GRUBER'S MATH QUESTIONS

Johnny deposited $50 in a savings bank at the beginning of the year. Johnny's money earns him interest at the rate of 8 percent of the amount deposited ofr each year that Johnny leaves his money in the bank. If Johnny leaves his $50 in the bank for exactly one year and then decides to withdraw all of his money. how much money (including interest) can he withdraw?

(A) 50.04
(B)50.08
(C)54.00
(D)54.08
(E)58.00

SAT RESOURCE LINK:

The Common Motivational Cold
Achoo! I'm Bored
http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,3868,2-8-0-8454-ul,00.html

Does the idea of starting that English paper give you a headache? Does the thought of doing one more page of math homework make you queasy? Don't worry. It happens. Everyone catches the occasional motivation cold. Here are five prescriptions to help you back in action.
Rx 1: Focus on High-Impact Activities

It may seem obvious, but it's easy to let trivial tasks distract you from more important ones. Smaller projects are often easier and quickly offer a sense of accomplishment. Keep in mind, though, that this sense of accomplishment tends to be short-lived. What matters most is still not done.

Make a list in two columns:

* Column 1: What are your most important tasks?
* Column 2: What's on your to-do list?

If your items in column 2 have little to do with your objectives in column 1, you have a problem. To solve it, you may need to rearrange your time and devote more energy toward what counts. This will help you build momentum.
Rx 2: Create New Challenges

When you start to feel bored with something, try changing your approach. Say you've been given an assignment similar to one you've done in the past. Think about how you can solve this problem in a different way or improve upon your previous work.
Rx 3: Set Attainable Goals

Lots of people have big dreams but have difficulty translating them into concrete steps. The key is to think short-term, not only long-term. For example, if you're having trouble writing a 20-page paper for class because it seems too large, don't focus on that final number. Consider each section of your paper individually. Now you're dealing with a familiar task, not unlike papers you've written before.
Rx 4: Find a Social Support Network

In almost any setting, there are mentor figures who can give you guidance and help you develop new skills. Plus, there are peers who can motivate you by listening and exchanging ideas. Both mentors and peers are important elements of a support network, which is also a great resource for information and for new ways to challenge yourself.
Rx 5: Acknowledge Your Accomplishments

When you've got momentum going, it's tempting to jump from task to task. Sometimes, though, this can make you feel stressed, like you're not getting enough done. Instead, pause after you've reached a goal or give yourself a quick reward. Take a walk, send an email, get a snack -- whatever works for you.

SAT RESOURCE LINK:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/prep_one/practice.html

SAT RESOURCE LINK:

http://www.collegeboard.com/apps/qotd/question

ANSWER
METHOD ONE
The question states that 22 · 3 · Q = 6. Solving for Q gives Q = 6/(22 · 3) = 1/11 when the fraction is reduced.

SAT QUESTION OF THE DAY :

http://www.collegeboard.com/apps/qotd/question

SAT RESOURCE LINK:

http://testprep.sparknotes.com/account/firstOneFree.psp

SAT RESOURCE LINK:

http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/practice_tests/sat/

on WEBLOGS IN EDUCATION

WEBLOGS IN EDUCATION
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/carraher/discuss/msgReader$6?mode=day

Two current shortcomings of education could could be addressed through weblogging technologies. The former is highly problematic throughout K-12; it is not a major problem in graduate school. The latter remains a problem at all levels.

1. Constraints on Students As Active Producers of Knowledge
1. in most schools students have little access to
* primary sources of information (NY Times, Diário de Pernambuco, meteorological data, museum artifacts) and to
* multiple interpretations of complex events (history and current events are typically presented from a single view posing as factual)
* simulations
2. students' expressions of their understanding and beliefs are chanelled through the "test and essay grinder" (assignments given to them by teachers); Drawbacks include:
* stultification: students feel their contributions are given exclusively in response to course requirements, to doing the teacher's assignments;
* isolation: students' ideas do not benefit from the considered reflections of others.
* devaluing of emergent ideas: students are discouraged from registering their thoughts before being polished or in final form.
2. There is a firewall around the classroom
1. Research about learning and teaching in classrooms is not built into the present system. Researchers are viewed as intruders into schools. At best researchers encounter the benign tolerance of administration and staff.
2. Curriculum developers are shut out of the system. They occasionally gain restricted access in order to field test curriculum materials.
3. Teacher education has little access to everyday learning and teaching (This is somewhat improving as teacher education courses draw increasingly upon video taped classroom episodes.)

