MATH & READING EOG REVIEW

The Number System

100

Simplify the following expression.

 A.

 B.

 C.

 D.

D

To find the difference of a positive rational number and a negative rational number, add the absolute value of the positive number and the absolute value of the negative number.

200

The temperature outside is -9°F, and the wind chill is -13°F. What is the difference between the temperature and the wind chill?

 A. -4°F

 B. -22°F

 C. 22°F

 D. 4°F

D

To find the difference between the temperature and the wind chill, subtract -13°F from -9°F.

So, the difference between temperatures was 4°F. 

300

Which of these statements is true about the decimal form of the number shown?

 A. It is a terminating decimal.

 B. It is a repeating decimal.

 C. It is neither a terminating decimal nor a repeating decimal.

 D. It is both a terminating decimal and a repeating decimal.

A

The improper fraction  can be converted into a decimal number by long division, as shown.

Since the process of long division ends,  is a terminating decimal. 

400

Solve the following.

 A.

 B.

 C.

 D.

C

A negative divided by a positive is equal to a negative.

500

Use properties of operations to find the quotient.

 A.

 B.

 C.

 D.

D

To divide a decimal by a fraction, first convert the decimal to a fraction, and then multiply by the reciprocal of the second fraction.

Statistics and Probability

100

For an experiment, Mike plans to flip a coin and roll a fair, six-sided die at the same time.

     123456Heads                              Tails                              
Use the area model above to determine the probability that the coin will land on heads and the die will land on a number greater than 2.

 A.

 B.

 C.

 D.

D

To use an area model to determine the probability of a compound event, fill each cell of the chart with the outcome at the intersection of each row and column. The filled-in chart is shown below.

     123456Heads H, 1  H, 2  H, 3  H, 4  H, 5  H, 6 Tails T, 1  T, 2  T, 3  T, 4  T, 5  T, 6

The cells that have been shaded in show the outcomes in which the coin has landed on heads and the die has landed on a number greater than 2. Four out of 12 cells fit this requirement.

200

ichard is playing a game where he draws one flash card each out of two stacks of four cards. The image shows all possible products for the two numbers on the cards.

Is Richard more likely to draw two cards with a product that is an even number or two cards with a product that is a single digit?

 A. Richard is more likely to draw two cards with a product that is a single digit, because .

 B. Richard is equally likely to draw two cards with a product that is an even number, or a product that is a single number, because .

 C. Richard is more likely to draw two cards with a product that is a single digit, because .

 D. Richard is more likely to draw two cards with a product that is an even number, because .

A

First, find the probability that Richard draws two cards with a product that is an even number.

The table shows that there are seven products that are even numbers.

So, the probability that Richard draws two cards with a product that is an even number is .

Next, find the probability that Richard draws two cards with a product that is a single digit.

The table shows that there are nine products that are single digits.

So, the probability that Richard draws two cards with a product that is a single digit is .

Therefore, Richard is more likely to draw two cards with a product that is a single digit, because .

300

A spinner has ten equal sections as shown. Marie spins the spinner 50 times and records the outcomes.

Select the correct probability model that represents the situation.

 A. S = {red, blue, yellow, pink, green}
P(red) = , P(blue) = , P(yellow) = , P(pink) = , P(green) =

 B. S = {red, blue, yellow, pink, green}
P(red) = , P(blue) = , P(yellow) = , P(pink) = , P(green) =

 C. S = {red, blue, yellow, pink, green}
P(red) = , P(blue) = , P(yellow) = , P(pink) = , P(green) =

 D. S = {red, blue, yellow, pink, green}
P(red) = , P(blue) = , P(yellow) = , P(pink) = , P(green) =

D

A situation produces a uniform probability model if each outcome is equally likely.

The spinner is divided into 10 sections of equal size, so the probability of landing on any one section is equal to the probability of landing on every other section.

The spinner has a total of 10 sections and has two sections of each of the 5 colors. The sample space, S, can be written as shown.

According to the given data, there is an equal chance of the spinner landing on any of the colors, so the probability of the spinner landing on any one color is shown.

So, the probability of the spinner landing on any color is .

Therefore, the probability model that represents the situation is shown.

400

Which of these is an example of a non-random sample?

