CBEST math

36. In the following equation, what would be the value of y if x = -2? y = 2x + 3 a. 1 b. -1 c. 4 d. -4 e. 5

Substitute - 2 for x gives the equation: y = 2(- 2) + 3 So, y = - 4 + 3 and, y = - 1 Correct answer is b.

16. Round 105,675 to the nearest hundred. a. 105,675 b. 106,000 c. 105,600 d. 106,700 e. 105,700

The 6 is in the hundreds place. Look at the number immediately to the right. If it is 5 or more, the 6 becomes a 7. If it is 4 or less, it remains a 6. Therefore, the only 2 possible answers are 105,600 or 105,700. All places to the right of where I am rounding off will be zeroes. To the right of 6 is a 7, so I round up. The answer is 105,700.

50. The largest side of a triangle is 12 feet. Its smallest side is 7 feet. If the unknown side is three feet shorter than the longest side, what is the perimeter of this triangle? a. 16 feet b. 19 feet. c. 5 feet d. 26 feet e. 28 feet

The missing side is 3 feet shorter than the longest side, or 12 - 3. That makes it 9. The perimeter would be 12 + 9 + 7 = 28, answer e.

29. For Dawn's crafting class, each student needs 5 inches of yellow ribbon for a crafting project. How much ribbon will Dawn need for her class of 34 students? a. 170 feet b. 34 feet c. 39 feet d. 14 feet 9 inches e. 14 feet 2 inches

We need to notice the answers are all in feet. There are 12 inches in a foot, so we will need to convert inches to feet at the end. 5 in x 34 = 170 inches. Dividing 170 by 12 gives an answer of 14 and a remainder of 2. Correct answer is e, 14 feet 2 inches.

4. A certain square has an area of 36 square inches. What is the perimeter of this square? a. 6 b. 12 c. 18. d. 24 e. 30

You should know that a square has all sides equal. Multiply 2 sides together to get the area. Since the sides will be the same number, we are looking for a number multiplied by itself to get 36. The only number that satisfies that is 6. ( 6 x 6 = 36). Each side is 6 inches, therefore the perimeter is 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 inches.

18. What is the best estimate for 10,067 - 9, 101 ? a. 100 b. 500 c. 1000 d. 1100 e. 1200

. 10,100 - 9,100 = 1000. Be careful about answer d. It looks attractive.

45. A rectangle as a length of 14 centimeters. If the perimeter of this rectangle is 44 centimeters, what is the width of the rectangle? a. 8 centimeters b. 14 centimeters c. 22 centimeters d. 28 centimeters e. 30 centimeters

I know opposite sides in a rectangle are equal. If one side is 14, the opposite side is also 14. That makes a total of 28 so far. But the perimeter is 44, so I subtract 44 - 28 to get 16. This 16 represents the sum of the other 2 sides. They are equal, so the only number that works is 8 because 8 +8 = 16. Therefore, the answer is a.

41. A bag contains 5 black marbles, 10 blue marbles, and 6 red marbles. What are the odds of picking a black marble from this bag? a. 5/11 b. 5/10 c. 5/16 d. 5/21 e. 5/15

There are 21 total marbles, 5 that are black. The odds are 5 out of 21, or 5/21.

34. Joan was twice as old as her sister 10 years ago. If her sister is 25 years old today, what is Joan's age now ? a. 25 b. 30 c. 35 d. 40 e. 45

We need to know Joan's age NOW. The problem gives her sister's age as 25 now, so count back ten years and we get an age of 15 for her. But 10 years ago Joan was twice her age. Therefore, Joan was 15 x 2 or 30 years old ten years ago. Joan would have to be ten years older today, or 30 + 10 = 40. Correct answer is d.

14. 5 more than 3 times a number is 23. What is the number? a. 6 b. 8 c. 10 d. 12 e. 14

. Let x be the number, then the equation is 5 + 3x = 23. Subtract 5 from each side gives: 3x = 18 Dividing each side by 3 gives: x = 6.

22. Which of the following is between 0.45 and 7/9 ? a. 0.35 b. 1/6 c. 0.80 d. 3/7 e. 0.68

22. To find 7/9 divide 7 by 9 to get a decimal of about .77. The range I am looking for is between .45 and .77. Answer a is too low, answer c is too high. Before we look at the fractions, we can look at the other answers. Answer e, .68 is perfect. It MUST be the answer. Answer b should logically be seen as too small. 3/7 is close. But 3 divided by 7 is about .43, a little too small. You do need to know how to convert a fraction to a decimal and visa versa.