[For the following, assume that the sticky privacy and permissions matters have been sensitively dealt with, and that people's blogs are seen only by those who have appropriate permissions to see them. Students themselves would have a degree of control over the permissions structure of their blogs. Failsafe security is essential to the trust of users throughout the system.]

Student weblogs could allow students to keep track of their thinking over time, to pose issues, to receive comments by others. Imagine a science student expressing how she initially understood heat and temperature, how a particular comment or finding caused her to rethink her ideas. She could link to web sites that were helpful to her, to points made by other students that clarified things. She could keep certain sections private, others open for public discussion, others to discussion by students only.

Teacher weblogs could allow teachers to keep track of their own ideas over time. Certain sections could be open to students, others to teachers, some to both.

Researchers would find a treasure trove of things to study in weblogs and online discussions. They wouldn't have to physically enter classrooms and disrupt ongoing discussions. Researcher weblogs would let researchers document the evolution of their research over time and to share their thoughts with others.

Curriculum Developers could access examples of student's, teachers, and researchers' thinking. A developer weblog would serve the developer, but it would allow researchers to understand how developers think and make decisions over time.

Teacher educators could discuss examples from actual classrooms. Teacher educator weblogs would document the evolution of their thinking over time. Teacher education itself becomes a documented field subject to study and analysis.

quirkyobsession

JOURNAL
Scholastic Aptitude Vocabulary, One thousand key words defined, annotated, enriched by related forms, synonyms and antonyms. A glossary of vogue words. ISBN 09780838800676. Up to letter C, in minidictionary of 1000 words.

SAT PRACTICE EXAM ONE

http://apps.collegeboard.com/satprep/satprepaccount.jsp
Take a 68-question timed Mini-SAT with real questions, get feedback on how you did, a predicted score, and a personal study plan.

Taking the SAT I: Reasoning Test is FREE and ..
Available in your high school's guidance or principal's office, this booklet contains information, tips, and a complete, actual SAT for practice and scoring.

SAT RESOURCE LINK: http://www.collegeboard.com

Test Date
Oct. 9, 2004
Nov. 6, 2004
Dec. 4, 2004
Jan. 22, 2005

Regular Registration Deadline
Sep. 7, 2004
Oct. 1, 2004
Oct. 29, 2004
Dec. 22, 2004

Late Registration Deadline ($20.00 fee)
Sep. 11, 2004
Oct. 13, 2004
Nov. 10, 2004
Dec. 29, 2004

SAT RESOURCE LINK: http://www.collegeboard.com

quirkyobsession

JOURNAL
Registered at www.number2.com and www.cavsh.org and www.collegeboard.com.

SAT RESOURCE LINK: http://www.number2.com/

SAT RESOURCE LINK: https://www.cavhs.org/

quirkyobsession

JOURNAL
Yesterday, I was lounging in Tower Records, sitting in their comfy burgundy sofa chair, and listening to music, while reading the Oxford Minidictionary containing 40,000 terms for at least twenty minutes.

STUDY TACTICS

STUDY TACTICS (155)
ISBN 0812025903
WORDS: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THEM

Why Study Words?

J. Donald Adams writes

In words are reflected all the delights and miseries of human existence, one might argue that they have more vitality than anything else we have fashioned. What else is there that seems to lead an independent life? Words do; they acquire strength and lose it; they may, like people, become transfored in character; like certain persons, they may gather evil about them, or like others prod our wits and lift our hearts.

The Origin of Words

Etymology is the study of the origin and development of a word, says your dictionary, tracing a word as far back as possible. The word etymology comes from two Greek words - etymon, meaning "true sense," and logy, meaning "the study of". Not only will Etymology enrich your vocabulary, but it will make you word conscious and indirectly improve your ability to read with more comprehension and spell more correctly.

The Excitement of Words

Benjamin Thomas writes on Lincoln

Patient self-training, informed reflection, profound study of a few great works of English literature, esteem for the rhythmic beauty that may be coaxed from language, all these had endowed him with the faculty to write well and to speak well, so that at last, when profound emotions deep within him had felt the impulse of new-born nobility of purpose, they had welled forth - and would well forth once more - in imperishable words.

