Preview cracking the sat 2014

_,..,

/J.lle �inceton Review.

Cracking the ®

2014 Edition Adam Robinson, John Katzman, and the Staff of The Princeton Review

PrincetonReview.com

Random House, Inc. New York

Contents Foreword.....................................................................................

v1

So Much More Online...................................................................

1x

Part I: O rientation...........................................................................

1

The SAT. The Princeton Review. and You........................................

2

3

Cracking the SAT: Basic Principles .................................................

Cracking the SAT: Advanced Principles...........................................

Part II: How to Crack the Critical Reading Section ........... ........... .

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4 5

6

7

8

Joe Bloggs and the Critical Reading Section...................................

Sentence Completions..................................................................

Reading Comprehension: An Open-Book Test .................................

Reading Comprehension: Wait. There's More! ................................

Vocabulary ..................................................................................

Part Ill: How to Crack the Math Section . .......................................

9

10 11

12

13

14

15

Joe Bloggs and the Math Section..................................................

The Calculator .............................................................................

Fun with Fundamentals.................................................................

Algebra: Cracking the System .......................................................

Advanced Arithmetic....................................................................

Geometry ....................................................................................

Grid-Ins: Cracking the System .................... .................................. .

16

Putting It All Together ..................................................................

17

Grammar.....................................................................................

Part IV: How to Crack the Writing Section . ...................................

18

Essay..........................................................................................

Part V: Taking the SAT....................................................................

Part VI: Answer Key to Drills..........................................................

Part VII: The Princeton Review SAT Practice Tests

3 7

17

31

33 37

53

75

89

127 131

139

145 171

209

239 275

289

299 303

343 361

367

and Explanations ............. .................................................

383

20

Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 1.................................

443

22

Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 2.................................

523

24

Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 3.................................

26

Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 4.................................

19

21

23 25

Practice Test 1 ............ .................................................................

Practice Test 2 .............................................................................

387

469

Practice Test 3 .............................................................................

549

Practice Test 4 .............................................................................

625

Paying for College 101 .................................................................

About the Authors .................. .....................................................

605

679

709 717

Foreword

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Welcome to the 2014 edition of Cracking the SA T. The SAT is not a test of aptitude, how good of a person you are, or how successful you will be in life.

The SAT simply tests how well you take the SAT. And performing well on the SAT is a skill, one that can be learned like any other. The Princeton Review was founded more than 20 years ago on this very simple idea, and-as our students' test scores show-our approach is the one that works.

Sure, you want to do well on the SAT, but you don't need to let the test intimidate you. As you prepare, remember these two important things about the SAT: •

It doesn't measure the stuff that matters. It measures neither intelligence nor the depth and breadth of what you're learning in high school. It doesn't predict college grades as well as your high school grades do, and many schools are still hesitant to use the score from your 25 -minute essay in their application decisions at all. Colleges know there is more to you as a student-and as a person-than what you do at a single 4-hour test administration on a random Saturday morning.

•

It underpredicts the college performance of women, minorities, and disadvantaged students. Historically, women have done better than men in college but worse on the SAT. For a test that is used to help predict performance in college, that's a pretty poor record.

Your preparation for the SAT starts here. We at The Princeton Review spend millions of dollars every year improving our methods and materials. Our teachers take each and every SAT to make sure nothing slips by us, and our books contain the most accurate, up-to-date information available. We're always ready for the SAT, and we'll get you ready too.

However, there is no magic pill: Just buying this book isn't going to improve your scores. Solid score improvement takes commitment and effort from you.

If you read this book carefully and work through the problems and practice tests included in the book, not only will you be thoroughly versed in the for­ mat of the SAT and the concepts it tests, you will also have a sound overall strategy and a powerful arsenal of test-taking skills that you can apply to what­ ever you encounter on test day.

In addition to the thorough review in Cracking the SAT, we've tied the book to drills and tests on our website-PrincetonReview.com-to make it even more efficient at helping you to improve your scores. Before doing anything else, be sure to register at PrincetonReview.com/cracking. When you do, you' ll gain

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access to the most up-to-date information on the SAT, detailed score reports for the tests in this book, exercises that will reinforce our techniques, and the opportunity to have your essays scored by our LiveGrader™ service. You'll also find great information on college admissions, online applications, and financial aid.

The more you take advantage of the resources we've included in this book and the online companion tools that go with it, the better you' ll do on the test.

Read the book carefully and learn our strategies. Take full-length practice tests under actual timed conditions. Analyze your performance and focus your efforts where you need improvement. Perhaps even study with a friend to stay motivated.

This test is challenging, but you're on the right track. We'll be with you all the way.

Good luck!

7he Staffof 7he Princeton Review

Foreword

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vii

What ETS Is Good At

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The folks at ETS have been writing standardized tests for more than 80 years, and they write tests for all sorts of programs. They have administered the test so many times that they know exactly how you will approach it. They know how you' ll attack certain questions, what sort of mistakes you' ll probably make, and even what answer you'll be most likely to pick. Kinda freaky, isn't it?

However, ETS's strength is also a weakness. Because the test is standardized, the SAT has to ask the same type of questions over and over again. Sure, the numbers or the words might change, but the basics don't. With enough practice, you can learn to think like ETS . But try to use your powers for good, okay?

The SAT Isn't S c h o o l Our job isn't to teach you math o r English-leave that to your supersmart school teachers. Instead, we're going to teach you the SAT. You' ll soon see that the SAT involves a very different skill set.

For every question you answer incorrectly you lose

Be warned that some of the approaches we're going to show you will seem weird or unnatural. Some of these strategies may be very different than how you learned to approach similar questions in school, but trust us! Try tackling the problems using our techniques, and keep practicing until they become easier. You' ll see a real improvement in your score.

4

Let's take a look at the questions.

How the Test Is Scored

The SAT is scored in an unusual way. For every ques足 tion you answer correctly you receive 1 raw point.

1

of a point. For every question you leave blank you

get 0 points.

Your raw score is the combination of these raw points for each section category: Math, Critical Reading, and Writing. Each of your three raw scores is then scaled to a 200-800 score for each subject.

Cra c k i n g Mu lti p l e-C h o i c e Questions What's the capital o f Azerbaijan?

Give up?

Unless you spend your spare time studying an atlas, you may not even know that Azerbaijan is a real country, much less what its capital is. If this question came up on a test, you' d have to skip it, wouldn't you? Well, maybe not. Let's turn this question into a multiple-choice question-just like all the questions on the SAT Critical Reading and Grammar sections, and the majority of questions you'll find on the SAT Math section-and see if you can figure out the answer anyway.

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C r a c king the S AT

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1.

The capital of Azerbaijan is (A) Washington, D.C. (B) Paris (C) Tokyo (D) London (E) Bairn

The question doesn't seem that hard anymore, does it? Of course, we made our example extremely easy. (By the way, there won't actually be any questions about geography on the SAT.) But you'd be surprised by how many people give up on SAT questions that aren't much more difficult than this one just because they don't know the correct answer right off the top of their heads. "Capital of Azerbai足 jan? Oh, no! I've never heard of Azerbaijan!"

These students don't stop to think that they might be able to find the correct answer simply by eliminating all of the answer choices they know are wrong.

You A l ready Know Almost A l l of the Answers All but a handful of the questions on the SAT are multiple-choice questions, and every multiple-choice question has five answer choices. One of those choices, and only one, will be the correct answer to the question. You don't have to come up with the answer from scratch. You must simply identify it.