 A. A farmer is choosing grains of wheat from a field to test for a new flavor of cereal.

 B. A cereal company puts a winning ticket in one box of cereal out of 100,000 boxes.

 C. Ten college students at a college, population 50,000, are chosen to taste test a new cereal.

 D. A cereal company surveys their employees about breakfast food preference.

D

Random sampling is where each member of the sample is randomly selected from the population. Conversely, a non-random sample is where the selection of a member from a sample is not random because the sample population is not random.

The only situation which shows a non-random sample is a cereal company surveys their employees about breakfast food preference.

500

Mrs. Allen is comparing the grades of her math students in two classes. Each dot represents a student.

The city council made a survey of the number of trees for each house on their respective streets.

Which statement correctly compares the data?

 A. Although the median number of trees in street 2 is generally more than in street 1, the variability creates too much overlap for any conclusion to be made.

 B. The number of trees in street 2 is generally more than in street 1.

 C. The number of trees in street 1 is generally more than in street 2.

 D. The number of trees in both streets is approximately the same.

B

In a box-and-whisker plot, the box portion represents the middle 50% of the items in the data set.

A median is the middle value of a distribution. It is also known as the "second quartile." The median is shown by the vertical line drawn through the box.

The median of number of trees in street 1 is 12 and the median of number of trees in street 2 is 14.

Therefore, the number of trees in street 2 is generally more than in street 1.

Random

100

In the figure shown, m∠XOV = 47° and m∠UOW = (2x + 35)°. If ∠UOW and ∠XOV are vertical angles, what is the correct equation that could be used to solve for x?

 A. (2x)° = 47°

 B. (2x + 47)° = 35°

 C. (2x + 35)° = 47°

 D. (x + 35)° = 47°

C

It is given that ∠UOW and ∠XOV are vertical angles. Since vertical angles have equal measurements, set the measurements for each angle equal and solve for x.

Therefore, the equation (2x + 35)° = 47° can be used to solve for x. 

200

Out of his monthly salary, Josh spends 37.5% on his bills,  on groceries, and  on transportation. If he decides to save  of the remaining part, what percentage of his salary will he save?

 A. 6.25%

 B. 7.5%

 C. 5%

 D. 8.75%

B

First, convert the fractions of Josh's salary that are spent on groceries and transportation to percents to simplify the calculation.

Next, subtract the percentages of Josh's salary that is spent on bills, groceries, and transportation from 100% to find the percentage of his salary that is left.

Finally, multiply the percentage of Josh's salary that is left with the fraction that he decides to save, , to know the percentage of his salary that he will save.

Therefore, Josh will save 7.5% of his salary.

300

 My mom was always doing that, always claiming that she was looking out for my “best interests.” I didn’t really understand what my “best interests” were back then. I couldn’t see the mistakes I was making when I was in the process of making them. I guess that’s how mistakes work. If you know something is a mistake, you probably won’t make it, and since you don’t know it is a mistake, you can’t see it. Now that I’m a few years older, I can understand why she was worried about me. I can look back on my childhood and see all the things I did that kept her up late at night and gave her more gray hairs.

If this story were to continue, what would the author most likely discuss in the next paragraph?

 A. the punishments he or she received from his or her dad

 B. the various kinds of trouble his or her children get into

 C. the various kinds of trouble he or she got into as a child

 D. the punishments he or she received from his or her mom

C

In the last sentence of the paragraph, the author states that he or she looks back on his or her childhood and sees the trouble he or she caused. This sentence could be used as a transition into a new paragraph in which the author talks more specifically about the trouble he or she got into as a child. A transition like this would work well if the writer wanted move from portion of the story in which his or her mother is the subject, to a portion of the story in which he or she is the subject.

400

Planet Nine

     Researchers have found evidence of what could be a real ninth planet in the outer solar system. They are going totally bananas over the new planet and have named it Planet 9. Planet 9 is very far away from the Sun. Planet 9 has a mass that is 10 times more than Earth's. Researchers have not actually seen the planet yet, but they are delighted by the discovery. However, they are chillaxed and sure that such a planet definitely exists. They are also sure that its enormous size will definitely put an end to all doubts about whether it is an actual planet.

Read the sentence from the speech.

