12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

12 Practice Tests for the SAT
746 Practice Test Eight Answers and Explanations
not mean she thinks the bakery will never work. Choice (B)
is distortion; though the author did not expect the bakery to
be part of her job, this doesn't mean she believes it should
not be. Choices (C) and (D) are out of scope; the author's
feelings about her coordinator are not discussed, and no
connection is made between the skills necessary for politics
and those needed for baking bread.
23. A
Difficulty: Medium
Just before the cited sentence, the author relates one
problem: she was unprepared to bake bread. In the cited
sentence, the author relates a second problem: she was
completely unfamiliar with for-profit business models.
This second problem, she suggests, was the bigger one
that might pose more of a challenge. Choice (A) is a good
match. Choice (B) is distortion; the author is discussing her
own comparative lack of preparation for each activity, not
the relative importance of each. Choices (C) and (E) are
misused details; the coordinator's confidence is mentioned
in the next sentence, and the author does not express
a belief that confidence in for-profit business models is
misplaced. Also, the fact that the coordinator left the author
does not mean she was unwilling to help, only that she
did not. Choice (D) is out of scope; the passage does not
compare the relative complexity of for-profit and nonprofit
business models.
24. E
Difficulty: High
The author makes two points in this sentence: baking
improved her self-confidence as well as that of the shelter
residents, and simple activities can be helpful in social
work. Look for a choice that picks up on one or both of
these ideas. Choice (E) is a good match. Choices (A) and
(B) are distortion; the women's self-confidence and the
author's rose together, but this does not mean that their
self-confidence levels were initially equal. Also, although
social work can be as simple as kneading dough, this does
not necessarily mean it is an easy profession for those who
(unlike the author) have no education. Choices (C) and
(D) are out of scope; the author's prior expectations about
learning new skills are not discussed, and baking is the only
hands-on activity discussed.
SECTION 7
1. c
Difficulty: Medium
Strategic Advice: If a car needs 15 gallons of gas to travel
300 miles, it will need a lot more to travel 500 miles,
certainly more than 16, so one thing you can do here is
eliminate (A). Call the number of gallons you need to go
500 miles x.
Getting to the Answer:
To solve, the best thing to do is set up a proportion:
15 ga llons =
x ga llons
300 miles 500 miles
2. D
15 - x
300 - 500
300x = ( 15)(500)
X= 25
Difficulty: Medium
Strategic Advice: This problem tests your knowledge of
powers and is certainly solvable by multiplying 8 x 27 x 64
on your calculator and then finding the cube root of the result,
but it's just as easy to do on paper.
Getting to the Answer:
You know 8 is 23, 27 is 33, and 64 is 43. The equation can be
rewritten as 23 x 33 x 43 = r3. If you remember all the rules of
exponents, you'll know that 23 x 33 x 43 can be rewritten as
(2 x 3 x 4)3. Even if you didn't remember that, you could
figure it out by just multiplying out and shifting terms around:
23 x 33 x 43 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 4 x 4 x 4
2 x 3 x 4 is 24,
so 243 = r3
and r = 24, (0).
=2x3x4x2x3x4x2x3x4
= (2 x 3 x 4) 3