19. Solve the following equation for x. 2x + 4 = 22 a. 9 b. 18 c. 16 d. 28 e. 4

2x + 4 = 22 Subtracting 4 from each side gives: 2x = 18. Divide both sides by 2 gives: x = 9 Alternative way of solving #19: We could work backwards using all answers. Multiply each answer by 2, then add 4. If we get 22, then we have then right answer. The only one that works is 9.

13. Joseph drove 4 3/4 miles on Saturday, and 5 7/8 miles on Sunday. How many miles total did he drive on these 2 days? a. 9 3/4 b. 10 3/8 c. 10 1/2 d. 9 5/8 e. 10 5/8

Change the fractions to a common denominator of 8. You get 6/8 + 7/8 or 13/8 which reduces to 1 and 5/8. Add the 1 to 4 and the 5 to get 10. The answer is e. 10 5/8.

7. What number is 36% of 650 ? a. 234 b. 243 c. 221 d. 216 e. 220

Multiply .36 x 650 to get 234. Alternative way of solving #7: 10% of 650 is 65. So, 30% = 65 + 65 + 65 or 195. 5 % of 650 = 32.5, so 35% = 195 + 32.5 or 227.5. (I could logically pick 234 because it is only slightly higher than 227.5) 1% of 650 = 6.5, so add 6.5 + 227.5 = 234.

44. A class takes a bus trip that has a total of 540 miles round-trip. If the total trip is to be 6 days, how many miles do they need to average per day ? a. 54 b. 9 c. 90 d. 45 e. 60

Simply take 540 divided by 6 to get 90 miles. Answer is c.

40. A car is traveling at an average speed of 63 miles per hour. The car has traveled for 1 hour and 40 minutes. If the trip is to be 189 miles, how much longer will the trip take? a. 2 hours b. 3 hours c. 1 hour 20 minutes d. 2 hours 10 minutes e. 1 hour 40 minutes

. At 63 mph, 189 miles would take 189 divided by 63. 189 divided by 63 is 3. So, the trip will take 3 hours. Subtract 1:40 from 3:00, we get 1:20. Correct answer is c, 1 hour 20 minutes.

17. Roberta is to receive an increase of 6% on her weekly salary. Her weekly salary is $355.50. What will her new weekly salary be after the increase? a. $361.50 b. $376.83 c. $366.50 d. $372.00 e. $386.83

. Multiply .06 x 355.50 or 21.33. Add 21.33 + 355.50 to get 376.83. Alternative way of solving #17. 1% of 355.50 = 3.5550. Add 6 of these together and add it to 355.55 to get 376.83.

47. A floor in a room has an area of 440 square feet. What percent of the floor area is covered by a rectangular rug with the dimensions of 11 feet x 5 feet? a. 10% b. 12.5 % c. 25% d. 11.5 % e. 20%

11 x 5 equals 55, so 55/440 of the room is covered. This fraction can be reduced to 11/88, then to 1/8. 1/8 is exactly 12.5% (Learn your eighths!). Correct answer is b.

15. Which of the following numbers is between 0.056 and 0.0037 ? a. 0.068 b. 0.0034 c. 0.00045 d. 0.0025 e. 0.0046

15. I like putting the smaller number first and get the range. I need a number larger than .0037 and smaller than .056. I compare all answers and need to find one that satisfies both rules. Answer a is larger than .056, so it is out. Answer b, c, and d are all smaller than .0037, so they are out. The only one left is e.

48. A tank holds 23 3/4 gallons of gasoline. If 10 1/3 gallons are removed, how many gallons of gasoline are left in the tank? a. 13 1/2 b. 12 1/3 c. 13 1/12 d. 13 5/12 e. 13 7/12

3/4 is larger than 1/3, so we don't have to worry about borrowing. The common denominator between 3 and 4 is 12, so 3/4 = 9/12 and 1/3 = 4/12. 9/12 - 4/12 = 5/12 and 23 - 10 = 13, so the answer is d, 13 5/12. Alternate way of solving #48: Let's look at 3/4 - 1/3. If we know that 3/4 = .75, and 1/3 = .33, then 3/4 - 1/3 = about .75 - .33 or .42. Therefore, 23 3/4 - 10 1/3 is very close to 13 and .42. We know it has a 13, so answer b is out. We also know it is for sure less than 1/2 or .5. That eliminates anything at or above 1/2. This eliminates answers a, c and e. We are now left with choice d. It MUST be the correct answer. Learn your fourths and thirds!

