SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-07 09:00:50
On the television talk show, the best-selling author revealed that he was working on a new book, but he said the book was still ______ and that he preferred to not talk about his stories before they were finished.
(A) ambivalent (B) callow (C) mature
(D) inchoate (E) innate
Choice D is correct.
Explanation: To find the correct answer, use key words in the sentence. None of the information before the word “but” makes a difference to the sentence’s meaning, so ignore it. Instead, focus on what the author “said” about the “book,” since the missing word describes what he said about it. The rest of the sentence says “he preferred to not talk about his stories before they were finished.” This means the missing word must mean unfinished or not yet fully developed, making choice D correct, since inchoate means not yet fully formed or developed.
None of the other choices work, either:
Ambivalent: being unable to choose between two options or courses (this has nothing to do with the prompt)
Callow: immature or inexperienced (a “book” cannot logically be immature or inexperienced)
Mature: complete in development (this is the opposite of a proper answer)
Innate: inherent or inborn (this has nothing to do with the prompt
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-08 09:00:49
If today is Wednesday, what day will it be 300 days from yesterday?
(A) Monday
(B) Tuesday
(C) Wednesday
(D) Thursday
(E) Friday
The correct answer is A
Explanation: It’s tempting to just make a table and count out the days. Wait, no it’s not—that would require you to write out more than 300 days! Instead, start by unpacking the question: “300 days from tomorrow” really means 299 days from today. Rather than counting out 299 days, think of the pattern of each week. A full week is 7 days, so 7 days from now will be the same day as today. So, all you need to do is figure out how many weeks are completed in 299 days! 299 ÷ 7 = 42.714. Thus 42 weeks would have been completed, and you would be 71.4% through the 43rd week. Figure out what 71.4% of a week is by multiplying it by 7 to get 5 days (.714 x 7 = 5). Thus, the day of the week would be the fifth day after Wednesday, which is Monday. This means choice A is correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-09 09:00:15
The meeting between the labor union and management have ended, but neither side has agreed to a new contract.
(A) meeting between the labor union and management have ended, but
(B) meeting between the labor union and management have ended, and
(C) meeting among the labor union and management has ended, but
(D) meeting between the labor union and management has ended, but
(E) meeting between the labor union and management has ended, and
The Correct Answer is D
Explanation: The error in this sentence occurs at the word “have,” which is a plural verb. However, its subject is the singular noun clause “the meeting between the labor union and management,” meaning “have” should be changed to the singular “has” to make the sentence work grammatically. Always be on the lookout for mismatched subjects and verbs on the SAT, since it is one of the most common errors.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-10 09:00:31
What is the area of a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 20 and one of whose legs is 12?
The correct answer is 96
Explanation: First off, note that this question does not have answer choices, meaning it is a grid-in question, in which you’ll have to supply your own answer. To solve it, figure out what you have and what you need. We have the hypotenuse and one leg, and we need the area. The area of a triangle is ½ (base x height), meaning we need the other leg’s length to find the area. We can find this length by using the Pythagorean theorem: a2 + b2 = c2. Here, let a = 12 and c = 20:
122 + b2 = 202 This simplifies to 144 + b2 = 400.
Subtract 144 from both sides to get b2 = 256. Isolate b by square rooting both sides to get √b2 = √256. Thus, b = 16. (Side note: expert test-takers might note that this creates a 3:4:5 right triangle, as 12:16:20 has the same ratio)
Now, use that number for the height to get the area of the triangle:
½ (12 x 16) = 96. Thus, the area of the triangle is 96.
Is your FaceBook page killing your chances for college admission?
2012-02-09 10:01:27
When I was in high school, social media was the realm of the young—invisible, or so we thought, to anyone older than 25. Kids loved to show off their weekend adventures drinking, smoking, or otherwise intoxicated. Profile pictures were hot. Frequently, social media was used to boost social status and bully the "unpopular".
Social media is fun because it allows us to connect with friends and control the image of ourselves that others see. However, college admissions officers may have different ideas from your friends about what is funny and cool. As more adults become social media savvy, high school students must learn to keep their Internet-selves in check.
Take the gifted, 17 year-old cornerback, Yuri Wright. Ranked the 40th best recruit in the country by ESPN, Wright was recently expelled from Don Bosco Preparatory for posting sexually graphic statements on his twitter. Although Wright had long dreamed of attending the University of Michigan, the school stopped recruiting him when admissions officials learned of his account.
Wright recently accepted a scholarship to the University of Colorado, which shows that limitless talent can overcome even the grossest transgressions of propriety. Still, the incident taught Wright that he needs to work hard moving forward to prove his character. Wright recently started a new twitter account with clean, upbeat content appropriate for the public eye.
All of this is to say that the Internet must be approached as a public place, and that social media accounts may be monitored as part of the college admissions process. So, as you write your essays, prep for tests, and gather recommendations, bear in mind the importance of presenting yourself professionally online.
Glossary:
These Key SAT Words are Expertly Identified by Sentia Tutors:
Transgression: violation of a law; command; etc.
Propriety: appropriate behavior
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-13 09:00:00
One of the key figures in the creation of Modernism in architecture was the Austrian architect Adolf Loos. However, despite his import, some critics have accused him of hypocrisy. Specifically, they argue that the man who became famous for attacking the elaborate ornateness of the Art Nouveau movement typically utilized in his own designs the very decorative elements he railed against in his essays. Yet, a closer inspection of his writings reveals that Loos was not as anti-decoration as some have assumed. In fact, Loos believed that “architecture arouses certain feelings” and that select parts of a building must be ornate to arouse those feelings in the public. This is best exemplified in his Goldman and Salatsch building, in which the lower level is ornate, while the upstairs, the functional part of the building that is free from the public’s view, is rather severe.
