PSAT P.R.I.D.E. Lesson

What is the PSAT?

- The PSAT 9 is a standardized test

that measures reading, writing and
language, and math skills
developed over many years, both
in and out of school.

- The PSAT 9 will give you a

snapshot of how you would do on
the SAT right now.

-The SAT is a College Entrance Exam.
The better you do, the more college
options you will have.

Why do I need to take it?
- Prepares you for the SAT which is

a College Entrance Exam.

-There are many college scholarships
available based on your SAT score.

-You can get free, personalized, and
focused practice through Khan
Academy based on your scores.

- Allows you to see which AP

courses you might be ready for.

Multiple Choice

What is the point of the 8/9 PSAT? (choice the best choice)

• to see where your current knowledge and skills are

• just to take another test

• because the teacher said to

• prepare you for high school

What should I bring on Test Day?

- No. 2 pencils with erasers

-You may NOT use a mechanical pencil

- Calculator

-You may NOT use your phone as a
calculator

TESTING TIPS
THE NIGHT BEFORE TESTING

-Relax

-Avoid screen time

-You need a good night’s sleep and bright screens (televisions,
phones) will wake up your brain and make it more difficult to
drift off at an early hour.

-Have a healthy dinner

-Drink lots of water and eat a balanced meal.

-Organize your bag for test day

-Make sure you have pencils and a calculator

-Make sure you have solid arrangements to arrive at school on
time

-Students admitted late to class will not be able to begin
testing.

THE NIGHT BEFORE TESTING

-Wake up early and have a healthy breakfast

-Get to your testing room early

TESTING TIPS

- Every question on the PSAT is worth

the same amount.

- If you don’t know how to do a

question, skip it and come back to it
later.

- Don’t leave anything blank! There is

no penalty for guessing, so if you
don’t know an answer, go ahead and
guess.

- Cover up answers to see if you can

come up with the answer on your own
first.

TESTING TIPS

-Use the process of elimination.

-Cross out choices as you go along. This
will help you at the end of the question if
you need to take a guess.

-Pace Yourself

-If you think a question is going to take you
awhile, skip it and come back to it later. Don’t
spend more that 1.5 minutes on any question
on your first pass through.

-Trust Yourself

-Use any extra time wisely

-Double check your work. No, it isn’t fun to re-read
all of those questions, but you’ll be so glad if you
catch any mistakes.

Multiple Choice

True or False: The questions on the test increase by difficulty.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

True or False: You cannot write in the test booklet!

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

You should never leave a question blank because

• you might get it wrong if you guess wrong

• you don't lose points if you're wrong, and you just might get it right. So why not guess?

• because monkeys are good guessers

Multiple Choice

What is the best, general test-taking strategy of all time?

• Guess on every problem

• Process of Elimination

• Letter of the Day

• Plug in the Answer Choices

Multiple Choice

What two subjects are tested on the PSAT 8/9?

• English/Science

• English/Math

• Math/Science

• Math/Social Studies

Math Testing Tips

- Sections in the math test increase in

difficulty as you go along: the
questions start out easier, then
slowly get harder, with the hardest
questions at the end of the section.
The first few grid-in questions after
the multiple choice ones are always
easier than some of the last few
multiple choice ones, so if time is
running out work on the easier
questions first.

Multiple Choice

You can use a calculator on the whole test.

• True

• False

PSAT Math (Calculator)

Practice

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is equivalent to 3(x + 5)-6

• 3x-3

• 3x-1

• 3x+9

• 15x-6

Multiple Choice

If 6x= 25, what is the value of 3(x+ 1/2)?

• 53/6
• 51/2
• 13
• 14

Multiple Choice

Martin spent $855 on expenses for a trip.  The expenses included hotel, rental car, and meals. He spent 50% more for the hotel than for the rental car and meals combined.  What did Martin spend on his hotel?

• $570
• $513
• $214
• $155

Multiple Choice

A tank is completely filled with water.  A pump is used to drain the tank.  The amount of water remaining in the tank is given by the equation y=600-25x, where x is the number of minutes since the pump started and y is the volume, in gallons, of water remaining in the tank.  In the equation, what are the meanings of the numbers 25 and 600?

• The number 25 is the number of minutes it will take to drain the tank, which holds 600 gallons of water.
• The number 25 is the rate of increase, in gallons per minute, of the flow from the tank, which holds 600 gallons of water.
• The number 25 is the rate of increase, in gallons per minute, in the volume of water in the tank, which started at 600 gallons.
• The number 25 is the rate of decrease, in gallons per minute, in the volume of water in the tank, which started at 600 gallons.

Multiple Choice

y= x-4
4x-4y=12
The system of equations above consists of two equations, and the graph of each equation in the xy-plane is a line.  Which of the following statements is true about these two lines?

