GRE Jeopardy

ANALOGIES

100

CHRONOLOGICAL : TIME--- A. VIRTUAL : TRUTH B. ABNORMAL : VALUE C. MARGINAL : KNOWLEDGE D. ORDINAL : PLACE E. COINCIDENTAL : HEALTH

D: Chronological means in order of time, as ordinal means in order in place.

200

CLUMSY : BOTCH--- A. WICKED : INSINUATE B. STRICT : PAMPER C. WILLFUL : HEED D. CLEVER : ERADICATE E. LAZY : SHIRK

E: One who is clumsy may botch a job; one who is lazy may shirk work.

300

MASSIVE : BULK--- A. ULTIMATE : MAGNITUDE B. TRIVIAL : IMPORTANCE C. ANONYMOUS : LUSTER D. INTERMINABLE : LEGACY E. GIGANTIC : SIZE

E: As something massive has great bulk, something gigantic has great size.

400

TOPAZ : YELLOW--- A. DIAMOND : CARAT B. JEWELER : CLARITY C. SAPPHIRE : RED D. AMETHYST : PURPLE E. AMBER : BLUE

D: Topazes are yellow and amethysts are purple.

500

UNION JACK : VEXILLOLOGY--- A. TOAD : ORNITHOLOGY B. TURTLE : MICROBIOLOGY C. GYMNOSPERMS : BOTANY D. FRIEND : HOME ECONOMICS E. ALGAE : ZOOLOGY

C: The Union Jack (British flag) is part of vexillology, the study of flags; gymnosperms are part of botany, the study of plants.

BASIC ALGEBRA

100

Lee worked 22 hours this week and made $132. If she works 15 hours next week at the same pay rate, how much will she make?--- A. $57 B. $90 C. $104 D. $112 E. $122

B: The following proportion may be used to determine how much Lee will make next week: 22/132 = 15/x. Solving for x gives x = 90. Thus, she will make $90 next week, if she works 15 hours.

200

The sales price of a car is $12,590, which is 20% off the original price. What is the original price?--- A. $14,310.40 B. $14,990.90 C. $15,290.70 D. $15,737.50 E. $16,935.80

D: If Original Price = X $12,590 = X - 0.2X $12,590 = 0.8X X = $12,590/0.8 X = $15,737.50

300

You need to purchase a textbook for nursing school. The book cost $80.00, and the sales tax where you are purchasing the book is 8.25%. You have $100. How much change will you receive back?--- A. $5.20 B. $7.35 C. $13.40 D. $19.95 E. $21.25

C: The amount you will pay for the book may be represented by the expression, 80+(80*0.0825) Thus, you will pay $86.60 for the book. The change you will receive is equal to the difference of $100 and $86.60, or $13.40.

400

Alfred wants to invest $4,000 at 6% simple interest rate for 5 years. How much interest will he receive?--- A. $240 B. $480 C. $720 D. $960 E. $1,200

E: Simple interest is represented by the formula, I = Prt, where P represents the principal amount, r represents the interest rate, and t represents the time. Substituting $4,000 for P, 0.06 for r, and 5 for t gives: I = (4000)(0.06)(5), or I = 1,200. So, he will receive $1,200 in interest.

500

Your supervisor instructs you to purchase 240 pens and 6 staplers for the nurse's station. Pens are purchased in sets of 6 for $2.35 per pack. Staplers are sold in sets of 2 for 12.95. How much will purchasing these products cost?--- A. $132.85 B. $145.75 C. $162.90 D. $225.25 E. $226.75

A: You will need 40 packs of pens and 3 sets of staplers. Thus, the total cost may be represented by the expression, 40(2.35) + 3(12.95) The total cost is $132.85.

MEASUREMENT

100

If the area of a square flowerbed is 16 square feet, then how many feet is the perimeter of the flowerbed?--- A.4 B.12 C.16 D.20 E.24

C: The area of a square is represented by the formula, A=s2. Substituting 16 for A gives: 16=s2. Solving for s shows each side length to be 4 feet. Thus, the perimeter is equal to the product of 4 and 4 ft, or 16 ft.

200

A vitamin's expiration date has passed. It was supposed to contain 500 mg of Calcium, but it has lost 325 mg of Calcium. How many mg of Calcium are left?--- A.135 mg B.175 mg C.185 mg D.200 mg E.220 mg

B: The number of mg left is equal to the difference of 500 mg and 325 mg, or 175 mg.

300

A room measures 11 ft x 12 ft x 9 ft. What is the volume?--- A.1188 ft3 B.32 ft3 C.120 ft3 D.1300 ft3 E.1350 ft3

A: The volume of a rectangular prism is equal to the product of the length, width, and height. Thus, the volume of the room may be represented as V=11.12.9, which equals 1188 ft".

400

If a circle has the diameter of 8, what is the circumference?--- 6.28 12.56 25.13 50.24 100.48

C: C=πd. Substituting 8 for d gives C=8π, where C is approximately 25.13.

500

If the perimeter of a rectangular house is 44 yards, and the length is 36 feet, what is the width of the house?--- A.10 yards B.18 yards C.28 feet D.32 feet E.36 yards

A: The perimeter of the house is equal to 132 feet, since there are 3 feet in 1 yard. The perimeter of the house may be represented by the equation, 2l + 2w = 132. Substituting 36 for l gives 2(36) + 2w = 132 w = 30 which is measured in feet. 30 feet = 10 yards, so the width of the house is also equal to 10 yards.

