501 critical reading questions p20

501 Critical Reading Questions

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theorem and began to develop a mathematical theory that would
later become calculus.
However, his most important discoveries were made during
the two-year period from 1664 to 1666, when the university was
closed due to the Great Plague. Newton retreated to his
hometown and set to work on developing calculus, as well as
advanced studies on optics and gravitation. It was at this time that
he discovered the Law of Uni- versal Gravitation and discovered
that white light is composed of all the colors of the spectrum.
These findings enabled him to make fun- damental contributions
to mathematics, astronomy, and theoretical and experimental
physics.
Arguably, it is for Newton’s Laws of Motion that he is most

revered. These are the three basic laws that govern the motion of
material objects. Together, they gave rise to a general view of
nature known as the clockwork universe. The laws are: (1) Every
object moves in a straight line unless acted upon by a force. (2)
The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net
force exerted and inversely proportional to the object’s mass. (3)
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In 1687, Newton summarized his discoveries in terrestrial and
celestial mechanics in his Pftilosopftiae naturalis principia matftematica
(Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), one of the
greatest milestones in the history of science. In this work he
showed how his principle of universal gravitation provided an
explanation both of falling bodies on the earth and of the
motions of planets, comets, and other bodies in the heavens. The
first part of the Principia, devoted to dynamics, includes Newton’s
three laws of motion; the second part to fluid motion and other
topics; and the third part to the system of the world, in which,
among other things, he provides an explanation of Kepler’s laws
of planetary motion.
This is not all of Newton’s groundbreaking work. In 1704, his
dis- coveries in optics were presented in Opticks, in which he
elaborated his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, or
particles. Among his other accomplishments were his
construction (1668) of a reflecting telescope and his anticipation of
the calculus of variations, founded by Gottfried Leibniz and the
Bernoullis. In later years, Newton consid- ered mathematics and
physics a recreation and turned much of his energy toward
alchemy, theology, and history, particularly problems of chronology.
Newton achieved many honors over his years of service to the
advancement of science and mathematics, as well as for his role as

war- den, then master, of the mint. He represented Cambridge
University


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in Parliament, and was president of the Royal Society from 1703 until
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his death in 1727. Sir Isaac Newton was knighted in 1705 by Queen
Anne. Newton never married, nor had any recorded children. He
died in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Based on Newton’s quote in lines 6–10 of the passage,
what can best be surmised about the famous apple
falling from the tree?
There was no apple falling from a tree—it was
entirely made up.
Newton never sits beneath apple trees.
Newton got distracted from his theory on gravity by a
fallen apple.
Newton used the apple anecdote as an easily understood
illus- tration of the Earth’s gravitational pull.
Newton invented a theory of geometry for the trajectory
of apples falling perpendicularly, sideways, and up and
down.

343.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

344.

In what capacity was Newton employed?
a. Physics Professor, Trinity College
b. Trinity Professor of Optics
c. Professor of Calculus at Trinity College
d. Professor of Astronomy at Lucasian College
e. Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge

345.

In line 36, what does the term clockwork universe most nearly mean?
a. eighteenth-century government
b. the international dateline
c. Newton’s system of latitude
d. Newton’s system of longitude
e. Newton’s Laws of Motion

346.

According to the passage, how did Newton affect Kepler’s work?
a. He discredited his theory at Cambridge, choosing to
read Descartes instead.

b. He provides an explanation of Kepler’s laws of
planetary motion.
c. He convinced the Dean to teach Kepler, Descartes, Galileo,
and Copernicus instead of Aristotle.
d. He showed how Copernicus was a superior astronomer
to Kepler.
e. He did not understand Kepler’s laws, so he rewrote
them in English.


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347.

Which of the following is NOT an accolade received by Newton?
a. Member of the Royal Society
b. Order of Knighthood
c. Master of the Royal Mint
d. Prime Minister, Parliament
e. Lucasian Professor of Mathematics

348.

Of the following, which is last in chronology?
a. Pftilosopftiae naturalis principia matftematica
b. Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’s Life
c. Newton’s Laws of Motion
d. Optiks

e. invention of a reflecting telescope

349.

Which statement best summarizes the life of Sir Isaac Newton?
a. distinguished inventor, mathematician, physicist, and
great thinker of the seventeenth century
b. eminent mathematician, physicist, and scholar of the
Renaissance
c. noteworthy physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and British
Lord
d. from master of the mint to master mathematician: Lord
Isaac Newton
e. Isaac Newton: founder of calculus and father of gravity

Questions 366–373 are based on the following

passage.