They are going totally bananas over the new planet and have named it Planet 9.
What would be a good way to change this sentence to better fit with the rest of Dave's speech?

 A. They are totally nuts about this new planet and have named it Planet 9.

 B. They are very excited about this new planet and have named it Planet 9.

 C. They are highly impatient with this new planet and have named it Planet 9.

 D. They are real scared of this new planet and have named it Planet 9.

B

The best way to change this sentence to fit with the rest of the report is to take out the slang phrase "going totally bananas" and rewrite it using a fact using a word that more people can understand as it is used more frequently in formal language. Within the context of the sentence, the best answer is “They are very excited about this new planet and have named it Planet 9.

500

Mrs. Holly works in a cake shop. She bakes 40 cakes in a day. The table below shows the number of different cakes she baked in one day.

Cakes Baked
Type of CakeNumber of CakesVanilla10Apple7Strawberry8Chocolate15

Which circle graph correctly shows the information from the table?

W.
X.
Y.
Z.

 A. Z

 B. W

 C. Y

 D. X

C

Mrs. Holly bakes a total of 40 cakes in a day.

Find the percent of each item in the table by dividing the value by the total value and multiplying by 100.

The largest section of the graph will be for chocolate, and will be a little over a third of the circle since 37% is a little more than 33%.

Vanilla will be a quarter of the circle since it is 25%.

Strawberry will be a fifth of the circle since it is 20%.

Apple will be a little under a fifth of the circle since 18% is a little under 20%.

Therefore, graph Y is the only circle graph that matches the table. 

READING: LITERATURE

100

 Clarissa was standing in line to get her boarding pass. She was on her way to spend the summer at her grandparents’ ranch in Texas. She was even wearing the cowboy hats and boots that she had bought during her last visit.
     After getting her boarding pass, Clarissa made her way to the security line. The line looked rather long, and Clarissa hoped it would move quickly so that she would not miss her flight. While waiting, she read a sign that said, “Food and drinks not allowed in terminal area.” She threw away her water bottle into a nearby trashcan. Once through the security checkpoint, Clarissa made her way to the terminal. She took a seat and waited for the boarding call. Upon hearing the speakers announce that her flight was ready to board, Clarissa jumped up to get in line. In just a few hours, Clarissa would be with her grandparents. The excitement of seeing them was causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach. Clarissa also could not wait to see Jasper, the newest horse her grandparents had bought. She had a feeling this summer would be the best one so far.

Which sentence from the passage shows that Clarissa is looking forward to going to the ranch?

 A. Once through the security checkpoint, Clarissa made her way to the terminal.

 B. After getting her boarding pass, Clarissa made her way to the security line.

 C. She had a feeling this summer would be the best one so far.

 D. She threw away her water bottle into a nearby trashcan.

C

The passage tells readers that Clarissa thinks this will be her best summer ever. She has a very positive attitude about the summer. A person who was not looking forward to going to a Texas ranch for the summer most likely would not feel that way and would have a negative attitude.

200

 The theme of good triumphing over evil appears in many classic fairy tales, such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Which of the following stories uses this same theme?

W. A fire-breathing dragon is about to wipe out a mountain town, but Wilford the Wise arrives just in time and tricks the dragon into thinking the townspeople are demons. The dragon runs away scared and never comes back.

X. A young man falls asleep for 100 years, and when he wakes up, he cannot find his home. His mother has been searching through time to find her son, and at last she finds him.

Y. A poor boy, Jonathan, switches places with a rich boy, Jacob, who looks just like him. They each learn about each other's lives and decide they want their old lives back.

Z. A miserly old king won't give his daughters any of his treasures until they prove that they're virtuous. Each daughter goes out into the world to prove this, except for the youngest daughter, Lilith, who stays and takes care of her old father. Lilith is the one the king rewards with all his riches, which she decides to share equally with her sisters.

 A. Story Y

 B. Story Z

 C. Story X

 D. Story W

D

Story W is the only one with an evil figure (the dragon) that is defeated by a good character (Wilford).

