Grammar Police
This punctuation mark can be used identically to a period to join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
What is a semicolon?
In standard linear slope-intercept form $y = mx + b$, the letter $b$ represents this specific coordinate point on a graph.
What is the y-intercept / $(0, b)$?
In critical reading, an author who remains objective works deliberately to eliminate this personal slant.
What is bias?
The interior angles of any Euclidean triangle always add up to this exact degree measure.
What is 180 degrees?
The penalty assessed for guessing incorrectly on the digital SAT or ACT.
What is zero? (or: What is no penalty?)
Identify the grammatical error: "The committee of teachers, along with the principal, are attending the conference."
What is subject-verb agreement? ("are" should be "is")
Given the polynomial function $f(x) = 3x^2 - 5$, calculate the exact value of $f(-2)$.
What is 7?
The rhetorical device of placing two distinct or contrasting ideas side-by-side to emphasize their differences is called this "J" word.
What is juxtaposition?
In a right triangle with legs of length 3 and 4, this is the exact length of the hypotenuse.
What is 5?
The brand name of the built-in graphing calculator embedded inside the digital SAT.
What is Desmos?
When using em dashes to set off nonessential explanatory information mid-sentence, you cannot mix an em dash with this punctuation mark.
What is a comma?
A system of two linear equations has infinitely many solutions when their graphed lines share this relationship.
What are identical lines / coinciding lines?
In formal procedural or legislative contexts, the secondary definition of the verb "to table" a motion means to do this.
What is to postpone / set aside?
A scatterplot whose line of best fit slopes downward from left to right demonstrates this kind of statistical correlation.
What is negative correlation?
Reading passage answer choices containing absolute words like "always," "never," or "completely" almost always have this status.
What is incorrect? (or: What is wrong / false?)
In the phrase "Running down the street, my hat blew off," this specific flaw makes it sound like the hat has legs.
What is a dangling modifier?
In vertex form $y = a(x - h)^2 + k$, the ordered pair $(h, k)$ reveals this critical point of the parabola.
What is the vertex?
An argument, conclusion, or connection described as "tenuous" is characterized by being this.
What is weak / flimsy / unsupported?
For the circle equation $(x - 3)^2 + (y + 2)^2 = 25$, this is the radius.
What is 5?
The section on the ACT that focuses on reading graphs, tables, and experimental designs rather than memorized science facts.
What is the Science section?
Unlike "nevertheless," the transition word "moreover" signals this logical relationship between ideas.
What is addition / supporting continuation?
In the quadratic formula, this algebraic expression ($b^2 - 4ac$) indicates whether roots are real, repeated, or complex.
What is the discriminant?
A speech or passage praised for its "brevity" is characterized by this specific stylistic virtue.
What is conciseness / shortness?
In a 30 degree/60 degree/90 degree special right triangle where the shortest leg is x, this is the expression for the hypotenuse.
What is 2x?
The popular 9-letter mnemonic acronym used on the ACT to remember Sine, Cosine, and Tangent.
What is SOH-CAH-TOA?