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.
http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day?questionId=20140530&oq=1 (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.)
Reading this blog is 10% about learning how to answer today’s questions and 90% learning how to apply strategies and analyze questions you may see on test day.
The answer is C. Every sentence needs a subject and a predicate (action verb). Their sentence doesn’t have a predicate. I started looking for one before I got to Answer B, aware, and initially thought that B would be the right answer because it could be changed to are aware. If I made that change, then Answer C, switching, is a problem! However, if I change switching to “are switching,” that would fix the whole sentence and there would be nothing wrong with “aware” because it is an adjective describing the farmers.
What can you learn about the test from this question? Verbs are a favorite grammar construct for the test writers. Today’s question is an example of one way they show up on the test. Watch out for subject/verb agreement, tense, and the other ways verbs are tested. Read my free website or watch Video Series #900 to learn about the variety of grammar and composition mistakes that you will see on test day.
Let’s see what the ACT folks have for us today.
ACT Question of the Day: Use your “back” button to return to my website after reading the ACT Question of the Day.
The answer is J. Simply try the answers and don’t worry about solving the quadratic equation. I started with Answer J, 0, because multiplying by 0 in the equation makes the first two terms in the equation zero and we are left with 6 = 6 for the equation; 0 works. Because the question asks for the “least” value of x and I know 0 works, then Answer K, 1, has to be wrong. Now let’s check out the answers that are smaller than 0. They can be eliminated quickly because when you square a negative number, the result is positive. The second term is -7x; therefore, all the negative answers that are smaller than 0, result in a positive product. For example, -7(-4) = +28. So, all the negative answers result in the first two terms being positive which adds to the constant of +6. That quickly eliminates them leaving us with Answer J, 0, as the correct response.
QotD Words of “Wiz-dom”:
I’m busy today packing the RV to head out on our summer tour. Doing so reminds me of the value of friends and relatives. We have our son, Derek, here to watch over our home for the summer. Our friends are helping us get ready for our tour and will be helping Derek
Are you on our route? We are traveling approximately 15,000 miles; so, you could easily live somewhere we’ll be stopping. Let me know where you live and I’ll let you know if and when we may be in your area.
We will be conducting our free seminar in Tallahassee on June 3 and Pensacola on June 5 as part of our national tour. We’ll be in the Memphis area on June 9 and in Rogers, Arkansas on the 15th. Mark any date on your calendar that works for you and watch my blog for further details.
Bob Alexander, the “SAT and ACT Wizard”