• The lines are parallel
• The lines are the same
• The lines are perpendicular
• The lines intersect at (-4, -3)

Multiple Choice

Louis bought two movies at his local store.  The regular price for each movie was r dollars.  The store charged Louis the regular price for the first movies and gave him a 25 percent discount on the second movie.  He was charged 8 percent sales tax on the entire purchase.  Which of the following expressions gives the total, in dollars, Louis paid, including sales tax?

• 1.08r + 0.75r
• 1.08(2(0.75r))
• 1.08(r + 0.75r)
• 1.08(r - 0.25r)

Multiple Choice

If the sample is representative of a high school with 2,000 freshman and seniors, then based on the table, what is the predicted number of freshman at the high school who would select math as their favorite high school subject?

• 520

• 240

• 65

• 30

Multiple Choice

If one of the seniors from the sample is selected at random, which of the following is the closest to the probability the student selected science as his or her favorite high school subject?

• 0.48
• 0.26
• 0.32
• 0.15

Multiple Choice

The total amount Thad paid for water bottles and cookies was $45.  If the combined cost of one water bottle and one cookie is $2, what is the cost of one cookie?

• $0.75
• $0.91
• $1.09
• $1.25

Multiple Choice

What was the cost of one ticket for a child younger than fourteen?

• $0.15
• $6.50
• $8.30
• $11.65

Multiple Choice

• The kinetic energy of an object with a mass of 1 kilogram moving at 2 meters per second
• The kinetic energy of an object with a mass of 1 kilogram moving at 1 meter per second
• The kinetic energy of an object with a mass of 1 kilogram moving at 0.5 kilometer per hour
• The kinetic energy of an object with a mass of 2 kilograms moving at 1 meter per second

Multiple Choice

A company test marketed an item at different prices in a region of the country.  The scatterplot above shows the item prices and the profit made by the company when the item sold at different item prices.  A quadratic model that best fits the data is also shown.  For a price of $60, which of the following best approximates the percent increase from the test market profit to the profit that the model predicts? 

• 50%

• 75%

• 100%

• 200%

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Simplify the expression: 3x + 2x

• 5x

• x

• 6x

• 5

Multiple Choice

What does 3² mean?

• 3 x 2

• 3 x 3

• 2 x 2 x 2

Multiple Choice

-4x - 10x

• -14

• 6x

• -6x

• -14x

Multiple Choice

2xy can be combined with 3xy²

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Translate this phrase into an algebraic expression.
8 less than the product of 4 and a number
Use the variable m to represent the unknown number.

• 8 - 4m

• 8m - 4

• 8m + 4

• 4m - 8

Multiple Choice

Solve for r in the following equation:

(Hint: think about using the reciprocal) -6 = $$\frac{2}{3}r$$  

• -4

• -9

• 9

• 4

Multiple Choice

• A) I and III

• B) II and IV

• C) III and IV

• D) I and II

Multiple Choice

Which equation describes the table?

• A) f(x) = x - x²

• B) f(x) = x - 1

• C) f(x) = x² - 1

• D) f(x) = x²

Multiple Choice

25% of the immigrant population originated in which of the following continents?

• A) Asia and Europe

• B) Asia and Africa

• C) Africa and Europe

• D) Other

PSAT Math (Calculator)

Practice

Multiple Choice

A babysitter earns $8 an hour for babysitting 2 children and an additional $3 tip when both children are put to bed on time.  If the babysitter gets the children to bed on time, what expression could be used to determine how much the babysitter earned?

• 8x+3 where x is the number of hours

• 3x+8 where x is the number of hours

• x(8+2) + 3 where x is the number of children

• 3x+(8+2) where x is the number of children

Multiple Choice

3(x+y)=y
If (x,y) is a solution to the equation above and y does not equal 0, what is the ratio x/y ?

• -4/3
• -2/3
• 1/3
• 2/3

Multiple Choice

• (-112, -264)
• (64,88)
• (232/3, 224/3)
• (288,536)

Multiple Choice

In a certain game, a player can solve easy or hard puzzles.  A player earns 30 points for solving an easy puzzle and 60 points for solving a hard puzzle.  Tina solved a total of 50 puzzles playing this game, earning 1,950 points in all.  How many hard puzzles did Tina solve?

• 10

• 15

• 25

• 35

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

For what value of h is 
24= (h/10) - 6?

• 30

• 200

• 300

• 10

Multiple Choice

What is the value of a if 
(2a + 3)-(4a-8)=7?

• 1

• 10

• 4

• 2

ENGLISH TESTING TIPS

- Read the questions quickly before

reading the passage.

- Annotate/mark-up the text to

highlight parts that will address the
questions.

- Read Actively

-After each paragraph ask yourself,
“What was the point of this
paragraph?”

