VICs (Variable Expressions in the Answer Choices)

Things one must know:

• Four most common types:
  1) Word Translations
  2) Algebra
  3) Percent
  4) Geometry

Direct Algebra Strategy
Direct algebraic translation/manipulation as needed until the solution is obtained. Might become too difficult or dangerous as problems become more challenging, however, can be very fast.

•  Break the problem down into manageable parts.
  

Pick Numbers and Calculate a Target
When you don't see a way to do it algebraically.
1) Pick numbers for all or most of the unknowns in the problem
2) Use those numbers to calculate the answer to the problem - the "Target"
3) Plug the numbers you have picked into each answer choice to see which answer choice yields the same value as your Target.

You may accidentally pick numbers that result in two or more answer choices yielding the Target value. Can be slow because it requires a lot of computation.

• Never pick the numbers 1 or 0, for percent problems, also avoid 100, but usually should pick multiples of 10 that are easy to work with.
  Make sure all the numbers you pick are different.
  Pick small numbers.
  Try to pick prime numbers.
  Avoid picking numbers that appear as a coefficient in several answer choices.
• You should ideally test every answer choices, even if you have already found one that equals your Target value. Stop calculating once you realize that an answer choice cannot equal your Target value.
• When variables are related to each other through an equation, you cannot pick a value for each variable. Pick a value for all but one of the variables and then solve for the value of the remaining variable.
  

The Hybrid Method
Pick numbers to help you think through the problem. However, rather than plug these numbers into the answer choices, use the numbers to think through the computations, and therefore the matching algebra, step by step.

• Break the problem down into manageable parts.

Misc

• Always draw a diagram for geometry VIC problems.
• Create intermediate variables to represent key unknowns when solving a VIC problem, just remember that your solution cannot contain these intermediate variables.
• If you are trying to figure out the algebraic manipulation but you get stuck, you should immediately switch to a number picking strategy
• If the variables in a VIC problem are already defined as numbers, find the equation that relates the numbers. This will be the same equation that relates the variables.