GRAMMAR

100

To no ones surprise, Joe didn't have his homework ready.--- A. no ones surprise B. noones surprise C. no-ones surprise D. no ones' surprise E. no one's surprise

E: "No one's is a possessive pronoun and needs the apostrophe." Omitting it [sentence, (A), (B), and (C)] is incorrect. "No one" is spelled as two words, not one (B) or one hyphenated word (C). An apostrophe after the s (D) denotes a possessive plural, not a possessive singular.

200

After the hurricane, uprooted trees were laying all over the ground.--- A. were laying B. lying C. were lying D. were laid E. was laid

C: The correct past progressive tense of the verb "to lie" is "were lying." "Were laying" (A) is acting on an object, e.g. "Workers were laying uprooted trees on the side of the road." Without the auxiliary verb "were," "lying" (B) is incomplete and does not form a predicate for the subject "trees." "Were laid" (D) means somebody/something laid them there, not that the trees themselves were lying there. "Was laid" is singular, not plural as "trees" are.

300

After it was repaired it ran perfect again.--- A. ran perfect B. ran perfectly C. could run perfect D. could of run perfect E. would run perfectly

B: The verb is modified by the adverb "perfectly," not "perfect" [(A), (C), (D)], an adjective for modifying a noun. "After it was repaired" indicates past tense, so for agreement, the verb should also be the past tense "ran." "Could run" (C) and "would run" (E) are not past tense but unreal subjunctive mood. There is no such construction as "could of" (D), which incorrectly substitutes the preposition "of" for the auxiliary verb "have," part of the past perfect tense.

400

My class just finished reading-"The Fall of the House of Usher", a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.--- A. reading-"The Fall of the House of Usher", B. reading, The Fall of the House of Usher, C. reading "The Fall of the House of Usher," D. reading, "The Fall of the house of Usher," E. reading: The Fall of the House of Usher-

C: There should not be any punctuation between the verb and its object, even if the object is a title in quotation marks as it is here. Therefore, a dash (A), comma [(B, (D)], colon (E), or any combination of two [(A), (E)] is incorrect. Additionally, omitting quotation marks around the title [(B), (E)] is incorrect.

500

The recently built children's amusement park has been called "a boon to the community" by its supporters and "an eyesore" by its harshest critics.--- A. and "an eyesore" by its harshest B. and, "an eyesore," by its harshest C. and, an eyesore; by its harshest D. and-an eyesore-by its' harshest E. and-"an eyesore"-by its' harshest

A: No punctuation other than the quotation marks is required or correct after "and" and around "an eyesore." Commas [(B), (C)], semicolons (C), or dashes [(D), (E)] are incorrect. Omitting quotation marks (D) is incorrect since the sentence is quoting people; and the first phrase has them, so the second also should. The apostrophes [(D), (E)] are incorrect: the irregular possessive pronoun "its" does not have an apostrophe.

SENTENCE FLOW

100

The horror movie frightened the children. It was... - A. Melancholy. B. Dramatic. C. Ghastly. D. Tragedy. E. Comedic.

C: Something ghastly is frightening, such as a horror movie. Something melancholy (A) would make children sad, not frightened. Dramatic (B) is striking/moving/vivid/effective/characterized by conflict/contrast, not necessarily frightening specifically. A tragedy (D) today ends unhappily but is not necessarily frightening. A comedic (E) movie is funny and should make children laugh, not frighten them.

200

A small selection of terms was found at the back of the textbook. It was a...--- A. Glossary. B. Preface. C. Diction. D. Kefir. E. Dictionary.

A: A glossary is a list of terms used in a document and their definitions, typically found at the backs of textbooks and at the ends of chapters or articles. A preface (B) is an introduction, not a list of term definitions, and is found at the beginning of a book or article. Diction (C) is not an individual item, but a term meaning writing or speaking style or speech quality. Kefir (D) is a yogurt-like drink made from cultured milk. A dictionary (E) is a book which contains words and their meanings in alphabetical order.

300

_________ of the rainbow were _________ against the bright blue sky.--- A. Textures, Clear B. Hues, Vivid C. Alabaster, Bright D. Line, Dark E. Hues, Dark

B: Hues are colors, the main feature of rainbows, which would look vivid, not dark (E) against the bright blue sky. Textures (consistencies) are not clear (A) in rainbows like colors are. Alabaster (C) is a pearly white color not seen in rainbows. Rainbows' colors appear in curved lines, but these are not dark (D); moreover, "line" (D) grammatically disagrees with the plural verb "were."

400

The book's subject matter was ________ to the ________, and it did not sell.--- A. Attractive, Masses B. Limited, People C. Loathsome, Masses D. Colorful, Individual E. Colorful, Masses

C: "Loathsome" means repulsive, hateful, or disgusting. Subject matter loathsome to people would not sell. Subject matter attractive to the masses (A) or colorful (bright, lively, interesting) to the masses (E), i.e. appealing to the majority, would sell. Subject matter "limited to the people" (B) makes no sense. Subject matter "colorful to the individual" (D) is lively and interesting to the person, which would not be a reason it did not sell.

500

The president has a ______ of ______ around him when he makes public appearances.--- A. Catalyst, Individuals B. Barrier, Contrast C. Hedge, Protection D. Derrick, Protection

C: A hedge is a barrier, and protection is what the president needs during public appearances. A catalyst (A) is an agent of change, making no sense with the rest of the sentence or with "individuals" (A). The president needs a barrier around him for protection, not contrast (B). A derrick [(D), (E)] is a jib crane, a boom, or an oil tower and would not surround the president. A "derrick of limits" (E) around him makes no sense.