I took the New SAT math yesterday, and I notice that there were fewer or no trick answers in the math multiple choice section. Like some other tests, and definitely the old SAT would have questions like: "What is 8/2?" and "6" would be an answer, trying to trick those who read it as "8-2". These no longer happen?
Time and again I made careless mistakes, but I didn't even need to double check to catch it -- it just wasn't in the original answer choice! Does this mean in New SAT math we don't have to use carelessness strategies anymore, at least for the multiple choice section?
No - careless errors can still cause problems on SAT Math, even on multiple choice questions. Specifically, there are definitely still questions where making a careless addition/subtraction/other operation error will lead you to the wrong answer.
For instance, take a look at the question from the official SAT Practice Test 1:
To solve for X, you need to set up the equation 16 + 4x = 10 + 14 = 24. If you then accidentally add 16 to both sides of the equation (instead of subtracting it), you'll end up with 4x = 40, x = 10, and 8x = 80, which is answer choice D.
This question also highlights a second careless mistake type that you still need to guard against on SAT Math, which is solving for the wrong thing. If you solve for X correctly in this problem, you'll get 4x = 8 and x = 2...and you'll note that "2" is answer choice A. But the question doesn't ask you to solve for X - you're asked to solve for 8x, which is 16 (choice C).