This passage outlines the past and present use of asbestos, the potential
health hazard associated with this material, and how to prevent exposure.
(1)

(5)

(10)

Few words in a contractor’s vocabulary carry more negative connotations than asbestos. According to the Asbestos Network, “touted
as a miracle substance,” asbestos is the generic term for several
naturally occurring mineral fibers mined primarily for use as

fireproof insula- tion. Known for strength, flexibility, low
electrical conductivity, and resistance to heat, asbestos is comprised
of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, and assorted metals. Before the
public knew asbestos could be harm- ful to one’s health, it was
found in a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide
insulation and fire resistance.
Asbestos is generally made up of fiber bundles that can be broken
up into long, thin fibers. We now know from various studies that
when this friable substance is released into the air and inhaled into
the lungs over a period of time, it can lead to a higher risk of lung
cancer and a


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condition known as asbestosis. Asbestosis, a thickening and scarring of
the lung tissue, usually occurs when a person is exposed to high
asbestos lev- els over an extensive period of time. Unfortunately,
the symptoms do not usually appear until about twenty years after
initial exposure, mak- ing it difficult to reverse or prevent. In addition,
smoking while exposed to asbestos fibers could further increase the
risk of developing lung can- cer. When it comes to asbestos
exposure in the home, school, and work- place, there is no safe
level; any exposure is considered harmful and dangerous. Prior to
the 1970s asbestos use was ubiquitous—many com- mercial building
and home insulation products contained asbestos. In the home in
particular, there are many places where asbestos hazards might be
present. Building materials that may contain asbestos include
fireproofing material (sprayed on beams), insulation material (on
pipes and oil and coal furnaces), acoustical or soundproofing material
(sprayed onto ceilings and walls), and in miscellaneous materials,
such as asphalt, vinyl, and cement to make products like roofing
felts, shingles, siding, wallboard, and floor tiles.
We advise homeowners and concerned consumers to examine
mate- rial in their homes if they suspect it may contain asbestos. If
the mate- rial is in good condition, fibers will not break down,
releasing the chemical debris that may be a danger to members of
the household. Asbestos is a powerful substance and should be
handled by an expert. Do not touch or disturb the material—it may

then become damaged and release fibers. Contact local health,
environmental, or other appropri- ate officials to find out proper
handling and disposal procedures, if war- ranted. If asbestos
removal or repair is needed you should contact a professional.
Asbestos contained in high-traffic public buildings, such as
schools presents the opportunity for disturbance and potential exposure to students and employees. To protect individuals, the
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) was signed
in 1986. This law requires public and private non-profit primary
and secondary schools to inspect their buildings for asbestoscontaining building materials. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has pub- lished regulations for schools to follow in
order to protect against asbestos contamination and provide
assistance to meet the AHERA requirements. These include
performing an original inspection and periodic re-inspections
every three years for asbestos containing material; developing,
maintaining, and updating an asbestos man- agement plan at the
school; providing yearly notification to parent, teacher, and
employee organizations regarding the availability of the school’s
asbestos management plan and any asbestos abatement


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actions taken or planned in the school; designating a contact
person to ensure the responsibilities of the local education
agency are prop- erly implemented; performing periodic
surveillance of known or sus- pected asbestos-containing building
material; and providing custodial

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staff with asbestos awareness training.
350.

In line 12 the word friable most nearly means
a. ability to freeze.
b. warm or liquid.
c. easily broken down.
d. poisonous.
e. crunchy.

351.

Which title would best describe this passage?
a. The EPA Guide to Asbestos Protection
b. Asbestos Protection in Public Buildings and Homes
c. Asbestos in American Schools
d. The AHERA—Helping Consumers Fight Asbestos-Related
Disease
e. How to Prevent Lung Cancer and Asbestosis

352.

According to this passage, which statement is true?
a. Insulation material contains asbestos fibers.
b. Asbestos in the home should always be removed.
c. The AHERA protects private homes against asbestos.
d. Asbestosis usually occurs in a person exposed to high
levels of asbestos.

e. Asbestosis is a man-made substance invented in the 1970s.

353.

In line 23, the word ubiquitous most nearly means
a. sparse.
b. distinctive.
c. restricted.
d. perilous.
e. universal.

354.

Lung cancer and asbestosis are
a. dangerous fibers.
b. forms of serious lung disease.
c. always fatal.
d. only caused by asbestos inhalation.
e. the most common illnesses in the United States.


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501 Critical Reading Questions
355.

The main purpose of this passage is to
a. teach asbestos awareness in the home and schools.
b. explain the specifics of the AHERA.

c. highlight the dangers of asbestos to your health.
d. provide a list of materials that may include asbestos.
e. use scare tactics to make homeowners move to newer houses.

