PSAT '09 Form W Thread

<p>Ok here are some questions i wasnt sure about, answers would be appreciated…</p>

<ul>
<li>disdain vs resentment? i put disdain but i thought this could be 50/50, this was one of the weirdest questions.</li>
<li>i thought the question in the reading survey passage about the “measurements” was close between B (less important) and E (less impressive)</li>
<li>how did hari view before baed on last paragraph one; was it severely limited prospects (B)?</li>
<li>the circle with that asked for angle x based on the sum of one area (idr unshaded or shaded) = the average of the other. i put 45 since that would give the first region a total area 1/4 of the circle…if u plug in an arbitray value for the area (16pi), then the sum of those = 4 pi which is the average of the area of the other two (both = 4, therefore 4+4 / 2 = 4).
the A, B, X i believe is one point, since it created a 3-4-5 triangle, thus the only other way ot could happen is drawing a hypotenuse in the other direction.</li>
<li>the Bach question i put “was dependent” was wrong cuz it sounded off but idk</li>
<li>the scientist one, “it” was wrong due to ambiguity</li>
<li>the washigton dc one, i put “at the center of” was wrong bc “in the center of” seems more grammatically correct</li>
<li>#34, i put NE but “came” i think may be right…</li>
</ul>

<p>all in all, i think maybe i got at worst 6 wrong on CR, 2 on Math, and 3 on Writing…i live in FL so i hope i still get Ntl MErit bc last year as a sophomore i got way above the cutoff and it would stink if as a junior i didnt get it :/</p>

<p>The question that began with “That…came as a surprise to many…”- anyone know the answer? Or what the answer was to what was being implied by the hours spent on television and the higher cost of political campaigns and something about nascar…</p>

<p>whaaaaat</p>

<p>wait so do these colleges actually CHECK to see if you got anything (commended/semi finalist/etc) ?? ugh, cause i totally flunked it… will that hurt my chances at all?
i went into today’s psat thinking whatever i got wouldn’t matter anyway since i wasn’t aiming for national merit scholarship anyway.</p>

<p>Okay. PSAT is not a big deal. Colleges aren’t going to not accept you because of a bad PSAT score. In fact, I doubt they even know what your PSAT score is. In addition, the finalist scholarship is only 2500 $ which doesn’t cover much unless the college gives you a scholarship for being a finalist/semifinalist… </p>

<p>Really, getting a good score on the PSAT only equals pride.</p>

<p>I got: resentment, less important, limited prospects, 60 degrees, the bach question was no error, “it” was wrong</p>

<p>i dont think they check up on it a lot. but under your awards section if you have national merit whatever i think it looks good. getting a killer sat score is definitely way more important.</p>

<p>resentment here also…can anyone care to explain the “60” degree problem with the shaded circle. I kinda forgot the question.</p>

<p>^I got all of those except idk what I did for writing. It was more like random guessing at that point.</p>

<p>Hey guys. </p>

<p>I found the “resentment”/“disdain” question really troubling. I ended up picking “resentment” for the reason that “disdain” did seem to have too much of a connotation of inferiority, whereas the boys felt threatened. </p>

<p>Other questions that I’m unsure about:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The CR question from the third section about astronomy in which one of the answer choices was about the passages talking about clues that led to discoveries versus another answer that talked about “specific instances” in which radial astronomy was used. I ended up going with the clues answer because the first passage didn’t, as I recall, discuss a specific instance.</p></li>
<li><p>For the Native American question, I wasn’t confident but I went with “halcyon” and “onerous.” It didn’t seem to glare out as the correct answer, but it certainly fit well enough.</p></li>
<li><p>In the Writing section (I believe question #37), where it asked what would be best substituted for “literally.” The situation wasn’t literal, so I knew (A) was wrong. “for instance” seemed reasonable, as the sentence was serving as an example for the point discussed in the preceding sentence. However, I went with “so to speak” in order to contrast with the misuse of “literally.” </p></li>
<li><p>For the section three CR question that asked about the boy’s thoughts on the house, I went with the one dealing with exploration. I don’t remember the other choices, but I recall choosing this one without certainty.</p></li>
<li><p>The Writing question with “explanation of.” I think it should be “explanation for” (See example sentences here: [Explanation</a> Definition | Definition of Explanation at Dictionary.com](<a href=“http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/explanation]Explanation”>EXPLANATION Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com)), but there are contexts in which “explanation of” is indeed idiomatic so I’m unsure.</p></li>
<li><p>The 17th Writing question that asked about recycling. I wasn’t sure whether the “were to” was necessary. I ended up concluding that it was redundant given the hypothetical “If,” so I went with the shorter answer. I’m not positive, however. </p></li>
</ul>

<p>I think I got everything else. I thought that the Math was rather easy. The first CR section was very simple but that the second was far more difficult.</p>

<p>silverturtle…what number was the “explanation of/for” question? i dont recall that at all…</p>

<p>@silverturtle, “were to” was necessary and plus the verb tenses were all wrong for those. It was supposed to be in the subjunctive mood. I put the “were to” option. I messed up tho…alot. Damn…what did you get for the A, B, X thing? Where it was like 3 units and 5 units?</p>

<p>“silverturtle…what number was the “explanation of/for” question? i dont recall that at all…”</p>

<p>Sorry, I dont remember. Maybe someone else does.</p>

<p>what is this explanation of/for question? does anyone remember the whole question?</p>

<p>hey this is probably an easy one but for the burglar one did you put broke up or appraise…i put break up, but i wasnt positive it was right b/c it seemed weird that something like “break up” would be an psat answer :P</p>

<p>I also put “were to”, I think that is correct.
For resentment/disdain, I put disdain because I thought resentment was a bit too extreme. The boys did not abhor Hari, they simply looked down very strongly on him… not sure though.
I am pretty sure halcyon/onerous was correct.
I think “explanation of” is fine, it would be a very picky question if they wanted us to change it. because both are idiomatically correct, right? :/</p>

<p>I hope there’s a generous curve for CR. The Math and Writing were about average but some of the questions on the CR were really picky.</p>

<p>“silverturtle, “were to” was necessary and plus the verb tenses were all wrong for those.”</p>

<p>Are you sure? I recall it being somewhere along the lines of,</p>

<p>“If they separate the recyclables from [something else], it would lower [something else].”</p>

<p>I think “were to” is redudant, but I could be wrong. For example, one says, “If I don’t eat, it would make me hungry” not “If I were to not eat, it would make me hungry.”</p>

<p>“hey this is probably an easy one but for the burglar one did you put broke up or appraise…i put break up, but i wasnt positive it was right b/c it seemed weird that something like “break up” would be an psat answer :P”</p>

<p>I recall putting “break up.”</p>

<p>Here are some confirmed answers:</p>

<p>CR

  1. Somber and Wry
  2. Hari’s previous attempts were FUTILE
  3. Histrionic - therefore emote</p>

<p>SC

  1. Halcyon and onerous
  2. Quiescent
  3. Diligent and punctual
  4. Envelop
  5. Affable
  6. Perfunctory
  7. Disdain or Resentment ???</p>

<p>Wow - most of these words are in Direct Hits</p>

<p>This “explanation/for” question…was it in the first part of writing (changing the sentence) or the second part (finding the error)? And what did everyone put for the L’Enfant/Wash DC question? NE or “at the center of”?</p>