SAT Mc Graw Hill 2011

762 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT

18. 25 Let b=the number of black marbles, w=the
    number of white marbles, and r=the number of red
    marbles in the jar. If you are four times as likely to
    choose a black marble as a white one, then b= 4 w.
    If you are five times as likely to choose a red marble
    as a black one, then r= 5 b.To find the least possible
    number of marbles in the jar, imagine you have only
    one white marble. This would mean you have 4(1) = 4
    black marbles and 5(4) =20 red marbles, for a total of
    1 + 4 + 20 =25 marbles.

In general, you can represent the total number of
marbles as total =b+w+r
Since r= 5 b: total =b+w+ 5 b
Since b= 4 w: total = 4 w+w+5(4w)
Simplify: total = 4 w+w+ 20 w
Simplify: total = 25 w

In other words, the number of marbles in the jar must
be a multiple of 25. The smallest positive multiple of
25 is, of course, 25.
(Chapter 9, Lesson 6: Probability Problems)

Section 6

1.A If the fight did not ensue, John must have in-
tervenedto stop it. intervene=get in the way of some-
thing; coalesce= fuse together; intermingle=mix
together; exacerbate=make worse

2.D The defendant hoped the testimony would
corroborate(support) his alibi, which would clear him
of blame. convoke=call together; synthesize=gener-
ate; absolve=free of blame; impeach=accuse

3.E Being ensnarled(tied up) in traffic is an un-
pleasant experience that Rachel would have an aver-
sion toor dislike for. antipathy=feeling against;
penchant=liking; predilection=liking; proclivity=ten-
dency to do something; aversion=feeling of dislike;
insufferable=intolerable

4.A If the practices are no longer considered state
of the art,they must now be considered outdatedor
unsophisticated.The physicians are incredulous(not
able to believe) that such barbaric acts were once sup-
portedor condoned. primitive=old, unsophisticated;
sanctioned=approved; ingenious=incredible, bril-
liant; boorish=rude, censured=publicly condemned;
innovative=new; endorsed=supported; foolhardy=
recklessly bold; condemned=criticized

5.B The Prime Minister had vetoed the law in the
past many times, so he didn’t want it to pass. What
would come as a great surprise?The Prime Minister’s
suddenly supportingthe law. articulated=expressed

clearly; championed=defended; denounced=spoke

out against; initiated=began; abbreviated=shortened

6.C Lines 3–4 state that the tradition is that a man

never lifts his hand against a woman.Furthermore, if

a man offends a woman, she is entitled to give him a

sound thrashing(line 6). Therefore, a man who dis-

respected a woman would face censure.

7.E Saying that it is not an unusual thing for a

squaw to administer a sound thrashing to a warrior

husband(lines 5–7) is like saying that it is not unusual

for her to givehim a beating, or dispenseit.

8.C Lines 5–6 say that merely receiving palliative

care... provides no hope of a cure.Therefore, pallia-

tive care only reduces the discomfort of the symptoms,

without curing the disease, as something analgesic

does.

9.A Lines 8 –11 ask, How can a doctor know if a pa-

tient has the mental capacity to decide for herself that

the time has come to stop fighting the disease?This

question indicates that there may be some difficulty

in determining a patient’s state of mind.

10.B The first sentence of the passage says there

was great optimism about earthquake prediction.Each

paragraph discusses potential precursors,or predic-

tors, of earthquakes.

11.E Lines 8–10 say that because foreshocks look

just like any other earthquake, they are not in them-

selves very useful in prediction.

12.D Support for choice II can be found in line 19,

which says that groundwater has become cloudyprior

to an earthquake. Choice III is supported in lines

16–18, which say that before a large earthquake,

marked changes have been reported in the level or flow

of wells and springs.Nothing is said about density

changes in the groundwater.

13.A The passage says (lines 8–10) that since fore-

shocks look just like any other earthquakes, they are not

in themselves very useful in predictionbut later (lines

39–42) mentions that because the Haicheng earth-

quake had hundreds of foreshocks,it was easier than

average... to predict,thereby suggesting that fore-

shocks are, in fact, useful in predicting earthquakes.

14.A This paragraph describes a particular appli-

cation of the theory of earthquake prediction, de-

scribed in the previous paragraphs, which led to

scientists’ predicting a large earthquake and saving

many lives. Although this is said to have prov[ed] that

... earthquake prediction is possible(lines 38–39), it
was not a scientific experiment, as there was no con-
trol group.