Session 9

Learning Objective
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Determine the relevance of a detail within a passage

p. 252
Development: Relevance

Relevant means on topic. Is the underlined phrase relevant?

I'd been looking forward to that superhero movie all year. I got a
haircut, which took about an hour. Then, I attended the premiere.

p. 252
Question 1
How Psychology Changed the Practice of Law
After graduation, most psychologists 1 enjoy long vacations, counsel
patients in clinics or professional offices, or work in training or research. Since the
1970s, however, psychologists have been able to apply their skills to a new area:
assisting attorneys in constructing their cases and selecting the juries that will hear
those cases.

1. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) charge high fees,

(C) return to school to complete a degree in another field,

(D) practice psychology in schools,

p. 253
Question 2
As with many modern innovations, the use of psychology to assist attorneys
came about through a series of 2 unfortunate coincidences. In 1972, Cathy E.
Bennett, a graduate psychologist, stumbled into such a discovery after putting together
training materials for a legal aid office. She volunteered to accompany an attorney to
court after that attorney complained that a judge was not listening to the arguments
presented.

2. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) fortunate circumstances

(C) carefully planned events

(D) resolutions of difficult complications

p. 253
Question 3
Bennett used her knowledge of psychology to analyze the judge's language and behavior
and was able to determine when the judge was interested and listening. If the judge was
paying attention, she told the attorney to continue, but if the judge was showing signs
of boredom or disagreement, she would tell the attorney 3 to change tactics.
Bennett’s strategies worked, and after the attorneys she assisted began to win
an unusual number of their hearings, she was asked if she could apply her skills to
juries.

3. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) that the case could not be won

(C) that there was not sufficient evidence for the judge to rule

(D) to pass the case to another attorney

p. 253
Question 4
Bennett’s strategies worked, and after the attorneys she assisted began to win
an unusual number of their hearings, she was asked if she could apply her skills to
juries. 4 Juries usually have twelve members, and must reach a unanimous decision.
Bennett founded a company that used her principles to assist attorneys, and the field of
trial consultation was born.

4. Which choice best supports the main point of the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) Although Bennett had attended trials in the past, these had always been
decided by judges, not juries.

(C) Because juries have multiple members, Bennett wasn't sure if her principles
would be as effective with juries as they had been with judges.

(D) She agreed to try and found she was also successful in predicting juries’
reactions to attorneys' arguments.
p. 253
Question 5
5 Since 1972, trial consultation has grown to become an indispensable
component of any high-profile court case. However, the dramatic depictions on
television are far from the truth. Trial consultation involves voluminous detailed
work, including careful construction of questionnaires that are presented to
prospective jurors during the examination called voir dire.

5. Which choice most effectively introduces the contrast described in the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) Today, many other psychologists assist attorneys as well, and a popular
television show has even made trial consultation a household term.

(C) Today, only the most successful trial consultants can afford to market themselves
with television advertisements.

(D) Trial consultation nowadays is a substantial part of the practice of many

psychologists. p. 254
Question 6
6 Trial consultants also review evidence, and help attorneys evaluate the
importance of individual pieces of evidence. After writing and administering the
questionnaires to the prospective jurors, the psychologist-turned-trial-consultant then
Carefully reads and analyzes every response, looking for hints that indicate whether a
Prospective juror should be included or dismissed.

6. Which of the following provides the most relevant detail?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) Questionnaires are known to be unreliable since they do not account for
jurors' biases.

(C) This examination can take several days, especially in famous cases, or cases
involving many complicated technical details.

(D) This is the preliminary questioning of jurors that allows the judge and attorneys
to eliminate jurors who may be unwilling or unable to rule fairly. p. 254
Question 7
Since prospective juror pools may contain hundreds of people, and each
questionnaire may contain a dozen pages, trial consultation involves 7 unavoidable
expenses more often than exciting revelations. But for those psychologists with the
proper skills, training, and desire, trial consultation is a demanding but rewarding
career.

7. (A) NO CHANGE

(B) multi-consultant teams

(C) bitter, extended conflicts

(D) tedious reading and detailed analysis

p. 254
Learning Objective
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Determine whether a sentence should be revised, added, or

deleted, and provide reasoning

p. 255
Development: Revising Text

Should a sentence be added to this paragraph?

