SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-17 09:00:39
Mr. Haddock, in running during the primary elections in 1921, advertised himself as a man of ______ character, believing that voters wanted an infallible man of high morals.
(A) irrefutable
(B) irreproachable
(C) unrepentant
(D) unmitigated
(E) iridescent
The correct answer is B
Explanation: To predict the missing word, look for keywords in the sentence. Here, the best clue for the meaning of the missing word is the phrase "an infallible man of high morals." This is something the prompt states that Haddock "believed" voters wanted. If he believed they wanted an infallible man, then he would probably attempt to advertise himself as someone who was infallible, or incapable of making mistakes. Thus, the missing word must likewise mean infallible. "Irreproachable" means "faultless or beyond criticism," so choice B is the best choice.
None of the other answer choices work, either:
irrefutable: impossible to deny or disprove (this would not describe an infallible character)
unrepentant: not remorseful or feeling guilty (though an infallible person would likely not be repentant, having committed no sin, unrepentant is not the same as infallible)
unmitigated: absolute or unqualified (an absolute character is not necessarily one that is infallible)
iridescent: showing luminous colors (a character cannot show colors)
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-20 09:00:07
If a◊b = a²b, what is 2◊(4◊8)?
(A) 4◊4
(B) 4◊16
(C) 8◊8
(D) 8◊16
(E) 16◊4
The correct answer is C
Explanation: In this function, whatever is before the ◊ takes the place of a in the equation, and whatever is after the ◊ takes the place of b. Order of operations stipulates that orders in parentheses must be done first. Thus, solve for 4◊8 first, and use that result as the input for b in the second equation (meaning that 2◊(4◊8) is 2◊(the result of 4◊8). 4◊8 = 4²(8), or 16 x 8, or 128. Put this number in for b in the equation: 2◊128 = 2²(128), or 4 x 128, or 512.
Now, look for the answer choice that produces that same product:
(A) 4◊4 = 4²(4), which is 64.
(B) 4◊16 = 4²(16), which is 256.
(C) 8◊8 = 8²(8), which is 512.
(D) 8◊16 = 8²(16), which is 1,024
(E) 16◊4 = 16²(4), which is 1,024
Thus, choice C is correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-22 09:00:01
Though I enjoyed the first three films, I found the newest sequel to
(A)
be superfluously unnecessary and wondered why it was able to make as
(B) (C)
money at the box office as it did. No error
(D) (E)
The correct answer is B
Explanation: The error in this sentence occurs at B, where the word "superfluously" is, ironically, unnecessary. Something that is "unnecessary" is, by definition, superfluous, and vice-versa. Thus, only one word is needed; otherwise, it is redundant.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-24 09:00:02
Felipe has a backyard that measures 240 square feet. Felipe's swimming pool covers 1/3 of the total space, and his shrubbery takes up 1/4 of the remaining space. He wants to add a patio to the backyard that will take up 1/2 of the remaining space. If he builds the patio, in square feet, how much of his backyard will be clear space?
The correct answer is 60
Explanation: Take this one step at a time. Start with the most specific piece of information: the pool. The pool takes up 1/3 of 240 square feet, meaning it is 80 square feet in size. This leaves 160 square feet remaining. Of this 160 square feet, 1/4 of it is covered in shrubs, meaning 40 square feet is shrubs. That leaves 120 square feet left. 1/2 of that will be taken up by the patio, so 60 square feet of the backyard will be a patio. This means 60 square feet is leftover.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-27 09:00:29
Ostracized for his controversial and unorthodox religious beliefs, Thomas Paine spent much of his later years as something of a ______ both in Europe and the United States.
(A) parish
(B) paramour
(C) pariah
(D) paragon
(E) partisan
The correct answer is C
Explanation: To predict the meaning of the missing word, look for keywords in the sentence. Here, the keyword is "ostracized," which describes what Paine was. The missing word likewise describes what Paine was, so it must relate to being ostracized. A "pariah" is "an outcast from society," so choice C is correct.
None of the other answer choices work, either:
parish: a small administrative district (not a person, like Paine)
paramour: a lover (not a person "ostracized" like Paine)
paragon: a perfect model (the opposite of someone "ostracized" like Paine)
partisan: a strong supporter of a party or cause (Paine might have been a partisan, but being a partisan has no relation to being "ostracized")
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-29 09:00:16
A cube has a volume of 64 cubic centimeters. What is the surface area, in square centimeters, of a cube with edges that are twice the length of those of the original cube?
(A) 48
(B) 96
(C) 256
(D) 384
(E) 512
The correct answer is D
Explanation: Start by finding the side lengths of the original cube. Volume of a cube is the length of one side of the cube cubed. Thus, if the cube has a volume of 64 cubic cm, then it must have edges equal to the cube root of 64, which is 4. The new hypothetical cube has edges twice as long, so its edges will be 8 cms. Surface area is the total area around the outside of an object, meaning, for a cube, it is the area of any face of the cube multiplied by the number of faces (6), meaning it is just side x side x 6. 8 x 8 is 64, and 64 x 6 = 384.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-08-31 09:00:01
That he was so lauded for his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king greatly pleased the young thespian, since he was not used to receiving notice of any kind for his roles, most of which, to date, had been mere bit parts.
