31. The correct answer is (C). Based on the definition of a geometric series in the question, all pairs of successive terms must have the same ratio. Thus, x 22 5 28 x . Cross-multiplying, x 2 5 16; hence x 564. The constant multiple is either 2 or 22. If the second term is 14, the sixth term would be (22)(22) (621) 5 (22)(22) 5 5 64. If the second term is 24, the sixth term would be (22)(2) 5 5264. 32. The correct answer is (C). This question requires a bit of intuition. The objective is to minimize the unused space in the packing box by turning the smaller boxes on their appropriate sides. Align the 2-inch edge of each box along the 18-inch edge of the packing box (9 boxes make up a row). Align the 5-inch side of each box along the 35-inch edge of the packing box (7 boxes make up a row). Arranged in this manner with the 18-inch by 35-inch face of the packing box as the base, one layer of small boxes 3 inches high includes 63 boxes (9 3 7). Given that the packing box’s third dimension is 19 inches, 6 layers of boxes, each 3 inches high, will fit into the packing box, for a total of 378 boxes. An unused 1-inch layer remains at the top of the box. (You could reverse the alignment of the 2- and 3-inch sides and arrive at the same result.) 33. The correct answer is (E). A median is the number that ranks exactly in the middle of the set. To know the median here, you would need to know what the six specific values are, not just their range and/or average. 34. The correct answer is (D). Statement (1) alone suffices to answer the question. Given that x 5 60, the area of each of the two triangles must be less than 60 360 (or 1 6 ) of the area of the circle (the difference is the region between each triangle and the circle’s circumference). So, the combined area of the two triangles is less than 1 3 the area of the circle. Given that x 5 60, m∠AOC 5 120, and the area of the shaded region is exactly 120 360 (or 1 3 ) that of the circle. Statement (2) alone also suffices to answer the question. Given that the length of AB equals the radius, each of the two triangles must be equilateral, and all angles measure 60°. You can now apply the same reasoning as with statement (1) to answer the question. 35. The correct answer is (C). The total distance is equal to the distance that one bus traveled plus the distance that the other bus traveled (to the point where they pass each other). Letting x equal the number of hours traveled, you can express the distances that the two buses travel in that time as 48x and 55x. Equate the sum of these distances with the total distance and solve for x: 48x 1 55x 5 515 103x 5 515 x 5 5 The buses will pass each other five hours after 9:30 a.m.—at 2:30 p.m. answers practice test 3 Practice Test 3 503 www.petersons.com 36. The correct answer is (E). The expression involves subtraction, so neither the base numbers nor the exponents can be combined. Only choice (E) is equivalent to the original expression. To confirm this without using a calculator, factor 7 76 from both terms: 7 77 2 7 76 6 5 7 76 ~7 1 2 1! 6 5 7 76 ~6! 6 5 7 76 37. The correct answer is (B). The value of Dynaco shares sold plus the value of MicroTron shares sold must be equal to the value of all shares sold. Letting x represent the number of Dynaco shares sold, you can represent the number of MicroTron shares sold by 300 2 x. Set up an equation in which the value of Dynaco shares sold plus the value of MicroTron shares sold equals the total value of all shares sold. Then solve for x: 52x 1 36~300 2 x!540~300! 52x 1 10,800 2 36x 5 12,000 16x 5 1200 x 5 75 The investor has sold 75 shares of Dynaco stock. Verbal Section 1. B 2. E 3. D 4. D 5. A 6. B 7. C 8. E 9. D 10. B 11. E 12. D 13. A 14. D 15. C 16. B 17. E 18. A 19. E 20. D 21. C 22. C 23. A 24. E 25. C 26. A 27. B 28. A 29. D 30. B 31. B 32. D 33. D 34. C 35. C 36. C 37. B 38. E 39. D 40. E 41. A 1. The correct answer is (B). In the original version, the terms following each part of the correlative not only but also are not parallel. The sentence is also awkward. Choice (B) reconstructs the sentence in a clear and concise manner. 2. The correct answer is (E). The original sentence is a long sentence fragment with no predicate. Choice (E) completes the sentence by reconstructing it. 3. The correct answer is (D). The original version contains superfluous words; either the age of or years should be omitted. Choice (D) corrects the original version by omitting the age of. Choice (E) is redundant; either old or in age should be omitted. 504 PART VI: Five Practice Tests www.petersons.com 4. The correct answer is (D). The argument suggests that the company’s improved profitability the year after the court judgment was attributable to that judgment. However, the mere fact that one event follows the other does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the other event. Choice (D) points out this critical flaw in the argument by recognizing that consumer buying decisions and, in turn, the profitability of product manufacturers, can depend on a variety of possible factors. 5. The correct answer is (A). John’s statement does not logically imply, as Jolanda seems to infer, that a person must believe in the inevitability of success in order to be successful. Choice (A) is an effective rebuttal for John because it points out Jolanda’s apparent reasoning error. 