1. The alien is on one of the eight planets in our solar system.

So, it's probably on the last planet, Neptune.

2. The corpse flower, native to Sumatra, is the world's largest flower. It is also perhaps
the worst-smelling: it gets its name from its scent, which it uses to attract the insects
that serve as its pollinators. Not surprisingly, the corpse flower is pollinated by flies
rather than bees.

p. 255
Question 1
Obesity: New Ways to Eat Less
Obesity is one of the most pressing health problems in the United States.
Studies indicate that the majority of Americans are overweight. 1 The obvious
solution to obesity may be to eat less and exercise more, but despite this popular
knowledge, the percentage of obese Americans has increased steadily since 2000.

1. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence.

In fact, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates almost
75% of men and 60% of women in the United States are in this category.
Should the writer make this addition here?
(A) Yes, because it introduces the main point of the paragraph.

(B) Yes, because it adds evidence supporting the previous sentence.

(C) No, because it shifts focus from the causes of obesity to the number
of people affected.

(D) No, because it restates what has already been said in the paragraph. p. 256
Question 2
The obvious solution to obesity may be to eat less and exercise more, but despite
this popular knowledge, the percentage of obese Americans has increased steadily
since 2000.
2 Some factors, such as large portion sizes, are well-known. Comparing
cookbook portions, packaged food sizes, and restaurant serving sizes over the last
30 years has shown that whether Americans cook at home or eat at restaurants,
they are presented with ever-larger portions.

2. The author is considering revising the underlined sentence to read:

Some of the factors, such as larger portion sizes, that are contributing
to the obesity epidemic are well-known.
Should the author make this revision here?
(A) Yes, because it connects the first paragraph to the second.

(B) Yes, because it effectively introduces a counterexample.

(C) No, because it is unnecessarily wordy.

p. 256
(D) No, because the additional information is irrelevant.
Question 3
Comparing cookbook portions, packaged food sizes, and restaurant serving
sizes over the last 30 years has shown that whether Americans cook at home
or eat at restaurants, they are presented with ever-larger portions. 3 As
everyone knows, what we see, we eat. Although infants are able to regulate
their calorie intake based on their internal satiety signals (the physical signals that
tell them they've eaten enough), most American adults have lost this ability. Adults
usually consume the food available to them, even if this food provides many more
calories than needed.

3. The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

(A) Kept, because it is needed to establish a contrast.

(B) Kept, because it is the main idea of the paragraph.

(C) Deleted, because it has no relation to the topic of the paragraph.

(D) Deleted, because it introduces a more informal tone. p. 257

Question 4
New research indicates that there may be many other components
involved in Americans' overeating, including plate size, plate color, and even choice
of cutlery. 4 When research subjects used plates with a color that contrasted with
the color of the food, they reduced the number of calories consumed. During that
same time, Dr. Stephan Guyenet found, average daily calorie consumption increased
by about 20%, approximately matching the increase in plate size.

4. The author is considering revising the underlined sentence to read:

The size of a standard dinner plate has grown from around nine
and a half inches to almost 12 inches over the last forty years.
Should the author make this revision here?

(A) Yes, because it presents information required by the rest of the paragraph.

(B) Yes, because it sets up the comparison to plate color.

(C) No, because the precise size of a dinner plate is an irrelevant detail.

(D) No, because it interrupts the discussion of plate color in the paragraph. p. 257
Question 5
5 How can the size of a plate affect the amount of food eaten from that plate?
Some of our satiety cues are visual. The sight of a smaller plate filled with a smaller
amount of food can trigger the same satisfaction as that of a larger plate heaped with
many more calories.

5. The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the sentence be
kept or deleted?

(A) Kept, because it supports the argument with an important detail.

(B) Kept, because it sets up the response made later in the paragraph.

(C) Deleted, because the informal tone is inconsistent with the rest of the passage.

(D) Deleted, because it is not related to the main idea of the paragraph.

p. 257
Question 6
Other studies comparing different colors of plates have noted a similar
visual response. 6 The use of white plates has been correlated with lower calorie
consumption and higher ratings of flavor when compared to that of black or red plates.
Whether these results are based on the contrast between the color of the food and the
color of the plate, a contrast that can make the plate appear more full, or on the subjective
associations we may have with specific colors remains to be studied.

6. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following sentence.

Interestingly, studies have correlated the type, size, and weight of cutlery with
calorie consumption as well.
Should the writer make this addition here?

(A) Yes, because it addresses the topic introduced in the previous paragraph.

(B) Yes, because it supports the main idea of the paragraph.

(C) No, because it introduces information that distracts from the main idea
of the paragraph.
p. 258
(D) No, because it fails to take food that doesn't require cutlery into account.
Question 7
The use of white plates has been correlated with lower calorie consumption and
higher ratings of flavor when compared to that of black or red plates. Whether
these results are based on the contrast between the color of the food and the
color of the plate, a contrast that can make the plate appear more full, or on the
subjective associations we may have with specific colors remains to be studied.
7 For example, the color red can be associated with anger and the color blue with
serenity.

7. The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence. Should the sentence be
kept or deleted?

(A) Kept, because it resolves the question asked earlier in the passage.

(B) Kept, because it contributes to the main idea of the paragraph.

(C) Deleted, because it does not provide relevant information.

(D) Deleted, because it repeats a point previously stated.

p. 258
Learning Objective
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Provide an introduction or conclusion to a paragraph or passage

p. 259
Introductions and Conclusions

Which of the following sentences would serve as the best

conclusion for this paragraph, and why?

While it is possible to put just about anything edible on a pizza,

most Americans are in agreement on their favorite toppings. More than
half of Americans surveyed choose pepperoni on their pies. Mushrooms
and onions are also high on the list of favorite toppings.

A. Sausage and bacon round out Americans’ top five picks.

B. Surprisingly, more than half of the mushrooms consumed in America

are grown around one small town in Pennsylvania.

p. 259
Question 1
Echolocation
One of the most intriguing abilities of the toothed whales—the group
of animals that includes dolphins, belugas, orcas, and pilot whales— 1 is their
capacity to communicate using vocalizations. Scientists believe all toothed whales
are capable of echolocation, the ability to locate and identify surrounding objects
without using visual cues.

1. Which choice provides the most appropriate introduction to the passage?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) is the ability to survive in an environment that is inherently hostile to

air-breathing mammals.

(C) is their capacity to use a full range of senses to best effect in order to survive.

(D) is their capacity for echolocation, sometimes known as biosonar.

p. 260
Question 2
Scientists believe all toothed whales are capable of echolocation, the ability to locate
and identify surrounding objects without using visual cues. Echolocation involves
emitting focused beams of high-frequency clicking sounds that bounce off objects
in the environment. The animals listen for the echoes that return from these objects
and interpret these signals based on variations from the sound originally emitted.
2 Bats, too, have evolved an extremely effective form of echolocation.

2. The writer wants a conclusion to the paragraph that logically completes the discussion
with relevant details about the nature of toothed whales' echolocation. Which choice
best accomplishes this goal?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) The whales’ brains then process the return signals to allow the animals
to “see” the objects.

(C) The whales then further process this information.

(D) Ambient ocean noise from ships and sonar may interfere with whales’ p. 260
use of echolocation.
Question 3
In the underwater world, sound transmission is highly enhanced, but
visibility is restricted or nonexistent. Thus, a sound-based sensory system can be
more useful than one based on vision. In such an environment, echolocation
provides multiple survival benefits. 3 Echolocation seems to have evolved in
toothed whales about 33 million years ago.

3. Which choice provides the best conclusion to explain the ideas discussed in the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) Indeed, toothed whales rely on their echolocation for hunting, navigation, and,
probably, predator avoidance.

(C) Any sense that enhances survival is likely to become more dominant in a species.

(D) When an animal's vision has relatively little value, other senses are likely to become
more important.
p. 260
Question 4
In principle, toothed whales' biosonar is very much like electronic sonar,
which converts the echoes of sound emissions off objects or terrain into visual
images. In fact, many experts believe that the echolocation of toothed whales
provides the animals 4 with a three-dimensional view of their world.

4. Which choice most effectively concludes the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) many survival benefits.

(C) with sensory information unavailable to most land animals.

(D) evolutionary advantages that are not fully understood.

p. 261
Question 5
5 Whales continually engage in these “visual conversations” beneath the
ocean surface. These sound vibrations then pass through the skull and jawbones
into the “melon,” the large, fatty organ that forms the characteristic rounded
forehead of these animals. The melon then modulates and focuses the vibrations
into a beam that projects in whatever direction the whale’s head is pointing.

