Category Archives: SAT

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 26, 2014 – Sentence Completion, Two Blanks

David Livingstone

Today’s SAT question of the day is a two-blank question about explorer David Livingstone.

The first blank tells us that he has a certain kind of reputation – we just don’t know what it is yet, so we’ll have to keep reading.

The second blank helps us unpack the sentence: some revile him, while others…blank him.  Let’s see what revile means. Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 25, 2014 – Math, Functions, Slope

Today’s SAT question of the day is a math question about function notation (the way functions are written).  This question is rated medium difficulty…maybe it’s just my years of tutoring talking, but I thought it was more like mega-easy (I solved it in less than10 seconds).

A function is just a relationship between values, right?  When x changes, y consistently changes in a related way.  And functions are written in a special format:

f(x) = ……

which means that “f of x”, or the function relating to x, is whatever appears on the other side of that equal sign.

This question also asks us about slope, so let’s think of what we know about slope: Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 24, 2014 – Improving Sentences

Arthur Ashe, 1975

Today’s SAT question of the day is an improving sentences question about a stadium in New York that is named for Arthur Ashe.  We have several pieces of information in this sentence that need to be organized properly:

  • The main stadium of the US Open is in NY
  • Arthur Ashe won the first ever US Open men’s singles title in 1968
  • The main US Open stadium is named after Arthur Ashe Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 23, 2014 – Sentence Completion

Tom Whittaker (right)

Today’s SAT question of the day is a single-blank sentence completion about a certain mountaineer.  He had “unflagging determination” and “_______ physical preparation” for his successful ascent.  Let’s think of what should go in that blank. Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 21, 2014 – Identifying Sentence Errors

Grand old flagsToday’s SAT question of the day about flags comes from the writing section.  For this Identifying Sentence Errors question, we have to find the error (if any) that exists in the sentence.

It won’t take you long to hear what sounds wrong. Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 20, 2014 – Sentence Completion

Now THAT is a lab rat!Today’s official SAT question of the day is a sentence completion about regulations on laboratory animals. We’ve got two blanks, so we have to make sure that our answer works for both blanks – but we also get twice as many chances if we need to eliminate some implausible answer choices.

For the first blank, we know that the policies used to be … something … but they are now mandatory.  For the second blank, we know that it’s something in relation to the policy that would cause labs to lose their grants. Continue reading →

SAT Question of the Day Explained – January 19, 2014 – Algebra

i <3 MathToday’s official SAT question of the day is a math question that involves two expressions that have been set equal to each other.  This medium-difficulty question looks tougher than it is, as long as we are careful with our signs and do not jump to conclusions. Let’s jump in.

√(x – a) = √(x + b)

First thing: square both sides to get rid of the silly radicals.  Now we are left with:

x – a = x + b

Continue reading →