-Re-read if necessary

Multiple Select

During READING portion, what are some tips you for when you read

(Select all that apply)

• Spend 5 minutes reading passage

• Underline or Circle Word/Phrases that provide main idea for paragraph

• Underline or Circle Author's Opinion

• Write 3-5 Words to summarize each paragraph

• Quickly read through the text

PSAT English Sentence Formation

Multiple Choice

Most of these different species were previously unknown to science. With only 2 percent of the samples analyzed so far, scientists have already learned that plankton are highly sensitive to changes in ocean temperatures

• NO CHANGE

• far, though

• far as

• far, and

​EXPLANATION

​Choice A is the best answer. The comma after “far” is needed to separate the introductory prepositional phrase that begins with “with” from the independent clause that begins with “scientists.”

​

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because “though,” “as,” and “and” are conjunctions, and no conjunction is needed between the introductory prepositional phrase and the independent clause that follows.

Multiple Choice

At Dockery, Patton met Henry Sloan, about whom little is known except that he taught Patton to play guitar, while that changed both Patton’s life and American music.

• NO CHANGE

• so that it ended up changing

• which would change

• until a change came to

​EXPLANATION

​Choice C is the best answer. Following the comma after “guitar,” the pronoun “which” is used to begin the relative clause describing what happened to Patton and American music as a result of Sloan’s teaching.

• Choice A is incorrect because “while” wrongly indicates either a contrast between Sloan teaching Patton to play guitar and changing Patton’s life and American music, or that the teaching and changing occurred simultaneously.

• Choice B is incorrect because “so that” wrongly indicates that the purpose of Sloan teaching Patton to play guitar was to result in changing both Patton’s life and American music.

• Choice D is incorrect because “until” wrongly indicates that Sloan taught Patton to play guitar up to the time that doing so changed Patton’s life and American music.

Multiple Choice

Knowing that noise pollution is doubling every twenty years, airport officials enlisted the help of H+N+S Landscape Architects and artist Paul de Kort, who designed an 80-acre outdoor space called Buitenschot Land Art Park.

• NO CHANGE

• he

• and who

• being the one who

​EXPLANATION

​Choice A is the best answer. The pronoun “who” correctly introduces the relative clause that refers back to the architects and the artist mentioned earlier in the sentence.

• ​​Choice B is incorrect because adding “he” after the comma creates an independent clause. Since the clause that precedes the comma is also independent, this choice results in a comma splice.

• Choice C is incorrect because a conjunction isn’t needed before the pronoun introducing the relative clause.

• Choice D is incorrect because it’s unnecessarily wordy

Multiple Choice

For midterm elections, the data present a more dismal scene: a paltry 21.3 percent, little more than one in five, of eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old citizens voted in the 2010 midterm election. If more youth voters engaged in civic discourse, when these numbers would increase.

• NO CHANGE

• discourse, afterwards

• discourse; 

• discourse, perhaps

​EXPLANATION

Choice D is the best answer. The comma after “discourse” is used correctly to separate the introductory dependent clause from the independent clause beginning with “perhaps.” Furthermore, the adverb “perhaps” used after the “if” clause correctly indicates the possibility that engaging youth in civic discourse could cause the numbers of young voters to increase.

• Choice A is incorrect because the conjunction “when” makes the clause after the comma a dependent clause. For the sentence to be grammatically correct, that clause must be independent.

• Choice B is incorrect because “afterwards” doesn’t show the true relationship between the clauses. “Afterwards” indicates a sequence of events that don’t necessarily have a cause-and-effect relationship.

• Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon shouldn’t be used to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause.

PSAT English Grammer Prep

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• Which sentence, Ima uses commas correctly?

• Which sentence, Ima, uses commas correctly?

• Which sentence Ima, uses commas correctly?

• Which sentence Ima uses commas correctly?

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• I like cheese, but not as much as Mrs. Dettmann likes chocolate.

• I like cheese but not as much as Mrs. Dettmann likes chocolate.

• I like cheese but, not as much as Mrs. Dettmann likes chocolate.

• I like, cheese, but not as much as Mrs. Dettmann likes chocolate

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• Cookies are good yet milk is better for you.

• Cookies are good yet, milk is better for you.

• Cookies are good, yet, milk is better for you.

• Cookies are good, yet milk is better for you.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• He enjoys candy and cookies but he needs vegetables.

• He enjoys candy, and cookies, but he needs vegetables.

• He enjoys candy and cookies, but he needs vegetables.

• He enjoys candy and cookies but, he needs vegetables.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• Yes, I know, the comma and capitalization rules.

• Yes, I know the comma, and capitalization rules.

• Yes I know the comma and capitalization rules.

• Yes, I know the comma and capitalization rules.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• I walked to the store, and I got gum for Rex, my friend.

• I walked to the store and I got gum for Rex, my friend.

• I walked to the store, and I got gum for Rex my friend.

