Using HB pencil in SAT

Trix19
Sat, 11 May 2013 10:43:38 +0000

lead is a metal that can be detected by electrical conductivity obviously. Number 1 pencils have too soft of a lead which can end up smearing other answer choices by mistake (and very easily). Number 3 and above are hard enough that usually errors may be made in the process of detection. Number 2 combines both hard and soft metal characteristics and allows for better detection.
If you hadn’t known previously, in chemistry HB would translate to “hard” and “brittle” (meaning soft). Which is essentially the characteristics of number 2 pencil.
Hope this 1 minute lesson eased your worries lol.