Chapter 9
Answers and Explanations
Congratulations! Now that you’ve completed one or all of the sample test sections in Chapters 5 through 8, you can see how you did. In this chapter, we provide the answers and explanations to every question in the test sections. If you just want a quick look at the answers, check out the abbreviated answer key at the end of this chapter. However, if you have the time, be sure to read the answer explanations to help you understand why some answers were correct and others not, especially when the choices were really close. Remember, you learn as much from your errors as from the correct answers. Review these explanations as part of your overall learning process.
Note: This chapter doesn’t contain sample answers for the Extended Response or short answer items. Refer to the relevant chapters for additional help on writing and evaluating your responses.
Answers for Section 1, Reasoning Through Language Arts
1. B. a center housing social enterprises. The column specifically states that the center houses 85 social enterprises. Choice (A) is totally wrong and can be instantly eliminated on first reading. The other answers have a ring of correctness because the column is about social enterprises, charities, and school leavers, but they have nothing to do with the center and, thus, are wrong.
2. C. innovative programs. The column states that the Learnxs Foundation supports innovative programs. All the other answers except for Choice (A) are mentioned or implied in the column; however, they aren't correct answers to the question. You have to read carefully and double-check the facts. Just because something is mentioned or is familiar doesn't mean it's the right answer to the question.
3. distributing discarded materials to visual arts classes. The passage clearly spells out that Artsjunction's function is to distribute discarded materials to visual arts classes.
4. B. provide training in word and numerical processing to employees and clients. The column is very specific about the purpose of the Microtron bus. It provided services to employees and clients of small businesses in word and numerical processing. The other answers sound like they could be right, but, after rereading the column, you can see that they aren't.
When you're trying to answer these questions under time constraints, try to remember exactly what the passage said. If you only think you remember, go back as quickly as you can and skim the piece for key words. In this case, the key word is Microtron. It sometimes helps to read the question first before reading the passage.
5. D. as a business incubator. The passage very precisely spells out the mandate of the Training Renewal Foundation: to serve disadvantaged youth and displaced workers. Choices (A) and (B) may be worthy activities for any charity, but they aren't stated as part of the mandate and, thus, are wrong as answers. Choice (C) is just wrong and is a play on another meaning of serves. You can immediately exclude this answer and have only three others to consider.
6. C. The employee must wear appropriate clothing. Employees should wear appropriate clothing to project a professional appearance and maintain safety standards. The other requirements — such as refraining from alcohol use, not associating with paraphernalia, being respectful, and using non-offensive language — don't relate to appearance.
7. A. Accept authority. Employees must accept the authority of supervisors, as is stated clearly in the passage. The other choices may be partially correct, but they are not the best answer.
8. D. personal conduct. Employees must conduct themselves professionally so that the business grows and improves.
9. B. by not inviting others in. To ensure safety and security, employees shouldn't invite other people in. The promotion of dignity, interaction, and supervisors’ meetings don't directly relate to ensuring safety and security.
10. D. You are fired. Repeated instances of noncompliance lead to dismissal. The other options aren't backed up by the passage.
11. A. insert and opportunities between challenges and never. Although the word both refers to two options, here, you're given only one option — challenges. If you insert and opportunities between challenges and never, you include a second option and correct the sentence.
12. C. change who to that. An organization is never a who; only people can be referred to as who. An organization is a collective noun made up of people, but the collective noun itself is an impersonal entity and doesn't qualify as a who.
Although the sentence may appear long and, therefore, may benefit from rewriting, the sentence isn't technically incorrect. Although commas do serve to make sentences clearer, you don't want to insert them unless punctuation rules make them correct.
13. B. has been working. CanLearn Study Tours is a single entity because it's one company. Therefore, it's a singular noun and needs the singular verb has rather than the plural have.
A company is always an it. Even though a company is made up of a lot of people, it's still a singular entity.
14. B. change the comma after following to a colon. You need to insert a colon before the list to introduce it.
15. D. no correction required. The options presented either make the sentence difficult to understand or introduce errors, so the correct answer is no correction required.
16. A. change organizations’ to organizations. A stray apostrophe has landed on this sentence. The one after organizations’ is unnecessary because you're not trying to show possession here. Choice (B) is incorrect, because the passage doesn't refer to all organizations. Choice (C) would introduce a homonym error, and Choice (D) inserts the wrong tense.
Get comfortable with the uses of apostrophes — especially those used for possession — before taking the GED Reasoning Through Language Arts test.
17. B. discover a new source of revenue in these. You need to correct the spelling error by changing soarce to source.
18. C. change formats to format. Formats is plural, but has is a singular verb. Verbs and their subjects must agree. There is no need for a comma after seminar or an apostrophe after sales. The apostrophe would indicate ownership, which isn't the case here. A period after seminars would create two sentence fragments, also an error.
Study both subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement before taking the Reasoning Through Language Arts test.
19. B. replace insured with ensured. Choice(B) corrects the spelling error by changing insured to ensured.
Using insure is a common error. Use insure only when you mean the service you buy to protect your car, house, health, life, and so on. This example has nothing to do with insurance, so use ensure instead.
20. D. no correction required. The other choices don't improve or correct the sentence.
21. B. Journey up the Hudson. To get to the Kaatskill Mountains, you need to journey up the Hudson. A dismembered branch and fresh green aren't locations that can better help you locate the mountains. Although asking directions may work, this approach isn't mentioned in the passage.
22. D. with magical hues and shapes. The wives use the magical hues and shapes of the mountains to forecast the weather. Other factors, such as the evening sky or gray vapors aren't as good of indicators. A barometer is an instrument to measure air pressure.
23. C. light smoke curling. To help you locate the village, you first need to look for light smoke curling from chimneys. You can't see the other sign, shingle-roofs, until after you can see the smoke. Blue tints aren't signs for locating villages.
24. Dutch colonists. The Dutch colonists were the newcomers who founded the village. Although there are others named, they're the incorrect answer. Peter Stuyvesant established the government. The great Appalachian family refers to the mountains.
25. A. He has since died. Peter Stuyvesant, who had headed the government, had since died. The other answer choices describe Stuyvesant as an original settler, a soldier, and a governor, but they don't refer to his death.
26. yellow bricks. Settlers brought yellow bricks from Holland to build the houses. Other materials, such as weather-cocks, windows, and shingle-roofs, were acquired locally.
27. Hawkins’s fields. Dave worked as a field hand on Hawkins's farm. He hopes his mother will let him buy a gun with his wages from Hawkins.
28. A. show he wasn't “scareda” the others. He wants to show the other field hands that he isn't scared of them. Dave mentions that he isn't afraid of them just before he first discusses buying the gun.
29. D. from the Sears-Roebuck “catlog.” Dave had to purchase the gun through the Sears-Roebuck catalog. Joe didn't keep guns in his store. Neither Mr. Hawkins nor Ma are sources of guns.
30. B. by a yellow lantern glow. Joe kept a yellow lantern glowing on the porch. Other answer choices, such as the smell of mackerel, the banging screen door, or the coal oil smell may also help you find the store, but they aren't the best indicators.