5. Carrson High School has a senior class of 540 students. If 4 out of every 9 of these students are planning to attend college, how many are not planning to attend college? a. 240 b. 270 c. 300 d. 370 e. 400

4 out of 9 is the fraction 4/9. Multiply 540 x 4, then divide your answer by 9. You get 240. This represents the number of students attending college. (Always reread the question to make sure you are answering what is asked for.) The number not attending college would be 540 - 240 = 300. The answer is c. You could have also recognized that you need to find 5/9 of 540, solved similarly as above. Alternative way to solve #5: 4/9 represents a little less than half. So, the number attending college is a little less than half. Half of 540 is 270. The number attending college will be slightly lower than this. Likewise, the number not attending college is a little higher than 270. The only logical answer would be 300. 5/9 represents the number not attending college. 5/9 is about 55% Finding 55% of 540 would be easy and very close to 300. *Remember: You do not need to get the exact answer. Just be close enough to logically choose the answer from the 5 choices.

21. A class is having a party. They are ordering cookies. One dozen chocolate chip cookies costs $1.25, One dozen plain cookies costs $.75. With candy sprinkles added to the plain cookies, the cost increases by $.30 per dozen. The class ordered the following: 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies 4 dozen plain cookies 6 dozen plain cookies with candy sprinkles. What was the total (without tax) the class would have to pay? a. $3.05 b. $9.30 c. $12.50 d. $15.55 e. $16.00

Add each category separately. Chocolate Chip = 5 x 1.25 = $6.25 Plain = 4 x .75 = $3.00 With Sprinkles = 6 x 1.05 = $6.30 Total = 6.25 + 3.00 + 6.30 = $15.55 I could have also recognized the total will end in a 5. Answer a is too small. Answer d would be the only one that fits. It MUST be the right answer.

12. Stephany received scores of 83, 89, 81, 87, and 90 on her tests for the semester. What was her average score on these tests? a. 81 b. 83 c. 86 d. 87 e. 90

Add the scores and divide the total by 5. It is 430 ÷ 6 or 86. This is the only way one should do problems like this.

28. A rectangle has a perimeter of 34 inches and an area of 60 square inches. Which of the following is a possible dimension of this rectangle? a. 17 in x 17 in b. 30 in x 30 in c. 20 in x 30 in d. 5 in x 12 in e. 17 in x 2 in

Area of a rectangle is length times width. Therefore, we are looking for 2 numbers when multiplied, you get 60. The only answer that fits is answer d, 5 x 12. We can verify the sides add up to 34: 5 + 12 + 5 + 12 = 34.

30. Bob is replacing light bulbs in his business. He needs 39 total bulbs. The bulbs he needs are sold in boxes of 6. How many boxes will he have to buy to replace all the bulbs he needs? a. 8 b. 7 c. 6 d. 5 e. 4

Bob cannot buy a partial box. Therefore, if he needs less than a multiple of 6, he will need to but another full box. 39 divided by 6 is 6 and one half. So, he needs to but 7 boxes. Correct answer is b.

25. A rectangle has a width of 9 inches. If its length is twice as much as the width, what is the perimeter of the box? a. 9 inches b. 18 inches c. 27 inches d. 54 inches e. 162 inches

Don't confuse area with perimeter. Perimeter is the distance all the way around. In a rectangle, opposites sides are equal. The length of the rectangle in the problem is twice as long as the width. The width is 9, so the length is 18. The perimeter is all 4 sides added to each other: 9 + 18 + 9 + 18 = 54. Correct answer: d.

26. Kenny received scores of 85, 89, 84, and 94 on his tests so far for the semester. If there is one more test, what is the lowest score he can get to have a final average score of 90 ? a. 100 b. 99 c. 98 d. 97 e. 96

He has taken 4 tests so far. One more will make a total of 5. He needs a total of 450 points to have an average score of 90 because 450 ÷ 5 = 90. His scores so far total 85 + 89 + 84 + 94 = 352. He needs 450 - 352 or 98 points. The lowest score he can get is a 98. The score of 100 looks attractive because it will indeed push his average over 90. But, we are looking for the lowest score. The answer is c, 90.