• I walked to the store and, I got gum for Rex, my friend.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• At the ballpark I enjoyed a delicious, hot dog Ima.

• At the ballpark, I enjoyed a delicious hot dog, Ima.

• At the ballpark I enjoyed a delicious, hot, dog, Ima.

• At the ballpark I enjoyed a delicious hot dog, Ima.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly?

• I live in New Palestine, Indiana.

• I live in New Palestine Indiana.

• I live, in, New Palestine, Indiana.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly?

• We ate chicken, rice, carrots.

• We ate chicken, rice, and carrots.

• We ate chicken, rice, and, carrots.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly?

• May 5 2016

• May, 5 2016

• May 5, 2016

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is written correctly?

• I want to go to Orlando Florida.

• I want to go to, Orlando, Florida.

• I want to go to Orlando, Florida.

Multiple Choice

Fix this sentence!

Let's eat grandma!

• Let's eat, grandma!

• Let's, eat grandma!

Multiple Choice

Where should the comma go?
Fortunately the vehicle worked well.

• vehicle,

• worked,

• Fortunately,

• The  sentence does not need commas

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses commas correctly?

• Jake my black, and white cat, loves to sleep on the couch next to me. 

• Jake, my black and white cat, loves to sleep on the couch next to me. 

• Jake my black and white cat, loves to sleep on the couch next to me. 

• Jake, my black and white cat loves to sleep on the couch next to me. 

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct use of commas?

• Coffee, tea sugar, milk eggs

• Coffee tea sugar milk eggs

• Coffee, tea, sugar, milk, and eggs

• Coffee, tea, sugar, milk and eggs

Multiple Choice

Where does the comma go in this sentence?
 Liza who was wearing a new dress, yelled at the waiter who spilled water on her. 

• was, wearing 

•  waiter, who 

• Liza, who

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses commas correctly?

• Amanda can you please bring me the pencil sharpener, and a piece of paper?

• Amanda, can you please bring me the pencil sharpener and a piece of paper?

• Amanda, can you please bring me the pencil sharpener, and a piece of paper?

• Amanda can you please bring me the, pencil, sharpener and a piece of paper?

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses commas correctly?

• I enjoy spending time with friends however, there are days I would rather be with my family.

• I enjoy spending time with friends, however there are days I would rather be with my family.

• I enjoy spending time with, friends, however there are days I would rather be with, my family.

• I enjoy spending time with friends, however, there are days I would rather be with my family.

PSAT English

Writing and Language

Multiple Choice

12. Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• pollination: this is

• pollination,

• pollination;

• no change

Multiple Choice

13. Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• no change

• highlights the potentially disastrous effects

• highlight the potentially disastrous effects

• highlights the potentially disastrous affects

Multiple Choice

14. Read the passage and choose your answer.

• no change

• Known as a colony

• It is known as a colony

• Colony

Multiple Choice

15. Which choice offers the most accurate interpretation of the data in the chart.

(exceeded 25 percent of the population each winter)

• no change

• been above acceptable range

• not changed noticeably from year to year

• greatly increased every year

Multiple Choice

17. Which choice most smoothly and effectively introduces the writer's discussion of studies of CCD in this paragraph?

• no change

• Bees are vanishing, and according to studies there are several possible reasons for this trend.

• Several possible reasons, offered by studies, may explain why bees are vanishing

• Delete the underlined sentence

Multiple Choice

20. Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• No Change

• crops, this is an expensive proposition when there is a shortage of bees

• crops, an expensive proposition when there is a shortage of bees

• crops; an expensive proposition when there is a shortage of bees

Multiple Choice

21. Read the passage and choose the correct answer.

• no change

• there

• their

• its

Multiple Choice

The writer wants a conclusion that addresses the future efforts to combat CCD. Which choice results in the passage having the most appropriate concluding sentence?

• no change

• Still, bee colonies have experienced such devastating losses that the consequences of the issue have been felt worldwide.

• Although CCD is a relatively new phenomenon, scientists have been studying other aspects of honeybees for over a century.

• Genetic variation in bee colonies generally improves bees' productivity, disease resistance, and ability to regulate body temperature.

Multiple Choice

23. Read the passage and then choose the correct response.

• no change

• stood;

• stood-

• stood

Multiple Choice

25. Read the passage, then choose the appropriate answer.

• no change

• however,

• by contrast,

• thereafter,

Multiple Choice

26. Read the passage and then choose the most appropriate answer.

• no change

• Given that

• So

• Delete the underlined portion and begin sentence with a capital letter.

The PSAT 9 is an important test that will prepare

you for the SAT. When you graduate, we want
you to have as many options as possible for
your future. The better you do on the SAT, the

more options you will have available to you.
Don’t eliminate college bound options as a
freshman. Set yourself up for success in the

future, and do your best on test day!