300

As soon as Curtis woke up, he knew something was wrong. His face seemed like it was on fire and itched something awful! He jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, but it really didn’t help. He looked closely in the mirror, and the whole right side of his face was red. Alarmed, he yelled for his mother, who rushed into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why are you screaming?”
     “Look at my face,” Curtis said and turned to her.
     His mother put her glasses on and bent down to examine his face. She touched the red area and pushed his hair back. “It itches like crazy,” he said.
     She turned his head to one side so the light was better and touched the red area again. “Try not to scratch it,” she said, “that’ll just make it worse.”
     “Don’t you have something you can put on it?”
     “Come into my bathroom, and I’ll put some lotion on it,” she said.
     The lotion helped a little; at least Curtis didn’t feel like he wanted to scratch his face off. “What do you think it is?” he asked his mother.
     “Well, it looks like something bit you,” she said, “maybe a spider.”
     “In my bed?” he asked and shivered involuntarily.
     “Maybe, but weren’t you and Trevor playing in the woods yesterday?” she asked.
     “That’s right, we were, but nothing bit me.”
     She turned his face to get a better look. “Whether it was in the woods or in your bed, something definitely bit you right there on your cheekbone,” she said. “I can see the mark clearly in this light. We’re going to have to take you to the clinic.”
     “But I have school today, and I haven’t missed school all year. Can’t I go to the school nurse? I think the lotion is really working,” he added hurriedly. This last statement was not really true as his face was still hot and itchy, but Curtis was determined to get a perfect attendance award at the awards assembly in May.
     “I’d feel better if Dr. Cline looked at it. She can recommend a skin cream that will help you feel better. Go get dressed while I call the clinic. Maybe they can see you first thing and you can go to school a little late.”

What is the main conflict in the first half of the passage?

 A. Curtis cannot get his mother to take him seriously.

 B. Curtis wakes up with an unexplained skin rash.

 C. Curtis' mother cannot find the source of the problem.

 D. The light in the bathroom is not bright enough.

B

The conflict in the first part of the passage is about a fiery red rash Curtis sees on his face when he wakes up. When his mother looks at it, she thinks something has bit him.

400

The Science Lab

1.     Ellie was intently listening to Mr. Ford, her chemistry teacher, talk about atoms. "Chemicals are made up of atoms. They are very tiny particles. These particles contain protons, neutrons, and electrons." Mr. Ford started drawing what looked like the diagram of the universe. Ellie was about to raise her hand and ask a question, but the bell rang. "Let us continue with the class tomorrow," said Mr. Ford and walked out of the classroom.

2.     Ellie quickly picked up her bag and followed Mr. Ford. She softly pushed her friends to make way and stopped Mr. Ford before he could enter the science lab. "Mr. Ford, could you please spare a minute?" Ellie asked him politely. "Oh!" Mr. Ford jumped at the unexpected sight of Ellie and asked curiously, "Is it anything important, Ellie?"

3.     Ellie quickly explained that she was very interested in science and wanted to see the science lab. "Ellie, I'm overjoyed to know that you want to learn science, but this lab is not meant for you. It is only for high school students. There are some chemicals and acids that should be handled with special care. Now, please excuse me," said Mr. Ford and hurried into the lab.

4.     The next day in the afternoon, Ellie finished her lunch quickly and rushed out of the classroom. After making sure no one followed her, she entered the science lab silently. At the first sight, the lab looked colorful to Ellie. She then realized that these were the different chemicals Mr. Ford was talking about. The room was not lit and Ellie didn't dare to turn on the lights. There were smooth stone platforms and Ellie could see different beakers placed on the platforms. Some were long, some round, and some were small. Each one had different colored liquids in them. There were huge cupboards at the end of the room and Ellie ran towards them. She saw different bottles with labels on them, each containing some powder. "Mag-ne-sium," read out Ellie, looking at one of them.

5.     Just as Ellie began to explore more, someone turned on the lights. Ellie was shocked and quickly hid under one of the tables. Mr. Ford walked toward the cupboard where he heard some noise. He found Ellie hiding there and said, "Ellie, is that you?" Ellie was stunned to hear Mr. Ford's voice. She didn't know how to react and tried to stand up quickly. As she stood up, she hit her head on the table. A small beaker fell down and the contents spilled over the ground.

6.      Mr. Ford turned to Ellie and said calmly, "Now this is why I said you need to handle chemicals in the lab with special care!"

How does paragraph 5 contribute to the plot?

