Exponents

Link of the Day

On September 30, 1868, Louisa May Alcott published the first volume of Little Women.  The story was extremely successful and has been beloved by readers ever since.  Louisa May Alcott would make an excellent historical figure to use as an example on your SAT writing section.  You can read more about her life here, and if you have read Little Women, remember that it could make an excellent literary example too!

9/30 Exponents

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

Math questions need to be read just as carefully as reading questions. Avoid incomplete answers by making a note of the bottom line. Are you solving for x, or do you need the answer to 2x + 3? Assess your options for solving the problem, choose the most efficient method, and attack the problem! Once you have the answer, loop back to verify that it addresses the bottom line.

If , which of the following expresses a in terms of b?

Bottom line: This question asks you to solve for the variable a.

Assess your options: You could try to plug in the answer choices for a and choose a number for b to try to find the answer. However, that method requires you to work several problems and includes multiple steps. Instead, use algebra to rearrange the equation.

Attack the problem: You see two numbers with exponents. When two bases are the same, then the exponents can be set equal to each other. Your two bases are 2 and 4. How can you make both bases the same? Use the fact that 2² = 4 by plugging that into your equation.





Now you can ignore the bases and set the exponents equal to each other. You now have:

a = 2b

Loop back: The question asked you to find a in terms of b, and that is just what you did. Look down at your answer choices


(A)

(B) b

(C) 2b

(D) 4b

(E)


The correct answer is (C).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 54% of the responses were correct.

For more help with math, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Idioms

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Get an overview of the whole sentence so that you understand the structure and the meaning.  Then evaluate the underlined portion using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Focus on the first error that you find to eliminate wrong answer choices quickly.  If an answer choice does not fix the error that you found, it must be incorrect.

Lady Day, as Billie Holiday was usually called, was the finest jazz singer of her generation, and it was the opinion of her fans, she was the greatest jazz singer of the twentieth century.

This sentence just sounds awkward, doesn’t it?  Look at how the sentence tries to introduce an opinion by stating “it was” the opinion of her fans.  How do you normally introduce an opinion?  Have you ever typed or texted IMO or IMHO?  Those are acronyms for “in my opinion” and “in my humble opinion.”  Notice that the preposition that introduces an opinion is “in.”  In my opinion…  In her opinion…  In their opinion…  Look down at your answer choices and check whether any use the correct idiom to introduce an opinion. 

(A) it was the opinion of her fans, she was

(B) the opinion of her fans was of her as

(C) her fans had this opinion, she was

(D) for her fans, the opinion was of her as

(E) in the opinion of her fans, she was

(E) is the only answer choice that uses the word “in!”  None of the other choices fix the awkward phrasing of the original.  (A) matches the original phrasing.  (B) uses the phrase “of her as,” which takes the “she was” from the original sentence and makes it awkward.  Idiomatically, it is much more common to say “the opinion of her fans was that she was… (C) would require a colon rather than a comma.  (D) uses the phrase “for her fans.”  This phrase introduces Billie Holiday again (through the perspective of her fans), so something referring to her must come next, either her name or “she.” Instead there is “the opinion was of her.”

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 80% of the responses were correct.

For more help with writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Always cover up the answers before you read the sentence.  Most of them are wrong, and you do not want them to prejudice the way that you read the sentence.  Then read the sentence carefully and predict an answer for one blank. Start with the easier blank!  Eliminate any answer choices that do not match your prediction, then return to the second blank and follow the same process.  Even if you do not know the meaning of all the words, you will be able to eliminate answer choices and increase your odds of getting the question right if you use this method.

Demographers and anthropologists have corrected the notion that European explorers in North America entered a ------- territory by showing that the land in some areas was already as densely ------- as parts of Europe.

If you have read carefully, you should already know the answer to the following question: what is this sentence about?  It is about demographers and anthropologists who are correcting a notion.  What do demographers and anthropologists study?  People.  Reading carefully will also show you that there is a contrast between the two blanks.  The demographers and anthropologists are correcting the notion that one thing is true by showing that something else is true.

