Occasionally on the SAT math section, some questions will look bizarre because of weird, diamond or star shaped symbols. When these are seen, they are talking about functions. Treating the symbol as a parentheses in the f(x) equation. 

 

Linked Function Problems

 

Occasionally on the SAT there will be a function, picture or even a graph that is used for more than one question. In these cases it is important to read carefully so that it is known what is wanted for the answer. Most of the time the two questions will use the same definition of a chart or function but be otherwise unrelated. This is done to confuse test takers. 

 

Questions 13 and 14 refer to the following information.

Day	Tickets Sold
Monday	124
Tuesday	124
Thursday	131
Friday	335

One question may ask: 

 

What was the average number of tickets sold per day listed on the chart?

 

While another may ask:

 

If tickets cost $44 each, what is the average amount in dolalrs of tickets sold per day for the entire week?

 

The information from the first equation could be used for the second, but it is not always a good idea to do this. The second question asks for the average for the entire week, which will be different than the average per day. This is just one of many different ways that makers of the SAT math section use to trick students taking the test.