AAMC MCAT test 7

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Physical Sciences

Time: 100 minutes Questions: 1-77

Most questions in the Physical Sciences test are organized into groups, each containing a descriptive passage After studying the passage, select the one best answer to each question in the group Some questions are not based on a descriptive passage and are also independent of each other If you are not certain of an answer, eliminate the alternatives that you know to be incorrect and then select an answer from the remaining

alternatives Indicate your selected answer by marking the corresponding answer on your answer sheet A periodic table is provided for your use You may consult it whenever you wish

Passage I

Thousands of tons of hydrazine (N2H4) are

produced each year for commercial uses, including

the production of agricultural chemicals At room

temperature, hydrazine is a volatile liquid that exists

in hydrogen-bonded networks similar to those found

in liquid water Hydrazine may be prepared by the

Raschig process, the reaction of ammonia with

sodium hypochlorite, as shown in Equation 1

2NH3(g) + NaOCl(aq) → N2H4(aq) + NaCl(aq) +

H2O(ℓ)

Equation 1

Hydrazine usually is shipped as the hydrate (N2H4 ·

H2O) because it is easier to handle and can be easily

dehydrated to form the anhydrous compound

Hydrazine and its chemical derivatives are good

rocket propellants For example, hydrazine reacts

with dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) to produce gaseous

nitrogen and water Equation 2 shows the reaction

and the enthalpy change

Some thermochemical data for hydrazine and

dinitrogen tetroxide are given in Table 1

Table 1 Properties of Hydrazine and Dinitrogen

Tetroxide at 298 K Property N2H4(ℓ) N2O4(g)

Figure 1 Equilibria (Keq = equilibrium constant)

1 Which of the following Lewis structures best

represents hydrazine?

A)

B)

C)

D)

2 How many grams of ammonia are required to

make one mole of hydrazine by the Raschig process?

A) 8.5 gB) 17.0 gC) 32.0 gD) 34.0 g

3 What is the percent by weight of hydrazine in

What is the enthalpy change (∆Ho) for the

reaction shown above?

C ) can be protonated twice to form N2H62+

D ) forms hydrogen bonds in aqueous solution

6 The formation of hydrazine from its elements is

NOT a spontaneous process at 25oC and 1 atm because:

A) ∆So for the reaction is > 0

B) ∆Ho for the reaction is < 0

C) ∆Go for the reaction is > 0

D) > 0 because water is a product of the reaction

Passage II

A gas of electrically charged and neutral particles is

called a plasma Plasma physics is a broad term

applicable to such diverse areas as space physics,

gas lasers, gaseous electronics, and controlled

thermonuclear fusion

A plasma has the ability to oscillate and propagate

waves These waves can be excited by applying an

oscillating electric field to the plasma The simplest

oscillation is a high-frequency oscillation of the

plasma electrons Consider a plasma that is

electrically neutral, consisting of positive ions

immersed in a “sea” of electrons If the electron

sea is slightly displaced from the ionic background,

electric fields act to restore the electrons to their

original equilibrium positions The electron sea

subsequently moves toward the equilibrium

position, overshoots, and oscillates back and forth

These oscillations are so rapid that the positive ions

seem to be fixed in the background (see Figure 1)

The frequency f at which these oscillations occur for

a given number density, n (electrons per cubic

meter), is

f = [kne2/(πm)]1/2 ≈ 9.0n1/2

where e and m are the elementary charge and

electron mass, 1.6 x 10-19 C and 9 x 10-31 kg,

respectively The constant k = 9 x 109 Nm2/C2

occurs in Coulomb’s law The approximation on

the right side of the equation gives the frequency in

Hz, when n is expressed in m-3

Figure 1 Positive ions surrounded by a sea of

mobile electrons (gray denotes the electron sea)

A and C denote the oscillation extremes

8 Why can the positive ions be considered to be

fixed during the electrons’ oscillations?

A) The ions are bound together with strong nuclear forces

B) An ion is much more massive than an electron.C) The ions experience no force when the electron sea is displaced

D) Coulomb’s law prohibits the motion of the ions

9 In Figure 1, the maximum electrical potential

energy occurs at:

A) A only

B) B only

C) C only

D) A and C only

10 The density of a typical laboratory plasma is

1018 m-3 This value leads to plasma

11 A plasma wave moving through a plasma has a

frequency of 109 Hz and a speed of 3.0 x 107

m/s What is the wavelength of this wave?

A ) 3.0 cm

B ) 3.0 m

C ) 3.3 cm

D ) 3.3 m

12 As the Figure 1 electrons oscillate through

equilibrium point B, they move on to C because of:

A) the momentum gathered as they moved from point A

B) Coulomb forces pulling on the electron sea.C) magnetic forces of attraction between the positive ions and the electron sea

D) the large potential energy they have at point B

13 What best describes changes that occur as the

electron sea moves from position A to position

C) Power is dissipated as heat

D) Turbulence brings the electron sea to rest

Passage III

Silicon, the second most abundant element in the

earth’s crust, is found combined with oxygen in a

variety of silicate minerals The most common is

silica (SiO2), which is a network solid

Silicon cannot be purified by electrolytic

techniques When elemental potassium became

available in the nineteenth century, it was used in a

silicon purification procedure Today, silicon is

produced commercially by the reaction of silica

with carbon or calcium carbide in an electric

furnace at 2000°C (Equation 1) The product is

about 98% pure, with impurities of iron, oxygen,

aluminum, and other elements Further purification

is achieved by halogenating the silicon, purifying

the resulting gas by fractional distillation, and then

reducing the halogenated silicon compound

Equation 3

Pure silicon is a hard, brittle, nonreactive substance

with a metallic luster

14 The purification of elemental silicon was

difficult to achieve because it:

A ) is a rare element

B ) is too reactive to isolate easily

C ) exists in minerals that do not decompose easily

D ) does not crystallize

15 What is the electron configuration for a

ground-state silicon atom?

A) [Ne] 3s ↑↓ 3p ↑↑

B) [Ne] 3s ↑↓ 3p ↑ ↓ _

C) [Ne] 3s ↑↓ 3p ↑↓ _

D) [Ne] 3s ↑↓ 3p↓ ↓ ↓

16 According to valence shell electron pair

repulsion (VSEPR) theory, what is the geometry around silicon in SiCl3H?

A) LinearB) TetrahedralC) Trigonal bipyramidalD) Octahedral

17 Which of the following elements could best

substitute for potassium in the purification of silicon?