How will you do that?

Look for the Wron g Answers Instead of the R i g ht Ones Why? Because wrong answers are usually easier to find. After all, there are more of them! Remember the question about Azerbaijan? Even though you didn't know the answer off the top of your head, you easily figured it out by eliminating the four obviously incorrect choices. You looked for wrong answers first.

In other words, you used the Process of Elimina足 tion, which we'll call POE for short. This is an ex足 tremely important concept, one we'll come back to again and again. It's one of the keys to improv足 ing your SAT score. When you finish reading this book, you will be able to use POE to answer many questions that you don't understand.

The great artist Michelangelo once said that when he looked at a block of marble, he could see a statue inside. All he had to do to make a sculpture

It's Not About Circling the Right Answer Physically marking in your test booklet what you

think of certain answers can help you narrow down choices, take the best possible guess, and save time!

Try using the following notations: t/ rJ

A

Put a check mark like.

next to an

answer

you

Put a squiggle next to an answer you kinda like.

Put a question mark next to an answer you don't understand.

Cross out the letter of any answer choice you KNOW is wrong.

You can

always come up with your

The key is consistency.

own

system.

Basic Principles

/

9

was to chip away everything that wasn't part of it. You should approach diffi足 cult SAT multiple-choice questions in the same way, by chipping away everything that's not correct. By first eliminating the most obviously incorrect choices on dif足 ficult questions, you will be able to focus your attention on the few choices that remain.

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PROCESS O F E LI M I N ATI O N ( P O E ) There won't b e many questions o n the SAT i n which incorrect choices will b e as easy to eliminate as they were on the Azerbaijan question. But if you read this book carefully, you'll learn how to eliminate at least one choice on almost any SAT multiple-choice question, if not two, three, or even four choices.

What good is it to eliminate just one or two choices on a five-choice SAT question?

Plenty. In fact, for most students, it's an important key to earning higher scores.

Here's another example:

Need M o re Help?

For video i nstruction. g o to www.princetonreview.com/ cracki ng.

2.

The capital of Qatar is (A) Paris (B) Dukhan (C) Tokyo (D) Doha (E) London

On this question you'll almost certainly be able to eliminate three of the five choices by using POE. That means you're still not sure of the answer. You know that the capital of Qatar has to be either Doha or Dukhan, but you don't know which.

Should you skip the question and go on? Or should you guess?

Cl ose You r Eyes a n d Po i nt You've probably heard a lot of different advice about guessing on multiple-choice questions on the SAT. Some teachers and guidance counselors tell their students never to guess and to mark an answer only if they're absolutely certain that it's cor足 rect. Others tell their students not to guess unless they are able to eliminate two or three of the choices.

Both of these pieces of advice are incorrect.

10

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Even ETS is misleading about guessing. Although it tells you that you can guess, it doesn't tell you that you should. In fact, if you can eliminate even one incorrect choice on an SAT multiple-choice question, guessing from among the remaining choices will usually improve your score. And if you can eliminate two or three choices, you'll be even more likely to improve your score by guessing.

C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

A LWAYS PUT P E N C I L TO PAPER

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A t school you probably aren't allowed to write in your textbooks, unless your school requires you to buy them. You probably even feel a little peculiar about writing in the books you own. Books are supposed to be read, you've been told, and you're not supposed to scrawl all over them.

Because you've been told this so many times, you may be reluctant to write in your test booklet when you take the SAT. Your proctor will tell you that you are supposed to write in it-the booklet is the only scratch paper you'll be allowed to use; it says so right in the instructions from ETS-but you may still feel bad about marking it up.

Write Now

F e e l free to write all over this book too. You need to get in the habit of m a k i ng the SAT booklet you r own.

Do NOT do thing s in your head. Start now by writing the names of the colleges you really want to attend in the ma rgin below.

D o n't Be R i d i c ulo us!

Your test booklet is just going to be thrown away when you're finished with it. No one is going to read what you wrote in it and decide that you're stupid because you couldn't remember what 2 + 2 is without writing it down. Your SAT score won't be any higher if you don't make any marks in your booklet. In fact, if you don't, your score will probably be lower than it should be.

Own You r Test Booklet You paid for your test booklet; act as though you own it. Scratch work is extremely important on the SAT. Don't be embarrassed about it. After all, writing in your test booklet will help you keep your mind on what you're doing.

•

•

•

•

When you work on a geometry problem that provides a diagram, don't hesitate to write all over it. What if there's no diagram? Draw one yourself-don't simply try to imagine it. Keep track of your work directly on the diagram to avoid making careless mistakes.

On sentence completion questions, you will often need to come up with your own word or two to help you answer a question. Write it down! Trying to retain information in your head leads to confusion and errors. Your test booklet is your scratch paper-use it.

When you use POE to eliminate a wrong answer choice, physically cross off the answer choice in your test booklet. Don't leave it there to confuse you. You may often need to carefully consider two remaining answer choices. You want to be clear about which answer choices are left in the running.

When you answer a question but don't feel entirely certain of your answer, circle the question or put a big question mark in the margin beside it. That way, if you have time later on, you can get back to it without having to search through the entire section.

Need More Help?

For video i nstruction, go to www.princetonreview.com/ crack i n g .

Basic Principles

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13

PUTTI N G T H E BAS I C P R I N C I PLES TO WO R K I n the previous chapter, we reviewed some basic principles of the SAT. We showed you chat it is possible co find correct answers by using POE, the Process of Elimi­ nation, co gee rid of incorrect choices.

Bue how will you know which answers co eliminate? And how will you know when co guess? In chis chapter, we'll teach you how co • •

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•

• •

cake advantage of the order in which questions are asked make better use of your time by scoring the easy points first use the Joe Bloggs principle co eliminate obviously incorrect choices on difficult questions find the traps chat ETS has laid for you cum chose craps into points

To show you how chis is possible, we first have co cell you something about the way the SAT is arranged.

O R D E R O F D I FFI C U LTY Some Do, Some Don't

Not a l l question types h ave an order of diffi c u lty. Here's how it breaks down: Question types a rra nged i n order of diffi c u l ty: Sentence Com p l etions, Math q uestions. Error IDs, and Improvi n g Sentences.

Question types with n o o r d e r o f difficulty: Long a n d Short Read i n g , Improvi n g Pa ragra p hs. a nd the Essay.

Need More

If you have already taken a practice SAT, you may have noticed chat the questions seem co gee harder as each section progresses. This is not an accident; ET S purposely arranges the questions this way. Why? There are a couple of reasons.

First, starting students with easy questions can lead co a false sense of security.

Chances are, after nailing the first three or four questions you stare co think chat you've got the test beat. That's exactly when ET S stares throwing some craps into the questions for the unwary or the overconfident.

Second, the hard questions are ac the end of the section, when you have less time left. Knowing chis, you may rush through the beginning of the section, making careless mistakes, just to gee to the difficult and frustrating questions at the end.

Easy, M e d i u m, Diffi c u lt Think of each section as being divided into thirds. A third of the questions should be easy. Mose test takers get these questions right. Another third of the questions are of medium difficulty. Nearly half of the people taking the test get these questions right. The final third of the questions are difficult. Very few test takers answer these questions correctly.

H e l p?

For video i nstruction, g o to www.princetonreview.com/ cracking.