31. A. He lost his nerve. Dave lost his nerve and was afraid to ask Joe to see guns in the catalog. The other possibilities — it was too dark, he needed to get home for supper, or he made his own money — aren't the best answers.
32. B. Convince Ma to give him the money. Dave would have to convince Ma to give him the money to buy the gun. The other reasons, including finding it in the catalog, persuading Joe, or getting ol man Hawkins's permission, either aren't relevant or aren't as important as convincing Ma to give him the money.
33. D. you to listen to each customer's assessment. The assessment belongs to each customer and requires a possessive form of customer: customer's. The other answers are neither correct nor do they improve the sentence. Because customer is singular, you must insert the apostrophe before the s in customer.
34. A. when she explains the situation from her perspective. The meaning of this sentence is that the clerk should listen to the customer, so put the most important information first. The best way to start this sentence is with the when she explains the situation from her perspective phrase.
35. C. change waving to waiving. Waving means to motion with the hand, while waive means to dismiss. It may be interesting to wave at a charge, but the proper meaning of the sentence is to dismiss (or not collect) the charge. These two words are homonyms (words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings). You are expected to understand most homonyms for this test.
36. times. The only place you can use a comma in this sentence is after the introductory phrase At other times.
37. exceptable. Exceptable may sound like a word, but it's not. The correct word to use is acceptable.
The more reading you do as you prepare for the test, the better your chances are for recognizing misspellings.
38. A. Whatever the problem,. A gift for you: No correction is required.
If you chose Choice (D), keep in mind that this sentence has one subject and two verbs. These types of sentences don't require a comma between the two verbs. Not sure about subjects and verbs? Here, the subject is step, and the two verbs are begins and gives. If the sentence had a second subject before the second verb, it would need a comma.
39. B. revise to read the cart before the horse. If you live anywhere near Amish country, you know that the horse comes before the cart. Or you may have heard the idiomatic expression, “Don't put the cart before the horse.” In either case, the proper correction is to reverse the order of horse and cart.
40. Its. Its is possessive (meaning that it shows that something belongs to it), whereas it's stands for “it is.” Here, the sentence clearly means “it is.”
Confusing these two words is a common error that's usually tested in some way. Master the difference between its and it's. It's means “it is” and is often confused with the possessive form of other words that use the apostrophe.
41. C. on the recovery front and further. Farther always refers to distance. Further is a matter of degree. Here, you want degree, not distance.
If you didn't know the answer, this question is a good example of one that you could answer by intelligent guessing. Choice (A) isn't correct because with isn't the proper word in this case. Choice (B) doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence. So now you just need to guess between Choices (C) and (D).
42. not. Commas used in moderation help sentences. Extra commas hurt sentences. In this sentence, the only comma used properly separates the introductory phrase More often than not from the rest of the sentence.
43. C. change resource to Resource. In the letter, the York Square Employment Resource Center is a title; as such, all words (except prepositions and articles) are capitalized.
44. A. move since April 2002 to the start of the sentence. Moving since April 2002 is the only good answer here. The current sentence sounds as though the training programs have been in existence since April 2002 when, in fact, the partnership has been in existence since that time.
45. programs. Most (although not all) lists begin with a colon. Because this is a bulleted list, and the list starts after the word programs, that is where the colon must be placed.
46. A. has always been. No correction is required.
47. B. change are to is. The subject of the sentence is fact, which is singular, but the verb is are, which is plural. Verbs must agree with their subjects.
48. C. move , with a high degree of professional competence and efficiency to the end of the sentence after responsibilities. In its current form, this sentence forces the reader to pause too long and remember too much. Rewriting it as “She has pursued her responsibilities with a high degree of professional competence and efficiency” is far more straightforward.
49. A. add a comma after Peta. As is, this sentence is a run-on sentence. To make it a compound sentence, all you have to do is add a comma after Peta.
50. grimly ordinary. The description states that it was like any other winter school day in Chicago — grimly ordinary.
51. D. His mother was sick. Louie was living with his mother, who was very ill and confined to bed. Other answers describing Louie's breakfast, his books, and his complexion aren't good descriptions of the focus of his home life.
52. A. hunting for game. The men were hunting pigeons (game) for food. You can see that having target practice, staying out of the weather, and hiding from the police are inappropriate answers. They aren't the key points, if you've read the passage thoroughly.
53. D. It reinforces the image of great hardship, that people had to hunt pigeons for food in the cities. The whole scene is grim, but only in that term do you realize the time setting is the Great Depression. That then reinforced the grimness of the scene. Although the men may be depressed and the weather bad, those things have nothing to do with the question. And although Choice (B) may be true, it doesn't answer the question, either.
54. hungry. The hunters and their families must have been hungry for food to hunt pigeons in the street.
55. C. It had nothing to do with him. What Louie saw had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to get involved. Other possible answers — that he was hurrying to school, his mother was sick, or he was friends with the guys — don't relate to why Louie wouldn't tell the police.
56. D. a camera. The batteries are installed in a camera. Other answer choices, such as electronics or a children's toy, have no meaning in this excerpt. Point-and-shoot, while another term for a camera, isn't the best answer, because not all cameras are point-and-shoot.
57. B. big point-and-shoots. The easiest model in which to replace batteries is the point-and-shoot camera. The other answer choices — compact models, screw bottoms, and different types of covers — don't relate directly to the question.
58. D. The battery cover may be lost. Avoid all the locations mentioned so you don't lose your battery cover if you drop it. Sewer grates and tall grass are places where the cover could easily be lost. The rest of the answer choices refer to issues other than losing battery covers.
59. D. Find a diagram. To ensure that the batteries are correctly oriented, you must find the diagram and use it. Other choices, such as using four AAs or a single lithium or emptying the compartment, don't answer the question.
60. B. the battery icon. You must check the battery icon to see whether the batteries are low. LCD panels show a variety of information, so that option is not the best choice. According to the passage, battery compartment and lithium battery aren't correct answers.
Answers for Section 2, Social Studies
1. D. They all exchanged products. England, Africa, and the West Indies all traded products: The West Indies traded molasses, sugar, and slaves with England for food and wood; England (via the New England colonies) then made the molasses and sugar into rum and traded it with Africa for more slaves.
2. C. purchase of slaves. Rum was used to purchase slaves for use in the colonies. The other answer choices — colonial farms, milling of lumber, and molasses and sugar — were all patterns of commerce but weren't uses of rum.
3. A. They built the ships. Ships were built in the colonies to increase Atlantic trade. Sewing sails, naval stores, milled lumber, and other crafts were products of the colonies that shipbuilding stimulated, but ships were the primary reason the colonies were important to the Atlantic trade — the other choices were secondary.
4. D. They provided raw materials. The colonies provided raw materials for British manufacturing industries. According to the passage, “Mercantile theory encouraged the colonies to provide raw materials for England's industrializing economy. . . .”
5. C. hats. The export of hats — a finished good — from the colonies was prohibited because it threatened British manufacturing. Coal, pig iron, and lumber, were all raw materials, which didn't threaten English manufacturing.
6. B. failing to pass laws. According to the first paragraph of the passage, the king neglected the colonies in a number of ways. Of the ways listed here, only failing to pass laws (ones that would alleviate grievances) is correct. Although the other choices are grievances, they can't be alleviated until the appropriate laws are passed.
