SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-06 09:00:06
The modernist writers, most of whom were responding to the horrors of World War I, had a bleaker outlook on life than did the sanguine Victorians, but the great modernist works are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot's.
(A) than did the sanguine Victorians, but the great modernist works are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot's
(B) than were the sanguine Victorians; however, the great modernist works are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot's
(C) than did the sanguine Victorians; and the great modernist work are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot was
(D) than did the sanguine Victorians but the great modernist works are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot was
(E) than the sanguine Victorians, but the great modernist works are not all as dark as T.S. Eliot's modernist works were
The correct answer is A
Explanation: This sentence is correct as written. Each of the other choices produces some form of a comparison error or sentence structure error.
Choice (B) creates a comparison error by comparing the views of life of the modernists to the Victorians themselves. Comparisons can only be made between logical things.
Choice (C) creates a sentence structure error. It uses a semicolon and a coordinating conjunction to link two independent clauses, when either a semicolon alone should be used or a coordinating conjunction with a comma.
Choice (D) creates a sentence structure error by using a coordinating conjunction alone ("but") to link two independent clauses, instead of using both a coordinating conjunction and a comma. Additionally, it makes a comparison between "modernist works" and "T. S. Eliot" as a person. Comparisons cannot be logically made between a work and an artist.
Choice (E) creates a comparison error. It compares the view of life held by modernists to Victorians as a people. That is an illogical comparison.
SAT Questions of the Day
2014-08-08 09:00:59
On a map, one centimeter corresponds to 15 miles. If the distance between Watertown and Drysdale is 70 miles, how many centimeters apart will the towns be on the map?
The correct answer is 4.66, 4.67, or 14/3.
Explanation: Set up a proportion between map distance and real distance:
1 cm = x cm
15 miles 70 miles
Cross multiply to get 70 cm-miles = 15x cm-miles (you can disregard the units from here):
70 = 15x
Divide both sides by 15 to get x = 4 2/3, which can be written as 4.66, 4.67, or 14/3. (Remember, mixed numbers cannot be gridded on your answer sheet, so they are incorrect.)
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-11 09:00:34
Eastern journalists ______ the frequent boasts of the citizens of Chicago by calling it the "Windy City," a name that has stuck, despite the fact that it was originally an insult.
(A) derided
(B) summoned
(C) invoked
(D) lauded
(E) encouraged
The correct answer is A
Explanation: To find the missing word, try to predict its meaning by using clues in the sentence. Here, the best clue is the phrase "despite the fact that it was originally an insult," which implies that the "Eastern journalists" insulted the boasts of Chicagoans. As the missing word describes what "Eastern journalists" did in response to the boasts, it follows that the missing word means something akin to "insulted." As such, the best choice is A: "derided" means "ridiculed or insulted."
None of the other choices work, either:
summoned: called on or urged
invoked: cited or appealed
lauded: praised
encouraged: gave support or confidence
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-25 09:00:54
Baseball is often referred to as "America's Game," although, in recent years, the sport has been surpassed in popularity by football.
(A) although, in recent years, the sport has been surpassed in popularity by football
(B) although, in recent years, football has surpassed the sport in popularity
(C) but the sport is being surpassed in popularity by football recently
(D) however, the sport has been surpassed in recent years by the popularity of football
(E) but, in recent years, the sport has been surpassed in popularity by football
The correct answer is E
Explanation: As written, the underlined part of the sentence creates a run-on, as it uses "although" to link two independent clauses ("Baseball is... Game'" and "in recent years, the sport... football"). "Although" is not a coordinating conjunction, so it cannot link two independent clauses. Choice E corrects this by changing "although" to the coordinating conjunction "but."
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-13 09:00:49
A cellular phone company offers two pricing plans for customers traveling internationally. Either, the customer can pay 49 cents per minute for all calls, or the customer can pay $15 once and 19 cents per minute for calls. What is the least number of full minutes of calls a customer would have to make for the second option to be cheaper than the first?
(A) 30
(B) 49
(C) 50
(D) 51
(E) 54
The correct answer is D
Explanation: Set up two expressions, and compare them as an inequality. Use m for the minutes of calls a customer would make.