18

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Cracking t h e SAT

The Mach sections always follow this order of difficulty; thus, in a 20-quescion Math section, the first six or seven questions are easy, the next six or seven are me­ dium, and the final six or seven are difficult. Sentence completions follow a similar pattern. Because there are fewer sentence completion questions, the difficulty level

increases much more quickly: in a section with eight sentence completion ques­ tions, the first two or three are easy, the next two or three are medium, and the final two or three are hard. However, reading comprehension questions are all jumbled up-they follow no particular order of difficulty.

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You Have to Pace You rself There are some very difficult questions o n the SAT that most test takers shouldn't even bother to work on. On the difficult third of every group of questions, there are some questions that almost no one taking the test will get right. Rather than spending too much time on these questions, you should focus your attention on questions that you have a better chance of figuring out.

Because most test takers try to finish every section ("I had two seconds left over! "), almost every test taker hurts his or her score. After all, when you rush, you make mistakes. The solution, for almost anyone scoring less than 700 on a section, is to slow down.

R u l e #1

A ny test taker scoring below 700 o n either the Math o r the Critical Read­ ing section w i l l h u rt his or h e r sco re by attempting to a nswer every q u estion.

Most test takers could improve their scores significantly by attempting fewer ques­ tions and devoting more time to questions they have a better chance of answering correctly. Slow down, score more.

H ow Wi l l Th is H e l p My Score?

Knowing the difficulty level of a question can help you in several ways. Most importantly, it helps you make the best use of your time. Although in terms of difficulty the questions are definitely not created equally, each and every single question earns you exactly one point. ET S wants you to waste your Easy to Be Hard time on the difficult questions, while missing easy The SAT isn t a huge intellectual cha llenge ; it's points. Don't play their game. j us t t ricky. When we talk about difficult ques­ tions on the SAT, we mean ones that people most Make sure you SLOW DOWN and focus your often get wrong. Flip to one of the practice SATs energy on the easy and medium questions before at th e back of this book and look at the more diffi­ trying the difficult ones. Your job is to get the cult m ath que s tion s Do any of them test anything greatest number of points in the least amount of you didn't learn in high school? Probably not. But time. Don't rush through the questions that you're do they all re semble the kind of straightforward more likely to answer correctly. Get those points. questions yo u re used to se ei ng on a regu l ar test?

Then with the time you have left, try the difficult Probably not. ETS specializes in confusing and questions (those will be loaded with ET S traps!). misleading test ta ke rs '

.

'

.

Furthermore, understanding the difficulty level of a question can help you to figure out ET S's trap answers. To do this, we first have to delve into the mind of a typical SAT test taker.

Adva n c e d P r i n c i p l e s

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Putting Joe B l oggs to Work for You In the chapters that follow, we're going to teach you many specific problem­ solving techniques based on the Joe Bloggs principle. The Joe Bloggs principle will help you • • •

The more you learn about Joe Bloggs, the more he'll help you on the test. If you make him your partner on the SAT, he' ll help you find ET S's answers on problems you never dreamed you'd be able to solve.

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use POE to eliminate incorrect answer choices make up your mind when you have to guess avoid careless mistakes

Beca use This Is So Importa nt, We're G o i n g to Say It Ag a i n Here's a summary of how Joe Bloggs thinks: Question Type

Joe Bloggs Looks For

Medium Difficult

Easy

Joe Bloggs Selects

Time Joe Spends

How Joe Does

the answer

the one that seems right

not much

so-so

the answer

the one that seems right

too much

almost all wrong

the answer

the one that seems right

very little

mostly right

Here is a summary of how you should think: You Should Look For

Y o u Should Select

Time You Should Spend

enough to not make careless errors

mostly right

Medium

the wrong answers

pick from what's left

most of your time

better than Joe!

Difficult

the wrong answers

pick from what's left

whatever time better than is left Joe!

Question Type

Easy

I

Cracking t h e

SAT

the answer

the one that seems right

How You'll Do

A FEW WO RDS A B O UT WO RDS Th e SAT contains 1 0 sections. Three o f these will b e scored Critical Reading sections.

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Each of the 3 scored Critical Reading sections on the SAT contains two types of questions: sentence completions and reading comprehension. In sentence completion questions, you'll be given an incomplete sentence, along with several possible ways to complete it. In reading comprehension questions, you will be given a passage (either long or short) to read, followed by a series of questions ask­ ing you about the passage.

WHAT D O E S TH E C R ITI CAL READ I N G SECT I O N TEST? ETS says that the Critical Reading section tests "verbal reasoning abilities" o r "high­ er order reasoning abilities." You may be wondering exactly what these statements mean, but don't sweat it-they're not true anyway. Critical reading questions test your ability to read and your familiarity with certain words. A strong vocabulary will help you understand what you are reading and allow you to write stronger essays. If you have a big vocabulary, you'll probably do well on the exam. If you have a small vocabulary, you'll have more trouble no matter how many techniques we teach you.

Read What You Like

S o m e folks t h i n k it's necessary to read nothing but books on boring o r hard s u bjects t o b u i l d a better vocabu l a ry. Not true. Identify someth i n g t h a t i nterests you a n d fi nd s o m e books o n that subject. You ' ll be spending t i m e on somethi n g you e njoy, a n d hey, you just might learn someth i n g .

The best way to improve your reading is by practicing reading. Even certain peri­ odicals-newspapers and some magazines-can improve your verbal performance if you read them regularly. Keep a notebook and a dictionary by your side as you read. When you encounter words you don't know, write them down, look them up, and try to incorporate them into your life. The dinner table is a good place to throw around new words.

Most of us have to encounter new words many times before we develop a firm sense of what they mean. You can speed up this process a great deal by taking advantage of Chapter 8 , "Vocabulary." It contains a list of words that are very likely to turn up on the SAT, and some general guidelines about learning new words. If you work through it carefully between now and the time you take the test, you'll have a much easier time on the Critical Reading section. The more SAT words you know, the more our techniques will help you.

Read through Chapter 8 and sketch out a vocabulary-building program for your­ self. You should follow this program every day, at the same time that you work through the other chapters of this book.

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The techniques described in the Critical Reading chapters that follow are intended to help you take full advantage of your growing vocabulary by using partial information to attack hard questions. In a sense, we are going to teach you how to get the maxi­ mum possible mileage out of the words you know. Almost all students miss SAT ques­ tions that they could have answered correctly if only they had used our techniques.

C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

J O E B L O G G S A N D T H E C R I T I CA L REA D I N G SECTI O N Joe Bloggs will be a big help to you o n the Critical Reading section. Keep Joe Bloggs in mind as you take the SAT, and you will assuredly increase your score.

Let's look at how you can use Joe on the Critical Reading section.

Joe B l oggs a n d O rd e r of D iffi c u lty A Reminder

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O n easy questions, the a n swers that seem r i g ht to Joe rea l l y a re r i g ht; o n h a rd questions, the a n swers that seem right to Joe are w ro n g .

No matter how many words you learn, though, you'll still run across words you don't know on the sentence completions. Not to worry: Joe Bloggs can once again guide you to the right answer. Here's an example of a difficult sentence completion:

8. The researchers use their experimental and observational data to furnish the ------- evidence that proves their hypothesis.

Order O f D ifficu lty ( O O D )

Q u e s t i o n # 8 i s the l a s t q u e s t i o n i n the l o n g sentence c o m p l e t i o n set.