The second blank seems easier to think about than the first blank.  You know that demographers and anthropologists are concerned with people, so what kind of density are they looking for?  A large group of people living in one area.  That could make a general prediction, but you can also make a more specific prediction.  A large group is a population, so predict the word, “populated” for the blank.  Look down at your answer choices.

(A) fertile . . settled

(B) colossal . . wooded

(C) desolate . . populated

(D) valuable . . exploited

(E) hostile . . concentrated

(A) matches your prediction.  (B) does not match your prediction.  Anthropologists care about people, not trees.  Eliminate it.  (C) matches your prediction exactly.  Remember that both blanks must match before you can be certain that you have the correct answer.  (D) does not match your prediction.  It is a much more negative word than either “populated” or “settled.”  Eliminate it. (E) seems as if it could fit, even though it doesn’t directly deal with people, so keep it to evaluate the next blank.

There are not as many clues in the sentence to help you predict the second blank, but you know that it must directly contrast the second.  Look down at the choices that you have left:

(A) fertile . . settled

(C) desolate . . populated

(E) hostile . . concentrated

(A) Is fertile the opposite of settled? No.  People often settle in fertile areas.  Eliminate it.  (C) Is desolate the opposite of populated? Yes.  Keep it and check the last answer choice.  (E) Is hostile the opposite of concentrated?  No.  Eliminate it.

The correct answer is (C).

Words used in this SC:

Dense: crowded, close together

Fertile: fruitful, able to produce

Settled: to become fixed somewhere

Colossal: enormous, immense

Desolate: deserted, without inhabitants, lifeless

Exploited: to be taken advantage of

Concentrated: intense or gathered together

On sat.collegeboard.org, 66% of the responses were correct.

For more help with vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Graphs

Link of the Day

Your SAT essay should include a current event as one of your excellent examples to show that you are thinking critically about reality as you respond to the prompt. Sometimes "an event" can simply be the way that you use technology. Today Google is celebrating its 14th birthday. Does that seem bizarre to you? Read this article and think about how you could relate the current uses of Google to SAT writing questions. Previous questions have concerned the themes of change (whether it is for the better), success, mottos and motivation, discovery, questioning ideas, the overabundance of knowledge, planning, and creativity. If you select Google as one of the current events you want to write about, be sure to copy a few facts from this article and review them before you take the test.

9/27 Graphs

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer.

When a question includes a graph, it is especially important to read both the text under the graph and the labels on the graph. Identify the bottom line and assess your options for reaching it.  Ask yourself, "What could I do?" and then "What should I do?"  Once you have selected an efficient method to solve the problem, attack the problem!  Loop back to make sure that your answer addresses the bottom line.


The histogram above shows the distribution of 31 black cherry trees, by height. For example, the leftmost bar represents the black cherry trees that are at least 60 feet, but not more than 65 feet, in height. Based on the histogram, which of the following can be the average (arithmetic mean) height of the 31 black cherry trees?

Your bottom line is the average height of 31 trees, not the exact average, but what it could be.  This histogram does not tell you the exact height of any of the trees, so how can you find their average heights?  Look at that first  bar.  There are three trees that must be between 60 and 65 feet in height.  If you assume that all of those trees are as short as possible (60 feet), you will find the lowest value that their  average could possibly be.  Find the lowest height that all of the trees could possibly be and then average those heights together.



The lowest possible average for the heights of these trees is 72.74.  Any answer lower than this will be wrong.  Now, you could go back into your equation and plug in the highest possible value for each tree and average them again, but that will take a lot of time to retype into your calculator.  Instead, you should think logically about the height of the trees.  If you use the highest height that any tree can be, you are adding 5 to every single tree on the chart.  That means that your final average will be 5 feet higher than your current average.



You now have the highest and lowest possible averages of the heights of the trees.  Since your bottom line asks which of the following answers could be the average, you must eliminate any answers that are not between 72.74 and 77.74.

