Test Prep SBAC Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

Test Prep SBAC Online Questions & Answers

• Question 31:

  What is a better way to write this sentence? "Me and Alex went to the movies last weekend and saw a great film by our favorite director Steven Spielberg."

  A. "Alex and me went to the movies last weekend and saw a great film by our favorite director: Steven Spielberg."
  B. "To see a great film by our favorite director: Steven Spielberg, Alex and me went to the movies last weekend."
  C. "Alex and I went to the movies last weekend and saw a great film by our favorite director, Steven Spielberg."
  D. "Steven Spielberg is mine's and Alex's favorite director, so we went to the movies last weekend to see a movie by him."
  C. "Alex and I went to the movies last weekend and saw a great film by our favorite director, Steven Spielberg."

• Question 32:

  FILL BLANK

  Read the text and answer the question.

  Moving to the Back of Beyond

  When my parents said the three of us were moving out to California, to a place just north of Los Angeles, my mind immediately went to thoughts of Disneyland and Hollywood, glitz and glamour. I imagined a Rodeo Drive shopping spree to pick out a bikini for the endless days I would be spending on the beach. However, I’d forgotten about my parents’ penchant for the unconventional; they’re definitely “the road less traveled” kind of people. Mom had a gopher snake for a pet when she was younger, and Dad was never happier than when he was climbing near-vertical cliffs that only mountain goats could love. These are not city folk. They had chosen to buy a 900-square-foot cabin under a 250-year-old oak tree in the high chaparral1 forest out in the back of beyond – so far away from Los Angeles that you couldn't even see the glow of the lights at night. When I first saw where we were going to live, I vacillated between feeling terrified and excited. This would be an adventure, for sure. But this was no camping trip where you could go home to civilization after a few days of roughing it; this was home, and roughing it was the new normal. On move-in day, we drove fifteen miles out from Antelope Valley – where the nearest grocery store was located – on a two-lane road past llamas, cattle, and horses. Up and up we went, until finally we turned down a dirt road and headed into a canyon full of towering Coulter pines, blue-green sagebrush, and ancient canyon live oaks. I didn't know the names of these plants then, of course; I learned them later. That first day all I saw then was a million shades of green. We parked under an oak tree that shaded our cabin and a front yard of rock, sand, and sagebrush twice as large as the cabin itself. On the stone staircase that led to the front door, black lizards interrupted their push-ups to twist their heads and eye us as we passed. Scrub jays squawked and hummingbirds zoomed past the eaves, scolding us with their territorial calls. No cars roared past. No radios blared from a neighbor's house. There were no neighbors – no human neighbors, anyway. Our new home consisted of one bedroom, one bathroom, and one big room for everything else. A fireplace in the corner of the big room would be our sole source of heat in the winter. A swamp box (cooler) would blow a breeze over a big damp pad to keep us cool all summer, or so my father said. But it was early autumn that day, and the temperature was perfect in the shade of the oak tree. Our oak tree, I thought; I was settling in.

  Mom wiped a layer of grime off the kitchen counter and muttered about getting a bottle of bleach on our next trip into town. That was the beginning of an important lesson about living in the back of beyond: you don't just zip over to the local

  convenience store anytime you need something out here. You have to make a careful list and check it twice so that you don't forget anything, because anywhere is a long way from here.

  On my first walk around the property, I saw two horned toads, a red-tailed hawk, and some deer tracks. I wondered what else I might find deeper and higher in the canyon. Dad told me the real estate agent had mentioned that coyotes,

  bobcats, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and even bears roamed these hills. To my surprise, I found I couldn't wait to see them. All of them. I felt my feet taking root in the earth, claiming this place as home.

  With no street lamps timed to turn on at sunset, when night came it was darker than anything I had ever experienced. Mom and I went out to look at the stars while Dad tried to unplug the ancient toilet. In the city, or even in the suburbs where

  I had lived before, you could see only the brightest stars in the sky. But out here, it was like being in a planetarium, except there were no labels typed onto our sky. The sheer number and spread of stars was awe-inspiring.

  That first night, we slept on air mattresses on the living room floor because the movers had not yet arrived. There were no curtains on the windows, so when the moon rose, it shone in as if moonbeams were an integral part of the cabin.

  Eventually, I moved into the bedroom and Mom and Dad got a foldout bed for the living room. Over the next few months, I began to count the passage of time in full moons rather than by the pages of a calendar, and for the first time I really

  noticed the days growing shorter in winter and longer in summer.

  It's hard to believe, but we’ve been here for six years now. I’ve been going to school in the valley, but I feel most at home up here with my wild fellow canyon dwellers. Soon, I will have to leave home for college, and I’m a little afraid of the

  culture shock I’m sure I will feel when I move back to civilization. Soon I’ll be walking on pavement and well-mowed grass again, rooming with strangers, and eating meals in a cafeteria crowded with more people than live within twenty miles of

  this house. But I know I will come back. The back of beyond is home now.