7. D. He made them comply with his wishes. According to the third paragraph of the passage, the legislative bodies were forced to comply with the king's rule (“. . . for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures . . .”).
8. A. He dissolved representative houses. According to the fourth paragraph of the passage, when the king dissolved the representative houses, he threatened the rights of the people.
9. D. discouraged people from settling. The sixth paragraph of the passage says, “He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states.” In other words, he has discouraged newcomers from settling.
10. C. He refused to enact certain laws. The seventh paragraph of the passage states that the king didn't give his approval to laws that would've created a local judicial system.
11. an independent military. The king made sure the military was independent from the colonists (last paragraph). This independence meant the colonists didn't have any authority over when to hire or fire soldiers, how large the military was, or who the officers were. Only the king made those kinds of decisions.
12. D. Insufficient information is provided. Although both Choices (A) and (B) are potentially correct, nothing in the map supports those statements. Choice (C) is simply speculation and, therefore, doesn't apply. The only option is Choice (D).
13. C. 400,000. You're asked for an approximate answer. First, find that the range of the male population is between 43.2% and 48.9%. So using an average of 47%, there are about 2.6 million males. That means that there are some 3 million females, for a surplus of about 400,000 females. Because all the numbers are approximate, you can round off your answer. Regardless, the only choice that comes close is Choice (C).
14. White Male. Based on the table, the group with the highest income for full-time employment for the year is White Male.
15. B. Female, American Indian and Alaskan Native. Based on the chart, the lowest full-time earners are American Indians and Alaskan native females.
16. D. He could not. The table doesn't list information for people under the age of 16. That is shown in the subheading of the chart title.
17. C. liberty and equality. As stated in the first two sentences of the passage, the issues of prime importance in the Civil War were liberty and equality. Happiness and friendship, safety and security, and peace and prosperity aren't the best answers.
18. C. on a battlefield. You know from the passage that President Lincoln was delivering his speech on a battlefield at Gettysburg. This fact rules out every answer choice except on a battlefield and on the radio (he could've recorded his speech, and it could've been broadcasted by radio at the battlefield). However, Lincoln gave this speech in 1863, and radios hadn't yet been invented.
19. D. People around the world will not remember the speech. Lincoln was saying that the world would remember the soldiers who died but would not remember his speech. (He was wrong, given that the Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history.)
20. burial ground. Some of the battlefield was to become a burial ground for the fallen.
21. B. those who fought there. The ground was hallowed by those who fought there. Lincoln doesn't believe the people involved in the dedication of the battlefield can make the place holy or important; only the people who fought on the battlefield can do so.
22. C. time. The word years follows four score and seven, so you can assume that phrase relates to time. (By the way, a score is 20 years, so four score and seven is 87 years.)
23. Serbia. Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, so the correct answer is Serbia.
24. B. demanding indemnities. Austria demanded indemnities in response to the assassination. This answer comes directly from the passage.
25. C. Germany and France. Germany and France weren't allies in the war. Although the list of allies is rather confusing, the passage does sum up who was on which side.
26. A. Germany invaded Belgium. You know that Great Britain entered the war when Germany invaded Belgium from the sentence that states, “Great Britain entered the war on August 4, following Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium.”
27. C. Germany. Germany was not an Allied power. About halfway through the passage is a list of the Central powers (on one side of the war) and the Allied powers (on the other side).
28. B, D, C, A. Germany declares war on Russia; Germany invades Belgium; Great Britain declares war on Germany; Italy enters on the Allied side. In this sequence, Germany declared war on Russia and then invaded Belgium. Great Britain declared war on Germany because it invaded Belgium. Italy didn't enter into the war on the Allied side until 1915.
29. B. inspiring teacher. In the cartoon, Barack Obama is portrayed in front of a chalkboard in a classroom setting. Most of the students are seen as receptive to his role as an inspiring teacher. The other choices — comedian, disciplinarian, or fashion model — don't go with the cartoon.
30. D. issues that can be solved. Most of the young people are portrayed as smiling students. They each represent an issue Obama must face, some more obvious than others. They're not happy voters, nor is there any indication that represents the public in general. Although they may represent a bright future, there are also problems, so Choice (D) is the most logical answer. The smiling faces reinforce the idea that these issues can be solved.
31. A. These issues are very important but often overlooked. Each of the students in the cartoon represents a different problem facing America, but the issue of tensions with Iran and Iraq are always in the background and potentially a much larger problem for the president. The smiling faces suggest that the problems attached to them can be solved. But the issues of Iran and Iraq must also be solved, and the suggestion in the cartoon is that they're just waiting to become major.
32. D. all of the above. All of the above is the only correct choice because each of the students represents one of the problems facing America.
33. 34.6%. According to the table, the United States produced 34.6% of the soybean output that year. It's the third item down on the last column of the table.
34. B. most of it. Production that year was 18.1 million bales. Exports amounted to 15.5 million bales. That is just over 85%. The best match among the choices is most of it.
35. A. increased. According to the table, center section, corn exports increased from 76.9 to 90.6 metric tons.
36. 480 pounds. The explanatory notes under the table give the answer: 480 pounds.
37. B. value of gold. The first item on the list states “gold standard for currency adopted.” That means that the value of the American dollar was based on the value of gold.
38. A. It was the trigger. The Great Depression was caused by a variety of issues, but the immediate cause, the trigger, was the crash of the stock market. The other answers are wrong. While Choice (B) says that problems had been building for a while, the crash started the panic that resulted in the Great Depression. It wasn't coincidence nor did the crash delay the Depression.
39. D. Citizens had to take all their gold to government offices. U.S. citizens had to take all their gold to U.S. offices and not keep any in their own homes. The timeline and graph don't tell you why they had to do so, just that they did. Turn in is the key phrase here.
40. 1973. The U.S. currency was removed from the gold standard in 1973.
41. C. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The best answer is that gold reached a historic high when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. You have to read the timeline to answer this question.
42. A. Location. Meteorologists call these storms hurricanes in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific and cyclones in the eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean. There is no difference between these storms other than location. Both hurricanes and cyclones are cyclonic storms, and both may bring flooding and heavy rains.
A cyclone is not a tornado.
43. D. Choices A and B. The extreme drought conditions in Australia led to both crop failures and the need to sell off far more sheep than usual. Both represent financial losses. Therefore, Choices (A) and (B) are correct. Although Choice (C) may be true, no information offered supports the idea that crop insurance exists for these farmers.
44. A. They reinforce the idea of climate change and global warming. Because of unseasonably warm weather, locusts were found in Denmark. Locusts are drawn to warm weather. The fact that Denmark is warm enough to allow locusts to survive means that the local climate must be warming. Although the newscast doesn't say so, in the context of all the other information presented, this fact supports the argument of climate change. You must interpret the information to arrive at the correct conclusion.
45. C. It was limited because of pre-war budget cuts. The efforts against sabotage, Choice (A), and psychological warfare, Choice (D), weren't part of foreign intelligence gathering and are thus wrong. Choice (B) is also domestic intelligence. The foreign intelligence work was limited because of budget issues. The text states at the end of the first paragraph that foreign intelligence “did not aid the cause very much.”