(A) 70 feet
(B) 72 feet
(C) 74 feet
(D) 78 feet
(E) 80 feet

The correct answer is (C).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 49% of the responses were correct.

For more help with math, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Idioms

Identifying Sentence Errors 

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the entire original sentence to yourself, listening for errors. Then quickly check each underlined portion of the sentence using the Big 8 Grammar Rules. If you identify an error, mark it and quickly check the rest of the sentence. Remember, you are checking the sentence for errors, not for parts that could be rephrased to sound better.

AModern vegetable farming ranges from small-scale, low-technology production and local sale Band vast commercial operations Cthat utilize the Dlatest advances in automation and technology. ENo error

Begin by asking yourself, “Are there any problems?” If something sounds odd to you, identify the rule that has been broken.

(A) The word “modern” is a modifier that helps you understand what kind of vegetable farming the author is talking about. It is already placed as close as possible to the phrase that it modifies, so there is no error in this portion of the sentence.

(B) The word “and” is used twice in this sentence, but repetition is not the real problem. Go back to the phrase “ranges from.” If something ranges “from” one thing, it must range “to” another thing. The correct idiom is not “ranges from x and y,” but “ranges from x to y.” Mark this error and quickly check the other answer choices.

(C) Check that the word “utilize” matches “commercial operations.” It does: “commercial operations utilize” makes sense. The “that” is present because this is not the main subject of the sentence. If you remove the “that” you will create sentence structure problems because there will be a complete sentence within the sentence.

(D) The “latest advances” are definitely things that commercial operations could utilize. There is no error here.

(E) This choice cannot be correct because you already identified an error.

The correct answer is (B).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 74% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

Technology makes an interesting current event for your SAT example, but have you thought about how technology can influence the way that history is understood? A new iPad app allows users to scrutinize slices of Einstein's brain. Read this article and think about the numerous themes that could relate this current event to an SAT essay prompt.

9/25 Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, bestfits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

When you must answer a sentence completion question, your first step should be to cover the answer choices. Do not be distracted or influenced in the way you think about the sentence by wrong answer choices. Instead, read the entire sentence carefully, looking for clues that will help you predict the kind of word that belongs in the blank. If the sentence has two blanks, choose the easier one, make a prediction, and use that prediction to eliminate any answer choices that do not match your prediction. Then go back and use the same method with the other blank.

Barbara McClintock’s systematic examination of corn demonstrated the transposition of genes, a finding that overturned entrenched beliefs and proved that ------- study may produce brilliant insights and ------- change.

This sentence is full of clues about the words that should fill the blanks. Look at the first blank, and ask yourself what kind of study Barbara used to find out about corn and genes. The sentence has already described Barbara’s study as a “systematic examination.” Rather than spending time thinking of a synonym for “systematic,” use the word you are given as a prediction for the first blank. Then look down at your answer choices, and eliminate any answers that do not match the word “systematic.”

(A) haphazard . . radical
(B) inherent . . controversial
(C) improvised . . startling
(D) methodical . . revolutionary
(E) derivative . . gradual

(A) Does haphazard mean systematic? No. It means the opposite. Eliminate it. (B) Does inherent mean systematic. No. Eliminate it. (C) Does improvised mean systematic? No. It means the opposite. Eliminate it. (D) Does methodical mean systematic. Yes. This choice matches your prediction. (E) Does derivative mean systematic? No. Eliminate it.

Note that it is possible to eliminate all but the correct answer choice just by looking at one blank. However, if you did not know the meaning of any of the above words, you would still have multiple answer choices remaining. In that case, continue to eliminate choices by looking at the other blank.

What kind of change did Barbara’s finding bring? A finding that “overturned entrenched beliefs” must produce some “surprising” and “completely new” changes. Look now at any answer choices that you have remaining.

(D) methodical . .revolutionary

The word “revolutionary” matches your prediction.

The correct answer is (D).

Words used in this SC:

Haphazard: random, chaotic
Radical: favoring fundamental change
Inherent: due to a permanent or natural attribute
Controversial: causing debate
Improvised: unrehearsed
Methodical: organized, systematic
Revolutionary: radically new, sudden complete change
Derivative: imitative


On sat.collegeboard.org, 73% of the responses were correct.


