If you are reading this in an email you received from me, do not click the link to sat.collegeboard.org below. Use the link to my website that is farther down on the email. If you are seeing this in my blog, do the SAT Question of the Day by clicking on this link:
http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?src=R&questionId=20130401 (This link takes you to today’s question. If you use my archive, you will see the question related to my SAT explanation for that date.)
The answer is B. √4x is equal to √4 times √x. Because the square root of 4 is 2 and you already know the square root of x is 16, just multiply! 2 times 16 is 32.
The key to this question and all radical questions is to start by getting rid of the radical sign. All you have to do is factor √4x to get √4 times √x. In today’s question, they got rid of √x for you by telling you it is equal to 16! You get rid of √4 by changing it to 2. Finally, just multiply!
A final note is that there are very few radical questions on the SAT. Sometimes there aren’t any at all. If you have trouble with them, you could spend a lot of time practicing them and then not even see one on the test. If you have trouble with right triangles or some other topic that is more common on the test, I suggest you practice it. Take a look at my homework assignment charts on my website or in one of my books and you’ll see what topics are most common on the test and which ones aren’t. They will help you decide how to spend your time preparing.
Let’s move on to the ACT.
http://www.act.org/qotd/ (The ACT staff does not put a date on their questions so if you click on an archived blog, you’ll get today’s question and the old explanation. Sorry. The SAT staff has dated their questions; so, the archive is helpful. The ACT folks simply don’t do that.)
The answer is C. This question is a “no brainer!” Simply use my insertable rule and get rid of answers that add to the passage. Answers A, B, and D are not stated in the passage and would add new information if you insert them into the passage. We are told in lines 8 and in lines 31-32 that Mrs. Sennett is “old, ill, and tired.” Answer C, “age and fatigue” do not add anything new to the story. Shazaam, you are all done.
Don’t fall for any “April Fool’s” pranks today and be sure all of the ones you pull are funny and don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Have a great day.
The Wizard