Answers for Section 3, Science
1. B. Replace the floor-to-ceiling window with a cinder block wall. Glass contains no encapsulated air and, thus, provides neither insulation nor greater thermal flow. To answer this question, you need to know that good insulators contain trapped air and that glass doesn't. Thus, replacing the floor-to-ceiling glass walls with a cinder block wall would increase the insulating properties of that wall and reduce the heating costs for the house. The question assumes that this information is general knowledge for someone at this educational level.
2. C. Wear clothing with thermal padding in the house. Each of the options would reduce heat loss and reduce energy costs. General knowledge would let you assume that Juno was considerably warmer during the summer, and the word thermal indicates a garment that's meant to reduce personal heat loss and, thus, would allow the room temperature to be reduced.
3. D. Plants provide animals with chemical potential energy. The last paragraph of the passage implies that animals must eat food with chemical potential energy, which is derived from plants. The other answers are irrelevant to the information in the passage.
4. D. The plant would starve to death. Plants produce food using energy from the sun. If you cut off the energy from the sun, you cut off the food supply. The other answers may be symptoms of a plant's starving to death, but Choice (D) sums up the information in one answer.
5. pyruvic acid. According to the passage, pyruvic acid is key to energy production. This question is a good example of why a little bit of knowledge and familiarity with the words and names used in science are helpful when taking the GED test.
6. D. vector. The passage states that velocity can be represented by a vector because it has both magnitude and direction. Force is defined as changing the state or motion of an object, either in magnitude or direction. Because a force has magnitude and direction, it's represented by a vector. The information needed to answer this question is in the last sentence of the first paragraph. You can ignore the first three answer choices completely because they have very little to do with the question. Choice (D) requires you to know the difference between a vector and a scalar. The last line of each paragraph in the passage contains the definitions you need.
7. vectors. Because the GPS gives directions containing both magnitude and direction, the directions would really be in the form of vectors.
8. B. Steam condenses when cooled, occupying less space. In the steam engine, water cools the steam, which then condenses, occupying less space. This action starts the entire cycle over again. You can eliminate the other answer choices when guessing is necessary. Choice (A) is incorrect because water and steam are both water, in different states. Their densities may be different, but their weights are the same. Only the volume differs when water turns to steam. Choice (C) is incorrect because the boiler doesn't provide the energy to move the pump, which you can see by looking at the diagram. Choice (D) isn't based on information given in the diagram. Nowhere are you told the weight of the pump rod.
9. C. It causes the pump to fill the cistern with water. The pump pushes water into the cistern. The other choices don't answer the question based on the information provided in the diagram. Knowing how to answer questions based on diagrams is a useful skill to have for the GED test.
10. consumers would starve for lack of food. The producers provide food for the consumers. If the producers stay the same but the consumers increase, the consumers won't have enough food, so the consumers will starve. Your reading in science topics should have exposed you to this concept. If you read the newspapers regularly, you'll find stories about the lack of food leading to starvation, which is a semi-scientific statement of this principle.
11. 10. The passage states that the temperature of the first tiny particles was 10 billion degrees.
12. D. gravity. The last paragraph states that gravity transformed the atoms into galaxies. This question is an example of when a basic knowledge of science-related words can be helpful.
13. B. An immense explosion created the planets. The passage states that immense explosions created the planets when the space debris was attracted to each other by gravity.
14. D. Both are nuclear reactions. An atomic bomb uses a nuclear reaction to produce its massive damage. The passage states that hydrogen and helium atoms were formed by nuclear reactions (Choice [D]). The other three choices don't answer the question based on the passage. Choice (A) may be right, but it's irrelevant in this context. Choice (B) is incorrect, and Choice (C) may be interesting in another context, but it's wrong here.
15. D. It has no backbone. According to the passage (second sentence in the first paragraph), invertebrates have no backbones. The other choices may be correct, but they don't answer the question. Here, and in all questions on this test, you're looking for the best answer that answers the question posed. Don't get sidetracked by other choices that are correct based on your knowledge or even based on the passage. The answer to the question posed is always the best response on a multiple-choice test.
16. D. The jellyfish may sting the swimmer, and the stings are painful. Jellyfish can sting swimmers, and the stings are painful. You find this information in the last sentence of the third paragraph. The other choices don't answer the question based on the passage. For example, Choice (C) may be the stuff nightmares are based on, but the information or misinformation isn't in the passage, so you can't consider it.
17. B. Jellyfish sting and eat small ocean creatures. Small ocean creatures are always on the menu for jellyfish. Creatures, in general, avoid predators — a fact that's general science knowledge.
18. B. The energy in the lightning must be conserved and is transformed into another form of energy that affects the tree. The passage states that energy can't be created or destroyed, so the energy from the lightning must be transformed into another type of energy. The other answer choices imply that the energy has somehow disappeared, which the passage says can't happen.
19. D. All of the above. Science is an ordered discipline and, as such, needs laws to maintain its organization.
20. C. creation of illusion. Matter can't be created or destroyed. Thus, a rabbit can't appear except by creation of an illusion, which isn't a true law of science but the best answer of the choices given. The other answer choices seem scientific but have nothing to do with the question. Always read the question carefully to make sure you're answering it with the best of the answers provided.
21. conservation of matter. When ice melts, it turns into water. This is an example of the law of conservation of matter. Although the amount of water in a melting iceberg is tiny compared to the amount of water in the ocean, it does add some water to the ocean, which may be considered another acceptable answer but not the best one.
22. A. It has been converted into light. Flashlights provide light by using the energy in the battery. The passage says that energy can't be created or destroyed, so the energy in the battery must have been converted or transformed into something else. In reality, even if you don't use a battery for an extended time, the battery grows weaker because of other reactions inside the cell. But this tidbit isn't mentioned in the passage and is just a reminder not to leave batteries in your flashlight forever.
23. D. An example of the law of conservation of mass in that the total mass will remain the same. If you add 3 ounces of water to 1 ounce of salt, you have 4 ounces of combined ingredients. The combined mass is the same as the sum of the individual masses. The volume may be different, but the question doesn't ask you about the volume. If you add 3 ounces of water to a dissolvable substance, you'll get at least 3 ounces of resultant liquid, but that isn't what was asked in the question. Choices (A) and (C) are just incorrect.
24. C. The energy from rolling down the hill can't disappear. The law of conservation of energy states that energy can't be created or destroyed. Thus, the energy developed by the ball rolling down the hill can't disappear. Choice (C) is more a statement of the meaning of the law of conservation of energy than naming it, but it is still the best answer. In reality, there's friction between the ball and the ground that slows it down, and the hills don't go on forever — so the ball will eventually come to rest. You may have learned this information elsewhere, but it doesn't answer the question based on the passage.
25. D. All of the above. Choices (A), (B), and (C) contribute to a definition of a scientific law, so Choice (D) is the best answer because it indicated that the others are a summary.
26. C. They are able to find food again. The passage states that the lack of food in the winter months makes most birds fly south to find sources of food. When the food returns to the northern states, so do the birds. The other choices don't answer the question based on the information in the passage.