For more help with SAT vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Number Properties

Arithmetic: Number Properties

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer.

Every time you work a math problem, read the problem carefully.  Identify the bottom line and think about the most efficient method to solve for the bottom line.  Choose a method to solve the problem and attack the problem without hesitation.  When you think you have the answer, loop back to make sure that the answer addresses the bottom line because questions often require multiple steps to get to the answer.

When the positive integer n is divided by 5, the remainder is 0. What is the remainder when 3n is divided by 5?

Make a note that your bottom line is the remainder of 3n.  Then think carefully about the first portion of information that you are given.  Some number, n, is divided by 5 and there is no remainder.  That means that n must be a multiple of 5.  If you do not immediately see this, think about a concrete number that will not result in a remainder:

 or    or  
All of these values for n result in a whole number with no remainder.

If n is a multiple of 5, what will 3n be?  It will still be a multiple of 5!  It will still result in a remainder of 0.  If you cannot see this, look back at the examples above using 5 and 15.  If 5 is your n value, 3 times 5 is 15, and when you divide 15 by 5 the answer is 3 with a remainder of 0.  Now that you have found your bottom line, look down at your answer choices.  

(A) 0

(B) 1

(C) 2

(D) 3

(E) 4

The correct answer is (A).


On sat.collegeboard.org, 70% of the responses were correct.

For more help with math, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Modifiers

Link of the Day

Today’s question mentions Enrico Caruso, an opera singer who became an international celebrity without the use of radio or television.  He relied on newspapers, silent films, and phonographic records to reach his audiences when he was not traveling.  Click here to learn more about Enrico Caruso’s career and hear his voice.  He would be an excellent historical figure to mention in an example for your SAT essay.

9/23 Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Your goal is to create a clear and precise sentence.

Enrico Caruso sang opera in Italy before traveling to the United States, then he gave his first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1903.

Paraphrase this sentence.  Enrico sang opera in Italy before going to the US, then gave his first performance at the Metropolitan Opera.  Does that make sense?  The timing in the original sentence is illogical.  The man cannot give his first performance after going to the United States because he sang opera in Italy before that.  An opera is a performance!  If the underlined word is misleading, how can you change it?  The second part of the sentence describes where Enrico performed (at the Metropolitan Opera).  Replace the word “then” with “where” and see whether that improves the sentence.  Now the first performance at the Metropolitan is Enrico’s first performance in the United States, rather than his first performance ever.  That makes sense. Look down at your answer choices.

(A) then

(B) when

(C) and which

(D) in that

(E) where

The correct answer is (E).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 77% of the responses were correct.

For more help with SAT writing questions, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Cover up the answer choices so that you are not distracted by wrong answers, and read the sentence carefully.  When a sentence has two blanks, focus on the one that you find easier.  Make a prediction for that blank and eliminate any answer choices that do not match your prediction.  Then go back and do the same for the other blank. 

To believe that social reforms can ------- evil altogether is to forget that evil is a protean creature, forever assuming a new ------- when deprived of an old one.

If the first blank seems easier to you than the second, start there.  Social reforms are intended to improve society, to do good.  Things that are meant to do good will “destroy,” “uproot,” or “remove” evil.  Notice the word “altogether” after the word “evil.”  Your prediction for the blank does not need to be identical to “destroy,” but it needs to be a strong word rather than a weak word.  You cannot “lessen” something altogether; that is a contradiction in terms.  Look down at your answer choices, but don’t peek at the words for the second blank yet!

(A) rejuvenate . . allegiance

(B) eradicate . . shape

(C) mitigate . . providence

(D) sustain . . episode

(E) dissolve . . abstraction

(A) Does rejuvenate mean destroy?  No.  It means the opposite.  Eliminate it.  (B) Does eradicate mean destroy? Yes.  Keep it.  (C) Does mitigate mean destroy?  No.  Remember that you need a strong word.  (D) Does sustain mean destroy? No. It means the opposite.  Eliminate it. (E) Does dissolve mean destroy? If you aren’t sure, keep it.  

