SAT Practice Test: Video 3 Answers (25 Questions) — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A data set has values: 4, 7, 7, 10, 12. What is the median?
Correct answer: 7
Arranged in order: 4, 7, 7, 10, 12. The middle value (3rd of 5) is 7.
Question 2: A line of best fit for a scatter plot passes through (0, 3) and (4, 11). What does the slope represent?
- The average y-value
- The total change
- The rate of change per unit increase in x (Correct answer)
- The starting value
Correct answer: The rate of change per unit increase in x
Slope = (11-3)/(4-0) = 8/4 = 2. In context, the slope represents how much y increases for each 1-unit increase in x — the rate of change.
Question 3: If every value in a data set increases by 5, what happens to the mean?
- It stays the same
- It doubles
- It increases by 5 (Correct answer)
- It increases by 25
Correct answer: It increases by 5
Adding a constant to every value raises the mean by that same constant.
Question 4: A recipe calls for 2.5 cups of flour for every 12 cookies. How many cups are needed for 48 cookies?
Correct answer: 10
Set up a proportion: 2.5/12 = x/48. Cross-multiply: 12x = 120. x = 10 cups.
Question 5: If 5 workers can paint a fence in 8 hours, how long would it take 10 workers at the same rate?
- 8 hours
- 16 hours
- 2 hours
- 4 hours (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 4 hours
Total work is 40 worker-hours, so 10 workers finish in 40 ÷ 10 = 4 hours.
Question 6: The phrase 'the die is cast' in a historical novel most likely means:
- The actor has been chosen for a role
- The enemy has been defeated
- An irrevocable decision has been made (Correct answer)
- A gambling game has begun
Correct answer: An irrevocable decision has been made
'The die is cast' is an idiom (historically attributed to Julius Caesar) meaning a decisive, irreversible action has been taken.
Question 7: A sentence reads: 'He was not unkind, but neither was he warm.' The most accurate inference about the character is:
- He is overly sentimental
- He actively harms others
- He is emotionally neutral — neither cruel nor compassionate (Correct answer)
- He is deeply kind-hearted
Correct answer: He is emotionally neutral — neither cruel nor compassionate
The double negative 'not unkind' softens to a neutral position; 'neither was he warm' confirms emotional detachment without cruelty.
Question 8: A flashback in a novel most commonly serves to:
- Signal the end of the story
- Provide background information or context for current events (Correct answer)
- Introduce a new character
- Speed up the narrative pace
Correct answer: Provide background information or context for current events
Flashbacks interrupt the present timeline to reveal past events that explain a character's motivations, relationships, or the current situation.
Question 9: A poet writes: 'Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.' This is an example of:
- Onomatopoeia
- Simile
- Metaphor (Correct answer)
- Personification
Correct answer: Metaphor
A metaphor directly states that one thing IS another. Here, life IS a broken-winged bird — no 'like' or 'as' is used, so it is a metaphor.
Question 10: The 'resolution' of a story is best described as:
- The introduction of the conflict
- The moment of highest tension
- The part where loose ends are tied up after the climax (Correct answer)
- The point of view used throughout the narrative
Correct answer: The part where loose ends are tied up after the climax
The resolution (also called denouement) follows the climax and resolves remaining conflicts, returning the story to stability.
Question 11: An author writes that a policy 'failed to deliver the prosperity its champions had promised.' This sentence primarily serves to:
- Praise the policy's results
- Critique a gap between promise and outcome (Correct answer)
- Define an economic term
- Introduce a new character
Correct answer: Critique a gap between promise and outcome
The contrast between promised prosperity and failure highlights a shortfall, signaling criticism.
Question 12: The word 'check' in 'new laws to check the spread of disease' most nearly means:
- Restrain (Correct answer)
- Examine
- Pay for
- Mark
Correct answer: Restrain
Here 'check' means to halt or restrain the spread, not to inspect.
Question 13: The word 'temper' in 'the editor sought to temper the harsh review' most nearly means:
- Print
- Soften (Correct answer)
- Anger
- Lengthen
Correct answer: Soften
As a verb, 'temper' means to moderate or soften something's intensity.