Option 1 can be expressed as 49m
Option 2 can be expressed as 1500 + 19 m (1500 because $15 = 1500 cents)
Let option 2 be the cheaper option, since the question asks for it to be the cheaper option:
1500 + 19m < 49m
Subtract 19 m from both sides to get
1500 < 30m
Divide both sides by 30 to get 50 < m. This means that the customer must make more than 50 minutes of phone calls to make the second option cheaper. Thus, choice D is correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-15 09:00:10
Nikola Tesla was always fascinated of science and electricity especially, (A)
and he obtained nearly 300 patents for various scientific inventions in his lifetime. (B) (C) (D)
No error
(E)
The correct answer is A
Explanation: The error in this sentence occurs at choice A, where the preposition "of" is used incorrectly with "fascinated." Idiomatically, one is "fascinated by" something, not "of" something. As such, this preposition choice error could be corrected by replacing "of" with "by."
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-18 09:00:05
If f(x) = -x2 - 3x for all integers, which of the following has the greatest value?
(A) f(-2)
(B) f(-1)
(C) f(0)
(D) f(1)
(E) f(2)
The correct answer is A
Explanation: Simply plug in the answer choices and see which input creates the largest output.
f(-2) = x2 – 3x = (-2)2 – 3(-2) = (4) – (-6) = 10
f(-1) = x2 – 3x = (-1)2 – 3(-1) = (1) – (-3) = 4
f(0) = x2 – 3x = (0)2 – 3(0) = (0) – (0) = 0
f(1) = x2 – 3x = (1)2 – 3(1) = (1) – (3) = -2
f(2) = x2 – 3x = (2)2 – 3(2) = (4) – (6) = -2
10 is the largest output, and that comes when the input is -2. Thus, choice A is correct.
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-20 09:00:30
The other executive warned the CFO that the model of her personal airplane on her desk seemed ______ and asked her to remove it so as not to make other employees ______.
(A) invigorating .. complacent
(B) invidious .. resentful
(C) indeterminate .. deleterious
(D) invertible .. jealous
(E) indubitable .. odious
The correct answer is B
Explanation: To find the missing words, try to predict their meaning by using clues in the sentence. Here, the main clue is the phrase "and asked her to remove it so as not to make," a phrase that implies that the model was likely to cause employees to feel something. Here, it is impossible to predict the exact words, but it is clear that the two words must have similar meaning. That is, the model seemed capable of causing the emotion described by the second word, meaning the first word and second word must have a causal relationship. Choice B is correct, because it is the only choice that provides such a relationship: "invidious" means "likely to or calculated to cause anger, jealousy, or resentment," and "resentful" means "full of jealousy, indignation, anger, or a feeling of injustice."
None of the other choices work, either:
invigorating: making one feel strength or energy
complacent: showing smug satisfaction with oneself (these words have no clear relationship)
indeterminate: not exactly know or defined
deleterious: harmful (these words have no clear relationship)
invertible: able to be placed upside down or opposite in arrangement
jealous: feeling or showing envy (these words have no clear relationship)
indubitable: impossible to be questioned or doubted
odious: extremely unpleasant (these words have no clear relationship)
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-22 09:00:38
A certain right triangle has a perimeter of 30 and sides of x, (x - 7), and (x + 1). What is its area?
The correct answer is 30
Explanation: If the triangle has a perimeter of 30, the sum of its sides is 30. That means that x + (x - 7) + (x + 1) = 30. You can solve for x by simplifying that to 3x - 6 = 30. Add 1 to both sides to get 3x = 36. Divide both sides by 3 to get x = 12. This means that the sides of the triangle are 5, 12, and 13. Since it's a right triangle, it can be assumed that the side 13 is the hypotenuse and the two legs are 5 and 12. As the area of a triangle is 1/2 base x height, and as the legs are equivalent to the base and height in this case, the area of the triangle is 1/2 (5 x 12), or 1/2 of 60, which is 30.
SAT Question of the Day
2014-08-27 09:00:18
1,440/(b + 2) < 144
If b is a positive number, then the inequality above is equivalent to which of the following?
(A) b < 8
(B) b > 8
(C) b < 10
(D) b > 10
(E) b > 144
The correct answer is B
Explanation: Inequalities can be solved in the same way that equations can: by doing the same operation on both sides of the inequality. To simplify this one, start by multiplying both sides by b + 2 to get rid of the division. The result is 1440 < 144(b + 2). Now, divide both sides by 144 to isolate the b + 2, leaving 1440/144 < b + 2, or 10 < b + 2. Finally, subtract 2 from both sides to isolate b, leaving 8 < b. This is equivalent to b > 8, making choice B correct.