Now move onto the second blank.  Remember what the original sentence said?   It said that believing that social reforms can destroy evil is to forget that evil is protean.  What does that mean?  Don’t worry if you don’t recognize the word "protean" because the sentence goes on to define the word.  Evil is forever getting a new “something” when deprived of an old one.  Clearly evil is changeable, so think of how appearance can be deceiving.  Your prediction might be that evil takes on a new “form.”  Look at the answer choices that you have left.

Bottom of Form

(B) eradicate . . shape

(E) dissolve . . abstraction

(B) Does shape mean form?  Yes. In this case you would be saying that evil changes appearances but is still evil.  It matches.  (E) Does abstraction mean form?  No.  If something is abstract, it does not have a clear form.  It would be difficult to tell whether an abstract thing had changed because it is not concrete, it has no appearance to change.

The correct answer is (B).

Words used in this SC:

Protean: readily assuming different forms, versatile

Rejuvenate: to restore, make young again

Allegiance: loyalty

Eradicate: remove or destroy completely

Mitigate: to lessen

Providence: prudent care

Sustain: to maintain

Episode: a part in a series
Dissolve: destroy, disappear, disband, or change to liquid
Abstraction: an idea apart from concrete reality


On sat.collegeboard.org, 72% of the responses were correct.

For more help with vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Parabolas

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

Don’t let this question intimidate you just because it has a parabola.  Use the same method that you would use with any other math problem.  Read the question carefully, identify the bottom line, and choose an efficient method to solve the problem.  Then attack the problem and loop back to make sure that you solved for the bottom line.

The quadratic function f is graphed in the xy-plane above. If f(x) ≤ u for all values of x, which of the following could be the coordinates of point P?

Your bottom line is which values could be the coordinates of point P, so make a note of the bottom line on your paper, and start with what you know about this point.  You are told that f(x) ≤ u for all the values of x.  That is your y value, so that is just letting you know that nothing can be higher than u, which is on point P.  If you are looking for the highest point on a downward opening parabola, what are you actually looking for?  The vertex!

Think about it this way: as the parabola extends outward from the vertex, both sides stay an equal distance from the vertex. You have just examined the information given about the y-axis, so turn your attention to the x-axis.  You are given two x values that are of equal height on your parabola, so the x value of the vertex, P, must be exactly between them.  Your highest value is 4, so you might be tempted to halve 4 and get 2.  Just be sure to remember that the first point is not at zero, but at 1.  That means that your parabola has been shifted 1 unit to the right.  To find the midpoint, use the midpoint formula, which is simply an average of the two numbers that you have. 

 

You now have the x value of 2.5. You are not given any additional information about the limits of the y-axis, so loop back to the bottom line.  The question is not actually asking you to find both x and y coordinates.  Remember that your bottom line is what “could” be the coordinates, so this is probably enough information to find the correct answer.  Look down at your answer choices now.

(A) (2, 3.5)

(B) (2.25, 3.25)

(C) (2.5, 3)

(D) (2.75, 4)

(E) (3, 2.5)

All you know about the y value is that it must be greater than 0, so all of the y values will work, but only one of the answers has the x value of 2.5. 

The correct answer is (C).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 53% of the responses were correct.

For more help with math, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Structure

Link of the Day

It is common to hear that women’s sports do not get the attention that they deserve.  However, it also seems that most Americans are at least comfortable with the notion that women play sports.  Billie Jean King is one woman whose athletic prowess helped to bring respect to female athletic competitors.  Although she has a long list of achievements, she is best known for accepting the challenge of Bobby Riggs, an older tennis player who boasted that he could beat her because she was only a weak woman.  The two played a highly publicized match on September 20, 1973 and King won the “Battle of the Sexes.”  Read more about this event here and here.  Think about how you could use this historical event as an excellent example for an SAT essay.  Think about how easily this story relates to the themes of expectation, adversity, perseverance, lasting change, success, motivation, courage, responsibility, respect for elders and tradition, how individuals are defined… the list continues.  If you choose to use this as one of your excellent historical examples, be sure to write down and memorize details that will show that you are well informed.