24. A classroom has 4 computers. If each student is allowed 10 minutes of computer time alone, how long will it take to accommodate 35 students? a. 40 minutes b. 1 hour 10 minutes c. 1 hour 20 minutes d. 1 hour 30 minutes e. 2 hours

I need to look at 35 divided by 4, the number of students at one time, to see how many "sessions" I need. 35 divided by 4 is 8, plus a remainder of 3. Multiply 8 x 10 to get the total minutes of 32 students. This equals 80 minutes, or 1 hour 20 minutes. But we need to account for the 3 extra students. This will also take 10 minutes, no matter that we have less than 4 students. The correct answer is d, 1 hour 30 minutes. Alternative way to solve #24: Make a chart or table. 10 min = 4 students 20 min = 8 students 30 min = 12 students ....and so on. I could even now jump ahead to: 60 min = 24 students. I continue until I have had all 35 students accounted for.

8. Use the following information to answer number 8. John visits various parks near his house on a regular basis. He either bikes, jogs, or walks. * If the park is less than 2 miles from his home, J;ohn will walk. * If the park is between 2 miles and 9 miles, John will jog. * If the park is greater than 9 miles, John will bike. If you know that on a certain day John rode his bike to the park, which of the following could be true? a. The park is one mile from his house. b. The park is 5 miles from his home. c. If the park were 1 mile closer, John would have walked. d. The park is 11 miles from his home. e. The park is not more than 9 miles from his home.

If John rode his bike, the distance MUST be greater than 9 miles. Look for an answer that is more than 9 miles. The key words in the question are "could be true." All we need is one that fits, not necessarily the real distance he actually traveled. Answer d is the only one that fits him riding the bike.

23. A teacher has 36 desks in her room. Which of the following is a possible arrangement for the desks? (Assume she must account for each one.) a. 6 rows with 5 desks in each row. b. 5 rows with 7 desks in each row. c. 9 rows with 4 desks in each row. d. 5 rows with 6 desks in each row. e. 6 rows with 7 desks in each row.

Just look for 2 numbers that multiply to 36. The only one that works is answer c, 4 x 9.

6. The school library has 272 books in their natural science section. If 25% are books related to animals, how many books on animals are on hand? a. 27 b. 54 c. 68 d. 25 e. 136

Multiply .25 x 272 to get 68. Alternative way of solving #6: You should know that 25% means 1/4. So, I am looking for a number that when multiplied by 4, I get 272. The only answer that works is 68 x 4 = 272. However, I knew it was going to end in an 8 because that is the only number I can multiply by 4 to get a 2 on the end. (272 ends in 2 and 4 x 8 = 32). 68 is the only number on the list that ends in 8. 68 MUST be the answer.

3. Bob is stapling packets for his students. He can staple one complete packet in about 3 minutes. About how long will it take him to staple enough packets for his class of 30 students? a. 1 hour 20 minutes b. 1 hour 30 minutes c. 2 hours 20 minutes d. 2 hours 9 minutes e. 3 hours

Multiply 3 x 30 = 90. It will take 90 minutes. But the answers are in hours, 60 minutes to an hour, so the answer must be 1 hour 30 minutes.

1. Hattie purchases 3 books for $3.75 each 5 notepads for $1.75 each. She uses the following equation to figure the total (before tax): (3 x $3.75) + (5 x $1.75) Which of the following is another that could also be used? a. (3 x 5) + ($ 3.75 x $1.75) b. (3 + 5) + ($3.75 x $1.75) c. (8 x $3.75) - $10 d. 15 + ($3.75 x $1.75) e. $3.75 + $1.75

On questions like this, remember: You will never multiply the quantities together. You will never multiply the prices together. The above cautions help you eliminate answers a, b, and d. We are left with c or e. Answer e is obviously wrong. The only one left is c. Alternative way to solve #11: Do a quick calculation as to what the original equation equals. It is $20. Look for an expression that gives $20 dollars. And use the 2 rules as above. The only one close between c and e is c

2. Mrs. Johnson needs 4 blue paper circles for each student in her class. She can cut 6 of these circles from each piece of blue paper she is using. If there are 32 students in her class, how many pieces of blue paper will she need? a. 32 b. 10 c. 22 d. 36 e. 21

She needs a total of 32 x 4 or 128 circles. 6 can be cut from 1 paper, so divide 128 by 6 and you get 21 and a small remainder. Forget the remainder, you KNOW you will have to use 1 more paper for make up for that remainder. The answer will be 21 + 1 or 22. 21 may look attractive, but where would the little extra come from?