27. C. Some birds eat insects. Some birds eat insects for their food supply. If an area has no insects, the birds move to find a new source of food. General reading in science tells you that living creatures go where the food is. Even human beings, who can choose where to live, are unlikely to move somewhere that lacks food. Other creatures have a more basic instinct to move to where there's a supply of food. Thus, the insects have a responsibility for the birds’ migration — although their main contribution is being eaten.
28. A. It happens regularly and apparently without reason. Scientists are curious about anything that happens regularly that can't be easily explained. Migration is one such issue. The key word here is every at the beginning of the first sentence.
29. D. the Nile Perch. This question may have many answers, from sport fishermen to algae to snails. Of the potential answers given, however, Nile Perch is the best one because the introduction of this species caused all the subsequent problems.
30. D. The foreign species can upset the ecological balance. This question asks you to make a general statement about foreign species of fish. Although this question doesn't ask you specifically to consider the Lake Victoria example, you're supposed to think about that example as you answer the question. Using the Lake Victoria example, you can safely say that a foreign species upsets the local ecological balance. You also know from the example that the other three choices are incorrect.
31. A. Lower gravity on the moon means you need less fuel for the launch. The less fuel you need to launch, the less you have to carry. The gravity on the moon is less than that on Earth, so you need less force and less fuel to break free of gravity.
32. D. not enough information given. The only locations mentioned in the table are Mars and the moon, and you're supposed to answer the question based on the material given. Thus, you don't have enough information to answer the question.
33. B. The time of the trip is much shorter. According to the table, it takes just 3 days to get to the moon, which is a much better first choice than the 1.88 years needed to get to Mars. The other choices are irrelevant to the question and the given table.
34. the moon. Gravity on the moon is less than that on Mars. Because gravity is the force that attracts you to the moon (or to Earth or to Mars), the less the gravity, the less the attraction between you and the surface on which you stand, and, thus, the higher and farther you can jump — which, as you may know, is the goal of a pole-vaulting contest.
35. heredity. The passage states that heredity determines the characteristics of the next generation.
36. C. genetic code. The passage states, “These characteristics, passed from one generation to the next, exist because of genetic code.” Thus, the best answer is genetic code.
37. B. monster-sized pumpkins. If children inherit the traits of their parents, you want the desired traits of your child pumpkin to be a part of the traits of the parent pumpkins. Monster-sized pumpkin seeds have a better chance of producing extra large pumpkins than do the seeds from a regular-sized pumpkin.
38. D. because it is no longer needed. All the choices except Choice (D) — that the booster is no longer needed — are incorrect because they're in direct opposition to the passage. If you can quickly eliminate some or most of the answer choices, you can save time answering the question. In this case, you can eliminate three answers, making the final choice easy and quick.
39. C. orbiter. Because the booster is jettisoned after takeoff, the orbiter has to carry everything that continues on the trip. Choices (A), (B), and (D) are wrong and can be quickly eliminated.
40. B. The hand would move downward. If the force pushing down is greater than the force pushing up, the hand would move down. Although this question is based on the given diagram, which gives a general idea of what happens when a hand holds weight, the answer to the question is in the first part of the question itself. If the force of gravity (the downward force) is greater than the force of the muscles moving upward, the resultant force would be downward.
41. B. adding weight to the hand. A larger weight in the hand would produce a greater force downward. Thus, the athlete would have to work harder against this extra weight (and, as a result, would build more muscle). Making the displacement of the hand larger would also increase the work done, but this isn't an answer choice.
42. heat. The fourth sentence in the passage tells you that heating is the process that separates DNA strands. The other choices either don't answer the question or are wrong.
43. it creates an identical copy of the DNA. Cloning requires identical DNA. As you can see from the first sentence of the passage, PCR provides identical copies of DNA.
44. C. larger teeth. The larger teeth of the wolf are better for hunting. The third sentence of the third paragraph of the passage states that dogs have smaller teeth, which means wolves must have bigger teeth. Although this information isn't stated directly in the passage, it's implied. You're expected to be able to draw conclusions from the information given, so read carefully. The other answer choices are incorrect. True, some dogs have heavier coats, larger bodies, and so on, but this information isn't in the passage. You can answer the question using only information given or implied in the passage — not information from your general knowledge or prior reading.
45. B. Dogs were domesticated. The passage states that the dog was domesticated very long ago. A domesticated animal is preferable to a wild one for a household pet. The other answers may be factually correct, but they aren't part of the information included in the passage.
46. protons. According to the first sentence of the passage, the atomic number is determined by the number of protons. Skimming the paragraph after reading the question for key words in the question makes choosing the correct answer faster and easier.
47. C. atomic number. The last sentence of the first paragraph of the passage states that isotopes have the same atomic number.
48. B. They are isotopes. The last sentence of the first paragraph of the passage states that isotopes have the same atomic number. The second sentence of the second paragraph tells you that isotopes have different mass numbers. This question requires using two bits of information from two different locations in the passage to decide on the right answer.
49. D. Find a safe shelter and hibernate. According to the first sentence of the second paragraph of the passage, animals, including bears, survive the winter by finding a safe shelter and hibernating.
50. D. It would not be able to find enough food to survive. Animals hibernate in the winter when food is scarce (a fact implied from the last sentence in the second paragraph). If you wake up a hibernating animal, that animal awakes to a strange environment without its usual sources of food and probably wouldn't be able to find enough food to survive. The other answer choices may be right in some circumstances, but they don't relate to the passage.
Answers for Section 4, Mathematical Reasoning
1. C. Sign D offers the worst deal. This problem tests your understanding of numbers and their equivalents (integers, fractions, decimals, and percents) in a real-world situation. Signs A, B, and C give customers 50% off. Sign D gives them 45% (9 × 5% sales tax). Sign D offers the least discount.
2. A. ab must be perpendicular to ad. This problem involves measurement and geometry and tests your understanding of perpendicular and parallel lines in a geometrical figure. Frames are rectangles. Each pair of opposite sides must be parallel and intersecting sides (ab and ad) must be perpendicular..
3. $1,680. This problem tests your knowledge and mastery of number operations and number sense. Use a calculator, because numerous conversions are involved, including the following:
Area of the deck is 16 × 21 = 336 square feet
9 square feet = 1 square yard
square yards
1 square yard of decking costs $45.00.
square yards of decking costs $1,680.00.
4. B. grommets. This problem tests your data-analysis skills. You're asked to interpret and draw inferences from the bar graph and include additional data from the presentation. Because the profit per unit is the same for grommets and gadgets but differs from the profit on widgets, which had twice the profitability, to make a fair comparison, you'd have to double the sales of widgets. In this case, grommets seem to be less profitable than the other two lines but not by much. Because grommets sold the fewest numbers and were the least profitable product, they're recommended as the one to drop.
5. average. This problem tests your skills in calculations of statistical measurement. You're asked to use the presented data to calculate the measures of Quan's performance and compare them to those of his classmates. This is a good question on which to use the calculator because it involves a series of calculations.
You find the average by adding the marks and dividing by the total number of marks. The median is the middle value; in Quan's case, the middle value is the fourth value, which just happens to be equal to the fifth value. The mode is the most often, or common, value in the list, and the range is the difference between the largest and smallest numbers. This question is a good example of why some familiarity with mathematical vocabulary is an asset. The admissions department of a college would put the most weight on Quan's average because it's a reflection of how well he did in all his subjects.