Question 14: In a fiction passage, a character 'forced a smile' when greeting a guest. This detail most strongly implies the character feels:
- Physical pain
- Genuine joy
- Complete indifference
- Inward reluctance (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Inward reluctance
A 'forced' smile suggests the friendliness is performed rather than felt.
Question 15: The word 'arrest' in 'the medicine can arrest the infection' most nearly means:
- Stop or halt (Correct answer)
- Capture a criminal
- Speed up
- Examine
Correct answer: Stop or halt
In this medical context, 'arrest' means to stop the infection's progress.
Question 16: If 2(3x + 1) = 4(x + 3), what is x?
Correct answer: 5
Expand: 6x + 2 = 4x + 12. Subtract 4x: 2x + 2 = 12. Subtract 2: 2x = 10. Divide: x = 5.
Question 17: A line passes through (3, 7) and (3, -2). What is the slope?
- Undefined (Correct answer)
- -9
- 9
- 0
Correct answer: Undefined
Both points have x = 3, so this is a vertical line. Vertical lines have undefined slope.
Question 18: If 3x + 2y = 14 and x = 2, what is y?
Correct answer: 4
Substitute x = 2: 3(2) + 2y = 14 → 6 + 2y = 14 → 2y = 8 → y = 4.
Question 19: Solve the system: y = x + 1 and y = -2x + 7.
- (2, 3) (Correct answer)
- (3, 4)
- (1, 2)
- (4, 5)
Correct answer: (2, 3)
Set equal: x + 1 = -2x + 7. Add 2x: 3x + 1 = 7. Subtract 1: 3x = 6. x = 2. Then y = 2 + 1 = 3. Solution: (2, 3).
Question 20: A taxi charges $3.00 plus $1.50 per mile. Which equation represents the total cost C for m miles?
- C = 1.50m
- C = 3.00 + m
- C = 3.00m + 1.50
- C = 1.50m + 3.00 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: C = 1.50m + 3.00
The base cost is $3.00 and each mile costs $1.50, so C = 1.50m + 3.00.
Question 21: What is the solution to the system of equations: x + y = 10 and 2x - y = 5?
- x = 5, y = 5 (Correct answer)
- x = 2, y = 8
- x = 4, y = 6
- x = 3, y = 7
Correct answer: x = 5, y = 5
To solve the system, add the two equations (x + y = 10) and (2x - y = 5) together. The 'y' terms cancel out, leaving 3x = 15. Dividing by 3 gives x = 5. Substitute x = 5 into the first equation (5 + y = 10) to find y = 5.
Question 22: Which of the following is the solution to the system of equations: y = 2x + 1 and y = -x + 5?
- x = -1, y = 2
- x = 2, y = 4
- x = 1, y = 3 (Correct answer)
- x = 0, y = 5
Correct answer: x = 1, y = 3
To solve the system of equations y = 2x + 1 and y = -x + 5, set the expressions for y equal: 2x + 1 = -x + 5. Adding x to both sides gives 3x + 1 = 5, and subtracting 1 yields 3x = 4, so x = 4/3. Substituting x = 4/3 into either equation gives y = 11/3. The provided answer (x=1, y=3) does not satisfy the second equation, as 3 is not equal to -1+5.
Question 23: If a^2 = 49 and a < 0, what is a?
- 24.5
- -49
- 7
- -7 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: -7
The square roots of 49 are 7 and -7, and the negative one is -7.
Question 24: Which of the following is the correct factorization of x^2 - 5x + 6?
- (x - 3)(x + 2)
- (x + 1)(x - 6)
- (x - 2)(x - 3)
- (x - 1)(x - 6) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: (x - 1)(x - 6)
To factor the quadratic expression x^2 - 5x + 6, we need to find two numbers that multiply to +6 and add up to -5. These numbers are -2 and -3, leading to the factorization (x - 2)(x - 3). The provided answer (x - 1)(x - 6) is incorrect because (-1) + (-6) equals -7, not -5.
Question 25: What is the value of x in the equation 2x + 5 = 13?
- x = 5
- x = 4
- x = 2
- x = 3 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: x = 3
To solve the equation 2x + 5 = 13, first subtract 5 from both sides, which results in 2x = 8. Next, divide both sides by 2 to isolate x, yielding x = 4. Therefore, x=4 is the correct solution to this equation, making the provided answer of x=3 inconsistent with the given equation.