The main purpose of the passage is to
(A) defend an approach taken by historians of Adolf Loos
(B) examine conflicting viewpoints on Adolf Loos and his work
(C) summarize the import of Adolf Loos to the field of Modernism
(D) provide the history of Adolf Loos’ most famous building
(E) argue that a criticism of Adolf Loos is unfounded
The correct answer is E
Explanation: This question asks about the main idea and purpose of this passage. The best approach to a question like this is to eliminate wrong answers, but you might want to summarize the passage in your own words too. The key sentences in this passage are the ones that begin with “however” (in line 2) and “yet” (in line 5). The two sentences that follow “however” provide an accepted reading of Adolf Loos’ career, while the sentences that follow the “yet” provide the author’s viewpoint, one that contradicts the accepted view of “some critics.” Thus, the main purpose of the passage is to introduce and refute a view of Adolf Loos. This is closest to what choice E states.
Additionally, if you wanted to try process of elimination, here is why each other answer is wrong:
A is incorrect because the author spends most of the passage arguing against the views of “some critics” of Loos, not defending the approach taken by them.
B is incorrect because the author does not examine conflicting viewpoints, as instead, she alleges that a certain view of Loos is wrong and introduces one that she alleges is correct.
C is incorrect because the author only states that Loos was “one of the key figures in the creation of Modernism” (line 1) and does not state nor summarize why Loos was important to the field of Modernism.
D is incorrect because the author provides no information about the history of the Goldman and Salatsch building, nor allege that it is Loos’ most famous building.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-14 12:00:43
If f (x) = x3 + ½x and g (x) = f (2x), what is g (4)?
(A) 132
(B) 136
(C) 512
(D) 516
(E) 520
The correct answer is D
Explanation: If g (x) = f (2x), that means that g (4) will equal the output created by f (2 • 4), since the output of g (x) is equivalent to the solution or result of f (2x). So, all you’re looking for here is f (8) (since 2 • 4 = 8). Plug 8 in for x in the f function: (8)3 + ½(8). This equals 512 + 4, which is 516, making choice D correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-15 09:00:11
Because he is best known for creating Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney
A B
devoted much of his later life, somewhat surprisingly, to creating
C
an idealized future community that never became a reality. No error
D E
The correct answer is A
Explanation: The error in this sentence occurs at choice (A) where there is a word choice error. “Because” is used to introduce clauses that are linked through a cause-and-effect relationship. In this particular sentence, though, the two clauses cannot logically be linked using “because,” since the creator of a cartoon mouse would not logically be asked to create “an idealized future community” just because he created said mouse. As such, this word choice error could best be corrected by changing “because” to a word such as “though” that suggests contrast between the two clauses.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-16 09:00:36
Peter set a goal for scoring 150 points in a basketball tournament. Thus far, he has averaged 24 points per game, and he’s played 4 games. He has two more games remaining in the tournament. How many points does he need to average in those two games to reach his tournament goal?
(A) 24
(B) 26
(C) 27
(D) 48
(E) 54
The correct answer is C
Explanation: Averages can be calculated using the average formula, in which average = the sum of the terms being averaged divided by the number of terms: Average = sum of terms/number of terms.
Use this formula to calculate the total number of points Peter’s already scored in the first four games: 24 = x/4. Multiply both sides of the equation by 4 to solve for x, the sum of the points he’s scored thus far: 24 • 4 = 96. Since he’s trying to score 150 points total and has already scored 96 points, he needs to score just 54 points in the next two games to reach that goal (from 150 – 96 = 54). That means the average number of points he needs per game is just the number of points divided by the number of games, or 54 ÷ 2, which is 27. This means that choice C is correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2012-02-17 09:00:40
The ______ effects of the concoction were exaggerated; in fact, the peddler could not really guarantee that the so-called “cure all” he was selling had any ______ effects at all.
A) deleterious…innocuous
B) tonic…enervating
C) salubrious…medicinal
D) imaginative…dire
E) beneficial…cataclysmic
The correct answer is C
To find the correct answer, use key words in the sentence. The most important phrase in this particular sentence is the phrase “in fact.” This phrase links the two clauses and suggests that the second clause of this sentence elaborates on the first clause. This means that the two clauses must more or less state the same information. As both missing words describe the “effects” of the “concoction” or “cure all,” the two missing words must mean the same thing. Additionally, since the prompt implies that the concoction was “exaggerated” as a “cure all,” the type of “effects” described must have been healthful ones, meaning the two missing words must both mean “healthful.” Because salubrious means healthful or promoting good health and medicinal means curative or working like a medicine, choice C is correct.
None of the other choices work, either:
Deleterious: harmful and innocuous: harmless (thus, the two words have opposite meanings, not similar meanings)
Tonic: invigorating or restorative of health and enervating: weakening (thus, the two words have opposite meanings, not similar meanings)
Imaginative: fanciful or showing great creativity and dire: terrible or dreadful (neither word relates to a “cure all,” and the two words have no clear relationship)
Beneficial: advantageous or helpful and cataclysmic: relating to a violent upheaval (only the first word could work in context and the two words do not have similar meanings)