Following the recent Water Bucket Quiz our SC businessman replied "Lets get some toughies!" – so I have kept my eyes open for a challenge.
Below are four sample practice questions from last May's standardized Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) – two each on math & grammar taken from McGinty's WSJ Numbers column – May 2. Source – The College Board.
Please let me know how you answered the questions on this quiz. I will post all correct answers (please include your reasoning or explain how you got your answers) or will send the answers to anyone who requests them if no one gets the answers right.
Only 43% of high school students who took the SAT in 2013 scored high enough to be considered "college ready" - with only 26% of high school seniors being proficient in math & 38% being proficient in reading. Black twelfth graders trailed whites by 29 percentage points in reading. Eighty-six percent of Black applicants & 79% of Hispanic applicants failed the Armed Services Vocational Battery's Special Forces unit of tests meaning that these people, although willing & wanting to serve in these elite forces, were not minimally qualified to do so. Source – Mark Levin - Plunder & Deceit – pages 76 & 77.
With results like those reported above is there any wonder there are claims of income inequalities between the rich & poor or better stated between those with an education & those without? The questions below indicate what should be known & may even be what is taught (presented) but the aforementioned results show it is not what is being learned by Americans trying to compete in the global economy.
1. If j, k, & n are consecutive integers such that 0<j<k<n & the units (ones) digit of the product jn is 9, what is the units digit of k?
A. 0, B. 1, C. 2, D. 3, E. 4
2. If 10 + X is 5 more than 10, what is the value of 2X?
A. –5, B. 5, C. 10, D. 25, E. 50
3. Many 18th & 19th century Romantic poets were believers in rebellion against social conventions, express strong emotion, & the power of imagination.
A. were believers in rebellion against social conventions, express strong emotion
B. are believers in rebelling against social conventions, strong emotions being expressed
C. who believed in rebellion against social conventions, express strong emotion
D. believed in rebellion against social conventions, to express strong emotions
E. believed in rebellion against social conventions, the expression of strong emotions
4. Since last September, Patricia has been working @ the convenience store down the road.
A. has been working
B. works
C. is working
D. will be working
E. worked
Doug - OK, you found some toughies.
ReplyDelete1) I can't figure this one out (likely due to my lack of math in school - Algebra 1 & plane Geometry. I took logic in college which was easy). Anyway, from what I recall, consecutive integers are whole numbers in sequence, such as 1, 2, 3, 4. The 'product' means multiplication. The only way to get a product of 9 would be 1 X 9 or 3 X 3 (or -1 X -9 or -3 X -3). Since all are marked < rather than a mix of < and >, I can't figure it out. Now if the integers were squares, it would work. If j is 12, k is 22 and n is 32, it would work. 1 squared is 1. Three squared is 9 and 1 X 9 = 9. But that is not an option.
2) C - 10
3) E
4) A
Doug, here are my answers:
ReplyDelete1. a
2. c
3. d
4. c
From instructions - (please include your reasoning or explain how you got your answers) – @ least for the math ones. For all would be even better.
DeleteIn regards to the math problem #1, I didn't do anything special just trial and error. I think the problem there, is that the description of the problem was somewhat confusing and it took me 5-6 minutes of reading and rereading to understand what they were asking. 9, 10, 11 were three integers that worked.
DeleteProblem #2
10 + X = 10 + 5
X = 10 + 5 - 10
X = 5
2x = 2x5 = 10
Congratulations - excellent work.
DeleteAll I can add to your solution is that 19,20,21 would work also as would any other set that went up by 10 (e.g., 29,30,31) although I used 9,10,11 also.
Answers to quiz:
ReplyDelete1. (A) zero j, k n = 9 10, 11. 9 x 11 = 99. Units digit of 10 is 0.
2. (C) 10 10 + X = 15; X = 5; 2X = 10
3. (E) Grammatically correct
4. (A) Grammatically correct
All correct answers although the arithmetic of #1 should be 9 x 1 = 9 not 9 x 11 = 99. See my response to PB above - 19,20,21 would work also as would any other set that went up by 10 (e.g., 29,30,31) although I used 9,10,11 also.
Delete