S o it i s a d i f fi c u l t one.

Diffi c u l t questions have m o re tra p a n swers.

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

trifling experiential intuitive empirical microscopic

Ana lysis This is a hard question. Only about 8 percent of test takers answer it correctly.

More than twice as many of chem would have answered it correctly if they had simply closed their eyes and picked one of the choices at random. Why did most test takers-including, of course, our friend Joe Bloggs-do so poorly on this question? They all fell into a cleverly laid trap.

B loggs Magnets

J o e l i kes easy words that h e know s . O n h a rd sentence c o m pletion q uestions, i f you see a n easy word a s an a n swer c h o i ce, ask yourself whether it has a n a d d i t i o n a l defi n ition before you e l i m i nate i t .

34

The Critical Reading sections of the SAT contain two question types: sentence completions and reading comprehension. As we mentioned before, only the sentence completions follow a definitive order of difficulty. In general, the harder sentence completions test harder vocabulary words. Of course, there's no such thing as a "hard" word or an "easy" word-just words you know and words you don't know. Your best defense against Joe Bloggs answer choices is to increase your vocabulary.

I

C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

Joe reads the sentence and sees that it is about scientists and hypotheses. Instantly, certain words and images spring into his mind. Joe starts looking through the an足 swers for a word commonly associated with science, and he is immediately drawn to choices B and E. Hey, it's called a science experiment, right? And scientists need microscopes to do their experiments, right? Yeah, that's the ticket . . .

Don't think like Joe! On hard questions, eliminate any choice or choices chat you know will be attractive to Joe. We'll tell you more about how to do this as we go along. (Incidentally, the correct answer to chis question is D. Empirical means "based on observation.")

SAT SENTENCE C O M P LETI O N S : CRACK I N G TH E SYSTEM How will you find the magic word to fill i n the blank? By finding the clue that ETS has left for you in the sentence. Each sentence completion contains one or more clues that will tell you what goes in the blank or blanks. All you have to do is find the clues, and you've cracked the question.

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The I nstructions Before we begin, take a moment to read the following set o f instructions and answer the sample question that follows. Both appear here exactly as they do on the real SAT. Be certain that you know and understand these instructions before you take the SAT. If you learn them ahead of time, you won't have to waste valuable seconds reading them on the day you take the test.

Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, .befil fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Example:

In order to ------- his taunting friends, Mitch gave them taffy in hopes it would keep their mouths shut.

(A) eliminate (B) satisfy (C) overcome (D) ridicule (E) silence ®@©@•

ETS 's answer to this sample question i s E .

Sentence completions appear in each o f the test's Critical Reading sections. The questions will be arranged in groups of five, six, and eight sentences (thought not necessarily in that order). Regardless of the number of sentence completions in a section, the questions will follow a rough order of difficulty: The first third will be easy, and the last third will be the most difficult.

Let's begin with an easy question. Try the following example. The answer choices have been removed so you can concentrate solely on the sentence. Read the sen­ tence and write down your own word or phrase for the blank.

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

Step by Step Before moving on to another example, make sure you know the steps for answer足 ing sentence completion questions. Here's a handy list for you to review:

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1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Cover up the answer choices.

Read the sentence.

Underline the clue.

Come up with your own word or phrase to go in the blank.

Use POE.

Got it? Now take a look at the following question:

4.

Some developing nations have become remarkably -------, using aid from other countries to build successful industries.

(A) populous (B) dry (C) warlike (D) prosperous (E) isolated

Don't Pee k !

Cove r the a n swer choices u n t i l you come up with your own word.

H e re's H ow to C r a c k I t Th e clue in this sentence i s build successful industries. I t indicates that some nations " have become remarkably successful. " Let's look at each answer choice for a word that's close to successful:

(A) Does populous mean successful? No. Cross off this answer.

(B) Does dry mean successful? Not at all. Cross it off.

(C) Does warlike mean successful? Nope. Ditch it.

(D) Does prosperous mean successful? Sure does.

(E) Does isolated mean successful? Nope. Ditch it.

ETS's answer must be D.

Sentence Completions

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41

Other Tri g gers There are two other types of triggers to look for: punctuation and time triggers.

Punctuation triggers are colons and semicolons. Both colons and semicolons are used to indicate that there is more, similar information in the sentence after the colon or semicolon.

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The party was depressing: sad and devoid offun.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musical prodigy; he was able to play both the piano and the violin by the age offive.

Notice how the information after the colon in the first sentence just says more about how depressing the party was? In the second sentence, after musicalprodigy, there is a semicolon followed by an explanation of how he was a musical prodigy: he was able to play music at an early age.

Colons and semicolons are therefore great triggers to notice in a sentence, because they tell you that the blank is going to be similar to the clue.

Dikembe Mutombo is a ------- : he is able to speak nine languages.

The word in the blank must be something along the lines of person able to speak many languages, since that's the clue after the colon. (By the way, the word for that is "polyglot.")

The last common type of trigger is known as a time trigger. If time passes, then something changed, and the word in the blank will often be the opposite of the clue.

In Horatio Alger's stories, the protagonist starts life poor, but always ends up ------- .

A good word for the blank would be rich, since the protagonists starts life poor.

Notice how the words starts and always ends up told you that time passed, and that the protagonist couldn't stay poor forever.

D R I LL 1 M a rk It

M a ke s u re you actua l l y u n d e r l i n e the c l u e a n d circle t h e trigger Put pencil to paper!

44

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C r a c k i n g t h e S AT

Circle the trigger word (if there is one) and underline the clue in each of the following sentences. Then, write your own word in the blank. If you have trouble finding the clue, ask yourself, "What is the blank talking about?" and "What else does the sentence say about this?" Don't worry if you can't think of a single, perfect word for the blank; use a phrase that catches the meaning. Once you've finished these questions, go on to Drill 2 and use POE to find ETS's answer.

Answers can be found on page 368.

(E)

Callow is negative; simple is neutral. A possibility, but not great.

ETS 's answer is C: Rick's life may look scintillating, but he spends most of his time on mundane activities.

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If the clue to one of the blanks is the other blank, look for the trigger word and determine the relationship between the blanks. Then use POE to find ETS's answer.

Are You a G ood Word or a Bad Word?

Vocab

Don't e l i m i nate words you've n eve r seen before or c a n n ot read ily defi n e .

O r. i n the words of Bob Dyla n, "Don't criticize what you can't understand."

Notice in the last example that we didn't use words to fi l l in the blanks; instead, we looked for positive and negative. On difficult sentence completions, you may find it hard to determine what the word in the blank is supposed to be. However, you will usually have an idea if that word should be a good word (something posi足 tive) or a bad word (something negative) . Knowing whether a blank is positive or negative can help you eliminate answer choices. If you are unable to come up with your own word, use + or - to get rid of answers and make smart guesses.

Here's an example:

8.

Ruskin's vitriolic attack was the climax of the heaped on paintings that today seem amazingly -------.

(A) criticism . . unpopular (B) ridicule . . inoffensive (C) praise . . amateurish (D) indifference . . scandalous (E) acclaim . . creditable ------足

H e re's H ow to C r a c k I t A G e ntle Reminder

You r aim i s to eli m i nate wrong a n swers. Get rid of a s m a ny i ncorrect choices a s you can, g u e s s from a m o n g the rema i n i n g choices, a n d t h e n m ove o n .