1. Use a Dictionary
The first step is to make friends with the dictionary, to make it your lifelong companion. Practice using your dictionary in as thorough a manner as possible. Read all the meanings of the word - not merely the first. You might be surprised to find how many different uses each of these words has.

2. Learn the Roots of the Words
The second step of vocabulary improvement is to learn how to examine the parts of words. Many of the words in the English language have three parts: a prefix, a root, and a suffix. If you learn some prefixes, some roots, and a few suffixes, you can multiply your vocabulary rather than merely add to it word by word.

You might benefit more from memorizing a hundred roots and how to use them than from memorizing five thousand individual words. Of the more than six hundred thousand words in our language, almost half come from about eight hundred roots.

The two ancient languages that provide the roots for many of our words are Latin and Greek. Ten Latin verbs provide roots for more than two thousand of our words.

ROOTS FOR ENGLISH WORDS LATIN VERB MEANING
cap-(cip-) capt-(cept-) capio take, seize
duct- duc- duco lead
fac-(fic-)fact-(fect-) facio do, make
fer- lat- fero carry, bear
mit- mitt- miss- mitto send
-plica- plicat-(plect-)(plex-) plico fold
pon- posit- pono place, put
tend- tent- tendo stretch
tene- tent- teneo have, hold
spec-(spic-)speci- spect- specio observe, see

As a beginning to your study of roots, try to find three English words that come from each of the ten Latin verbs.

3. Learn Prefixes and Suffixes
4. Use New Words
The fourth part of vocabulary building is to use the new words you have learned. Incorporate them into your writing for class and into your everyday speech. Without use you will lose the words you have worked to learn.

Use new words list or, new word cards.

NEW WORD DEFINITION SYNONYM

The card system for new words is, however, greatly recommended. Most students find it more workable and adaptable for vocabulary study of a foreign language, but for your English vocabulary, a great deal of enjoyment can come from building your own. Equip yourself with the smallest index cards you can buy - 1.5 x 3 or 3 x 5. Keep them handy as you read or study. When you come upon a new word, write it on the front of the card. On the back write the definition or definitions, and a synonym or two. Carry half a dozen or more cards with you, or display them on your desk, until you have put them in your working vocabulary; that is, until you are using them in conversation and in your writing. This will seldom take more than three of four days. The cards may then be filed alphabetically or by subject vocabulary. Just a few weeks of practice and the new word cards become second nature. They can be studied while riding or walking to and from classes, waiting for a bus, and at myriad other odd moments, usually lost and lamented. Put the new word card system to work to improve your vocabulary and your marks.

SAT RESOURCES LINK : http://www.takesat.com

VOCABULARY TEST 86

GRUBER'S SAT (557)
ISBN 0-06-273626-4
VOCABULARY TEST 86

COUNTERPART
(a) hindrance
(b) peace offering
(c) password
(d) balance of power
(e) duplicate

LOW-KEY
(a) official
(b) secret
(c) restrained
(d) unheard of
(e) complicated

STIPULATION
(a)imitation
(b)signal
(c)excitement
(d)agreement
(e)decoration

ANTITHESIS
(a)fixed dislike
(b)musical reponse
(c)lack of feeling
(d)direct opposite
(e)prior knowledge

TRANSITORY
(a)short-lived
(b)delayed
(c)idle
(d)unexpected
(e)clear

ENTRENCHED
(a)filled up
(b)bordered by
(c)followed by
(d)kept down
(e)dug in

LOT
(a)name
(b)right
(c)folly
(d)fate
(e)oath

APPREHENSION
(a)gratitude
(b)requirement
(c)apology
(d)dread
(e)punishment

AMENABLE
(a)religious
(b)masculine
(c)proud
(d)brave
(e)agreeable

AFFLUENT
(a)neutral
(b)sentimental
(c)wealthy
(d)handsome
(e)evil

VOCABULARY TEST 9

GRUBER'S SAT (557)
ISBN 0-06-273626-4
VOCABULARY TEST 9

INVARIABLE
(a) diverse
(b) eternal
(c) fleeting
(d) inescapable
(e) uniform

VORACIOUS
(a) excitable
(b) honest
(c) greedy
(d) inclusive
(e) circular

CONCENTRATE
(a)agitate
(b)protest
(c)debate
(d)harden
(e)consolidate

PLAGIARIZE
(a)annoy
(b)borrow
(c)steal ideas
(d)imitate poorly
(e)impede

CORTEGE
(a)advisers
(b)official papers
(c)slaves
(d)retinue
(e)personal effects

ANTIPATHY
(a)sympathy
(b)detachment
(c)aversion
(d)amazement
(e)opposition

DEMUR
(a)object
(b)agree
(c)murmur
(d)discard
(e)consider

PARAGON
(a)dummy
(b)lover
(c)image
(d)model
(e)favorite

FINITE
(a)impure
(b)firm
(c)minute
(d)limited
(e)unbounded

ANARCHY
(a)laissez-faire
(b)motor-mindedness
(c)pacifism
(d)lawless confusion
(e) self-sufficiency

