Question #1
Ms. Mahoney owns a home furnishings store. She buys decorative window shades from a wholesaler in lots of 220. Each lot costs her $16,060. If she sells the shades for $130 each, how much profit does she make on each shade?
A. $57
B. $73
C. $90
D. $106
E. $130
Answer:
(A) is correct.
Use your calculator to find the cost per shade. $16,060 divided by 220 = $73 per shade. Then subtract the amount that she pays per shade from the shade's sale price: $130 - $73 = $57. (Note that you can immediately eliminate E. Since she has to pay for the shades, she isn't making 100% profit from them.)
Question #2
Find the length, in meters, of the diagonal of the rectangle that measures 72 meters by 96 meters.
A. 60
B. 84
C. 120
D. 168
E. 336
Answer:
(C) is correct.
The correct answer is C. The diagonal of a rectangle is the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose legs are the sides of the rectangle. The sides of this rectangle are in a ratio of 3 : 4, because 3 * 24 = 72 and 4 * 24 = 96. The diagonal will thus form the hypotenuse of a 3 : 4 : 5 triangle. Multiply 5 by 24 to find its length: 5 * 24 = 120. You could also use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length if you didn’t notice the 3 : 4 : 5 relationship: (72)2 + (96)2 = x2.
Use your calculator to work this out:
5184 + 9216 = 14,400
√14,400 = 120.
Finally, you could get the right choice just by elimination based on a couple of simple principles. The diagonal of a rectangle is longer than either of the sides (because the hypotenuse is always the longest side of a right triangle). Eliminate A and B. The diagonal must be shorter than the sum of the two sides (because of the triangle inequality). Eliminate D and E.
Question #3
The force, F, in newtons that is required to lift an object is given by the equation F = 9.8m, where m is the mass of the object in kilograms. What is the mass in kg, to the nearest hundredth of a kg, of an object that requires a force of 14 newtons to lift?
A. 1.4
B. 7.0
C. 13.7
D. 14.2
E. 70.0
Answer:
(A) is correct.
You're given the equation F = 9.8m and told to find the value of m that will yield F = 14 when you plug it in; in other words, you need to solve 14 = 9.8m for m. Dividing both sides by 9.8 gives m = 14/9.8, or m = 10/7. The decimal approximation of 10/7 is about 1.4.
Question #4
Of the 6,241 patients who had taken the drug X for more than one year, 93 suffered heart attacks, 102 suffered heart failure. By comparison, only 84 heart attacks and 62 cases of heart failure were reported among the 7,870 patients in the control group (had same illness but did not receive drug X).
The percentage of patients in the control group who experienced heart failure is closest to:
A. 0.1%
B. 1%
C. 10%
D. 20%
Answer:
(B) is correct.
The credited response is B. The passage states that 62 out of 7,870 patients in the control group (the group not taking the medicine) experienced heart failure. This is slightly less than 1 out of every 100 patients - i.e. slightly less than 1%. (Alternately, since the answer needs to be in percent, use a trial value: Note that 1% of 7,870 is 78.7, and that the desired value of 62 is only slightly less than 78.7, so 1% must be close to the correct answer.)
Question #5
Assume that a study reported the following results: 62 of 6,550 patients taking rosiglitazone suffered heart attacks, and 107 suffered heart failures. 80 of 7,500 patients in the control group suffered heart attacks, and 59 suffered heart failure. Which of these results is least consistent with the results of the previous study?
A. heart attacks among patients taking the medicine
B. heart failure among patients taking the medicine
C. heart attacks among patients not taking the medicine
D. heart failure among patients not taking the medicine
Answer:
(A) is correct.
The credited response is A. The sizes of the 2 groups are both similar to the sizes in the original study. (The number of patients taking the medicine is 6,550, only a few percent greater than the 6,241 patients taking the medicine in the original study. Likewise, the number of patients in the control group changed by only a few percent, from 7,870 to 7,500.) Thus, the number of patients in a particular group who experience a particular side effect should be similar to the number in the original study. Only the number of heart attacks in the group taking the medicine changed by more than a few percent. This number was 62 in the new study, but it had been 93 - one and a half times as many - in the original study.
Question #6
Nucleotides consist of a sugar, nitrogenous base and at least one phosphate. The four nitrogenous bases contained in DNA are guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine. The purines, adenine and guanine, have a double ring structure; the pyrimidines, thymine and cytosine, have a single ring structure.