A) H2B) NaC) MgD) Ca

18 SiCl3H has a normal boiling point of 33oC What are the predominant forces between SiCl3H molecules?

A) Ionic forcesB) Covalent bondsC) Hydrogen bondsD) van der Waals forces

19 SiCl3H is purified by fractional distillation Why does this procedure effect a purification? A) SiCl3H is not water soluble

B) SiCl3H is decomposed by water

C) SiCl3H has a lower boiling point than the solid impurities

D) SiCl3H has a lower melting point than the impurities

Passage IV

The production of electrical power via nuclear

fission reactions often provokes heated discussions

about nuclear waste disposal In a typical uranium

fission, a uranium nucleus absorbs a neutron and

undergoes fission, as illustrated in the reaction

The superscript denotes the atomic mass and the

subscript the atomic number The nucleus U-236

(i.e., 236U) decays immediately into two fission

fragments X and Y, along with the release of two or

three neutrons Energy is produced in the fission

process by the conversion of nuclear mass into

energy This conversion is described by Einstein’s

famous relation E = mc 2 , where c is the speed of

light 3 x108 m/s, m is the mass that is converted,

and E the resulting energy released An analysis of

the reaction shown reveals that about 1/1000 of the

original starting mass of U-235 is missing after the

reaction This missing mass accounts for the energy

produced in the reaction The fission fragments X

and Y constitute the radioactive waste from

uranium fission These fragments then undergo

beta and/or gamma decay The resulting fragments

themselves may be radioactive, resulting in further

decays until a stable isotope is reached Hundreds

of years must pass before these radioactive

fragments decay to nonradioactive nuclei

20 If three neutrons are produced in the U-235

fission reaction discussed in the passage, what

relation must the atomic masses A1 and A2

21 If fission fragment X undergoes beta decay,

then one neutron in the nucleus is converted into a proton, an electron and a neutrino (the

electron and neutrino v′exit the atom) If the

new fission fragment is called X ′, the decay reaction would be written as:

beta-A) B) C) D)

22 Half-lives are useful indicators of how

dangerous a radioactive substance is The lives of Pu-239 and Ra-226 are 24,000 yrs and

half-1600 yrs, respectively In comparison to atoms

of Pu-239, atoms of Ra-226 will decay at a rate:

A) 8 times faster

B) 15 times faster

C) 8 times slower

D) 15 times slower

23 A standard coal-burning power plant produces

about 106 kg of fly-ash every week Assuming that the density of fly-ash is 1000 kg/m3, what would be the length of the side of a fly-ash cube made from this waste?

A) 1 mB) 10 mC) 100 mD) 1000 m

These questions are not based on a descriptive

passage and are independent of each other

24 Consider the following electrode potentials

Cu2+ + 2 e- → Cu(s) Eo= +0.34 V

2 H2O → O2 + 4 H+ + 4 e- Eo = -1.23 V

What is Eocell for the reaction shown in the following equation?

2 Cu2+ + 2 H2O → 2 Cu(s) + O2 + 4 H+ A) -0.89 V

B) +0.55 VC) +1.57 VD) +1.91 V

25 A gas that occupies 10 L at 1 atm and 25oC will occupy what volume at 500 atm and 25oC? A) Exactly 0.020 L

B) Somewhat more than 0.02 L because of the space occupied by the individual gas molecules C) Somewhat more than 0.02 L because of the repulsions between the individual gas molecules D) Somewhat more than 0.02 L because of the increased number of collisions with the sides of the container

26 If there is no air resistance, how far will a 2-kg

object fall from rest in 10 sec? (Note: Use g =

10 m/s2.) A) 100 mB) 250 mC) 300 mD) 500 m

27 When a light wave and a sound wave pass from

air to glass, what changes occur in their speeds?A) Both speed up

B) Both slow down

C) Light speeds up; sound slows down

D) Light slows down; sound speeds up

Passage V

When aqueous solutions of bromine and acetone are

mixed, the reaction shown by Equation 1 occurs

Equation 1

When the pH of the solution is between 4 and 7, the

reaction occurs very slowly However, at pH values

less than 3, the reaction occurs rapidly

If the bromination of acetone (molar mass = 58.0 g

mol–1 and density = 0.791 g mL–1) follows simple

kinetics, the rate law can be expressed by

Bromine is a red–brown liquid that absorbs light

very strongly at a wavelength of 395 nm, and it is

the only compound that absorbs visible light during

this reaction Thus, a researcher can use a

spectrophotometer to follow the decrease in the

concentration of bromine The amount of 395-nm

light absorbed by bromine is directly proportional to

the concentration of bromine Equation 3 is Beer’s

law, which shows the relationship between the

absorbance A and the concentration c of the

absorbing species when light passes through a

cuvette of path length l The molar absorbtivity ε is

a constant for a given wavelength, and the path

Table 1 Rate Data at 25°C and 395 nm

Exprmnt Number [acetone] M [H

+ ]

M [BrM 2] – ∆[BrM s2–1]/∆t

rate constant

28 The molar absorptivity of bromine at 395 nm is

198 M–1 cm–1 What is the absorbance at 395

nm in Experiment 1?

A) 0.00825B) 0.820C) 1.22D) 20.9

29 What is the value of c in Equation 2 as

determined from the data in Table 1?

A) 1B) 2C) 3D) 4

30 If the reaction is first order with respect to both

acetone and hydronium ion, which of the following equations gives the rate law?

A) Rate = k[acetone][H+]

B) Rate = k[acetone][Br2]2[H+]

C) Rate = k[acetone][Br2][H+]

D) Rate = k[acetone]2[H+]

31 What is the molarity of pure acetone?

A ) 1.36 M

B ) 13.6 M

C ) 45.9 M

D ) 73.4 M

32 Though 395-nm light is in the visible region of

the electromagnetic spectrum, it is very near: A) the radio wave region

B) the microwave region

C) the infrared region

D) the ultraviolet region

Passage VI

Cellular phones are commonly used by people who

are traveling away from home or on business The

development of these phones combines many recent

innovations in technology Simply described,

cellular phones behave like two-way radios with the

incoming voice data transmitted at one carrier

frequency and the outgoing voice data transmitted

at another frequency This capability to send and

receive voice data on these two separate frequency

channels allows the person to hear and speak on the

phone at the same time The information in these

channels is transmitted on radio-frequency

electromagnetic carrier waves, which travel well

through the air

Cell-phone channels operate at frequencies ranging

between 824 MHz and 894 MHz Each channel

requires a finite amount of frequency space, called

the bandwidth of the channel, and is set at 30 kHz

Most cellular phones can transmit their signal with

between 0.6 watts and 3 watts of power The cell

phone scans all of its channels when it is on to find

the channel with the highest signal intensity The

phone communicates with a base station, which

typically covers an area of 10 square miles, called a

“cell.” A cellular city has many “cells” within it,

which have phone base stations to transmit and

receive cell-phone data Because the size of a cell

is relatively small, it allows efficient

communication with relatively low power phones

When a phone moves from cell to cell, its calls are

handled by a central switching office

33 What is the total frequency range available for

cellular phone communications?

A ) 30 kHz

B ) 894 MHz

C ) 70 MHz

D ) 894.03 MHz

34 If a cellular phone is powered by a 12-volt

battery and is transmitting at its maximum power, what current is being used?

A) 3 WB) 3 AC) 0.25 AD) 0.05 A

35 If two people were talking on their cellular

phones within the same "cell" in a city, why wouldn't their transmissions interfere?

A) The power transmitted from each phone is not high enough to interfere

B) The signals are transmitted at the speed of light, and do not have time to interfere

C) The physical distance between any two base stations limits interference

D) The frequencies used by each phone are chosen

to be different

36 The intensity of a cellular phone transmission

received at the switching station is proportional

to the power used by the phone and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between phone and station Which combination

of power and distance will provide the highest signal to be picked up by the switching station?A) 0.6 watts, 2 miles

B) 0.6 watts, 3 milesC) 3 watts, 5 milesD) 3 watts, 4 miles

37 The 846 MHz carrier wave is an

electromagnetic signal, whereas sounds waves are typically at much lower frequency and are carried through the air as pressure waves Which statement describes the two waves accurately?

