the center of each page so that I could write my answers down both sides of the page. Even so, I used up both pieces of paper (front and back).

Make sure you have a few pencils in reserve. I was writing so furiously, and with such nervous tension in my hand, that I kept wearing down, and even breaking, the tip of my pencil (ha ha). Thankfully, I had one of those mechanical pencils that allow you to get a fresh tip at the touch of the button.

On my exam, I felt that about 3 or 4 questions were very easy, 6 or 7 were moderate, and 4 or 5 were very difficult. Statistically, this is about what you might expect on a 15-question exam like this.

Without giving too much away, here are some general types of things to study in preparation for this exam:

1. How to remove grouping symbols (one question).
2-4. Word problems (one age question, two perimeter/area questions. One was easy, one was moderate, and one was hard).
5. Logarithms (one question but split into four sub-questions. Three questions ask you to simply find the logarithm of a number, the fourth question is a fifth root question and you have to solve it using logarithms and show ALL steps).
6. Simultaneous Equations (one question).
7. Simplify an expression containing multiple fractions into one single fraction (one question).
8. Find the roots of an equation by factoring (one question).
9. Find prime factors of a polynomial using the factor theorem (one question).
10. Subtraction of radicals (one question)
11. Find the reactance when resistance and impedance are given (one question).
12. Graph an equation (one question, basic 'x+y' type of equation, then draw the graph of the solution).

That's all I can remember.

As I said, I THINK I have passed this exam. I actually knew how to answer all of the above types of questions. Or at least, there was no question that I didn't have a clue on. Now I must wait anxiously to find out how I ACTUALLY did.

Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag

[mjno]

Hey Rob,

I am sure you did great and thanks, as always, for the feedback.
How long do you have to wait to get your grade?

Mike