 A. It reveals a new conflict to the plot.

 B. It introduces a twist in the plot.

 C. It adds a funny element to the plot.

 D. It resolves the conflict in the plot.

B

In fictional writing, a twist in the plot refers to a sudden change in the events that are happening. In paragraph 5, Mr. Ford finds curious Ellie snooping around the lab, and this event changes the events that happen after it. Hence, the correct answer is "It introduces a twist in the plot."

500

Facing It
by c.safos

He set his face away

from the eclipse, his eyes seeking

their way to a place where the sun

does not see. In the distance,

the wheat waved and wilted under the wind

whose breath blew beyond the bare field.

The day found its bearings under

the chorus of cicadas chirping,

their tempo keeping time like a moving train.

He set his face away from all this

and beneath him, the rainwater from the storm drained

groaning into a gorge with a slight gurgle and sigh.

The fields fall fallow under the flood and freeze, and somehow he found her—

her hair dancing

like Medusa's split ends,

his feet cementing him

like a scarecrow wearing fearless birds.

Which of the following is an example of alliteration from the poem?

 A. whose breath blew beyond the bare field

 B. The day found its bearings under

 C. He set his face away

 D. like a scarecrow wearing fearless birds.

A

Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of words.

For example, in "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," the first letter, P, is repeated many times.

In this case, the repeated sounds have a hard B sound. They are breath, blew, beyond, and bare.

READING: INFORMATIONAL TEXT

100

   Even if you have never studied broadcast journalism, you are probably familiar with its story formats. Readers are probably the most basic kind of broadcast story. They're usually short and mixed in with other story formats to keep the show interesting. After all, who wants to watch 30 minutes or an hour of an anchor sitting there reading? Sometimes, if the producers want to get fancy, a reader may include an over the shoulder graphic or a picture of the story's subject.
     Often, the anchor's role is limited to giving a lead-in to a reporter's package. After a sentence or two from the anchor, viewers see video of reporters narrating their own stories. Most of the time, the video stories include a sound-bite from a person who was interviewed about the story's subject. In some cases, anchors wrap the story up with additional information after the video is over.

According to the passage, the term over the shoulder graphic can be defined as

 A. a video of a reporter's narration of a story.

 B. a large version of the news channel's logo.

 C. a photo of a news anchor or reporter's family.

 D. an image that is used to support a news story.

D

Read the last sentence of the first paragraph again. The end of the sentence gives readers a clue that an over the shoulder graphic has something to do with the story's subject matter. The reader can determine that this type of graphic is used to support a news story.

200

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound penne pasta

1/2 cup butter

3 tbsp. minced fresh onion

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 1/2 tbsps flour

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a pot, boil the pasta in water until tender. Drain and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, melt 1/3 cup of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for two minutes.
4. Add the white pepper and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for three to four minutes. Don't let the flour brown; lower the heat if it does.
5. Add the mustard and milk and bring to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken. It should be very thick but not gluey. Add more milk if it thickens too much.
7. Once the sauce has simmered for at least 10 minutes, add the cheddar cheese and half the Parmesan.
8. Turn off heat and stir the cheeses in as they melt. Return the pan to low heat if necessary.
9. Working quickly, toss the pasta in the cheese sauce. Toss it well so the sauce gets inside the pasta tubes.
10. Place the pasta in an 11- by 14-inch glass baking dish.
11. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.
12. Melt the remaining butter, stir it into the breadcrumbs and sprinkle this mixture over the top of the pasta.
13. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden and toasted.

What should you do after placing the pasta in a glass baking dish?

 A. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

 B. Add the mustard and milk and bring to a simmer.

 C. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.

 D. Heat the oven to 350 degrees

C

After placing the pasta in an 11- by 14-inch glass baking dish, the directions instruct you to sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.

300

The Allosaurus was a creature that other dinosaurs would flee from, and if you saw this dinosaur, you would probably run away from it, too. Allosaurus means "different lizard" in Greek. It was named "different lizard" because its spine was different from other dinosaurs' spines. Because the Allosaurus liked to eat other dinosaurs, it had large, powerful jaws that contained long, jagged, and sharp teeth. These teeth were measured to be up to 4 inches long! Like the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Allosaurus had two powerful legs, a massive head, a short neck, a long tail, and short arms. The arms had three-fingered hands with large, eagle-like claws. These claws were up to 6 inches long! The Allosaurus grew to be up to 38 feet long and 16.5 feet tall. Its most unique feature was a pair of blunt horns, just above and in front of the eyes.