A) Electromagnetic waves are transverse; pressure waves are longitudinal

B) Electromagnetic waves are longitudinal;

pressure waves are transverse

C) Waves are always longitudinal and transverse.D) Electromagnetic wavelengths are longer than acoustic sound wavelengths

Passage VII

A capacitor is a device that stores charge The

voltage V across a capacitor and the charge q on the

capacitor are related by q = CV, where C is the

capacitance measured in farads, F (1.0 F = 1.0

coulomb per volt)

A student sets out to measure the capacitance using

the circuit of Figure 1

Figure 1 Circuit for measuring capacitance

In this circuit, the capacitor will be fully charged

soon after switch S is closed to the left, as current

passes through the small fixed resistor r in series

with the capacitor C Then, when S is switched to

the right, the capacitor discharges through the

variable resistor R R is adjusted so that the

discharge current, as measured by the ammeter, is

constant during the discharge time

Figure 2 The discharge current versus time

Figure 2 shows the current-versus-time plot during

the discharge The voltage of the battery used in the

measurement was 12.0 V The total charge q

transferred to the capacitor can be estimated from

the constant current value during the discharge time

38 When switch S is closed to the left, charge

begins to accumulate on the capacitor Charge cannot accumulate indefinitely because:

A) the variable resistor inhibits the current flow.B) the battery continually loses charge

C) successive charges brought to the plates are repelled by charges accumulated earlier

D) the fixed resistor loses energy to heat

39 To keep the current constant during the

discharge cycle:

A) the resistance R must be continually increased B) the resistance R must be continually decreased C) the resistance r must be continually increased D) the resistance r must equal R.

40 As the capacitor is charged, the electrical

potential energy that it gains:

A) equals the work done by the battery throughout the charging process

B) is less than the work done by the battery throughout the charging process

C) is greater than the work done by the battery throughout the charging process

D) equals the potential energy stored in resistor r

41 Which circuit elements store energy?

I Capacitors

II Resistors III Batteries

A) I onlyB) I and II onlyC) I and III onlyD) II and III only

42 The resistance of the variable resistor, R, at the

beginning of the discharge process is:

A) 2000 Ω

B) 3000 Ω

C) 4000 Ω

D) 6000 Ω

Passage VIII

Many reactions of oxyanions (negative ions that

contain oxygen) involve the transfer of oxygen

atoms from one ion or molecule to another

Reaction 1 shows an oxygen atom transfer that is

typical of an oxyanion reaction

Despite the favorable equilibrium constant, this

reaction is extremely slow The reaction rate can be

increased by adding acid to the reaction solution

When added, acid reacts with OCl-, forming HOCl

HOCl allows the oxygen transfer to take place more

quickly because the hydrogen atom reduces the

charge on the oxygen atom, facilitating the breaking

of the O-Cl bond The rate of this reaction,

Reaction 2, is first order in both NO2- and HOCl

Other oxyanion reactions also take place more

quickly in acidic solutions For example, no

observable reaction occurs between ClO3- and Br- in

basic solution, but when an acidic solution is used,

Reaction 3 occurs rapidly

The rate law for Reaction 3 is k[ClO3-][Br-][H+]2,

and the initial sequences of the reaction mechanism

are shown below

Sequence II Br - + H 2 OClO 2 BrClO 2 + H 2 O (slow)

Sequence III Br - + BrClO 2 Br 2 + ClO 2- (fast)

The exchange of oxygen-18 between H218O and

SO42- is also more rapid in acid than in neutral solutions of SO42- A proposed reaction mechanism for the exchange is shown below

Sequence I 2 H+ + SO 42- H 2 SO 4 (fast)

Sequence II H 2 SO 4 SO 3 + H 2 O (slow)

Sequence III SO 3 + H 218O 2 H + + SO 318O 2- (fast)

43 If the rate of formation of Cl- in Reaction 3 were 1.0 x 10-2M/sec at a pH of 1, what would

it be at a pH of 2? (Note: Assume that other conditions are identical.)

45 In addition to the explanation in the passage,

the rate of Reaction 2 is different from the rate

of Reaction 1 because the formation of HOCl

by the protonation of the oxygen:

A) reduces the electronic repulsion forces between the reactants

B) increases the electronic repulsion forces between the reactants

C) increases the electronic repulsion forces between the nitrogen atom and the oxygen atom that is being transferred

D) reduces the electronic attraction forces between the chlorine atom and the oxygen atom that is being transferred

46 Which of the following methods would produce

SO318O2- at the fastest rate?

A ) Bubbling SO3(g) through H218O

B ) Bubbling S18O3(g) through H218O

C ) Bubbling S18O3(g) through H2O

D ) Reacting SO218O(l) with H218O

47 Which of the following figures represents a

likely transition state for Reaction 2?

48 Which of the following graphs best shows the

energy diagram for the Reaction 3 mechanism

in the passage?

A)

B)

C)

D)

These questions are not based on a descriptive

passage and are independent of each other

49 Phosphorus appears directly below nitrogen in

the periodic table The boiling point of

ammonia, NH3, is higher than the boiling point

of phosphine, PH3, under standard conditions

Which of the following statements best

explains the difference in the boiling points of

these two compounds?

A ) Ammonia is a weaker base than phosphine

B ) The N-H bond is weaker than the P-H bond

C ) High molecular weight compounds generally

have lower boiling points

D ) Ammonia forms stronger intermolecular

hydrogen bonds than phosphine

50 A student measures the mass and volume of

51 Which of the following elements gains one

electron most readily?

A) BeB) ClC) KD) Ca

52 Which of the following substances is NOT a

base?

A) NH3B) SO42-C) NH4+D) Fe(OH)2

53 A ray of light in air is incident upon a glass

plate at an angle of 45o The angle of refraction

of the ray in the glass is 30o What is the index

of refraction of the glass?

(Data: sin 30o= 0.500, sin 45o= 0.707, sin 60o= 0.866, tan 30o= 0.577, tan 45o= 1.000)

A) 1.22B) 1.41C) 1.57D) 1.65

Passage IX

Generalizations such as “like dissolves like” and

“the solubility of a solute doubles for every

ten-degree rise in temperature” are useful in certain

situations but are not universally applicable to

solution chemistry Instead, several different

relationships describe solution dynamics Thus,

depending on the problem, a chemist must use

various concentration units

For example, molarity (M) is best for most

stoichiometry problems, molality (m) for

freezing-point depression problems, mole fraction for

Raoult-law problems, and osmolality for osmotic

pressure problems

Table 1 gives data for two water soluble solutes,

ethylene glycol [C2H6O2(ℓ)] and lead nitrate

[Pb(NO3)2(s)]

Table 1 Data for Ethylene Glycol and Lead Nitrate

Property C2H6O2 Pb(NO3)2

Formula weight 62.1 g/mol 331 g/mol

Equation 1 shows how osmotic pressure (II)

depends on concentration (M) and Kelvin

Note: R = 0.082 L atm K-1 mol-1, and the molal

freezing-point depression and boiling-point

elevation constants for water are Kf = -1.86°C/m

and Kb = 0.52°C/m, respectively

54 What is the molality of a saturated solution of

Pb(NO3)2(aq) at 0oC?