6. The correct answer is (B). Nowhere in the passage does the author mention any power struggles among the leaders of the Iroquois nations. Although the first paragraph does refer to a dispute among the Iroquois leaders, the dispute involved the role that the Iroquois should play in the American Revolution. Thus, choice (B) confuses the information in the passage by referring to unrelated details. 7. The correct answer is (C). The passage states that Cornplanter was an outspoken proponent of assimilation and that Handsome Lake was related to Cornplanter as a half-brother. The fact that Lake was responsible for the Iroquois reasserting their national identity is ironic, then, in light of Lake’s blood relationship to Cornplanter. 8. The correct answer is (E). According to the author, the Quakers’ introduction of new technology to the Iroquois was partly responsible for the decline of the Iroquois culture in that it contributed to the tribe’s loss of national identity. Choice (E) presents a similar situation. 9. The correct answer is (D). In the original version, the position of alone suggests improperly that the immigrants are alone. Choice (D) corrects this problem (more and greater are both acceptable here). 10. The correct answer is (B). The first and third sentences, considered together, strongly imply the conclusion expressed by choice (B). Admittedly, the passage does not rule out the possibility that babies who are breast fed during some portion of the first year other than the first three months are more likely than other babies to become obese. However, this possible scenario runs completely contrary to the passage information. Thus, despite this remote possibility, choice (B) is the best answer. 11. The correct answer is (E). The passage’s first sentence implies that a high level of consumer confidence leads to increased consumer spending, which in turn leads to depletion of retail inventories. However, the passage indicates that, at a time when consumer confidence is great, retail inventories are increasing instead. Each answer except choice (E) provides a logical explanation for this apparent discrepancy. However, choice (E) suggests that an increase in consumer confidence levels should be preceded by decreased business spending, which would tend to decrease, rather than increase, retail inventory levels. Thus, choice (E) actually renders the discrepancy more inexplicable. answers practice test 3 Practice Test 3 505 www.petersons.com 12. The correct answer is (D). In the original version, one being arrested should be replaced with either one from being arrested or with one’s arrest or with the noun clause one’s being arrested. (Noun clauses take the possessive verb form.) Also, it would more clearly refer to its antecedent the law if it were positioned closer to the antecedent or replaced with the antecedent. Choice (D) corrects both problems with the original version. An even better version would include one’s arrest instead of one from being arrested; nevertheless, choice (D) is the best of the five choices. 13. The correct answer is (A). The original version is correct; the first clause modifies President McKinley, and the two elements are appropriately juxtaposed to form a clear expression of the intended idea. 14. The correct answer is (D). The original version uses the awkward (and improper) remains being. Either is still or simply remains should be used instead. Choice (D) corrects the problem. 15. The correct answer is (C). As the passage indicates, dendrochronological studies involve analyzing tree rings. Although the wood from trees might have been used to create items that are now considered archeological artifacts, the author does not indicate explicitly that tree rings are studied for the purpose of dating such artifacts. 16. The correct answer is (B). In the second paragraph, the author mentions choices (A), (C), (D), and (E) as problems with radiocarbon dating. Nowhere in the passage, however, does the author mention any problem involving sample deterioration. 17. The correct answer is (E). In mentioning that a trace element analysis is needed for the geographic source of an obsidian artifact, the author strongly implies that an accounting for specific conditions of the geographic area is needed in order to determine the age of the obsidian artifact by measuring its hydration layer. 18. The correct answer is (A). Choice (A), if true, suggests that the removal of the asbestos could endanger the health of the building’s occupants by sending dangerous fibers into the atmosphere. Since it is possible that this health risk outweighs the health risk of leaving the asbestos in place, the statement provides strong support for the conclusion that the asbestos should be left in place in the interest of the occupants’ health. 19. The correct answer is (E). The argument assumes that union-relations problems are the major cause of the price increase. Choice (E) undermines the logic of the proposed solution by suggesting that another factor—the cost of raw materials—may be more important. 