A vitriolic attack i s something bad (and s o is simply a n attack, i f you don't know what vitriolic means). The climax of a vitriolic attack must also be bad, and there足 fore the first blank must be a bad word. Already we can eliminate choices C and E (and possibly choice D). We don't have to worry about the second word in these answer choices because we already know that the first word is wrong.

Now look at the second blank. The first part of the sentence says that Ruskin thought the paintings were very bad; today, amazingly, they seem-what? Bad? No! The word in the second blank has to be a good word. Choices C and E are

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

D on't Be Li ke Joe ETS writes the reading comprehension section hoping you will act just like Joe Bloggs. Here's what he does-and what you should avoid doing.

• • • •

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•

Joe wastes time reading stuff he doesn't need.

Joe doesn't make sure he knows what the questions are really asking.

Joe reads carelessly when looking for the answer to a question.

Joe looks at the answer choices before he has any idea what the answer should look like.

Joe falls for trap answers designed just for him.

READ I N G C O M P R E H ENSI O N : YO U R BAS I C STRATEGY

The Fact B a n k

To avoid being like Joe, here's how you should approach the reading comprehen­ sion questions. Don't worry! We'll come back to this list often!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Read the Italicized Blurb. It's short, and it helps with the main idea.

Work the passage. For some passages, you can go right to the ques­ tions. (We'll go over how to decide whether or not to do that in a minute.) If you do read the passage, try not to spend more than two minutes on it. Don't get bogged down in the details. Just get a sense of the passage as a whole.

Select a Question. You should look at the questions in the order they appear and-mostly-you will answer them in order. Reading Comprehension questions don't go in order of difficulty, though, you may want to skip hard ones, at least at first. Make sure you know what a question is asking before you answer it. Then always go back to the passage before looking at the answer choices.

Read only what you need. Most of the answers will be located in a small portion of the passage. Sometimes the answer is a couple sentences away from the line reference in the question. A good rule of thumb is to read 5 lines on either side.

Answer the Question. If possible, use your own words before you go to the answer choices.

Use POE. Eliminate the four worst answers.

Somebody once asked notorious t h i ef W i llie Sut­ ton why h e robbed banks. " B e c a use that's where the money is," he replied.

W h i l e rea d i n g comprehen­ sion is saf e r a n d slightly more prod u ctive than la rceny, the sa m e pri n c i p l e a p p l ies: Concentrate on the q u estions a n d a nswe r choices because that's w h e re the poi nts a re . The passag e is j ust a place for ETS to stash facts and detai ls. You ' ll fi n d them when you n e e d to. What's the point of memorizing all 67 pesky d eta i ls about p l a n kton if ETS asks you about only 1 2 ?

Now, let's put these steps into practice. A sample passage and questions appear on the next two pages. Don't start working the passage right away. In fact, you can't­ the answer choices are missing (they'll be revealed later). Just go ahead to page 5 8 , where we will begin to g o through each o f these six steps using the following pas­ sage on the next two pages as an illustration.

R e a d i n g C o m p r e h e n s i o n : A n O p e n - B o o k Te s t

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55

The B l u rb The Strategy

1. Read the b l u rb .

You should always begin by reading the blurb (the italicized stuff above the pas­ sage). The blurb tells you whether the passage is fiction or nonfiction and gives you a sense of what the passage will be about. Sometimes the blurb won't be very helpful. It may only tell you the most basic information about the passage, such as where the passage came from. ( "The following passage is adapted from a maga­ zine article written by a biologist. ") But, for most passages, the blurb will give you crucial information about the overall topic of the passages. ( '1n this passage from

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a novel, a Korean-American woman recalls her childhood in the 1980s. Her family had traveled to Texas from Korea after herfather was hired by an electronics company.

Here the author describes meeting her father's new boss. ") Although you will never be able to answer a question by only reading the information in the blurb, the blurb will often help you understand the passage better and give you necessary back­ ground information to answer certain questions.

Read the blurb at the beginning of the passage on page 56. Based on the blurb, what do you think the passage will be about? Write your answer in the space below.

Work the Passage T h e Strategy

1 . Read the b l u rb.

2. W o r k the passage.

For some passages, some people are comfortable going right to the questions. Let's give it a try with this one! For all passages if you feel that you need to read the pas­ sage first, get through the passage, but read it quickly. Remember: There is no way you can be asked about every single detail in the passage, and you have to go back to the passage for each question anyway. So, don't get stuck in the details.

Sel ect a Question a n d Read O n ly What You Need The Strategy 1.

Read the blurb.

2. Work the passage.

3. S e l e c t a q uesti o n .

I t may seem a s though there are lots o f different types of questions with very simi­ lar and subjective answer choices, but as you will see, almost all questions can be treated in the same way. Let's first take a look at the order in which the questions appear and where in the passage you will find the answers you need.

D ifficulty and Chronology In most sections of the SAT, questions appear in an increasing order of difficulty­ but not in reading comprehension. Instead, the questions follow the chronology of the passage. For this reason, you will want to work the questions in the order they appear; as you answer questions, you will be going through the passage from beginning to end. However, don't get stuck on a hard question. If you're having trouble, move on-other questions are likely to be easier. You can always come back to the questions you skipped.

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

Let's take a look at one of these questions.

20.

It can be inferred that the author chose the distance of "six or eight hundred yards" (lines 49-50) because it

Read the fifth paragraph of the passage and jot down your impressions about why the author decided he wouldn't permit anyone closer than six or eight hundred feet. When we evaluate the answer choices, you will see whether the correct an足 swer actually relates to detail on which you thought to focus.

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Question 21 is another Suggest/Imply/Infer/Agree question, asking which statement about the blessing the author would most likely agree with. Read around line 58 and jot down what you think the author is saying. We'll discuss the question further in the POE section.

Voca b - i n - Context Questions We call questions that ask what a particular word "most nearly means" (or a simi足 lar variation on the phrase) Vocab-in-Context questions. These questions are very similar to Sentence Completion questions. In fact, it's a good idea to use a tech足 nique like the ones in the Sentence Completion chapter here: Cross out the word in the passage and come up with your own word based on the clues and triggers.

If you take the time to figure out how the author is using the word, these ques足 tions tend not to be very difficult; but Joe Bloggs has trouble with them. He picks the answer choice that contains the most common definition of the word, rather than the answer that accurately reflects how the author is using the word.

Let's take a look at a Vocab-in-Context question.

22.

As used in line 67, "admire" most nearly means

H e re 's H ow to C r a c k it Read a few lines around line 67, and go all the way to the end. Cross out the word admire, and write a word that could go into the blank, based upon the clues and triggers in the sentence, and the surrounding sentences.

The paragraph is generally about the terrible stench of the whale. The author's friend said that he " did not to smell a whale," and the author agreed given the bad odor. A good word for the blank might be "want" or something similar. ___

Question 23 is another Purpose question. It asks why the author wrote the final sentence. Although you've already read that sentence for Question 22, read it (and 62

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Finally, know your Tone/Attitude vocabulary-the words mentioned above and these words:

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apathetic equivocal resigned

70

contemptuous ironic solemn

didactic nonchalant unabashed

disdainful nostalgic whimsical

earnest qualified wistful

P O E : Last Words Sometimes, you might find it hard to decide between two or even three answers.