43. George rides his bike and jogs for exercise. If he rides for 3 1/2 miles and jogs for 2 2/3 miles each day, how much is his total daily mileage for biking and jogging? a. 5 miles b. 5 1/2 miles c. 6 1/6 miles d. 6 2/3 miles e. 6 5/6 miles

Since we are adding, we only need to put the fractional part over common denominators. That would be sixths. 1/2 = 2/6, and 2/3 = 4/6, so 3/6 + 4/6 = 7/6. That gives me 1 whole more, plus 1/6. So the total is 6 1/6. But I also could have noticed that the only answer that has 1/6 is c. It must be the correct answer. Alternative way of solving #43: 1/2 + 2/3 will logically be more than 1, so the answer will be slightly more than 6. 2/3 is way too much for the fractional part, so c is the only logical choice.

9. A jacket that normally costs $27 is on sale for $21.60. What percentage of a discount was applied to the jacket? a. 10% b. 15% c. 20% d. 25% e. 30%

The discount was 27 - 21.60 or 5.4. 10% os 2.7, 20% would be 5.4. That is the answer, 20% Remember, these questions are supposed to be done without a calculator!

46. The lengths of the 2 smallest sides of a triangle are 6 inches and 12 inches. Which of the following is a possible length of the third side ? a. 18 inches b. 15 inches c. 6 inches d. 10 inches e. 24 inches

The sum of the two smallest sides MUST add up to more than the longest side. (I'll let you figure out why as a good number theory exercise.) Therefore, since 6 + 12 is 18, the longest side must be shorter than 18. But it cannot be 12 or less because we know 12 represents a side shorter than the longest side. The number must be between 12 and 18. The only number that works is answer b, 15.

10. Martha buys lunch in the cafeteria at her place of work. She buys a drink for $.85, a sandwich for $1.75, an apple for $.45. At the same time, she also purchases a bag of potato chips. If her total bill before tax was $3.80, what was the cost of the chips? a. $.75 b. $.85 c. $.90 d. $.92 e. $.95

The total of the given items with prices is .85 + 1.75 + .45 or 3.05. Her real total was 3.80. So, subtract 3.80 - 3.05 to get .75, the cost of the chips. (Yes, I did eliminate the dollar sign in my calculations. It is meaningless to the answer.)

33. A cube has a volume of 125 cubic inches. What is the length of one of its sides? a. 25 in b. 20 in c. 45 in d. 5 in e. 12.5 in

The volume of any rectangular solid is length X width X height. If the solid is a cube, all 3 edges are equal. Therefore, we need a number that when cubed equals 125. The only number that works is 5, because 5 x 5 x 5 = 125. The answer is d.

42. 90% of students in a class have brown eyes. If 30% of those with brown eyes also have black hair, what percent of the total number of students have brown eyes and black hair? a. 60% b. 27% c. 45% d. 120% e. 30%

We are looking at .90 x .30, which is 27. Correct answer is b. Alternative way to solve #42: We are not given a total, but it does not matter. We only need a percentage of the total. All numbers behave the same, so let's work with an easy total of 100 students. That means that 90 of them have brown eyes. I now need to calculate 30% of 90. It is roughly a third, so the closest answer would be b. Doing it another alternative way, I know that 10% of 90 = 9, so 30% must be 9 + 9 + 9, which is 27.

1. Joan spent Monday and Tuesday shopping. She spent a total of $115. She spent $47 more on Monday than she did on Tuesday. How much did she spend on Tuesday? a. $68 b. $162 c. $34 d. $81 e. $115

We are simply looking for 2 numbers that when added together, we get 115. Also, one number is 47 more than the other. Let x represent the smaller number, then x + 47 would be the larger, so we have the equation: x + x + 47 = 115 Combine the x with the other x gives: 2x + 47 = 115 Subtract 47 from both sides. 2x = 68 Divide each side by 2 gives: x = 34

31. 42 is what percent of 210 ? a. 42 b. 84 c. 28 d. 20 e. 168

We can just divide 42 by 210. I should recognize that 42 is around 1/5 or 20%. In fact, it is exactly .20 or 20%. The answer is d, 20. Remember, all problems are to be done without a calculator. Picking the answer may be just logic.

37. 6 more than twice a number is 28. What is the number? a. 14 b. 3 c. 22 d. 11 e. 34

We need to be able to read the sentence correctly. We are adding 6 to an number that gets multiplied by 2. The correct algebraic equation is: 6 + 2x = 28. Subtract 6 from each side, 2x = 22. Divide both sides by x, x = 11. Correct answer is d. Alternative way of solving #37. Work backward. Double each answers, the add 6. If you get 28, you have the right answer. The only one that works is 11.