A) 0.114 m B) 0.251 m C) 1.14 m D) 3.41 m

55 To what temperature does a 10.75 m solution of

ethylene glycol protect an engine from freezing?

A) -5.78oCB) -12.0oCC) -20.0oCD) -45.0oC

56 Which aqueous solution, 0.1 M lead nitrate or

0.1 M ethylene glycol, lowers the freezing point

of water to a greater extent?

A) Pb(NO3)2(aq) by threefold

B) Pb(NO3)2(aq) by twofold

C) C2H6O2(aq) by twofold

D) C2H6O2(aq) by threefold

57 Does either generalization in the passage apply

to aqueous solutions of ethylene glycol?

A) Yes; both generalizations apply

B) No; neither generalization applies

C) Yes; “like dissolves like” only applies

D) Yes; “the solubility of a solute doubles for every ten-degree rise in temperature” only applies

58 If a cell wall separates a hypertonic, interstitial

fluid from cellular fluid, will there be an osmotic effect?

A) Yes; the cell fluid will become less concentrated

B) Yes; the cell fluid will become more concentrated

C) No; osmosis does not apply to biological fluids.D) No; the concentrations are the same on both sides of the wall

59 What kind of solution results if a chemist

equilibrates 39.0 g of lead nitrate in 100 mL of

H2O at 0oC over several days?

A ) A saturated solution with 3.9 g of undissolved

Passage X

Cars are subjected to many forces as they move: air

drag, tire-road friction, engine motive force, gravity,

and other factors Unfortunately, collisions

occasionally occur During such accidents, a

(potentially large) fraction of the kinetic energy is

rapidly and irreversibly converted to thermal energy

and deformation of the car structure Test crashes

with dummy drivers and passengers and other

experiments help designers develop safer vehicles

In one test, two 1000-kg cars, A and B, are initially

100 m apart They are traveling on a highway in the

same direction: car A at 30 m/s, car B at 20 m/s

with car B ahead of car A Eventually they collide

In one case the collision is cushioned by a spring

(with constant k = 105 N/m) on the front of car A

In a second case there is no spring and the body

deformation of the two cars absorbs the collision

energy (Assume g = 10 m/s2 when needed.)

61 Consider the difference in crash deceleration on

a test dummy in two test cases

Case I: The dummy hits the steering wheel at

20 m/s and stops in 0.1 s

Case II: The dummy hits an air bag at 20 m/s

and stops in 0.25 s

What is the ratio of the average acceleration in

Case II to that in Case I?

A ) 0.25

B ) 0.40

C ) 2.5

D ) 4.0

62 Two cars, each of mass 1000 kg traveling at 20

m/s in opposite directions, have a head-on inelastic collision How much heat and deformation energy is produced?

A) 2 x 105 JB) 4 x 105 JC) 8 x 105JD) 16 x 105 J

63 When tires are made of hard rubber, the

coefficients of rolling, sliding, and static friction with the road are reduced compared with softer rubber Which of the following predictions would NOT hold if hard rubber replaced soft rubber in tire manufacture?

A) Stopping distances would increase

B) Fuel efficiency would be unchanged

C) Slippage on curves would be more likely

D) Higher tire air pressure would be required

64 A spring between colliding cars reduces the

average force on the cars because it:

A) lengthens collision time

B) absorbs kinetic energy loss

C) absorbs momentum change

D) causes no permanent deformation

65 How long before test car A overtakes car B?

A) 2 sB) 3.33 sC) 5 sD) 10 s

66 What is the post-collision speed of cars A and

B after the no-spring inelastic collision?

A) 0 m/sB) 20 m/sC) 25 m/sD) 50 m/s

Passage XI

Worldwide, about 20 damaging earthquakes occur

daily A major quake in the Mojave Desert (near

Landers) in 1992 demonstrated that large quakes

sometimes trigger distant smaller ones Of the

many seismographs installed throughout the West in

the 1980s, 14 recorded local quakes after the

Landers event, making coincidence an unlikely

explanation

The Landers quake produced measurable lasting

deformations over a length L = 74 km L is called

the source length of the initiating quake Allied

quakes, aftershocks, occur within a distance of 2L

from the primary event However, triggered quakes

were as far away as 17L

The mechanism of the triggering is a puzzle It is

useful to categorize seismic waves into two kinds:

deeply propagating body waves, which dissipate

rapidly with distance, and surface waves, which

dissipate at a lesser rate Lasting deformations from

a quake are produced by the body waves, with

deformation size falling off as (L/d)3, where d is

distance from the quake center At d = 4L these

deformations are generally reduced to less than the

daily periodic distortions due to tidal forces On the

other hand, surface waves are associated with

elastic oscillations in the crust of about 10-s

periodicity and cause little lasting deformation

Some of the time delays between the Landers quake

and those it triggered were too great to be ascribed

to seismic wave-transit times

One explanation of the aftershock trigger

mechanism involves underground fluids, water or

molten rock Fluid seals between isolated volumes

of rock at different pressures may leak, thus

increasing transverse frictional forces Also, fluid

may flow into rock fractures, thus lubricating them

67 Before the Landers quake, coincidence was

argued as a sufficient explanation for what is now believed to be triggered-quake events For these earlier events, which of the following does NOT support the coincidence hypothesis?A) The timing of subsequent quakes provided ambiguous evidence

B) Generally, the distances to the subsequent quakes was excessive

C) Too few of the subsequent quakes were recorded

to establish a clear connection

D) Generally, the subsequent quakes were scattered

in all directions

68 What is the ratio of lasting deformations

produced by a quake at 16 L from its center to those produced at 4 L from its center?

A) 1/16B) 1/32C) 1/64D) 1/128

69 Because earthquakes were triggered by what

ultimately must have been comparatively minor energy transfers from the distant Landers quake, the triggered quakes probably occurred where:

A) significant local stress forces in the earth’s crust were already in precarious equilibrium

B) the earth’s crust was subjected to reinforcing resonant effects that cumulatively built up local stresses

C) the earth’s crust locally sustained standing wave nodes for a short but significant period

D) destructive interference effects in the incoming seismic waves were approximately maximum for an extended period

70 The wavelength of surface waves is about 20

km The propagation speed of these waves is estimated as:

A) hundreds of m/s

B) thousands of m/s

C) tens of thousands of m/s

D) hundreds of thousands of m/s

71 The primary rupture in the Landers quake

moved from south to north as it progressed to

its full 74-km length How would the Doppler

effect influence this?