The information in the passage indicates that which of the following molecules are purines?
A. thymine and adenine
B. thymine and cytosine
C. adenine and guanine
D. guanine and cytosine
Answer:
(C) is correct.
The credited response is C. Though the content is complex, the third statement in the passage states that adenine and guanine are purines.
Question #7
The brackets will correspond with sets of alternative words/phrases. From the options, choose the answer choice that works best in context.
The managing editor has no routine duties, but is responsible for the character of a paper, and its success as a business. Not infrequently he has serious differences of opinion with the business [manager that he must resolve.] Writers of special columns report directly to him.
A. NO CHANGE
B. manager, these he must
C. manager these he has to
D. manager, he must
Answer:
(A) is correct.
NO CHANGE. The noun phrase "differences of opinion with the business manager” is followed directly by “that” (relative pronoun), modifying it correctly. "That" also correctly introduces the essential clause “he must resolve."
Question #8
The brackets will correspond with sets of alternative words/phrases. From the options, choose the answer choice that works best in context.
Even though the festival may have had more tame beginnings, today’s Running of the Bulls is a dangerous [event – the bulls generally] have sharp horns, and the cobbled streets do not offer good traction for their hooves.
A. event, the bulls generally
B. event; in general, the bulls
C. event, in general, the bulls
D. event, the bulls; in general,
Answer:
(B) is correct.
This question is testing your ability to punctuate a sentence that combines two independent clauses. The original version is acceptable with the dash, but other punctuation alternatives exist. A period can separate two separate independent clauses into two complete sentences, and a semicolon can separate two independent clauses within one related sentence.
Question #9
The brackets will correspond with sets of alternative words/phrases. From the options, choose the answer choice that works best in context.
When Einstein got older, he went on to explain important concepts [such as the ideas including thoughts like] the theory of relativity and the relationship between mass and energy.
A. NO CHANGE
B. including thoughts on such ideas as
C. such as thoughts on the likes of
D. such as
Answer:
(D) is correct.
This question is testing your ability to identify clear, precise prose when you see it. Avoid redundancies by omitting any extra words that mean the same thing, and avoid wordiness by eliminating extra prepositional phrases when they are not necessary.
Question #10
The human side of life touched Millet most deeply, and in earlier pictures, landscape was secondary. Gradually he grew into the larger conception of a harmony between man and his environment. Landscape ceased to be a background in a figure picture, and became an organic part of the composition.
The author states that, in Millet's painting, landscape eventually became:
A. an appropriate background for his peasant figures.
B. as important as the human figures that populated it.
C. secondary to humans and their work.
D. the main vehicle through which he presented his theory of painting.
Answer:
(B) is correct.
The credited answer is B because the author states that, although “in many of his earlier pictures, landscape was secondary,” gradually landscape “became an organic part of the composition.”
Question #11
Millet’s painting, the Gleaners especially has that so-called "quality of circumambient light" which circulates about the objects, so to speak, and gives them position in space. His landscapes also have a depth of spaciousness which reaches into infinite distance.
According to the passage, one reason that Millet's work appears three-dimensional is his:
A. use of light that appears to surround the figures in his paintings.
B. desire to portray nature as accurately as possible.
C. creation of a unified composition.
D. realistic portrayals of field workers.
Answer:
(A) is correct.
The credited answer is A because the author states that Millet’s work has “that so-called ‘quality of circumambient light’ which circulates about the objects and gives them position in space”
Question #12
She held fast to her tomboy ways. Her father, Vic, was not shocked when Ginger decided she was going to build a treehouse and live in it during winter break. “I’m not doing Christmas this year,” she said, “if that’s okay.” It had always been then their time to bond, their moment of harmony.
The phrase "moment of harmony," is most likely a reference to the:
A. brief amount of time that Vic and Ginger spend on preparing for the holiday season.
B. understanding that Vic has of Ginger when she announces that she is not going to participate in their annual Christmas festivities.
C. fact that Vic agrees with Ginger and would also prefer to apply his efforts to projects not related to the holidays.
D. time of the year when Vic and Ginger experience a joyful companionship.
Answer:
(D) is correct.
Though this question refers to a single phrase, the last statement in this paragraph makes the main idea clear: "It had always been their time to bond," 'it' referring to Christmas.
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