6. A. June. Alice has converted her story into a graph, and you're being asked to interpret the line graph in conjunction with her story. Because her average daily time had been increasing until May, dropped in June, and recovered in July and August, you can assume that the twisted ankle slowed her down. It likely happened in June.
7. D. 19:18. Number operations are involved in solving this problem. You're asked to average a set of grades for each person and compare them by using a ratio. You can simplify this question, using a calculator.
The total of Paula's marks is 80 + 64 + 76 + 72 + 88 = 380.
The total of Dominic's marks is 63 + 76 + 65 + 84 + 72 = 360.
Because you divide each total by 5 to get the averages for Paula and Dominic, you can simply use the ratio of the totals to get the answer because it will equal the ratio of the averages. (Note that if one of the students had six grades and the other had five, for example, you'd have to use the ratio of the averages, not of the totals.)
The ratio of Paula's marks to Dominic's marks is 380:360, which you can simplify by dividing each number by 20 to get 19:18.
8. 66. This problem involves algebra, functions, and patterns. The numbers 4, 6, 10, and 18 form a pattern (also called a series). After looking carefully at the series, you see that the second term is formed by subtracting 1 from the first term and multiplying by 2. Try this on the third number: (6 – 1) × 2 = 10. You've found your pattern. Continuing the series: 4, 6, 10, 18, 34, 66, . . . , the first term you come to that is a multiple of 11 is 66.
9. B. $16.13. This problem involves data analysis and manipulation of numbers and is best done using a calculator. Most of the information given is irrelevant, except to decide that Simone may have bought at a high point. The important price to consider is $15.19. In addition to this price per share, Simone has to pay her broker 3% commission.
Therefore, her final price per share on September 24 is $15.19 + (0.03 × $15.19) = $15.6457. Because you're dealing with money, you have to round the number to two decimal places, making her final price per share $15.65. This amount of money came out of her bank account for each share she bought.
If Simone decides to sell the shares at this price, $15.65, she has to pay her broker another 3% commission, or 0.03 × $15.65 = $0.4695. Rounded to two decimals, she has to pay a commission of $0.47 per share. She then receives the value of the shares, $15.65, minus the commission of $0.47, for a total of $15.18 per share — that is, for each share she sells, the broker deposits $15.18 into her account. Notice that this amount is less than the amount she paid for each share.
To break even, Simone has to receive $15.65 per share — after the commission. Set the equation up this way:
1x – x(0.03) = 15.65, where x is the selling price
1x – 0.03x = 15.65
0.97x = 15.65
Now divide both sides by 0.97 to get x = 16.13.
10. D. –4. This question involves algebra. You have to solve a linear equation, as follows:
Cross-multiply and write this equation as 22.4(5a + 10) = 56a.
Getting rid of the parentheses, the equation looks like this: 112a + 224 = 56a.
Bringing all the a's to the left and the numbers to the right, you have 112a – 56a = –224.
Combining the a’s, you have 56a = –224.
Divide both sides by 56 to get one a on the left: a = –4.
11. 2/3. This question tests your skills in measurement and geometry. You're asked to find the slope of a line drawn for you.
The x-axis runs horizontally across the grid. The y-axis runs vertically, up and down the grid. The origin is where the two axes (that's the plural of axis) intersect. Points to the left of the y-axis have negative x-values. Points below the x-axis have negative y-values. The x-intercept of a line is the point where the line cuts the x-axis. The y-intercept of a line is the point where the line cuts the y-axis. All lines parallel to the x-axis have slopes of 0.
The slope of a line is the rise over the run. The rise is 4, and the run is 6. This means that the slope is 4/6 or 2/3 (divide by 2 to simplify).
12. (–6, 0). This question tests your skills in measurement and geometry. You're asked to identify the x-intercept and the y-intercept and to draw a line with a slope of 2/3 on the graph.
If you draw a line through the point on the y-axis having the same slope, it crosses the x-axis at (–6, 0). Simply count over 3 points to the left (the run), down 2 (the rise), and you're at (–3, 2). But you're asked for the x-intercept, so repeat this process. Go over 3 more points to the left and down 2 more, and you're at (–6, 0).
13. D. not enough information given. This question doesn't provide enough information for you to give an accurate answer. If the fire were rectangular in shape, the answer would be different from a circular fire or an irregularly shaped fire. The question provides information only about the shape of the barbeque.
14. C. $2.19. Consider the price per square foot at each store:
-
- Carnie's Carpets: $21.50 per square yard = $21.50/9 = $2.39 per square foot
- Flora's Flooring: $2.45 per square foot
- Dora's Deep Discount: The area of an 8-x-12-foot rug is (8)(12) = 96 square feet. The cost for 96 square feet is $210.24 or $210.24/96 = $2.19 per square foot.
15. A. third quarter. In this question, you're asked to analyze graphs to identify patterns in a workplace situation.
In the 2013 graph, the third quarter of 2013 produces a little more than 30% of the output. The best answer for this question is the third quarter.
16. 1,140. This problem involves measurement, specifically, area and money. Assuming that the estimate for renovation is accurate, the number of square feet of renovation that the Ngs can afford for $18,000 is $18,000/15.80 square feet = 1,139.24 square feet. Round this number to 1,140 because you usually don't add part of a square foot.
17. (6, 6). This problem involves data analysis, statistics, and probability. You're being asked to graph a point representing the medians of two sets of data. First, find the median (the middle number, when put in order) of the first set of numbers. The median is 6. Then find the median of the second set of numbers. Again, it's 6.
18. B. sedan. This problem is based on measurement using uniform rates, and it asks you to make a decision based on factual information. To figure the cost of gasoline over the five years, set up the problem this way:
To help you decide which car LeeAnne should buy, create a chart like the following:
|
Vehicle Type |
Miles/Gallon |
Total Gas Costs |
|
SUV |
12.8 |
$24,609.38 |
|
Sedan |
19.6 |
$16,071.43 |
|
2-door |
19.5 |
$16,153.83 |
|
All-wheel drive |
17.2 |
$18,313.94 |
|
Sports car |
18.6 |
$16,935.47 |
From these figures, you can see that the sedan is the best buy.
19. C. divide then add. This problem involves number operations. Instead of asking you for the answer, which is pretty simple, you're asked to provide the operations that are required to solve the problem. First, you divide (miles to site by miles per hour), and then you add (the amount of time Tom wants to arrive early). Remember to keep the units consistent.
20. D. 11. This question involves data analysis. You're asked to apply measures of central tendency (the mean) and analyze the effect of changes in data on this measure. If Leonora's present average is 77.8% and she wants to get an average of 80%, she needs enough marks to get an additional 2.2% (80 – 77.8).
Because Leonora is taking five subjects, she requires 5 extra points for each percent increase. Thus, she requires (2.2)(5) = 11 additional points. The problem says that English is her best subject, so she would need the 11 extra points in English.
21. A. 7 cups of soup and ⅞ cup of lentils. This question tests your ability to figure out how a change in the amount of rice used results in changes to the amount of soup and lentils needed.
Because each cup of rice requires 2 cups of soup, 3½ cups of rice require 2 × 3½ = 7 cups of soup.