506 PART VI: Five Practice Tests www.petersons.com 20. The correct answer is (D). The original argument essentially demonstrates the following reasoning: Premise: If fluorocarbons are emitted, then ozone depletion will occur. Conclusion: If fluorocarbons are not emitted, then ozone depletion will not occur. You can express this reasoning symbolically as follows: Premise: If A, then B. Conclusion: If not A, then not B. The reasoning is fallacious (flawed), because it fails to account for other possible causes of ozone depletion. (B might occur whether or not A occurs.) Choice (D) is the only answer choice that demonstrates the same essential pattern of flawed reasoning. Premise: If a person with phlebitis takes Anatol, the phlebitis will be controlled. Conclusion: If a person does not take Anatol, the phlebitis will not be controlled. Note that choice (D) begins with the conclusion, whereas the original argument begins with the premise. This fact makes no difference, however, in assessing the reasoning itself. 21. The correct answer is (C). The argument relies on the assumption that consumers are more likely to buy a particular product (or service) if they remember a particular advertisement for it than if they don’t remember. Choice (C) undermines this crucial assumption. Even if consumers remember an advertisement, unless they also remember the particular product advertised, they’re no more likely to buy that product than had they not remembered the advertisement at all. 22. The correct answer is (C). In the original sentence, the antecedent of that result is unclear. Is it DNA strands or damage to those strands that result from the deployment of enzymes? Also, the use of the noun clause man-made toxins’ invading in a prepositional phrase here is somewhat awkward, albeit grammatically correct. Choice (B) improperly uses that instead of which. Also, it is unclear what “resulting” refers to here—DNA strands or damage to the DNA strands. Choice (C) improves on the awkward use of a noun clause in the first part of the original sentence. The infinitive to rebuild and the phrase as a result clarify the meaning of the second part of the sentence. In spite of its use of the passive voice (enzymes are deployed), choice (C) is the best version. 23. The correct answer is (A). The original version is correct. By omitting rather, choice (B) obscures the meaning of the sentence; the original version is clearer. Choice (C) sets up a faulty parallel between cultural tie and racial. Choice (D) also sets up a faulty parallel—between cultural and a racial one. Choice (E) also sets up a faulty parallel—between cultural and a racial tie. answers practice test 3 Practice Test 3 507 www.petersons.com 24. The correct answer is (E). The original sentence confuses the subjunctive verb form (which deals with possibilities rather than facts) and past-perfect tense. Choice (A) also contains a pronoun-antecedent agreement problem; scientific community is singular, calling for the singular pronoun it rather than they. Choice (E) remedies both problems. It uses the subjunctive form consistently—at both the beginning and end of the phrase. It also replaces the incorrect plural pronoun they with scientists. 25. The correct answer is (C). The argument recommends that fruit growers not use artificial fertilizers if they wish to appeal to consumer tastes because these fertilizers diminish flavor. This recommendation depends on the assumption that flavor enhances a fruit’s appeal to consumers. Choice (C) helps substantiate this assumption. (Presumably, flavorful fruit is more appealing than flavorless fruit.) 26. The correct answer is (A). The argument relies on the assumption that the furlough program is responsible for, or at least contributes to, a prisoner’s refraining from committing crimes after release. One effective way of weakening the argument is to refute this assumption by providing evidence that the program does not contribute to the reform of prisoners. Choice (A) provides strong evidence to this effect—specifically, that program participants are less likely than non-participants to commit crimes upon their release. 27. The correct answer is (B). The original sentence improperly uses the adjective hasty instead of the adverb hastily to modify the verb provide. Choice (B) remedies the problem. 28. The correct answer is (A). The passage refers to the establishment of a de facto 35mm standard around 1913, followed by a “resurgence” of wide-film formats (in the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s). This resurgence suggests that wide-film formats were not new because they had been used before the 35mm standard was established—that is, before 1913. 29. The correct answer is (D). According to the passage’s last sentence, anamorphic lenses, used with more mobile cameras, made it possible to create quality 70mm prints from 35mm negatives. In this respect, the invention of the anamorphic camera lens contributed to the demise (not the increased use) of wide-film moviemaking. 30. The correct answer is (B). The passage’s final sentence states that after the invention of the 35mm anamorphic lens, quality 70mm (larger) prints could be made from 35mm (smaller) negatives. It is reasonable to assume that larger prints could not be made from smaller negatives prior to that invention. 31. The correct answer is (B). The argument relies on the assumption that every allergy sufferer can be helped by one or another antihistamine. Choice (B) substantiates this necessary assumption. 