Step 3: Work the Answers
In question 12, the central task involved looking up a relationship you’ve already marked. You used POE
to eliminate two answers, but from the beginning you were in command of the question. On question 10,
the difference between the two experiments was addressed in the first line of the experiment descriptions.
However, if you didn’t spot that, good POE would have eliminated (F), and you’d have been able to
eliminate (H) and (J) as well.
On more difficult questions, POE will always be the best bet. You’ll be asked to synthesize information
from several figures, evaluate a hypothesis, or draw a conclusion, and it will always be easier to
eliminate what the figures and passage disprove.
Try another example.
- The scientists hypothesize that the color of the original beam of light will affect the intensity of the emerging beam.
The frequency of a beam of light determines its color. Which of the following would be the best way to test this
hypothesis?
A. Repeating the experiments using more than two polarizing filters
B. Repeating the experiments on different planets
C. Repeating the experiments using beams of both high and low frequencies
D. Repeating the experiments using different intensities for the original beam
Here’s How to Crack It
Use POE. Whenever a question asks about how to test something, eliminate answers that have nothing to
do with the goal. The question identifies color as an important variable on intensity and identifies
frequency as the determinant of color. Eliminate any choice that doesn’t address color or frequency. Only
(C) is left standing.
Remember POE
If you’re stuck, don’t forget
about POE. It can get you
out of a tight spot!