Because each cup of rice requires ¼ cup of lentils, 3½ cups of rice require 3½ × ¼ = 7̸2 × ¼ = ⅞ cup of lentils.
22. C. 1:46. This question is a test in probability. You're asked to figure out the probability of an event occurring. If you had an entire deck of 52 cards, the probability of drawing an ace of hearts would be 1:52. If you remove 6 cards and none of them is the ace of hearts, you may as well have a 46-card deck (52 – 6). The probability of drawing an ace of hearts from a 46-card deck is 1:46.
23. B. the larger rug. This problem tests your measurement skills. You're asked to predict the impact of changes in the linear dimensions of the rug on its area and cost. Choice (C) seems logical, but the question never mentions the cost of the paneling or the skylight, so you can't consider it as an answer.
- Draw a sketch of the room with the larger rug. It will have a tiled area around it. You have to figure out how many square feet of tile and carpet you need for this floor treatment, as follows:
- The area of the room is (18)(12) = 216 square feet.
- The larger rug will cover (16)(10) = 160 square feet of the floor. This leaves 56 square feet (216 – 160) to be covered with tile. The cost of the rug is ($7.50)(160) = $1,200. The cost of the tile is ($9.00)(56) = $504.00. The total cost is $1,200.00 + $504.00 = $1,704.00.
- The smaller rug will cover (12)(8) = 96 square feet of the floor. This leaves 216 – 96 = 120 square feet to be covered with tile. The cost of the rug is ($7.50)(96) = $720.00. The cost of the tile is ($9.00)(120) = $1,080.00. The total cost is $720.00 + $1,080.00 = $1,800.00. The smaller rug will cost more for the entire floor treatment.
- Tile costs more per square foot than carpeting, so you know without doing any figuring that having more tile will result in higher costs.
24. C. loveseat. This question is an exercise in data analysis. You're asked to compare sets of data based on the mean (average) prices of four other stores. You can summarize the average prices on a sketch table like this one:
You can see that the only item Friendly Furniture sells for over the average price is the loveseat, which is the answer to the question.
25. 320. This question tests your knowledge of number operations by asking you to solve a problem involving calculations. Sarah ate 48/18 pistachios per minute. In 2 hours or 120 minutes, she could eat 
.
26. multiplication. This question is about number operations; it asks you to select the appropriate operation to solve a problem. Because the first operation performed is to find the volume of the room, and the formula for volume is length × width × height, the first operation you use to solve the problem is multiplication.
27. D. not enough information given. This question tests your knowledge of measurement and geometry. You're asked to visualize and describe geometrical figures under a 90-degree rotation. Each of the figures is changed by the rotation. Try drawing each of these shapes, picking a point on the perimeter and rotating it 90 degrees. Because this is a timed test, try drawing one or two, noticing that they change quite a bit. Use your imagination to check the rest. After discovering that none of the four shapes has the same relationship to the horizontal after a 90-degree rotation about a point on its perimeter, you have your answer — not enough information given.
28. 7:1. This question tests your data-analysis skills by asking you to interpret a chart and answer a question involving calculation.
The largest budget is the Operations budget, while the smallest budget is Human Resources. The ratio between these two budgets is 14.7 to 2.1 or 7:1 (dividing both sides by 2.1).
If you wanted to do this in your head, notice that 14:2 (the approximate ratio between the Operations budget and the Human Resources budget) is double 7:1.
29. 5. This question tests your knowledge of patterns by asking you to compare information from different types of graphs to extract information. Graph 5 has the first and third quarters in the required ratio.
30. D. not enough information. This problem involves measurement and geometry, and it asks you to use the Pythagorean theorem.
You can't actually solve this problem, however. Because the rangefinder is measuring the distance from the forester's eye and you don't know how high his eye is above the ground, you can't calculate the height of the tree. You can calculate the distance from the forester's eye to the top of the tree by using the Pythagorean theorem, but the question asks for the height of the tree (which is the distance from the ground — not the forester's eye — to the top of the tree). Thus, you don't have enough information.
31. $78.50. This question tests your knowledge of number operations by asking you to perform several operations to calculate an answer. After the fourth week, Lawrie would've deposited (4)($24.00) = $96.00. There would've been two withdrawals totaling $7.50 + $10.00 = $17.50. Her balance after the fourth week would be $96.00 – $17.50 = $78.50.
32. $3.20. This question tests your skills in using percentages and discounts. Store A offers Sarah 1/3 off or 96/3 = $32.00 off the original price. Store B offers her 30% off; 30% is 0.30, so she'll get (96)(0.30) = $28.80 off the original price. By buying at Store A, she'd get the chair for $32.00 – $28.80 = $3.20 less. Thus, she'd save $3.20.
33. D. 100. This question tests your skills by asking you to use information from a graph to solve a problem. From the graph, you can figure out that the volume in decibels is the square of the volume setting. For a volume setting of 4, the volume is 16 decibels. Therefore, for a setting of 10, the volume is 100 decibels (102).
34. D. 12. This question tests your skills in algebra by asking you to solve equations. The equation given is V = S2. If S2 = 144, the square root of 144 is 12. Thus, the answer is 12.
35. A. 36. If the volume decreases by half for every 10 feet away from the stage you get and the volume at the stage is 144 decibels, a person sitting 10 feet from the stage would hear at a volume of 72 decibels (144/2), and a person sitting 20 feet from the stage would hear at a volume of 36 decibels (72/2).
36. 12. This question involves number operations. You're asked to calculate the average miles per gallon for a vehicle. Rather than provide you with the number of gallons used, you're given the cost of gasoline and the cost of the 240-mile trip. To calculate the amount of fuel used, you divide $54.00 by $2.70 to get 20 gallons. You can do this operation mentally to speed things up. Next, you divide the miles, 240, by the fuel used, 20 gallons, to get the mileage, 12 miles per gallon (240/20 = 12).
37. D. circle. This question tests your skills in measurement and geometry. To remain at a constant temperature, you have to remain at a constant distance from the fire.
The path of a point that travels a constant distance from a point is a circle.
38. 4.48. This problem tests your ability to do calculations and use a formula: Volume = length × width × depth. Thus, 12,902 cubic feet = 120 feet × 24 feet × average depth. The average depth 
(the answer is rounded).
39. D. 2,949. This question tests your ability to make a decision based on data presented in a table and then to use that information to answer a question. The least economical car costs $1,823 to drive for a year, while the most economical car costs $840 for the same time under the same conditions. The difference in cost for one year is $1,823 – $840 = $983. The cost for three years is ($983)(3) = $2,949.
40. A. 1 2/3. This question tests your ability to analyze data, using the mean and median to answer a question about the data given. The mean of the city mileages is the sum of the mileages divided by 10 (the number of entries), which equals 16.8. The median of the mileages is the one midway between the two in the middle, or 16.5. The difference between the two numbers (16.8 – 16.5) is 0.3 or 1/3.
41. (0, 5). This question tests your ability to analyze data by representing data graphically.
For Vehicle A, the difference between the city and highway mileage is 5 miles per gallon (28 – 23). The point you want on the y-axis is (0, 5), which you need to mark on the graph.