356.

The tone of this passage is best described as
a. cautionary.
b. apathetic.
c. informative.
d. admonitory.
e. idiosyncratic.

357.

For whom is the author writing this passage?
a. professional contractors
b. lay persons
c. students
d. school principals
e. health officials

Questions 374–381 are based on the following two
passages.
The following two passages tell of geometry’s Divine Proportion, 1.618.
PASSAf tE 1
(1)

(5)

(10)

PHI, the Divine Proportion of 1.618, was described by the
astronomer Johannes Kepler as one of the “two great treasures of
geometry.” (The other is the Pythagorean theorem.)
PHI is the ratio of any two sequential numbers in the Fibonacci
sequence. If you take the numbers 0 and 1, then create each
subse- quent number in the sequence by adding the previous two
numbers, you get the Fibonacci sequence. For example, 0, 1, 1, 2,
3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144. If you sum the squares of any series
of Fibonacci num- bers, they will equal the last Fibonacci number
used in the series times the next Fibonacci number. This property
results in the Fibonacci spi- ral seen in everything from seashells
2

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2

2

2

2

to galaxies, and is written math- ematically as: 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 5
= 5 × 8.
Plants illustrate the Fibonacci series in the numbers of leaves,
the arrangement of leaves around the stem, and in the
positioning of leaves, sections, and seeds. A sunflower seed

illustrates this principal


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as the number of clockwise spirals is 55 and the number of
counter- clockwise spirals is 89; 89 divided by 55 = 1.618, the
Divine Propor- tion. Pinecones and pineapples illustrate similar
spirals of successive Fibonacci numbers.
PHI is also the ratio of five-sided symmetry. It can be proven
by using a basic geometrical figure, the pentagon. This five-sided
figure embodies PHI because PHI is the ratio of any diagonal to
any side of the pentagon—1.618.
Say you have a regular pentagon ABCDE with equal sides and
equal angles. You may draw a diagonal as line AC connecting
any two ver- texes of the pentagon. You can then install a total of
five such lines, and they are all of equal length. Divide the length

of a diagonal AC by the length of a side AB, and you will have an
accurate numerical value for PHI—1.618. You can draw a second
diagonal line, BC inside the pen- tagon so that this new line
crosses the first diagonal at point O. What occurs is this: Each
diagonal is divided into two parts, and each part is in PHI ratio
(1.618) to the other, and to the whole diagonal—the PHI ratio
recurs every time any diagonal is divided by another diagonal.
When you draw all five pentagon diagonals, they form a fivepoint star: a pentacle. Inside this star is a smaller, inverted
pentagon. Each diagonal is crossed by two other diagonals, and
each segment is in PHI ratio to the larger segments and to the
whole. Also, the inverted inner pentagon is in PHI ratio to the
initial outer pentagon. Thus, PHI is the ratio of five-sided
symmetry.
Inscribe the pentacle star inside a pentagon and you have the
pen- tagram, symbol of the ancient Greek School of Mathematics
founded by Pythagoras—solid evidence that the ancient Mystery
Schools knew about PHI and appreciated the Divine Proportion’s
multitude of uses to form our physical and biological worlds.
PASSAf tE 2

(1)

(5)

(10)

Langdon turned to face his sea of eager students. “Who can tell
me what this number is?”
A long-legged math major in back raised his hand. “That’s the
num- ber PHI.” He pronounced it fee.

“Nice job, Stettner,” Langdon said. “Everyone, meet PHI.” [ . .
. ] “This number PHI,” Langdon continued, “one-point-six-oneeight, is a very important number in art. Who can tell me why?” [
. . . ] “Actually,” Langdon said, [ . . . ] “PHI is generally considered
the most beautiful number in the universe.” [ . . . ] As Langdon
loaded his slide projector, he explained that the number PHI was
derived from the


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Fibonacci sequence—a progression famous not only because the