A ) By decreasing the wavelength of seismic waves

propagating eastward and westward

B ) By increasing the wavelength of seismic waves

propagating eastward and westward

C ) By decreasing the wavelength of seismic waves

moving northward and increasing the

wavelength of waves moving southward

D ) By increasing the wavelength of seismic waves

moving northward and decreasing the

wavelength of waves moving southward

These questions are not based on a descriptive

passage and are independent of each other

72 What is the difference in pressure between two

points that are separated by a vertical distance

of 0.25 m in a tank of water? (Note: The

density of water is 1,000 kg/m3, and g = 10

74 The energy, E, of a hydrogen atom with its

electron in the nth shell of a hydrogen atom is

given by E = -C/n2 where n = 1,2,3, and C

is a positive constant If an electron goes from

the n = 2 shell to the n = 3 shell:

A ) a photon is emitted

B ) an electron is emitted

C ) an electron is absorbed

D ) the energy of the atom is increased

75 A ray of light in air strikes the flat surface of a

liquid, resulting in a reflected ray and a refracted ray If the angle of reflection is known, what additional information is needed

in order to determine the relative refractive index of the liquid compared to air?

A) Angle of incidenceB) Angle of refractionC) Refractive index of airD) Wavelength of the light

76 Approximately how many moles of Al3+ are reduced when 0.1 faraday of charge passes through a cell during the production of Al? (Note: Assume there is excess Al3+ available and that Al3+ is reduced to Al metal only.) A) 0.033 mol

B) 0.050 molC) 0.067 molD) 0.10 mol

77 When a weak acid (HA) is titrated with sodium

hydroxide in the presence of an indicator (HIn), the pH at which a color change is observed depends on the:

A) final concentration of HA

B) final concentration of HIn

C) initial concentration of HA

D) pKa of HIn

Verbal Reasoning

Time: 85 minutes Questions: 78-137

There are nine passages in the complete Verbal Reasoning test Each passage is followed by several questions After reading a passage, select the one best answer to each question If you are not certain of an answer,

eliminate the alternatives that you know to be incorrect and then select an answer from the remaining

alternatives Indicate your selected answer by marking the corresponding answer on your answer sheet

Passage I

Students of evolution have shown that species

death, or extinction, is going on all the time and that

it is an essential feature of life history What alarms

so many life historians is not that extinctions are

occurring but that they appear to be occurring at a

greater rate than they have at all but a few times in

the past, raising the specter of the sort of wholesale

die-offs that ended the reign of the dinosaurs A

new word has been coined to define the value most

threatened by these overheated rates: biodiversity

Since extinction is a particularly final and

comprehensive form of death, species preservation

and its corollary, habitat protection, are now seen as

the most important means available to stem the

erosion of biodiversity, but I wonder if these ideas,

which emphasize diversity at the species level, give

an adequate picture of recent biological history If

we believe that all life shares a certain quality of

sensitivity, or self-awareness, then Homo sapiens

was an astonishing and wholly unpredictable leap

forward in this respect, because human beings

manifested an idea of personhood never before

achieved

Consciousness Mind Insight Here are qualities

that, if not exclusively human, seem appallingly

rudimentary elsewhere Plainly, our planet

contained vast opportunities for creatures willing to

shape it consciously toward their ends The way

was clear; we know of no other species that has

divined what we’ve been up to or has a mind to

object What seems simple to us is far beyond

them; it’s almost as if we move so fast that we are

invisible, and they are still trying to pretend that the

world is the same as it was before we arrived

This speed on the uptake appears to be the chief advantage that cultural adaptation has over genetic When human beings encounter new circumstances, adaptation rarely depends on which individuals are genetically best suited to adjust, passing on their abilities more successfully than others and producing subsequent generations better adapted to the new order No, human beings tend to cut the loop short by noticing the new, puzzling over it, telling their friends, and attempting to find out immediately whether it is edible, combustible, domesticable, or whatever

I am concerned with an image of our species as a vast, featureless mob of Yahoos mindlessly trampling this planet’s most ancient and delicate harmonies This image is not a completely inaccurate description of present conditions in some parts of the world, but it portrays the human

presence as a sort of monolithic disaster, when in

fact Homo sapiens is the crown of creation Change

is one of the most reliable constants of this story

To say that the changes we have brought, and will continue to bring, are somehow alien to the world and are within a half inch of making its “natural” continuance impossible displays some contempt for the forces at work

Today, many believe that these changes are often for the worse We look back with longing to a time

at which the human presence barely dimpled the landscape I’m not persuaded by this picture I can easily imagine arguments that would have required the interior of North America to remain empty of cities⎯and yet I don’t think this continent is a poorer place now than it was twenty thousand years ago The more convinced we are that our species is

a plague, the more we are obliged to yearn for disasters

78 Which of the following statements best

summarizes the central thesis of the passage?

A ) Biodiversity is essential for human survival

B ) Cultural adaptation and genetic adaptation are

separate forms of evolution

C ) Changes brought on by human judgment are

natural

D ) Extinction is inevitable

79 Assume that a new species is discovered and

found to have a capacity for reasoned judgment

greater than that of human beings The author

would be most likely to argue that:

A ) the new species will be highly adaptable

B ) adaptation is taking place at a faster rate than

scientists had previously thought

C ) biological classifications should be altered

D ) decreasing biodiversity will destroy the

environment

80 The author apparently believes that the

increasing rate of extinction:

A ) will decrease naturally

B ) should be halted

C ) has nothing to do with human activity

D ) is not a reason for panic

81 Suppose that a conference is held on issues

relevant to the transformation of Mars into a

habitable planet Which of the following topics

is the author most likely to present?

A ) The importance of preserving native habitats on

D ) Reasons that biodiversity is irrelevant on Mars

82 According to the author, how do many life

historians support their contention that we risk destroying species?

A) They assert that extinctions are occurring at a rapidly accelerated rate

B) They maintain that extinctions are brought about only by human intervention

C) They cite examples of extinct species

D) They point to similarities between humans and dinosaurs

83 Which of the following processes would the

author be most likely to characterize as

“cultural adaptation”?

A) Getting to know people from different culturesB) Moving around to many different regions of the world

C) Reasoning and problem solving to change a situation

D) Moving to a culture that one finds suitable

84 The author is concerned that a failure to

recognize the value of human potential to bring about change will cause:

A) inattention to the selfish motives underlying human behavior

B) an overly optimistic picture of the fate of the universe

C) an underestimation of the value of other species.D) a self-fulfilling prophecy that guarantees

disaster

Passage II

There is no doubt that what we call the modern

movement in art begins with the single-minded

determination of a French painter to see the world

objectively There need be no mystery about this

word: what Cézanne wished to see was the world,

or that part of it he was contemplating, as an object,

without any intervention either of the tidy mind or

the untidy emotions His immediate predecessors,

the Impressionists, had seen the world

subjectively⎯that is to say, as it presented itself to

their senses in various lights, or from various points

of view Each occasion made a different and

distinct impression on their senses, and for each

occasion there must necessarily be a separate work

of art But Cézanne wished to exclude this

shimmering and ambiguous surface of things and

penetrate to the reality that did not change, that was

present beneath the bright but deceptive picture

presented by the kaleidoscope of the senses

Great revolutionary leaders are people with a single

and a simple idea, and it is the very persistency with

which they pursue this idea that endows it with

power But let us ask why, in the long history of

art, it had never previously happened that an artist

should wish to see the world objectively We know,

for example, that at various stages in the history of

art there have been attempts to make art “imitative”;