In that case, it's more important than ever to stick with POE; your task is to look for wrong answers, not the right one-and there are always going to be more wrong answers than right ones! Remember what trap answers look like and try to eliminate those types of answer choices. Sometimes a single word or small phrase is enough to make an answer choice wrong.

We've gone over the four major types of trap answers in this chapter already, but here they are again: • • • •

Recycled Words Half Right = All Wrong Extreme Language Goes Too Far

Remember that the typical trap answers for Tone/Attitude questions are as follows: • • •

Extreme Uncaring Unknowledgeable

Finally, remember that some questions are just harder than others. It is okay to guess after you have gone as far as you can with POE, or to skip a particularly tricky question and come back later if there is time.

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

Answer choice D relates to advances in DNA technology. This isn't relevant because the DNA technology was sophisticated enough when the study was con足 ducted to determine that the fin whale and other whale species were different, which is what's important here. Additionally, neither the author nor the author's critics address DNA technology advances.

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Answer choice E may seem appealing at first because it mentions other similar species of whales. However, rather than focusing on the DNA of these species, the answer choice provides information about the species' location, which neither sup足 ports nor undermines the author's conclusion. The information is irrelevant, just like in choice A.

Analogy Questions Analogy questions can be a bit tricky, s o we can be thankful that they don't show up very often! Unlike just about every other Reading Comprehension question type, the answer choices in analogy questions contain information that is not directly related to the passage. Rather, the information shares some characteristics with something in the passage. Your job is to find the answer that is the tightest fit.

Let's flesh this out with question 8 .

8.

The situation described in lines 8-1 0 ("If computers are . . . verify their choices") is most analogous to (A) A couple expecting their first baby reads several books about the different stages of child development, from infancy to adulthood.

(B) An observer of a family of gorillas takes photographs of the gorillas in addition to writing down observations about their behavior.

(C) An established computer manufacturer provides free word processing and anti-virus software as part of every new computer sold.

(D) A car dealership that sells only select models decides to expand its inventory to include additional models with a broader variety of options.

(E) A politician running for re-election releases an advertisement attacking the challenger for malicious lies without verifying the content of the ad.

H e re's H ow to C r a c k I t

Your first task i s t o read the relevant section o f the passage. We're told that no matter how careful election officials are, computer errors are still possible and that, therefore, it is important to have a paper ballot as a back-up. In considering the 80

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

REA D I N G C O M P R E H E N S I O N VOCAB U LARY In addition to knowing the regular vocabulary listed in the next chapter, you should also know the reading comprehension words below. You probably know most of them from school, but be sure to look up any that are unfamiliar.

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Precise D efi n itions

84

You need to really know the word s in this box, not j u st sorta know them.

ETS

often tests small, subtle differences in meaning For example, what is the difference between u n dermine and underscore?

It matters when you're

taking the SAT

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C r a c k i n g t h e S AT

aesthetic

discern

indifferent

refute

allusion

discredit

interpret

relevant

ambivalent

disengaged

lronIC

repudiate

anecdote

disinterested

justify

resigned

assert

dismissive

metaphor

reverent

assess

disparage

nostalgia

rhetoric

belied

disparity

objective

satire

characterize

dispassionate

partisan

scornful

compare

dubious

personification

scrutinize

concur

elicit

phenomenon

simile

contempt

endorse

plausible

speculate

contrast

equivocate

pragmatic

subjective

conventional

exemplify

prove

substantiate

convey

hyperbole

provoke

undermine

debunk

hypothesis

qualified

underscore

digression

illustrate

reconcile

yield

H ow to Memorize N ew Words Here are three effective methods for learning new words.

1.

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2.

3.

Flash Cards: You can make your own flash cards out o f 3 x 5 index cards. Write a word on one side and the definition and a personally relevant sentence on the other. Then quiz yourself on the words, or practice with a friend. You can carry a few cards around with you every day and work on them in spare moments, like when you're riding on the bus.

The Image Approach: The image approach involves letting each new word suggest a wild image to you, then using that image to help you remember the word. For example, the word enfranchise means "to give the right to vote." Franchise might suggest to you a McDonald's franchise. You could remember the new word by imagining people lined up to vote at a McDonald's. The weirder the image, the more likely you' ll be to remember the word.

Mnemonics: Speaking of "the weirder, the better," another way to learn words is to use mnemonics. A mnemonic (the first "m" is silent) is a device or trick, such as a rhyme or a song, that helps you remem足 ber something. In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue is a mnemonic that helps you remember a date in history.

The funnier or the stranger you make your mnemonic, the more likely you are to remember it. Write down your mnemonics (your flash cards are a great place for these).

What to Study

The SAT tests the same few h u n d red words over a n d over. Therefore, you sho u l d m a ke i t you r focus to know all of the words you see in this book or i n any real SATs you m a y t a k e as practice You w i ll see many of the sa m e k e y vocabulary words re足 peate d . We have compiled them here i n this book to save you some time. Now it's your turn to learn them all as best as you c a n .

Even if you are not able to think of a mnemonic for every Hit Parade word, sometimes you'll end up learning the word just by thinking about the definition long enough.

Look It U p Well-written general publications-like the New York Times and Sports Illustrated-are good sources of SAT words. You should regularly read them or similar publications that are dedicated to topics that interest you. When you come across a new word, write it down, look it up, and remember it. You can make flash cards for these words as well.

Before you can memorize the definition of a word you come across in your read足 ing, you have to find out what it means. You'll need a real dictionary for that. ETS uses two dictionaries in writing the SAT: the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. You should own a copy of one or the other. (You'll use it in college too-it's a good investment.) Don't feel like lugging around a giant dictionary to college? Most dictionaries (including Webster's) are now also online.

Keep in mind that most words have more than one definition. The dictionary will list these in order of frequency, from the most common to the most obscure. ETS Voca b u l a ry

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resolve

verb resolution to come to a firm decision about, determine; to settle or solve (e.g. , a question or a controversy)

sp ecu late

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ve rb speculation, speculative to engage in thought, especially conjectural thought

adj. intricacy, intricately having many interrelated parts or facets; hard to understand, work, or make

i ntri cate

skep ti ci sm

noun skeptical, skeptic a questioning or doubting attitude; doubt regarding religion

assert

verb assertion to state positively; declare

adj. distinction, distinctive, distinctively, distinctly not identical, separate; different in nature or quality, dissimilar

d i sti nct

a dj . divisiveness dissenting, at odds with, alienating; creating dissension or discord

d i vi si ve

Voca b u l a ry

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95

In this chapter, we'll deal with each of these six topics.

What D o You G et?

You should know the following arithmetic terms: • • •

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• •

The Six O p e rati ons Must Be Performed i n the P roper O rd e r Do It You rself

S o m e c a l c u l ators a utomat i ca l ly take order of operations into account. a n d s o m e d on't. Either way, you c a n very easily g o wro n g if you are i n the h a b i t of p u n c h i n g i n l o n g l i ne s o f a r i t h m etic operations The safe, s m a rt way i s to clear the c a l c ulator after every i n d i v i d u a l operation, perfo r m i n g P E M DAS yourself.

Whichever Comes Fi rst

For a d d i t i o n and s u btrac­ tion, solve from l eft to right. The same is true of m u l t i p l i ca t i o n and d i v i s i o n .

A n d remember: If you don't s olve in order from l eft to right , you c o u l d end u p with the wrong a n swer' Example: 24 4 x 6 24 24 1 wrong 24 -:- 4 x 6 6 x 6 36 right .;_

=

=

1 52

The result of addition is a sum or total.