9/20 Identifying Sentence Errors

Top of Form

The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E. 

Read the whole sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  If there is an error, you will be able to fix it by changing only one underlined portion, but most of the time you cannot spot the error by only reading the underlined portions.  You need the context of the whole sentence to choose the correct answer.  Once you have read the sentence, quickly check the underlined portions of the sentence against The Big 8 Grammar Rules.  Mark any error you see and check the rest of the choices.

AIt weaves across a strip of tropical land Bwhere the Isthmus of Panama Cnarrows in the shape of a long flattened letter S, the Panama Canal Dlinks the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ENo error

After reading the sentence, do you feel as if you have too much information?  You should.  This sentence is actually two sentences connected with a comma; it contains a comma-splice.  Normally you could change the comma to a semicolon or add a conjunction to the sentence, but that portion of the sentence containing the comma is not underlined.  That means that you must change one of those complete sentences into a dependent clause that modifies the other. 

Another way to think about this sentence is to realize that a comma splice is basically a problem involving too many subjects or verbs.  Ignore some of the “extra” information in the sentence so that you can more easily see the basic structure of the sentence.  Then the sentence will look like this:

It weaves across a strip of tropical land where the Isthmus of Panama narrows in the shape of a long flattened letter S, the Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The comma splice is more apparent now, and it is also obvious that changes to two of the underlined portions will not fix the comma splice.  Look quickly at each underlined portion.

(A) “It weaves” contains both a subject and a verb that match, so you might be tempted to move on to the next blank.  However, you know that you are looking for a way to make a dependent clause.  If this portion of the sentence were changed to “As it weaves” or “Weaving” you could create a dependent clause and fix the sentence structure problem.

(B)  “Where” is the correct word to describe a location.

(C) “Narrows” is a verb, so check to make sure that it agrees with the subject.   Ignore the prepositional phrase “of Panama” that separates the noun from the verb, and you will see that “the Isthmus narrows” is correct.

(D) First check subject and verb agreement because “links” is a verb.  “The Panama Canal links” correctly matches subject and verb.  There is also a conjunction between the two different oceans.  (You cannot create a dependent clause by changing this portion of the sentence because the subject is not underlined and the verb is necessary because the information that follows requires it.)

(E) This answer cannot be correct because you found an error.

The correct answer is (A).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 49% of the responses were correct.

For more help with writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Always cover the answer choices before you read a sentence completion sentence.  You want to read the sentence with an unprejudiced mind.  Read it carefully and predict an answer to fill one of the blanks (the easier one!).  Then eliminate any answer choices that do not match your prediction for the same blank.  When you come to the other blank, you will be able to ignore the choices you already eliminated as you eliminate any remaining answer choices that do not match your prediction.

The scientist ascribed the ------- of the park’s remaining trees to the ------- of the same termite species that had damaged homes throughout the city.

Did you read the sentence carefully?  If so, you might have paraphrased the sentence as you read it: Something happens to trees due to something of termites that also eat houses.  Termites eat wood.  Look at the first blank.  If you want a really quick and accurate prediction, use the words that are already in the sentence.  Bugs that “damaged” homes are likely to “damage” trees in the park.  Use the word “damage” as your prediction and look down at the first blank.

(A)   decimation . . prevalence

(B)   survival . . presence

(C)   growth . . mutation

(D)   reduction . . disappearance

(E)    study . . hatching

(A) matches your prediction.  (B) and (C) are the opposite.  Eliminate them.  (D) seems iffy.  What is a reduced tree?  You can keep it as an option if you only predicted something negative, but you should eliminate it if you realize that a population of trees can be reduced, or the number of leaves on a tree can be reduced, but the trees themselves are not reduced.  (E) does not match your prediction.  You could talk yourself into believing that the scientists are studying the destruction of trees, so this answer is on topic, but your method should be to eliminate anything that does not match your prediction.  You take the time to make a prediction so that you do not have to take the time to think about the relevance of each of the answer choices.