42. D. +8. This question tests your skill in algebra by asking you to solve a system of linear equations:
-
- 2x + 3y = 10
- 5x + 6y = 13
- A linear equation is one in which the powers of the variables are all equal to 1. To solve this system, you have to eliminate x by multiplying each equation by a number that allows you to subtract one from the other and end up with just y's. Multiply the first equation by 5 and the second equation by 2:
- 5(2x + 3y = 10) = 10x + 15y = 50
- 2(5x + 6y = 13) = 10x + 12y = 26
- Subtract the second equation from the first, and you get 3y = 24; y = 8. (Note that you can also multiply the second equation by –2 and add the two equations together. Either way gets you the same answer.)
43. B. 4 times as many. This question asks you to analyze a situation presented in a table. The table tells you that the country with the highest participation rate is the United States, with a participation rate of 66.4. The country with the lowest participation rate is Portugal, with a participation rate of 15.5. Because you're asked for an approximation, you can say that the participation rate in the United States is 60 and in Portugal, it's 15, which means that 4 times as many adults participate in adult education in the United States than in Portugal.
44. D. $18.00. This problem involves number operations. The total amount of Gordon's bills is $23.00 + $31.00 + $48.00 + $13.00 + $114.00 + $39.00 = $268.00. If Gordon allocates only $250.00 to pay these bills, he ends up $268.00 – $250.00 = $18.00 short. Be wary of Choice (B), which is a special trap for people who don't read the question carefully.
45. 3 hours. At the end of the first month, Georgette will owe $185 + $20 = $205. The second month’s interest will be ($205)(0.15) = $30.75. At $11 an hour, Georgette would have to work an additional 2.76 hours, or practically 3 hours because no one would hire someone to work 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 36 seconds.
46. D. approximately 5,300. This problem tests your knowledge of measurement and geometry by asking you to solve a problem involving volume and weight. You can do this problem in your head, but we take you through the steps using calculations first.
The formula for volume of a cylinder (the cylinder is the circular inside of the pool to a height of 9 inches) is πr2h, where π = approximately 3.14, r = radius, and h = height. If the diameter is 12 feet, the radius is 6 feet. If the height is 9 inches, it's 9/12 feet, which can be simplified to 3/4 feet.
In a formula, don't forget that all units must be the same — that is, feet and feet or inches and inches.
The volume is (3.14)[(6)(6)](3/4) = 85.59 cubic feet.
Because 1 cubic foot weighs 62.42 pounds, the weight of 85.59 cubic feet is (85.59)(62.42) = 5,343 or 5,300 rounded to the nearest hundred.
To do this problem in your head, multiply 6 by 6 to get 36. Multiply 36 by 3/4 to get 27, and multiply 27 by 3 to get 81. The approximate volume of the pool is 81 cubic feet, which isn't bad for an approximation. For your purposes, say the volume is 80 cubic feet, which is still close. The weight of a cubic foot of water is 62.42 pounds, so round it to 60 pounds. Now, multiply 80 by 60 to get 4,800, which is closest to Choice (D). You can go with that approximation because it's very close to one of the answers.
47. A. 6.4%. This question tests your ability to evaluate an answer by using a formula. This formula, I = prt, isn't in the format you want because you want to calculate the rate, which means solving for r. You can change the equation to 
, which allows you to calculate the rate from the information given. Substituting into this equation, you get 
. (Remember that 1 year and 3 months is 1 1/4, or 1.25 of a year.)
Then 
.
48. C. $4.90. This question involves number operations. You're asked to calculate — in your head — the answer to a problem.
To use mental math to solve this problem, round everything. Consider the apples at $0.80 a pound, bananas at $0.20 each, milk at $1.30, and a loaf of bread at $1.00. The total for this approximation is (2)($0.80) + (5)($0.20) + $1.30 + $1.00 = $4.90. Looking at the answer choices, Choice (C) is the only one close to this approximation.
49. A. 28. This question tests your knowledge of patterns by asking you to figure out the next number in a series. By looking at the series, it looks like each number is the square of the placement of the number in the list, plus 3. That is, the first number is 12 plus 3, or 4. The second number is 22 plus 3, or 7. The third term is 32 (9) plus 3, or 12. The fifth term would be 52 (25) plus 3, which is 28.
50. C. (–2, –2). This question tests your skills in geometry by asking you to visualize a graph of an object. Because the object is a rectangle, the opposite sides are equal in length and are parallel, the fourth corner will be 2 units to the left of the y-axis, giving it an x-coordinate of –2, and 2 units below the x-axis, giving it a y-coordinate of –2. Therefore, the point would be (–2, –2).
The x-coordinate is the distance from the y-axis, and the y-coordinate is the distance from the x-axis.
Answer Key
Section 1: Reasoning Through Language Arts
1. B
2. C
3. distributing discarded materials to visual arts classes
4. B
5. D
6. C
7. A
8. D
9. B
10. D
11. A
12. C
13. B
14. B
15. D
16. A
17. B
18. C
19. B
20. D
21. B
22. D
23. C
24. Dutch colonists
25. A
26. yellow bricks
27. Hawkins’s fields
28. A
29. D
30. B
31. A
32. B
33. D
34. A
35. C
36. times
37. exceptable
38. A
39. B
40. Its
41. C
42. not
43. C
44. A
45. programs
46. A
47. B
48. C
49. A
50. grimly ordinary
51. D
52. A
53. D
54. hungry
55. C
56. D
57. B
58. D
59. D
60. B
Section 2: Social Studies
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. D
8. A
9. D
10. C
11. an independent military
12. D
13. C
14. White Male
15. B
16. D
17. C
18. C
19. D
20. burial ground
21. B
22. C
23. Serbia
24. B
25. C
26. A
27. C
28. B, D, C, A
29. B
30. D
31. A
32. D
33. 34.6%
34. B
35. A
36. 480 pounds
37. B
38. A
39. D
40. 1973
41. C
42. A
43. D
44. A
45. C
Section 3: Science
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. D
5. pyruvic acid
6. D
7. vectors
8. B
9. C
10. consumer would starve for lack of food
11. 10
12. D
13. B
14. D
15. D
16. D
17. B
18. B
19. D
20. C
21. conservation of matter
22. A
23. D
24. C
25. D
26. C
27. C
28. A
29. D
30. D
31. A
32. D
33. B
34. the moon
35. heredity
36. C
37. B
38. D
39. C
40. B
41. B
42. heat
43. it creates an identical copy of the DNA.
44. C
45. B
46. protons
47. C
48. B
49. D
50. D
Section 4: Mathematical Reasoning
1. C
2. A
3. $1,680
4. B
5. average
6. A
7. D
8. 66
9. B
10. D
11. 2/3
12. (–6, 0)
13. D
14. C
15. A
16. 1,140
17. (6, 6)
18. B
19. C
20. D
21. A
22. C
23. B
24. C
25. 320
26. multiplication
27. D
28. 7:1
29. 5
30. D
31. $78.50
32. $3.20
33. D
34. D
35. A
36. 12
37. D
38. 4.48
39. D
40. A
41. (0, 5)
42. D
43. B
44. D
45. 3 hours
46. D
47. A
48. C
49. A
50. C