(A) That he was so lauded for his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king greatly pleased the young thespian, since
(B) That he was so lauded for his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king greatly pleased the young thespian, who
(C) The fact that he was lauded for his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king was a great pleasure to the young thespian,
(D) The fact that his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king was so lauded greatly pleased the young thespian, however,
(E) He was so lauded for his performance as Shakespeare's titular mad king, and this greatly pleased the young thespian,
The correct choice is A
Explanation: The sentence is correct as written. Additionally, each of the other choices contains an error:
(B) is incorrect because it incorrectly uses "who" to connect the two independent clauses. "Who" is unnecessary because of its proximity to "he," creating redundancy. Additionally, "who" would be used to introduce a dependent (and descriptive) clause, not an independent one.
(C) is incorrect because it creates a run-on: It would link two independent clauses using a comma alone.
(D) is incorrect because it creates a run-on: It would link independent clauses using a comma and the word "however," which cannot be used as a coordinating conjunction.
(E) is incorrect because it creates a run-on: It would link two independent clauses using a comma alone.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-09-03 09:00:14
A group of cells quadruples every half hour. If there were 4,096 cells after three hours, how many cells were there after one half hour?
(A) 1
(B) 4
(C) 256
(D) 400
(E) 1,024
The correct answer is B
Explanation: Set up a function for this situation, based on an exponential growth model: x(t) = abn where x(t) is the final amount, a is the original, b is the rate of growth, and n is the number of times the growth occurs. Here, a is unknown, b is 4, and n is 6 (since the cells quadruple every half hour, they would quadruple six times in three hours). Additionally x(t) equals 4,096. Plug all these numbers in and solve for a:
4,096 = a46
46= 4,096, so a = 4,096/4,096, or 1.
The question asks for the number of cells after 1/2 hour though. So, 1 will have to be quadrupled, to get 4.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-09-05 09:00:23
Howard Hughes, in his reclusive later years, became obsessed with his own health, living in constant fear of contracting illness: The ______ Hughes would not touch anything with his bare hands and obsessed over imagined germs on others' clothing.
(A) eccentric
(B) agoraphobic
(C) idiosyncratic
(D) impecunious
(E) hypochondriac
The correct choice is E
Explanation: To predict the missing word, look for keywords in the sentence. Here, the keywords are in the phrase "became obsessed with his own health, living in constant fear of contracting illness," and the sentence hinges on a colon. Colons are used to separate explanatory information from the rest of a sentence, so whatever comes after the colon here has to describe or elaborate on Hughes and the fact that he was afraid of contracting illness. The missing word describes Hughes, so it must mean afraid of illness. "Hypochondriac" means "abnormally anxious, fearful, or paranoid about one's health," so choice E is correct.
None of the other answer choices work, either:
eccentric: unconventional and slightly strange (though this could describe Hughes, it is not extreme enough: Hughes was more than slightly strange; additionally, being eccentric is not related to being afraid of illness)
agoraphobic: having an extreme fear of public places or crowded spaces (Hughes might have been agoraphobic, since he was "reclusive," but the prompt hints at his fear of illness, not his fear of public spaces)
idiosyncratic: distinctive, personal, or peculiar to one individual (Hughes might have been idiosyncratic, but the prompt hinges on his fear of illness, not the fact that he was strange or distinct)
impecunious: not wealthy or having little to no money (this is the opposite of Hughes, as Hughes was quite wealthy; additionally, being poor is not the same as being paranoid about germs)
SAT Question of the Day
2012-09-07 09:00:13
The average height of all the students in Mr. Braninski's economics class is 67," but the average height of the girls in the class is 65." If the ratio of girls to boys in the class is 3:2, what is the average height, in inches, of the boys in Mr. Braninski's class? (Disregard the word "inches" when gridding your answer.)
The correct answer is 70
Explanation: To answer this question, set up an average formula for the situation described. Here, the average height = total height of all students/number of students.
The average height is 67 inches, but the prompt does not give either a total height or total number of students. However, the ratio is 3:2, so one could assume a total number of students of 5 (since the ratio and averages will be maintained regardless of the number of students, so long as it is a multiple of 5, the sum of the two parts of the ratio). The sum of the heights is the number of girls (assumed as 3) times the average height of girls (65) added to the number of boys (assumed as 2) multiplied by their height (we'll call it x):
67 = ((3(65) + 2x))/5
Multiply both sides by 5 to get 335 = 195 + 2x.
Now, subtract 195 from both sides to get 140 = 2x, meaning x is 70. Thus, the average height of boys in the room is 70 inches.