The result of subtraction is a difference.

The result of multiplication is a product.

The result of division is a quotient.

In the expression 52, the 2 is called an exponent.

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C r a c k i n g t h e SAT

.;_

Very often, solving a n equation on the SAT will require you to perform several different operations, one after another. These operations must be performed in the proper order. In general, the problems are written in such a way that you won't have trouble deciding what comes first. In cases in which you are uncertain, you need to remember only the following sentence: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally; she limps from left to right.

That's PEMDAS, for short. It stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. First, do any calculations inside the parenthe­ ses; then you take care of the exponents; then you perform all multiplication and division, from left to right, followed by addition and subtraction, from left to right.

The following drill will help you learn the order in which to perform the six opera­ tions. First, set up the equations on paper. Then, use your calculator for the arith­ metic. Make sure you perform the operations in the correct order.

D R I LL 1 Solve each of the following problems by performing the indicated operations in the proper order. Answers can be found on page 372 .

=

=

1:

1 07 + ( 1 09 - 1 07)

2.

(7

3.

6 - 3 (6 - 3)

4.

2

5.

1 0 - (9 - 8 - 6)

x

x

5) + 3

[7 - (6

=

+

=

3)]

=

=

=

Here's an example:

18.

If x 0, which of the following is equivalent to R? >

I

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I.

+ x2

[x�J Ill. (x2)[x-�] II.

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

x

3

None I and II only I and III only II and III only I, IT and III

H e re's H ow to C r a c k It This problem really tests your knowledge of exponents. First, convert

N into an

exponent since all the roman numerals contain expressions with exponents. (Plus, exponents are easier to work with because they have those nice MADSPM rules.)

So, using the definition of a fractional exponent, N

3

the roman numerals to equal x 2

=

3

x 2 . You want the items in

•

Now, it's time to start working with the roman numerals. For roman numeral I , ETS i s trying t o b e tricky. (There's a surprise.) There's n o exponent rule for adding I

exponent expressions with like bases. So, x + x 2 could try a number for x. If x = 4, then

J43

=

i:-

3

x2 •

(If you were uncertain, you I

8 bur 4 + 4 2

=

4+2

=

6 . ) Cross off

any answer with roman numeral I . So, B, C, and E are all gone.

Now, all you really need to do is try either II or I I I . If either works, the answer is

[

D, since you are down to either answer choice A, None, and answer choice D, I I and I I I . For roman numeral II, use the power-multiply rule: So, since roman numeral II works, D is the correct answer.

.!.

x2

J

3

=

[ .!. ](3 )

x2

=

x2•

F u n with F u n d a m e n t a l s

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167

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You should be able to see that there are four cubes on each side of the big cube that will have striped paper on only one face (the four center cubes-all the other cubes have at least two exterior sides). Because a cube has six sides, this means that ETS's answer is choice A.

PLUG G I N G I N As you learned in Chapter 13, Plugging I n is a powerful technique for solving SAT algebra problems. It is also very useful on geometry problems. On some problems, you will be able to plug in ballpark values for missing information and then use the results either to find ETS's answer directly or to eliminate answers that could not possibly be correct.

Here's an example:

Yo

XO

zo

16.

In the figure above, what is the value of x + y + z ?

(A)

90 1 80 (C) 270 (D) 360 (E) 450 (8)

G e o m etry

I

267

1 (i) .

-

1

ESSAY

ESSAY

IS\ \Bl

1

SECTION 1 ESSAY Time 25 minutes -

Tu rn to Section 1 of you r answer sheet to write you r essay.

The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely.

Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheet-you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.

You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below. DO NOT WRITE ON ANOTHER TOPIC. AN OFF-TOPIC ESSAY WILL RECEIVE A SCORE OF ZERO. Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

No great man l ives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.

Adapted from Thomas Carlyle, "The Hero as Divinity" I n historic events, the so-called great men are labels giving names to events, and like label s they have but the smallest connection with the event itself.

Adapted from Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Assignment:

Can the daily actions of average people have a significant impact on the course of h istory? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this i s sue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations .

DO NOT WRITE YOUR ESSAY IN YOUR TEST BOOK. You will receive credit only for what you write on your answer sheet.

BEGIN WRITING YOUR ESSAY ON PAGE 3 OF THE ANSWER SHEET (FOUND AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK).

ST O P

If you f i n i s h before ti me i s called, you may check you r work on t h i s section only.

Do not turn to any other section i n the test.

Practice Te s t 1

I

389

2

D

D

2

D

D

2

D

D

SECTION 2 Time

-

25 minutes

20 Questions Tu rn to Section 2 of you r answer sheet to answer the q uestions in t h i s section.

For this section, solve each problem and decide which is the best of the choices given. Fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. You may use any available space for scratchwork.

Directions: r

1 . The use of a calculator is permitted.

2. All numbers used are real numbers.

3. Figures that accompany problems in this test are intended to provide information useful in solving the problems. They are drawn as accurately as possible EXCEPT when it is stated in a specific problem that the figure is not drawn to scale. All figures lie in a plane unless otherwise indicated.

4. Unless otherwise specified, the domain of any function! is assumed to be the set of all real numbers x for which.ftx) is a real number.

r

d4x , � G c�} Q �: EJ h b � a x A= A = lw A=lbh V=lwh V=nr 2h c2=a2+b2

c:

.gro

s ..... <8

c: ll) () c:

{3

nr2 C -- 2n r 2 The number of degrees of arc in a circle is 360.

The sum of the measures in degrees of the angles of a triangle is 1 80.

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Andrea subscribed to four publications that cost $ 1 2.90, $ 1 6.00, $ 1 8.00, and $21 .90 per year, respectively. If she made an initial payment of one-half of the total yearly subscription cost, and paid the rest in four equal monthly payments, how much was each of the four monthly payments?

(A) $8.60 $9.20 (B) $9.45 (C) (D) $17.20 (E) $34.40

1.

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Special Right Triangles

2 _ , what is the value of x ?

2. If � _ x2 + I x + 2 =

1 (A) - 4 (B)

4 1 (C) 2 (D) 0 (E) 2

390

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GO ON TO TH E N EXT PAG E

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SECTI O N 2 1.

E

2.

What do you know about the wastes? The wastes are radioactive materials that have to be stored in protective containers, which means they must be dangerous, so "dangerous" would be a good word for the blank. E, noxious, is the best match for dangerous.

D Let's start with the second blank. The clues for this blank are living specimen and thought to be no longer. If a living specimen was found, and it affects the scientific community, then the creature must have been thought to be no longer living-a good word for the second blank. Only D and E have second blank words that match living. For the first blank, a word that means "surprised " is needed,

The blank in this sentence is a word that describes the wastes produced by nuclear power plants.

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because you'd certainly be surprised if something you thought was dead turned out to be alive. There is nothing in the sentence to indicate disappointment, so E,

dismayed, can be eliminated. Astounded

comes closest to the meaning of surprised.

3.

E

The clues here are

third trip overseas and voters complained. Why would the voters complain about the

governor taking a lot of trips abroad? If he's always away in a foreign country, then he probably isn't paying a lot of attention to the affairs of his own country. So you can put "his own country" in the

domestic is the best match; it means the opposite of foreign.