32. The correct answer is (D). Based on the passage’s premise, we can conclude that Javier reads literary classics. In order to also conclude that Javier appreciates literary classics, we must assume that all readers of literary classics appreciate these types of books. Choice (D) provides the additional premise needed to draw that conclusion. 508 PART VI: Five Practice Tests www.petersons.com 33. The correct answer is (D). The original version incorrectly mixes the past tense (were prohibited) with the present perfect tense (have performed), resulting in confusion as to the proper time frame. Also, ending the sentence with a preposition (in), although not grammatically incorrect, is somewhat awkward and should be avoided if possible. Choice (D) corrects both problems, as well as clarifying the meaning of the sentence by adding the word same. Choice (E) is awkward and distorts the meaning of the original sentence by suggesting that these musicians were prohibited from dining at any “venue” and that “venues” were the only places they performed. 34. The correct answer is (C). The original version includes a dangling modifier. The sentence fails to refer to whoever is doing the asserting. The original version also uses the awkward passive voice. Choice (C) corrects both problems. The first clause now refers clearly to we, and the underlined clause has been reconstructed using the active voice. 35. The correct answer is (C). The argument’s conclusion, stated in the passage’s final sentence, is true only if it is also true that the government has no other choice but to turn to former industry lobbyists if it wants to find knowledgeable regulators. (This is the assumption that choice (C) provides.) If such people are available elsewhere—for example, among university professors—then the conclusion is faulty. 36. The correct answer is (C). In describing Rossetti’s work, the author never uses the words “stark” or “realism,” nor does the author describe her work in any way that might be expressed by either of these terms. (The term “vivid imagery,” appearing in line 9, does not carry the same meaning as “stark realism.”) 37. The correct answer is (B). In lines 10–14, the author states that “‘A Birthday’ is no typical Victorian poem and is certainly unlike predictable works of the era’s best-known women poets.” It is reasonably inferable that Rossetti was not among the era’s best-known women poets, at least during her time. 38. The correct answer is (E). The author’s threshold purpose in discussing Packer’s biography is to affirm that Rossetti’s style of writing was not a reflection of her personal lifestyle. Having dismissed the theory that Rossetti was keeping secrets about her life, the author goes on (in the final paragraph) to offer a better explanation for the apparent contradiction between Rossetti’s lifestyle and the emotional, sensual style of her poetry. 39. The correct answer is (D). In the passage, the author’s first concern is to point out that Rossetti’s work conflicts with her apparently conservative personal life. The author’s own impressions of Rossetti’s work are corroborated by those of Woolf. Then, in the second paragraph, the author asks how to reconcile this apparent conflict. (The newly discovered letters discussed in that paragraph only reinforce the inconsistency between her personal life and literary work.) In the last paragraph, the author attempts to explain the inconsistency by way of Rossetti’s love poems. Choice (D) nicely embraces all these ideas. answers practice test 3 Practice Test 3 509 www.petersons.com 40. The correct answer is (E). The argument boils down to the following: Premise: Child-care license requirements are reasonable because they ensure public safety. Premise: Handgun ownership laws are not as stringent as child-care license laws. Intermediate Conclusion: Current handgun ownership laws do not ensure public safety. Final conclusion: More stringent handgun ownership laws would be reasonable. Choice (E) expresses the argument’s final conclusion. 41. The correct answer is (A). The original version is clear and grammatically correct. Choice (B) incorrectly uses the singular form its; the verb should agree in number with its plural subject states. Choice (C) awkwardly splits the grammatical element were free. Choice (D) uses the redundant and improper correlative both aswellas Choice (E) confuses the meaning of the sentence; the construction unfairly suggests that free word and speech could be found only in the Greek states. 510 PART VI: Five Practice Tests www.petersons.com ANSWER SHEET PRACTICE TEST 4 ANALYTICAL WRITING ASSESSMENT Analysis of an Issue ✁ answer sheet Practice Test 4 511 www.petersons.com ✁ 512 PART VI: Five Practice Tests www.petersons.com . argument relies on the assumption that consumers are more likely to buy a particular product (or service) if they remember a particular advertisement for it than if they don’t remember. Choice (C). the awkward use of a noun clause in the first part of the original sentence. The infinitive to rebuild and the phrase as a result clarify the meaning of the second part of the sentence. In spite of its. Choice (A) provides strong evidence to this effect—specifically, that program participants are less likely than non-participants to commit crimes upon their release. 27. The correct answer is (B).