You only have one answer choice left, but for the sake of practice, look at the second blank.  The damage to trees is due to the _______ of termites.  In order to damage trees, termites have to be there!  Predict a word such as “presence.” Notice that the word “presence” is in a wrong answer choice.  That is perfectly fine.  You are using your prediction to eliminate choices that do not match, not trying to predict the exact word out of numerous synonyms that the SAT test makers might have chosen.  Besides, there is another choice that means “a lot of these things are there,” “prevalence,” and that fits your blank best of all.

The correct answer is (A).  

Words used in this SC:

Decimation: the destruction of a large portion of something

Prevalence: widespread presence

Mutation: a change or alteration, often becoming worse

Reduction: act of lessening something

On sat.collegeboard.org, 63% of the responses were correct.

For more help with writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Circles

Link of the Day

Would you like a break from school right around now?  Students in Chicago are getting just that.  They have had over a week without school as teachers strike over conflicts with the mayor concerning the best methods to improve underperforming schools.  Take a look at this current event and think about how you could use details from this story in an excellent example for your essay that shows SAT graders that you are well informed.  Make a list of all of the broad themes that this story illustrates, such as change, education, other points of view, adversity, success (Can it be disastrous?), how to question those in authority, and many many more. 

9/18 Circles

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

 

The circle above has center P. Given segments of the following lengths, which is the length of the longest one that can be placed entirely inside this circle?

Your bottom line is the longest length that can be placed inside a circle.  Before you look at any of the numbers in this particular problem, think about circles in general.  You know that a line segment, within the circle, with both end points on the circle is called a chord.  The longest chord will always be the diameter of the circle.

You have enough information to find the diameter of this circle.  The line labeled 4 is actually the radius of the circle.  A radius is half of the diameter, so multiply the radius by 2 in order to find the diameter: 2 × 4 = 8. 

This is the part of the problem where you loop back and see whether your answer matches the bottom line.  You found the diameter of the circle, but that is not actually the bottom line.  A diameter is a chord that touches the circle’s edges.  You were asked to find the longest length that can be placed entirely in the circle.  In order for the length you found to not touch the circle, it must be slightly smaller than 8, perhaps 7.9999999.  Now look down at your answer choices.

(A) 6.99

(B) 7.00

(C) 7.99

(D) 8.10

(E) 14.00

The correct answer is (C).  

Notice that you did not need to use all of the information that you were given in this problem.  Always take the time to read the question carefully so that you will not be confused or distracted by extra information, such as the chord labeled 7 in this problem.

On sat.collegeboard.org, 62% of the responses were correct.

For more help with writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Comparisons

Improving Sentences

Part or all of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.  

Read the original sentence to yourself, listening for errors.  Evaluate the underlined portion using the Big 8 Grammar Rules.   When you find an error, focus on what you need to fix that error so that you can quickly eliminate answer choices that do not address the error.

Modern discus throwers use much the same technique of ancient Greece.

This sentence should sound strange to you the first time you read it.  “Modern discus throwers” are being compared to “ancient Greece.”  You cannot compare people to a location!  Cover up the end of the sentence and fill in the blank.  You might predict the words “as the people of ancient Greece once used.”  In order to make the comparison more clear, you used the word “as.”  A quick note on using the words “like” and “as” to compare: “as” is used when the following phrase includes a verb, while “like” is used when the following phrase only has nouns or pronouns.  Parallelism dictates that the last phrase of this particular comparison must include a verb because the first part of the comparison includes the verb “use.”  Look down at your options to see which ones begin with “as.”

(A) of ancient Greece

(B) of ancient Greeks

(C) as ancient Greeks did

(D) as they did in ancient Greece

(E) like ancient Greeks

There are two choices that begin with “as.”  (C) looks very similar to your prediction.  It includes the word “as” and the verb “did.”  (D) introduces a new problem: all pronouns need an antecedent and there is no antecedent for the word “they.”  You should be able to select your answer choice now.