sum of adjacent terms equaled the next term, but because the
quotients of adjacent terms possessed the astonishing property of
approaching the number 1.618—PHI!
Despite PHI’s seemingly mystical mathematical origins, Langdon
explained, the truly mind-boggling aspect of PHI was its role as a
fun- damental building block in nature. Plants, animals, even
human beings all possessed dimensional properties that adhered
with eerie exactitude to the ratio of PHI to 1.
“PHI’s ubiquity in nature clearly exceeds coincidence, and so
the ancients assumed the number PHI must have been preordained
by the creator of the universe. Early scientists heralded 1.618 as
the Divine Proportion.”
[ . . . ] Langdon advanced to the next slide—a close-up of a
sun- flower’s seed head. “Sunflower seeds grow in opposing
spirals. Can you guess the ratio of each rotation’s diameter to the
next?
“1.618.”
“Bingo.” Langdon began racing through slides now—spiraled
pinecone petals, leaf arrangement on plant stalks, insect
segmenta- tion—all displaying astonishing obedience to the Divine
Proportion.
“This is amazing!” someone cried out.
“Yeah,” someone else said, “but what does it have to do with
art?” [ . . . ] “Nobody understood better than da Vinci the divine
struc- ture of the human body. . . . He was the first to show that
the human body is literally made of building blocks whose
proportional ratios
always equal PHI.”
Everyone in class gave him a dubious look.
“Don’t believe me?” . . . Try it. Measure the distance from your

shoulder to your fingertips, and then divide it by the distance
from your elbow to your fingertips. PHI again. Another? Hip to
floor divided by knee to floor. PHI again. Finger joints. Toes.
Spinal divi- sions. PHI, PHI, PHI. My friends, each of you is a
walking tribute to the Divine Proportion.” [ . . . .]”In closing,”
Langdon said, “we return to symbols.” He drew five intersecting
lines that formed a five-pointed star. “This symbol is one of the
most powerful images you will see this term. Formally known as
a pentagram—or pentacle, as the ancients called it—the symbol is
considered both divine and magical by many cultures. Can anyone
tell me why that may be?”
Stettner, the math major, raised his hand. “Because if you draw
a pentagram, the lines automatically divide themselves into
segments according to the Divine Proportion.”


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Landgon gave the kid a proud nod. “Nice job. Yes, the ratios of
line segments in a pentacle all equal PHI, making the symbol the
ultimate expression of the Divine Proportion.”
358.

The tone of Passage 2 may be described as
a. fascinated discovery.
b. blandly informative.
c. passionate unfolding.

d. droll and jaded.
e. dry and scientific.

359.

According to both passages, which of the following are synonyms?
a. pentagon and pentacle
b. pinecones and sunflower seed spirals
c. Divine Proportion and PHI
d. Fibonacci sequence and Divine Proportion
e. Fibonacci sequence and PHI

360.

In Passage 2, line 20, ubiquity of PHI most nearly means its
a. rareness in nature.
b. accuracy in nature.
c. commonality in nature.
d. artificiality against nature.
e. purity in an unnatural state.
Both passages refer to the “mystical mathematical”
side of PHI. Based on the two passages, which statement
is NOT another aspect of PHI?
PHI is a ratio found in nature.
PHI is the area of a regular pentagon.
PHI is one of nature’s building blocks.
PHI is derived from the Fibonacci sequence.
PHI is a math formula.

361.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Which of the following techniques is used in
Passage 1, lines 13–18 and Passage 2, lines 24–26?
explanation of terms
comparison of different arguments
contrast of opposing views
generalized statement
illustration by example

362.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

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501 Critical Reading Questions

All of the following questions can be explicitly answered on
the basis of the passage EXCEPT

What is the ratio of the length of one’s hip to floor divided by
knee to floor?
What is the precise mathematical ratio of PHI?
What is the ratio of the length of one’s shoulder to fingertips
divided by elbow to fingertips?
What is the ratio of the length of one’s head to the floor divided by
shoulder’s to the floor?
What is the ratio of each sunflower seed spiral rotation’s
diameter to the next?

363.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

According to both passages, the terms ancient Mystery Scftools
(Passage 1, line 43), early scientists (Passage 2, line 22), and
ancients (Passage 2, line 46) signify what about the divine
proportion?
Early scholars felt that the Divine Proportion was a magical
number.
Early scholars found no scientific basis for the Divine
Proportion.
Early mystery writers used the Divine Proportion.
Early followers of Pythagoras favored the Pythagorean theorem over
the divine proportion.
Early followers of Kepler used the Divine Proportion in

astronomy.

364.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

365.

Which of the following is NOT true of the pentagon?
a. It is considered both divine and magical by many cultures.
b. It is a geometric figure with five equal sides meeting at five
equal angles.
c. It is a geometric figure whereby PHI is the ratio of any diagonal to
any side.
d. If you draw an inverted inner pentagon inside a pentagon, it is
in PHI ratio to the initial outer pentagon.
e. A polygon having five sides and five interior angles is called a
pentagon.

Questions 382–390 are based on the following

passage.

The following passage describes the composition and nature of ivory.
(1)

Ivory skin, ivory teeth, Ivory Soap, Ivory Snow—we hear “ivory” used all


the time to describe something fair, white, and pure. But where does
ivory come from, and what exactly is it? Is it natural or man-