and not only Greek and Roman art, but the

Renaissance of Classical art in Europe, were periods

of art possessed by a desire to represent the world

“as it really is.” But there always intervened

between the visual event and the act of realizing the

vision an activity which we can only call

interpretative This intervention seemed to be made

necessary by the very nature of perception, which

does not present to the senses a flat

two-dimensional picture with precise boundaries but a

central focus with a periphery of vaguely

apprehended and seemingly distorted objects The

artist might focus on a single object, say a human

figure or even a human face; but even then there

were problems such as that of representing the

solidity of the object, its place in space

In every instance before Cézanne, in order to solve such problems the artist brought in extra-visual faculties⎯imagination, which enabled the artist to transform the objects of the visible world and thus

to create an ideal space occupied by ideal forms; or intellect, which enabled the artist to construct a scientific chart, a perspective, in which the object could be given an exact situation But a system of perspective is no more an accurate representation of what the eye sees than a Mercator’s projection is what the world looks like from Sirius Like the map, it serves to guide the intellect; perspective does not give us any glimpse of the reality

One might conclude from the history of art that reality in this sense is a will-o’-the-wisp, an actuality we can see but never grasp Nature, as we say, is one thing, art quite another But Cézanne, though he was familiar with the “art of the museums” and respected the attempts of his predecessors to come to terms with nature, did not despair of succeeding where they had failed⎯that is

to say, in “realizing” his sensations in the presence

of nature

Material used in this test passage has been adapted from the following source:

H Read, A Concise History of Modern Painting ©1968 by

The Herbert Read Discretionary Trust.

85 Information in the passage suggests that the

author probably believes that the act of

C ) was first popularized by Cézanne

D ) became the dominant force in art many years

after Cézanne

86 Which of the following statements best

summarizes the central thesis of the passage?

A ) For the Impressionists, each sensory occasion

required a separate work of art

B ) The use of perspective prevents artists from

effectively interpreting reality

C ) Cézanne tried to solve the problem of

interpretation by attempting to view the world

objectively

D ) Before Cézanne, many periods of art reflected a

desire to represent the world “as it really is.”

87 According to the passage, a revolutionary, at

least in part, is a person who:

A ) promotes a single, simple idea

B ) pursues interpretation in art

C ) pursues realism in art

D ) observes the distinction between nature and art

88 In the context of the passage, to view an object

“subjectively” is to view it:

A ) without intervention by the intellect or the

emotions

B ) differently depending on when and how it is

viewed

C ) within the framework of an ideal space

D ) in the presence of nature

89 The author’s suggestion that reality in art

before Cézanne had been a “will-o’-the-wisp” can most reasonably be interpreted to mean that artists before Cézanne had not:

A) attempted to imitate reality faithfully

B) agreed about the value of Impressionism

C) been able to perceive reality

D) found a way to depict reality effectively

90 The author’s assertion that Greek, Roman, and

Renaissance art tried to represent the world accurately is:

A) illustrated in the passage by examples of specific works of art

B) not supported by evidence in the passage

C) supported in the passage by a discussion of the nature of perception

D) contradicted by evidence later in the passage

91 It can most reasonably be concluded from the

passage that Cézanne’s work exerted a powerful influence because Cézanne:

A) pursued the concept of objectivity with persistence

B) brought extra-visual faculties into his work.C) expanded the concept of interpretation

D) painted scenes as they were presented to his senses

92 If it were discovered that Cézanne learned the

concept of objective painting from another

artist, this finding would challenge the

contention that Cézanne:

A) pursued goals similar to those of Greek and Roman art

B) was the founder of the modern movement in art.C) respected the attempts of his predecessors to come to terms with nature

D) was familiar with “the art of the museums.”

93 The author’s opinion that artists before

Cézanne could not avoid interpretation is

supported in the passage by:

A ) an analysis of some famous Renaissance

D ) an explanation of Cézanne’s working methods

94 The author’s comparison of a system of

perspective to a map is most likely intended to show that:

A) maps are more accurate than even the most realistic artistic depictions of the world

B) systems of perspective have grown more sophisticated over the years, while mapmaking has not

C) both afford a clearer view of the reality beneath everyday objects

D) both are intellectual methods of perceiving the world

Passage III

When I saw it first, it was a green and sleeping bud,

raising itself toward the sun Ants gathered aphids

and sap around the unopened bloom A few days

later, it was a tender young flower with a pale green

center, a troop of silver-gray insects climbing up

and down its stalk Over the summer this sunflower

became incredibly beautiful, subtly turning its face

daily, always toward the sun, its black center alive

with a deep blue light, as if flint had sparked an

elemental fire there, in community with rain,

mineral, mountain air, and sand

As summer changed from green to yellow, new

visitors came daily: lace-winged flies, bees with

legs fat with pollen, grasshoppers with clattering

wings and desperate hunger, and other lives too

small or hidden for me to see This plant was a

society undergoing constant change, great and

diverse, depending on light and moisture

Changes also occurred in the greater world of the

plant One day, rounding a bend in the road, I

encountered the disturbing sight of a dead horse,

black against a hillside, eyes rolled back Another

day I was nearly lifted by a sandstorm so fierce and

hot that I had to wait for it to pass before I could

return home It swept away the faded dried petals

of the sunflower Then the birds arrived to carry the

seeds to the future

In one plant in one season a drama of need and

survival was enacted Hungers were filled; insects

coupled; there was escape, exhaustion, and death

An outsider, I never learned the sunflower’s golden

language An old voice from gene or cell taught the

plant to oppose the pull of gravity and find its way

upward, to open A certain knowing⎯instinct,

intuition, necessity⎯directed the seed-bearing birds

to ancestral homelands they had never seen

There are other summons, some even more mysterious than the survival journeys of birds and insects Once a century, among their canopy of sunlit green, all bamboo plants of a certain kind flower on the same day Not the plants’ location, in

a steamy Malaysian jungle or a suburban garden in Pennsylvania, their age, nor their size matter Some current we cannot explain passes through this primitive life Each with a share of communal knowledge, all are somehow one plant

Sometimes you can hear the language of the earth⎯in water, trees, emanating from mosses, seeping through the soil Once, in the redwood forest, I felt something like a heartbeat, a hardly perceptible current that stirred a kinship and longing

in me, a dream barely remembered Once, on a calm beach, I heard an ocean storm booming from afar, revealing the disturbance at its center, telling about the rough water that would arrive

Tonight I watch the sky, thinking of the people who came before me and their knowledge of the

placement of stars, people who watched the sun long and carefully enough to witness the angle of light that touched a stone just once a year Without written records, they registered the passage of the gods of night, noting fine details of the world around them and the immensity above them

Whichever road I follow, I walk in the land of many gods Behind me, my ancestors say “Be still Watch and listen You are the result of the love of thousands.”