5. Which choice provides the most relevant introduction to the ideas expressed in the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) Exactly how whales perform echolocation continues to baffle marine biologists.

(C) The whales generate the sounds they use for echolocation by passing air
between sinus-like spaces in their heads.

(D) DELETE the underlined portion.

p. 261
Question 6
The frequency of the clicks the animals emit varies, not only from one
species to another but also within species, 6 and may have something to do with
the way the animals communicate with other members of their own species. For
example, during normal swimming, toothed whales emit relatively low-frequency
click sounds that are used for sensing the water depth, the terrain of the seafloor, the
character and distance of the shoreline, potential obstacles, and other animals.
Higher-frequency clicks, by contrast, are used for detecting and pursuing prey and
for close-up inspection of objects. Some species of toothed whales can even use
especially high-frequency sounds to stun or disorient their prey.
6. Which choice provides the most relevant introduction to the ideas in the paragraph?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) although the reasons for this are unknown.

(C) depending upon how the animal is using the echolocation.

p. 261
(D) DELETE the underlined portion and end the sentence with a period.
Question 7
Higher-frequency clicks, by contrast, are used for detecting and pursuing prey and
for close-up inspection of objects. Some species of toothed whales can even use
especially high-frequency sounds to stun or disorient their prey. 7 Thus, among
the toothed whales, echolocation has become an extremely refined ability that serves
a variety of functions as an aid to the whales' survival.

7. Which choice most effectively concludes the paragraph and passage?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) There is now some evidence to indicate that some toothed whales use their sense of
taste to navigate as well.

(C) Toothed whales use the full range of their senses to survive in a challenging
environment.

(D) While echolocation may not be as important to toothed whales as their senses of sight,
smell, and taste, it still plays an important role in their day-to-day survival.
p. 261
Learning Objective
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Revise text based on a graph or table

p. 262
Passage Graphs

p. 264
Question 1
Youth Vote?
Whereas the right to vote in the United States was once restricted to only
certain males, by the 1970s any citizen 18 and over who had registered to do so was
able to vote. Actual voter turnout today, however, still varies among different
populations according to characteristics such as level of education attained. For
instance, the percentage of citizens age 25-44 without a high school diploma who
voted in the 2016 federal election was 1 more than double the percentage of overall
citizens age 25-44 who voted in the election. These disparities in political participation
are alarming. With disproportionate voting among groups, the elected government may
not be truly representative of the concerns of all citizens.

1. Which choice offers an accurate interpretation of the data in the graphs?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) only about 12 percent lower than

(C) less than half

p. 263
(D) approximately equal to
Question 2
The most likely group in surveys to refer to voting as a “responsibility,”
Americans age 65 and over often criticize young adults for their relatively low
participation in elections. Indeed, in the 2016 election, 2 more than half of the
citizens in each age group voted. In their survey responses, young adults have reported
various factors impacting their decisions not to vote. Cited reasons include: lack of
knowledge about the election process, disinterest in local elections due to frequent
relocations for college and work, and a general sense that political candidates are not
engaged with their age demographic.

2. Which choice offers an accurate interpretation of the data in the graphs?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) the difference between the percentage of those aged 18–24 who voted and the
percentage of those aged 45–65 who voted was about 12 percent.

(C) more individuals in the 45–64 age group voted than did individuals in the 18–24
age group.

(D) the percentage of those aged 18–24 who voted was lower than both the percentage p. 264
of those aged 25–44 who voted and the percentage of those aged 45–64 who voted.
Question 3
Perhaps young adults’ participation in elections would increase if society more
effectively emphasized the importance of civic duty; 3 less than 50 percent of
those surveyed in the 18-24 age demographic reported they did not understand
the election process.

3. The writer wants to include information from the graphs that is consistent with the
details about voting described in the passage. Which choice most effectively
accomplishes this goal?

(A) NO CHANGE

(B) over 50 percent of those surveyed in the 18-24 age demographic reported
they did not understand the election process.

(C) over three-fourths of the age demographic most likely to consider voting
a responsibility were registered to vote in 2016.

