Questions from practice tests

SAT and ACT Tests & Test Preparation SAT Preparation
#1

<p>I have accumulated some questions that I did not understand from previous practice tests. Can you guys help me out?
1) What is the greatest number of pieces that can result from slicing a spherical orange with 3 straight cuts?
The answer is 8 but I said 7. </p>

<p>2) [Sometimes of] a history buff, my uncle has a collection [of] first edition biographies that [has been featured] in newspaper articles and magazine stories [alike].
The answer is No Error but I chose [something of] because its talking about the uncle so shouldn't it be "Someone like?" I know that it sounds awkward but a person can't be a thing. </p>

<p>3) [Concerned by] the patient's chest pains and breathing difficulty, the nursing student was quick [to realize] that these symptoms were [consistent to] [those] of a heart attack.
The answer is C but is A also wrong? Shouldn't it be concerned about (as stated in Silverturtle's guide)?</p>

<p>4) Martial arts students may choose from among many levels of classes, [there is one which is] best for their particular skills.
B) of which there is one
C) one of which is
I narrowed it down to these two but I choose B.. which is wrong. Why is it C?</p>

<p>THANKSSSS!</p>

#2

<p>3 is not A because the student is not concerned about the chest pains and breathing difficulty, rather the fact that the chest pains are symptoms of a heart attack. </p>

<p>4 is not B because it is too wordy and kinda passive tone. never choose passive tone lol</p>

<p>not sure about 1...and not sure about 2 either.</p>

#3

<p>For question number 1, try to visualize the orange from the top down. Make two cuts, one horizontal, one vertical, splitting the orange into four pieces. Now turn the orange on its side and make a horizontal cut that goes through all four pieces - cutting each of them in half. You now have eight pieces. </p>

<p>Try it with a real orange (or any sphere) and it'll be easier to see. </p>

<p>For question 2, "something of a x" is an acceptable phrase. It means 'to some extent.' So, 'something of a history buff' just means he's kind of a history buff. It's one of those phrases most people learn by missing a question on their SAT practice tests.</p>

#4

<p>Here's another way to think about number 1. </p>

<p>If you look at the usual xy-plane, and draw a circle centered at the origin, you can see that it is split into 4 pieces. This is because there are 4 quadrants.</p>

<p>Now generalize this in 3 dimensions to an xyz-plane. This has 8 octants. Thus if you center a sphere at the origin in the xyz-plane it will be split into 8 congruent pieces.</p>

<p>(The 3 "cuts" are the xy-plane, the xz-plane, and the yz-plane)</p>

#5

<p>Thank you guys!! It really helped me a lot!</p>