95 The author seems to be trying to understand:

A ) the beliefs of primitive peoples from the

96 According to the author’s account, the

regularity of biological cycles indicates:

A ) a response to the competition for resources

among similar species

B ) a special mode of communication among the

members of each species

C ) the adaptation of each species to a unique niche

in its habitat

D ) an inherent sensitivity to particular

environmental changes

97 One can infer from the passage that for the

author, the horse and the sandstorm both:

A ) present mysteries beyond human

comprehension

B ) are aspects of the world that mar its beauty

C ) indicate the cruel indifference of nature

D ) have necessary roles in a perpetual drama

98 Which of the following ideas about humans is

clearly NOT assumed in the passage?

A) Humans lack the sensory means to detect some intraspecies messages

B) Humans have always attempted to understand natural occurrences

C) Humans are capable of existing in harmony with other species

D) Humans will eventually satisfy their curiosity about nature

99 The passage account suggests that the

environmental effect of human land use is that native plants and animals:

A) become dependent for survival on human intervention

B) continue to thrive in their symbiotic interaction.C) suffer from disruption of the ecological balance.D) are replaced by artificially introduced species

100 The discussion suggests that the author

considers the appropriate relationship of humans to other animals to be that of:

C) A personal message from a supernatural sourceD) An urge to contact others of one’s species

Passage IV

Atonality originates in an attempt to liberate the

twelve notes of the chromatic scale from the

diatonic functional associations they still retain in

“chromatic” music⎯to dissociate, so to speak, the

chromatic scale from “chromaticism.” The

expanded harmonic vocabulary of late

nineteenth-century music had extended the range of tonal

relationships to the point at which the traditional

articulative procedures were no longer adequate

The final step in this development was taken by

Arnold Schöenberg in a radical stylistic departure

based upon a rejection of any general principles

regulating simultaneity and progression In the

compositions Schöenberg wrote between 1908 and

1923, the period of “free” atonality, he disclosed

that this ultimate expansion of possible relations to

include the whole range of combinations contained

in the semitonal scale demands a revaluation of

every aspect of the musical language

The composer working within the diatonic tonal

system may take for granted the existence of

specific properties of that system: a seven-tone

scale, triadic harmonic structure, a key center, and

so forth The atonal composer, however, can take

for granted nothing except the existence of a given

limiting sound world, the semitonal scale Aside

from this assumption, it is impossible to state the

fundamental conditions of atonality in general,

except in a negative way, merely stipulating the

absence of a priori functional connections among

the twelve notes of the semitonal scale Musical

coherence requires additional limiting factors, but

these are not reducible to a set of foundational

assumptions in terms of which the compositions

that are collectively designated by the expression

“atonal music” can be said to represent a “system”

of composition

In 1923, Schöenberg published his first composition

employing the “method of composing with twelve

notes.” This “method” soon proved to have some

general relevance to the special problems of atonal

composition It is consistent with both the positive

and negative premises of atonality, affirming the

availability of twelve notes while denying a priori

In Schöenberg’s twelve-tone system, all the tone relations that govern a given musical context are referable to a specific linear ordering of the twelve notes of the semitonal scale Neither register, duration, timbre, or intensity⎯in other words, no attribute other than that represented by the pitch-

class name of what is informally called a note⎯is

defined by this referential permutation of the semitonal scale, a permutation denoted by the term

row, series, or set An unambiguous ordering is

assumed; but the degree to which this ordering actually determines the general musical procedures varies greatly from one work to another, even though they may be by the same composer The total musical texture inevitably entails intervallic relations not directly specified by the set, and even

on a purely linear plane deviations occur Yet the premise of an ordered arrangement of the twelve notes, if it is to have any meaning, must somehow govern the essential musical events in a consistent and logical manner, in spite of ambiguities and licenses

Material used in this test passage has been adapted from the following source:

G Perle, Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction

to the Music of Schöenberg, Berg, and Webern ©1962 by the

Regents of the University of California.

102 That Schöenberg rejected “general principles

regulating simultaneity and progression”

means that he rejected:

A ) chaotic chord progressions

B ) a broadened range of tonal relationships

C ) the chromatic scale

D ) the standard system of movement from certain

tonalities to other prescribed tonalities

103 The comparison of the diatonic system of

composition to atonal composition in the

second paragraph suggests that:

A ) there are fixed rules for atonal composition

B ) the properties of the diatonic system change

from composition to composition

C ) diatonic pieces follow certain guidelines

adhering to preconceived concepts of musical

organization

D ) atonal composition is based on a seven-tone

scale

104 According to the passage, the twelve-tone

scale rejects systems based largely on

traditional relationships between notes One

can most reasonably conclude from this that:

A ) diatonic musical scales are conventions that

composers may accept or reject

B ) the traditional scale is needlessly repetitive

C ) traditional and twelve-tone systems are more

similar than different

D ) twelve-tone composers have not been able to

equal the quality of traditional compositions

105 The second paragraph of the passage suggests

that atonal compositions:

A) sound as harmonious as traditional compositions

B) have structures that may not be readily apparent

to listeners

C) are based on the seven-tone scale

D) assign functional precedence to certain notes

106 It can most reasonably be inferred from the

last paragraph that:

A) the ordering principles of atonal compositions are determined by composers, not by any fundamental relationship between notes

B) there is no logic to the way that notes in atonal compositions are ordered

C) the working methods of twelve-tone composers are usually consistent from one composition to the next

D) atonal compositions contain strict guidelines about the duration and intensity of each note

Passage V

Both employers and workers are challenged by

technological innovations, international trade,

deregulation, and changes in the nature and

structure of work Their responses to these

challenges indicate their choice of three roads to the

new economy The low road follows the historic

path of mass production, emphasizing downsizing,

outsourcing, and low-skill employees as ways to cut

labor costs Eventually, this approach, if the norm,

must limit a nation's economic competitiveness,

living standard, and income equity

The high road acknowledges the growing value of

investment in highly skilled employees who can

react quickly to changing technologies and markets

It presupposes shared power and long-term goals

Only dominant firms can afford to commit

resources to training and keeping employees by

providing full benefits with high wages Such firms

tend to be protected from domestic or international

competitors by technological advantages,

large-scale production, or government regulations

Currently, high-road firms account for perhaps 20

percent of employees in the United States

About 40 percent of U.S workers receive no formal

training beyond a high-school education They must

submit to the contingencies of low-road

employment, remaining at the periphery of the new

economy The remaining 40 percent of the

workforce slog along the muddy middle road,

getting some advanced education or job-related

training but unlikely to enter the dynamic high-road

labor market and attract employers who would train

them thoroughly to join their core workers

The high road is not an easy course for employers to

take Today's global customers and suppliers are

linked by a web of standards that affect not only

prices but extend to the quality and variety of

products, company organization, customer service

and its timeliness, and constant innovations

Employers who meet these complex requirements

use computer-based methods, which raise the level

of skill needed by nonsupervisory personnel For

example, instead of checking the quality of the final

product, high-road firms integrate quality standards

in their automated production process, encouraging workers at all stages of their operation to

demonstrate expertise and responsibility

High-performance work systems are most successful when training and work reforms are bundled Similarly, workers find that their general education, occupational preparation, and access to training on the job are complementary in their effect

on earnings Workers who receive formal company training command higher wages than do similar workers who attend only vocational school or receive informal on-the-job instruction Workers who use computers on the job also earn more than

do those of the same education level who do not use computers at work Moreover, the earning

difference increases with the level of technological competence

For the United States to compete in an eventual global economy based on skilled workers and quality products, additional employer investment in training is needed now Policies at all levels should encourage the coordination of employer-provided training and broader schooling Such policies will realize the highest returns in terms of personal income, adaptation to an increasingly volatile labor market, and efficiency in the transmission of changing skill requirements from workplaces to schools Although for a particular job, employer-based training or vocational preparation can substitute for generalized schooling, specific training degrades rapidly, and narrow skills seldom transfer well to new job requirements