  1. chaparral: a dense thicket of shrubs and small trees

  What is the author's message about living with nature? Use details from the text to support your answer.

  A. See explanation below.
  A. See explanation below.

  ---

  For example:

  Score 2

  A response:

  Gives sufficient evidence of the ability to determine/summarize the theme/central idea/message, or to analyze the development of the central idea Includes specific examples/details that make clear reference to the text Adequately explains the theme/central idea/message or analysis with clearly relevant information based on the text

  The author's message about living in nature is that, although you think you might not like it, you'll never know. She expected to be living this in this city life fantasy, yet she moved to the woods, in a cabin. When you think about it you obviously won't like it, you'll think you're cut off from civilization and things like that, yet after a while she loved it. She was so used to the animals and the sky painted with stars that she's scared to move again. She's scared she won't be able to adapt to the city life and the barely able to see stars. The message about living with nature in her perspective is that you'll never know if you like it until you try it.

  Score 1

  A response:

  Gives limited evidence of the ability to determine/summarize the theme/central idea/message, or to analyze the development of the central idea Includes vague/limited examples/details that make reference to the text Explains the theme/central idea/message or analysis with vague/limited information based on the text

  The author's message about nature is that nature is beautiful, and it has a lot to offer. There are animals in the wilderness, such as rattlesnakes, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and even bears. There is vegitation and animals.

  Score 0

  A response:

  Gives no evidence of the ability to determine/summarize the theme/central idea/message, or to analyze the development of the central idea OR Gives the theme/central idea/message or analysis, but includes no examples or no examples/details that make reference to the text OR Gives the theme/central idea/message or analysis, but includes no explanation or relevant information from the text

  Home can be anywhere, as long as you believe it is home. The line stating how she had conflicting feelings explains this point

• Question 33:

  FILL BLANK

  A store sells used and new video games. New video games cost more than used video games. All used video games cost the same. All new video games also cost the same.

  Omar spent a total of $84 on 4 used video games and 2 new video games. Sally spent a total of $78 on 6 used video games and 1 new video game. Janet has $120 to spend.

  Enter the number of used video games Janet can purchase after she purchases 3 new video games.

  A. 5
  A. 5

• Question 34:

  The writer wants to create a more formal tone in this paragraph. Which collection of words from the paragraph has the most informal language and should definitely be replaced to make the tone more formal?

  The school board met to talk about funding for after-school programs next year for kids in the district. They determined that, with the current budget, only some of the stuff could be funded. While trying to figure out what to cut, they asked for the students' input. The students didn't want to see any of their programs cut, so it's gonna be a tough fight.

  A. Collection 4: stuff, talk, it's, gonna
  B. Collection 3: met, kids, current, see
  C. Collection 1: determined, some, input, fight
  D. Collection 2: programs, asked, didn't, cut
  A. Collection 4: stuff, talk, it's, gonna

• Question 35:

  Which of the following transforms the parent function y=

  

  to y =

  

  ?

  A. a vertical translation to the right 2 units
  B. a vertical translation to the left 2 units
  C. a horizontal translation to the right 2 units
  D. a horizontal translation to the left 2 units
  C. a horizontal translation to the right 2 units

• Question 36:

  Consider a sequence whose first five terms are: -1.75, -0.5, 0.75, 2, 3.25

  Which function (with domain all integers n 1) could be used to define and continue this sequence?

  

  A. Option A
  B. Option B
  C. Option C
  D. Option D
  B. Option B

• Question 37:

  

  A. Option A
  B. Option B
  C. Option C
  D. Option D
  A. Option A

• Question 38:

  Which of these expressions is equivalent to 3x2 - 4xy + y2?

  A. (3x - y) (x - y)
  B. (3x + y) (x - y)
  C. (3x + y) (x + y)
  D. (3x -y) (x + y)
  A. (3x - y) (x - y)

• Question 39:

  A certain sequence is defined this way:

  f(1) = 2 and f(n) = f(n − 1) +3

  Which of the following statements are true?

  a ) The sequence is arithmetic.

  b ) The sequence is geometric.

  c ) The definition is explicit.

  d ) The definition is recursive.

  e ) The 7th term is 20.

  f ) The 5th term is 12 more than the first term

  A. b, c, e, f
  B. a, d, e, f
  C. a, c, f
  D. b, d, e
  B. a, d, e, f

• Question 40:

  Given this table of values for a polynomial function y = f(x), which values of x could be possible zeros for the function?

  

  A. –0.5 and 2.5
  B. 0.5 and 1.5
  C. 1.5 and 2.5
  D. –0.5 and 0.5
  D. –0.5 and 0.5