For this question you need to figure out the relationship between the blanks. Claudius was viewed one way by generations ofhistorians, until newly discovered evidence changed everyone's mind. So the blank. Looking to the answer choices,

4.

E

words in the blanks must be somewhat opposite in meaning. You can get rid of A, B, and D because the words aren't opposites. In C and E, the first word is negative and the second is positive, so they are both possibilities. To narrow it down, let's look at the second blank, which describes Claudius's ability as an administrator. Would it make sense to call him an

eager administrator? Not really, so get

rid of C .

5.

C

6.

A

The clues in this sentence are scarce and

nutrition. In these primitive areas, something is scarce, so they have to be resourceful to find nutrition. What is scarce? It must be nutrition; that's why they have to be resourceful to find it. So you can recycle the clue and put nutrition in the blank. Looking at the answer choices, sustenance is the best match for nutrition.

Let's start with the first blank. The first clue in the sentence is division between. Morgan wants to do something with the division between theory and empiricism. In the second part of the sentence, you learn that she thinks doing something with philosophy and applied science is possible and necessary.

If doing something with both things together is possible and necessary, then she must be against the

division, so the word in the first blank must mean "against." Eliminate B and C. Because Morgan is against the division, she must be convinced that a combination is possible and necessary, so you can put "combination" in the second blank. Eliminate D and E, neither of which contains a second word meaning "combination."

7.

D

8.

A

disagreeable, and the trigger word for the second blank is although, which means that the word in the second blank is the opposite of disagree足 able. Therefore you can put "agreeable" in the second blank. Looking at the answer choices, the only word that matches "agreeable" is complaisant, and contentious is close in meaning to disagreeable.

9.

C

Hurston consciously wrote about the lives of African Americans. In A, although Hurston did partici-

vivid colors and mixture of bold patterns and center ofattention. A good word to use for the blank is "showy." Flamboyant

The colon is a same-direction trigger telling you that the clue for the blank is comes closest in meaning to "showy."

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Let's start with the second blank. The clue in this sentence is

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5 or 2.4 12

18 .

Write the information from the question onto the figure given:

12

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A

E

D

8

CD = 6, so AB = 6 because ABCD is a rectangle. Since the area of the rectangle is 1 20, we can find the length by using what we know in the area formula.

AD = 20, and we know that AE find the length of

=

Area

=

lw, so 120 = l(6), and 20 = l. Side

12, so ED must equal 8 . Now we have enough information to

EF . The perpendicular EG

means that triangle ABD and triangle EFD are simi-

lar, so their sides are i n proportion to each other:

6

-

20

=

12 EF , so 2 0 x EF = 48, and EF 2 .4 or - .

5 8

-

=

S ECTI O N 3 1 . D The words their offspring indicate that the instinct must be about how these fish care for their young.

The word "parental " is a good word for the second blank, which is pretty close to the second words

(nurturing) and E (maternal), but not A, B, or C. Because the fish lack this instinct, we need a negative word for the first blank, which describes how the fish treat their offspring. Only spurn and devour are negative, and the second word in A does not fit; only the words in D match the mean足 in D

ings of both blanks.

2.

E

and indicates that two similar ideas are connected, so the first blank must mean something like stop production. Only E, recall, works well in the blank. Bue wait! Don't just bubble in

The trigger

E right away; make sure that the second word works too, because a word for the blank that is too

useless inventory which they could not distribute. The company must have had "a lot of" inventory, and an abundance is narrow might eliminate the correct answer. The second blank describes the indeed a match.

3.

B

The word yet indicates a relationship that is opposite or unexpected.

Every previous attempt to get rid of the mayor failed, and these attempts are the impeachment efforts. The continuous failure should stop the critics from trying any more, but the yet means that we need the opposite of stop, something like "continued." A, foundered, is a synonym for failed. B , persevered, means "persisted, maintained, or continued steadfastly," a good match. C and D mean the opposite of continued. D, condensed, does not relate at all to the sentence. B is correct.

A n swers a n d E x p l a n a t i o n s for P r a c t i c e Te st 4

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H ow Much Does C o l l ege Rea l ly Cost?

When most people think about the price of a college education, they think of one thing and one thing alone: tuition. It's time to get that notion out of your head.

While tuition is a significant portion of the cost of a college education, you need to think of all the other things that factor into the final price tag.

Let's break it down.

Tuition and fees Room and board Books and supplies Personal expenses Travel expenses

•

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• • • •

Collectively, these things contribute to your total Cost of Attendance (COA) for one year at a college or university.

Understanding the distinction between tuition and COA is crucial because it will help you understand this simple equation: Check o ut our Financial

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Cost of Atte ndance

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Estimated Family Contribution

=

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Need

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Aid Library

Pri nceton Review.com

When you begin the financial aid process, you will see this equation again and again. We've already talked about the COA, so let's talk about the Estimated Family Contribution, or EFC. The EFC simply means, "How much you and your family can afford to pay for college." Sounds obvious right?

Here's the catch: What you think you can afford to pay for college, what the gov­ ernment thinks you can afford to pay for college, and what a college or university thinks you can afford to pay for college are, unfortunately, three different things.

Keep that in mind as we discuss financing options later on.

The final term in the equation is self-explanatory. Anything that's left after what you and your family have contributed, still needs to be covered. That's where financial aid packages come in.

P a y i n g For C o l l e g e 1 0 1

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WHAT'S I N A FINANCIAL A I D PAC KAG E? A typical financial aid package contains money-from the school, federal gov­ ernment, or state-in various forms: grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and loans.

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Let's look at the non-loan options first. Non-loan options include grants, scholar­ ships, and work-study programs. The crucial thing about them is that they involve monetary assistance that you won't be asked to pay back. They are as close as you' ll get to " free money."

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G rants Grants are basically gifts. They are funds given to you by the federal government, state agencies, or individual colleges. They are usually need-based, and you are not required to pay them back.

One of the most important grants is the Pell Grant. Pell Grants are provided by the federal government but administered through individual schools. Amounts can change yearly. The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $5,550 for the 201 2-201 3 award year (July l , 20 1 2 to June 30, 201 3).

You apply for a Pell Grant by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) . Remember that acronym because you'll be seeing it again. Complet­ ing the FAFSA is the first step in applying for any federal aid. The FAFSA can be found online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

There are several other major federal grant programs that hand out grants rang­ ing from $ 1 00 to thousands annually. Some of these grants are given to students entering a specific field of study and others are need-based, but all of them amount to money that you never have to pay back. Check out the FAFSA website for com­ plete information about qualifying and applying for government grants.

B e l i eve It or N ot...

The Chick and S o p h i e M ajor Memorial Duck Calling C ontest, h e l d a n n u a l l y b y the C h a m b e r of C o m m e rce of Stuggart, Arkansas, g ives out college scholarships tota l i n g $4,250 ( a s of 2 0 1 1 ) to those high school seniors who can master h a i l i n g , fee d i n g , comeback, and mating d u c k c a l l s .

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The federal government isn't the only source of grant money. State governments and specific schools also offer grants. Use the Internet, your guidance counselor, and your library to see what non-federal grants you might be eligible for.

Scholarsh i ps Like grants, you never have to pay a scholarship back. Bur the requirements and terms of a scholarship might vary wildly. Most scholarships are merit- or need­ based, but they can be based on almost anything. There are scholarships based on academic performance, athletic achievements, musical or artistic talent, religious affiliation, ethnicity, and so on.