Which statement is an important detail to include in the summary of this paragraph?

 A. ...you would probably run away from it, too.

 B. ...just above and in front of the eyes.

 C. ...its spine was different from other dinosaurs' spines.

 D. Allosaurus means "different lizard" in Greek.

C

This paragraph is about the Allosaurus. A good summary uses only the most important details. One of the important details in this paragraph is that the Allosaurus had a different spine from other dinosaurs. The detail from the paragraph that best shows this detail is, "...its spine was different from other dinosaurs' spines."

400

The characteristics of a hurricane are powerful winds, driving rain, and raging seas. Although a storm must have winds blowing at least 74 miles an hour to be classified as a hurricane, it is not unusual to have winds above one hundred and fifty miles per hour in a major hurricane. The entire storm system can be five hundred miles in diameter, with lines of clouds that spiral toward a center called the "eye." Within the eye itself, which is about 15 miles across, the air is actually calm and cloudless. But this eye is enclosed by a towering wall of thick clouds where the storm's heaviest rains and highest winds are found.

What is the central idea presented in this paragraph?

 A. Hurricanes have very dangerous characteristics.

 B. Hurricanes are more destructive than tornadoes.

 C. The eye of a hurricane is about 15 miles across.

 D. Hurricanes have winds of at least 74 miles an hour.

A

The central idea of a passage is what the passage is mostly about. It is the point that the author is trying to make. The paragraph gives details about heavy rain and "winds above one hundred and fifty miles per hour." The paragraph does not focus on one characteristic or another. It focuses on all the things that make hurricanes dangerous.

500

Too Much Homework?

     Kids have always complained about having too much homework, but are students in America really assigned more work than is healthy? And how much is too much?

     The National Education Association (NEA) has actually come up with guidelines for how much homework teachers should assign. The NEA says that kids should get no more than 10 minutes per grade level each night. So that means a first grader should have 10 minutes of homework, a second grader should get 20 minutes, and so forth. Using this same guide, a seventh grader should not get more than 70 minutes of homework each day. Ask the average seventh grader in American public schools, and he or she will tell you that a lot more than that often gets assigned. Of course, kids are prone to exaggeration, so it's hard to take them seriously. But most will adamantly state that they get way too much work sent home each night.

     But kids are supposed to work hard in school, right? What's wrong with that? Psychologists say that more and more school kids are getting tummy aches, headaches, and other health problems from putting in too many hours studying. Also, kids who have too many hours of homework will not get much time to play—and playtime is needed for brain development and for learning good social skills. Playtime also gives kids badly needed exercise, and without it, they can put on an unhealthy amount of weight. If you're not in school yourself, you might think students get plenty of time to play and blow off steam, but they don't really. In fact, the average student in the United States sits at a school desk for nearly 7 hours daily. When you add in 2 to 4 hours of homework each night, that's more than 45 hours of schoolwork per week! Compare that to a normal 35- or 40-hour work week that adults put in, and it starts to become apparent that school can be more than a full-time job!

     So why are students assigned that much homework? Teachers generally give homework as a way of getting kids to repeat what they've learned in class, so it will sink in better. But according to the Department of Education, an agency of the U.S. government, students often do the homework incorrectly. Working on 50 math questions and doing them wrong, for example, only reinforces the incorrect way of doing the problems. Homework only "works" as a learning tool if a parent or someone else makes sure the student is doing the drills correctly. Otherwise, all of the hours of homework in the world won't make him or her better student.

Which of the following does the author do to illustrate how many hours kids study?

 A. compares hours spent studying to a typical full-time work week

 B. gives statistics on the number of hours kids play outside each week

 C. looks at how much homework kids received at various times in history

 D. quotes interviews with average seventh graders who talk about homework

A

In the third paragraph, the author adds up how many hours kids spend studying—45 or more. He or she then compares that to a full-time work week, which is often less than 45. This is a good way to illustrate just how much time students have to spend studying. It gives readers a way to imagine or picture the amount.