MATH PRACTICE TEST 1 EXPLANATIONS
1 . B Since h represents the number of hamburgers, multiply it by $8 to get the total amount of
money paid for burgers; since f represents the number of orders of fries, multiply it by $5 to
get the total amount of money paid for fries. You want the total amount of money earned, so
you need to add the two expressions together: 8h + 5f. You can also just plug in values for h
and f and see which answer choice matches the target answer you get for those values—only
(B) will work for all values of h and f.
2 . J Plug in the values given in the question. The problem should then read (8 −[−2] + 3)(−2 + 3).
Follow the order of operations and do the arithmetic within each parenthesis individually
before multiplying: (13)(1) = 13.
3 . D Figure out the two artists separately, and then combine. The first one paints 40 portraits a day
for 11 days, so 440 total. The second paints 50 per day for 8 days, so 400 total. Add them up,
and there are 840 portraits.
4 . H If you add together all the home runs, you get 164. Divide that by four seasons, and his
average number of home runs per season is 41. The question is simply asking you how to
keep a 41 home run average going after a fifth year. Simple: Hit 41 home runs exactly in year
five.
5 . D The trick here is that you must calculate the first 30 necklaces at the regular rate of $9.00
each: She makes $270 for the first 30. Then figure out what 1.5 times her usual rate is (it’s
$13.50), and multiply that by the extra four necklaces. She gets $54 for the extras; add that to
the $270, and she makes a total of $324 for the week.
6 . K This question is about translating English into math. The trickiest part is remembering to
subtract 19 from instead of the other way around. Read closely and make sure you take the
square root and not the square of n.
7 . D Those answer choices are ugly, but if you have a good calculator and are comfortable with
all the fractions and parentheses, you can PITA. Otherwise, just solve for the variable. First,
distribute the 12 on the left side, and you get 12y − 36 = −7. Add 36 to both sides and you get
12 y = 29. Divide both sides by 12, and you’re done.
8 . J First, calculate how many $12 purses you get for $84—you can buy seven of them. The
difference between the prices is $38.50, so divide this by 7, and you get the value of the