But although high-wage, high-skill jobs create a demand for education and training, training does not create high-wage jobs Ultimately, a strategy of investment in human capital succeeds or flounders according to the availability of high-wage, high-skill jobs If investment in workers outpaces the number of good jobs, many very competent workers will face an employment market of many very undemanding jobs

Material used in this test passage has been adapted from the following source:

107 The author is apparently concerned that

adherence to a policy referred to as "the low

road" will reduce the competitiveness of:

A ) firms involved in international trade

B ) the United States in particular

C ) technology-based economies

D ) the less-developed nations

108 A recently founded small firm that follows the

high road described in the passage is

considering selling stock shares to the public

The author would probably advise against this

step because:

A ) investors have no reason to care about the

quality of the firm's products

B ) investors are likely to doubt the wisdom of the

firm's personnel policies

C ) the firm is unlikely to produce the quick profits

that investors want

D ) the firm is unlikely to attain a competitive status

in the market

109 Which of the following findings is most

clearly contrary to the reported influence of

the use of computers in the workplace?

A ) Office workers can follow computer-generated

schedules with less training than they need to

devise their own schedules

B ) Executives who correspond with customers by

letter generate more business than those who

rely on E-mail alone

C ) Workers using nonautomated production

processes are more efficient than workers on

automated assembly lines

D ) Mechanics who use computerized diagnostic

methods earn less than mechanics who use

D) the use of computers in industrial production

111 Which of the following situations is most

likely to constitute a muddy road, as the

author uses the term?

A) Being trained in a skill that qualifies one for only a particular job

B) Switching to unfamiliar procedures because of technological changes

C) Returning to college to upgrade one's professional qualifications

D) Being chronically unemployed because of an inadequate education

112 An employer reasons: "If I train my workers,

competitors who save money by not providing training will be able to attract my trained workers with higher salaries than I can pay." What possible solution for this employer would most accord with the author's high road?

A) Support regulatory policies that penalize firms for failing to train workers

B) Train workers who agree to repay the tuition if they leave within a set time

C) Concentrate on recruiting workers who have been trained by other firms

D) Cut costs elsewhere to match the higher wages paid by competitors

113 Which of the following practices is most apt

to promote the outcome attributed to increased

worker involvement in the production

process?

A ) The workers' use of a computer bulletin board to

share tips on quality control

B ) Close monitoring of the productivity of workers

by their immediate supervisors

C ) The democratic participation of workers in the

hiring of potential co-workers

D ) A profit-sharing program that rewards workers

for company successes

114 Former low-level employees who secure

managerial positions in their company get

more sophisticated equipment and more

work-related training than they had before What

relationship to information provided in the

passage does this fact most plausibly suggest?

A ) It supports the conclusion that occupational

preparation and access to training are

complementary

B ) It opposes the assertion that power is shared in

firms committed to the training of employees

C ) It exemplifies the inequities that exist in firms

that are unable to follow the high road

D ) It helps to explain the increasing disparity in

earnings between management and workers

115 The author asserts that to compete later,

employers should invest in training now and also that training does not create high-wage jobs Together, these assertions imply that: A) investment in training keeps costs low by providing a large pool of skilled workers B) in highly paid work, on-the-job training compensates for educational deficiencies C) training is not effective unless it is supplemented

by a comprehensive education

D) some highly trained workers may not benefit financially from their training

116 The author sets the proportion of the U.S

work force in the high-, middle-, and low-road sectors at 20, 40, and 40 percent, respectively Another authority states that more than 50 percent of U.S firms use the low-road strategy What is the most reasonable conclusion from these figures?

A) Low-road firms are especially likely to fail.B) Low-road firms are especially likely to hire workers

C) Businesses with few workers are especially likely to be low-road firms

D) Businesses with branches outside the U.S are unlikely to be low-road firms

Passage VI

The residents of Sun City, Leisure World, and

retirement communities across the United States

live on a frontier⎯not a geographical but a

chronological frontier Old age is hardly new, but

for an entire generation to reach old age with its

membership almost intact is new Until relatively

recently, death had no more relation to old age than

to any other period of life⎯in fact, it had less

A quarter of the people born in seventeenth-century

France died during their first year, another quarter

died before the age of twenty, and a third quarter

died by age forty-five; only 10 percent reached

sixty From the seventeenth century to the

nineteenth, the percentage of the French population

over sixty remained constant at 8.8 percent

In the last hundred years, the demographics of

mortality have changed more than in the six

previous centuries In 1900, the average life

expectancy for U.S children was 47.3 years In

1980, it was 73.6 years This startling increase was

due mainly to success in reducing infant, childhood,

and maternal mortality In addition⎯also because

of medical advances⎯longevity increased In

1900, white males of sixty could expect 14.4 more

years of life In 1978, they could expect to live 17.2

more years As a result of these and other changes,

the number of Americans over sixty-five increased

both absolutely and relative to the entire

population In 1900, 4 percent of the population

was over sixty-five In 1980, 25.5 million

Americans, or 11.3 percent, were in this age group

Before World War II, there were no age-segregated

communities and there was no such concept as

“retirement living.” In the early 60s, when credit

and housing materials were relatively cheap,

developers began to construct complete towns for

the retired Lured by glossy advertisements

depicting a life of warm friendships and endless

pleasures, many retirees welcomed these complexes

as a new adventure In the mid-70s, while housing

costs doubled and trebled, the developers grew leery

of such grand schemes, but by that time there were, according to one estimate, sixty-nine retirement villages, many with over ten thousand inhabitants Mobile-home parks for the elderly also proliferated during this period along with other forms of age-dedicated housing, from retirement hotels to luxury condominiums The most original of these

innovations was the “life-care facility,” which offered small private living quarters, maid service, nursing care, and meals, as well as nursing-home care when necessary

Gerontologists struggling to create a taxonomy for these new forms of housing estimate that 5 percent

of Americans over sixty-five now live in explicitly age-segregated facilities and another unknown but significant percentage live in neighborhoods that are more or less age segregated These locales are not just places in which the elderly happen to find each other, as they do in certain rural enclaves and inner-city neighborhoods after everyone else has left They are not only deliberate creations⎯places to which retired persons have moved by choice⎯but most of them have now evolved from mere

developers’ tracts into communities with traditions

of their own

The construction of retirement villages initiated a great debate among gerontologists In the 60s, opinion was generally against this innovation City planners and journalists joined the professionals in attacking communities for retirees as ghettos for marginalized, alienated people or as playgrounds that trivialized the aged But after visiting the residents of these villages with scientific sampling methods and attitudinal charts, many gerontologists concluded that the elderly found in their segregated lives the advantages overtly and subliminally advertised in the real-estate brochures