Just for practice, here are the problems with the other choices:  (A) is the same as the original sentence.  (B) is a distraction if you read the sentence too quickly and did not realize that there is a comparison.  The key words “much the same” let you know that this is a comparison.  The sentence “Modern discus throwers use the technique of ancient Greeks” would be correct, but you cannot change part of the sentence that is not underlined.  (E)  lacks parallelism because there is no verb and you know it will be incorrect because it uses the word “like.”

The correct answer is (C).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 45% of the responses were correct.

For more help with writing, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

Plants are all around us.  Some of them are useful, some of them are beautiful, and some of them go unnoticed.  Take a look at these flowers and decide for yourself whether they deserve more attention.  This issue would make an excellent example for an SAT essay that concerned progress, points of view, beauty, or diversity.  Can you think of other themes that you could relate to this article?

9/16 Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Cover up your answer choices so that you are not tempted to talk yourself into a wrong answer.  Then read the sentence carefully, and predict an answer to fill the blank.  Match your prediction to the answer choices, eliminating any answers that do not match.  Look at all 5 answer choices even if you think one of the first choices matches perfectly.

A remarkably ------- plant, the soybean yields not only dairylike products, but also flour, cooking oil, and sprouts.

This sentence is about a plant that yields “not only” one thing, “but also” all these other things.  The emphasis in this sentence is on the number of things that this plant produces.  Most of the time you want to make your prediction for the blank as specific as possible; however, you can often find the correct answer even if your prediction is vague.  You can leave your prediction as a phrase, “making a lot of different things,” rather than spending too much time trying to come up with the perfect word to describe this phrase.   Look down at your answer choice and eliminate any that do not match your prediction.

(A) imperishable

(B) resistant

(C) tedious

(D) incessant

(E) versatile

Notice that some words are similar to your prediction without matching your prediction.  Eliminate these distracting answer choices.  Does “imperishable” mean “making a lot of things?” No.  It has the word "perish" in it.  Does “resistant” mean “making a lot of things?” No, it could be seen as the opposite.  Does “tedious” mean “making a lot of things?” No, though making a lot of things could be tedious.  Does “incessant” mean “making a lot of things?” No, though you can make a lot of things if you work incessantly.  Does “versatile” mean “making a lot of things?”  Yes. 

The correct answer is (E).

Words used in this SC:

Yield: (1) produce or (2) surrender

Imperishable: indestructible

Resistant: attempting to resist, counter or withstand something

Tedious: boring, monotonous

Incessant: unending

Versatile: having or capable of many uses

On sat.collegeboard.org, 80% of the responses were correct.

For more help with vocabulary, visit www.myknowsys.com!

Proportions

Read the following SAT test question and then select the correct answer. 

The Knowsys Method is to read the question carefully and identify the bottom line.  Think about your options for solving the problem and choose the most efficient method.  Then attack the problem, solve it, and loop back to make sure that you solved for the bottom line.

A gasoline tank on a certain tractor holds 16 gallons of gasoline. If the tractor requires 7 gallons to plow 3 acres, how many acres can the tractor plow with a tankful of gasoline?

First, find the bottom line.  Your bottom line asks how many acres can be plowed with one tankful of gasoline.  A tankful is 16 gallons and you have information about how many gallons it takes to plow a certain number of acres.  Consider your options: you could use basic arithmetic to estimate the answer, you could solve for one gallon of gasoline and then multiply it by 16, or you could use a proportion.  Use a proportion because it only requires you to set up one problem.  Always remember that the long way is the wrong way!  Set up your proportion showing acres per gallon and use an x to mark your bottom line.   Then attack the problem using cross-multiplication to solve for the bottom line.

Check back to make sure that the x you solved for matches your bottom line, then look down at your answer choices.

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

The correct answer is (A).

On sat.collegeboard.org, 70% of the responses were correct.

For more help with math, visit www.myknowsys.com!