VOCABULARY TEST 41

GRUBER'S SAT (557)
ISBN 0-06-273626-4
VOCABULARY TEST 41

SUPERFICIAL
(a) shallow
(b) unusually fine
(c) proud
(d) aged
(e) spiritual

DISPARAGE
(a) separate
(b) compare
(c) refuse
(d) belittle
(e) imitate

PROTAGONIST
(a)prophet
(b)explorer
(c)talented child
(d)convert
(e)leading character

LUDICROUS
(a)profitable
(b)excessive
(c)disordered
(d)ridiculous
(e)undesirable

INTREPID
(a)moist
(b)tolerant
(c)fearless
(d)rude
(e)gay

SAGE
(a)wise man
(b)tropical tree
(c)tale
(d)era
(e)fool

ADMONISH
(a)polish
(b)escape
(c)worship
(d)distribute
(e)caution

BESET
(a)plead
(b)perplex
(c)pertain to
(d)deny
(e)deprive of

FIGMENT
(a)ornamental openwork
(b)perfume
(c)undeveloped fruit
(d)statuette
(e)invention

GLIB
(a)dull
(b)thin
(c)weak
(d)fluent
(e)sharp

PREPARATION TIPS AND TRICKS

The SAT has two sections, math and verbal. Each section is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. A perfect score is a 1600. Special skills are needed in order to score perfectly on the SAT. An important skills is concentrating for three hours. Another skill is the ability to understand proper strategies.

Practice is Important
1. Ask your guidance counselor, for the booklet Taking the SAT I, by the College Board. It consists of one practice test along with sample math and verbal questions and explanations.
2. Buy the book 10 Real SATs, by the College Board. This book has more than eighty extra practice questions with explanations. Also, the hints and strategies are worth reading.

Efficient practice is better
1. Set a Score Goal. Pick a score that you think is achievable. Once you've set that goal don't stop studying until you consistently achieve that score on the practice tests.
2. Block out time in your schedule. Make appointments with yourself to study and take practice tests. Find a quiet place, and take this time seriously.
3. Study with friends. Working with friends makes any task funner. Also, you can help each other out with some of the hearder math concepts and verbal concepts.

Getting started for today ...

1. Buy a Pocket Dictionary. (under 50,000 words) or ISBN 9780838800676 (Scholastic Aptitude Vocabulary - One Thousand Key Words defined, annotated, enriched by related forms, synonymns, and anotonyms. A glossary of vogue words - by Joseph Orgel)
2. Or go to : http://www.freevocabulary.com/
3. Make a commitment to read this dictionary for ten minutes a day.
4. Email sbj19@columbia.edu with your definitions for the following words, with SAT TUTORING on the subject heading.

VERBAL STRATEGIES

On every SAT there are 19 analogies, 19 sentence completions, and 40 critical reading questions, for a total of 78 questions. In the chapter we will go over each type of question individually in order to familiarize you with the different question types, and then we'll show you some slick tricks. But first, here are some general rules for doing the verbal section.

Rule 1: Know Your Speed
You are given only 75 minutes for the three verbal subsections. So you figure, "Great I have a minute per question." Wrong.You have to subtract about 20 minutes for the amount of time you need to spend reading the reading passage. Then subtract another minute from the total test time for the time you spend watching the kid in front of you pick his nose and maybe another half a second for the time you spend.

Efficient practice is better
1. Set a Score Goal. Pick a score that you think is achievable. Once you've set that goal don't stop studying until you consistently achieve that score on the practice tests.
2. Block out time in your schedule. Make appointments with yourself to study and take practice tests. Find a quiet place, and take this time seriously.
3. Study with friends. Working with friends makes any task funner. Also, you can help each other out with some of the hearder math concepts and verbal concepts.