(D) about 70 percent of the age demographic most likely to consider voting p. 264
a responsibility were registered to vote in 2016.
Learning Objectives
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Calculate the volume of common solids

• Calculate the surface area of common solids

p. 139
Three-Dimensional Figures
Volume: area of base  height

Surface area: the sum of the area of the faces

p. 139
Question 1
Question 1

1. A rectangular cargo container 5 feet wide by 6 feet long by 4 feet high is completely filled
with a powdered cleaner. This cleaner is transferred to 10 equal-sized rectangular boxes,
each with a base that is 2 feet by 3 feet. Assuming there is no overflow of the cleaner and no
empty space in any of the 10 boxes, which of the following represents the height of each
box?

(A) 2 feet

(B) 3 feet

(C) 5 feet

(D) 10 feet

p. 140
Question 2
Question 2

2. William has a right cylindrical beaker that is 8 centimeters in diameter and 12 centimeters high.
The beaker is full of water. If he pours all of the water from this beaker into a second right
cylindrical beaker that has a diameter of 16 centimeters, how high, in centimeters, will the water
reach in the second beaker?

p. 140
Question 3
Question 3

3. A cylinder with a height of 6 centimeters and two solid ends is glued to the top of a cube.
The radius of the cylinder is 2 cm and the sides of the cube are 5 cm. Which of the following
is the approximate total surface area, in cm2, of the resulting object?

2 cm
(A) 225

(B) 250

(C) 263 6 cm
(D) 285

5 cm

p. 140
Question 4
Question 4

4. A right triangular prism with a base of 4 centimeters, a height of 3 centimeters, a

hypotenuse of 5 centimeters, and a width of 6 centimeters is shown in the figure. What
fraction of the prism's total surface area is the surface area of its two triangular faces?

(A)

3 cm 5 cm
(B)

(C)
4 cm
6 cm
(D)

p. 141
Learning Objectives
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Calculate trigonometric ratios using the side lengths of right triangles, and
vice versa

• Describe the relationship between the sine and cosine of complementary

angles

p. 148
Trigonometric Ratios
Trigonometric ratios are just the ratios of side lengths in a right triangle.
For the SAT, you only need to know three of them:

Sine (sin) Cosine (cos) Tangent (tan)

p. 148
Question 1
Question 1

1. Based on the given figure, which of the following is NOT true?

(A)

(B)
17
8
(C)

28.1°
(D)

p. 149
Question 2
Question 2

2. In the given figure, DE is parallel to AC and sin ∠C = 0.6. If side BC = 20 and segment EC = 5,
then what is the length of side BD ?

D E

A C

p. 149
Complementary Angles

For complementary angles:

• sin x° = cos (90 – x)°

• cos x° = sin (90 – x)°

x°

(90 – x)°

p. 148
Question 3
Question 3

3. What is the value of sin A – cos B in the given triangle?

(A) 0

(B)

(C)

(D) 1

p. 149
Question 4
Question 4

4. In the given figure, the sine of angle ABD is equal to the cosine of angle DBC. Which of
the following MUST be true?

(A) sin ∠A = cos ∠C

(B) sin ∠A + cos ∠C = 1

(C) sin ∠A = sin ∠ABD

(D) sin ∠A = sin ∠DBC

p. 149
Learning Objective
After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Perform arithmetic operations on imaginary and complex numbers

p. 152
Complex Numbers
Imaginary numbers are infrequently tested on the SAT. Here’s all you need
to know for test day:

p. 152
Question 1
Question 1

1. Which of the following is the correct simplification of the expression (5i + 2) – (3 + 8i),
where ?

(A) –1 – 3i

(B) –1 + 13i

(C) –2 – 6i

(D) –2 – 10i

p. 153
Question 2
Question 2

2. Given that , which of the following is equivalent to (7 + 4i) + (2i2 – 9i) ?

(A) 2i2 + 5i + 7

(B) –5 – 5i

(C) 5 – 5i

(D) 10

p. 153
Question 3
Question 3

3. Which of the following is equal to (2 – 7i)(3 – 12i)?

(A) 84i2 + 45i + 6

(B) –78 – 45i

(C) 78 + 45i

(D) 33

p. 153
Question 4
Question 4

4. If the expression is written as the complex number a + bi, where a and b are real
numbers, then what is the value of a ?

p. 153