39. A pump is pumping water from a flooded basement at a rate of 9 gallons per minute. If it takes 2 hours and 3 minutes to pump out all the water, how many gallons of water were in the basement? a. 1107 b. 1102 c. 21 d. 123 e. 540

We need to convert 2 hours and 3 minutes to minutes, because the rate is given in minutes. 2 hours and 3 minutes = 123 minutes. Multiply 123 by 9 to get 1107 gallons. Correct answer is a.

35. A price for a certain car is marked up $250 and then marked up 12% of that total. Which of the following equations could be used to calculate the total price of this car if P represents the price of the car before being marked up. a. (.12 x P) + 250 b. (.12 x 250) + P c. (.12 x 250 x P) d. .12(P + 250) x P e. .12(P + 250) + P

We need to find and equation that multiplies the total by .12, then ADDS it to the original price. The only answers that add it to the original price are b and e. But b only multiples 250 by .12, not the new total. Therefore, e must be correct.

38. Use the following data for the next question. Percentage of Each Individual Paper Product as Produced by The Pepper Mill Company Cardboard: 37% Copier paper: 32% Cartons(Egg, milk, etc.): 26% Tissue paper: _______ If the above totals represent all products produced by the company, what percentage does tissue paper represent? a. 20% b. 15% c. 10% d. 5% e. 2%

We need to realize all products will total 100%. Adding the given figures, we get 37 + 32 + 25 = 95. We need 100 - 95, or 5% more to total 100. Correct answer is d.

32. If a dress that now sells for $21.56 has been marked down 30%. What was its original price ? a. $30.80 b. $25.00 c. $24.56 d. $21.26 e. $51.56

We need to realize that 21.56 represents 70% of the original price. Hence, 21.56 divided by 7 will equal 10%. It is easy to divide 21.56 by 7. It is 3.08. Therefore the original price is 21.56 +3.08 + 3.08 + 3.08, which is $30.08 Correct answer is a. I could have also estimated the addition to be about 30. I could have picked a without hesitation. Alternative way to solve #32. Algebraic equation would be: x -.3x = 21.56, where x = the original price, and then solved for x. Also, I could have realized that 30% is about 1/3, therefore 21.56 represents about 2/3 of the original price. 2/3 is equal to 1/3 + 1/3, so cutting 21.56 in half would have given me about 30%, or 10.78. Adding this to 21.56 would give a rough answer of 32.34. But I know the real answer will be only slightly less, so I can pick a with confidence.

49. What is the perimeter of a pentagon if all sides have a length of 6.5 inches ? a. 30.5 inches b. 31.5 inches c. 32.5 inches d. 33.5 inches e. 34.5 inches

We should know that a pentagon has 5 sides. If each side is 6.5, we simply have to multiply 6.5 by 5. Don't let decimals scare you. If you never learned any rule, split it up! Take 6 x 5 to get

20. Two consecutive even integers added together equal 26. Which of the following is the smaller integer? a. 25 b. 20 c. 12 d. 14 e. 13

We should realize that even numbers are 2 more than previous even number. Consecutive even numbers are 4 and 6, 12 and 14, etc. Let x be the smallest, then x + 2 is the next one. This gives the equation: x + x + 2 = 26 Combine the x and x gives 2x + 2 = 26 Subtract 2 from each side gives: 2x = 24 Dividing each side by 2 gives 12. We need to ask ourselves, is this the smaller or larger? If is the smaller, then 12 + 14 should equal 26. It does, so 12 is the answer. Notice how 14 is an answer choice. Alternative way of solving #20. Work backwards. Take the next even number and add it to the answer choice. Answer a and e can be eliminated because they are odd numbers. The only one that works is 12. Be careful about the 14. Many times the test will include the other numbers you get and be very attractive.

27. Use the chart below to answer the following question. Theater #1 Movie Start Times 2:15 pm 4:25 pm 6:35 pm From the above movie start times, what would be a good estimation for the showing immediately following the 6:35 pm showing? a. 8:45 pm b. 9:00 pm c. 9:15 pm d. 9:30 pm e. 9:45 pm

You need to assume and note that the movies start 2 hours and 10 minutes after the previous one starts. It would be logical that the next one would start 2 hours and 10 minutes after 6:35 pm. The correct time would be 8:45 pm, answer a.