miniQUIZ Week of 4/07/2026

1. One way to organically commit things to memory is to physically(whether this be by hand or by keyboard) copy things. Accordingly, in your reply to this week’s miniQUIZ, type out what’s below.

Especially with experience(which is so often central to so many things within this process), after we’ve read a Math question, within moments, if it is a question that we would consider to be comfortable, we would have a clear sense of what to do first or how we plan to approach the question. If you’re sitting there wondering what to do, it is likely ideal to interpret this as an indication to at least mcm the question.

If you’re not already familiar with the awesomeness that is mcm-ing, find out about it.

*After you submit your answers, if you do not know what it means to mcm a question, there’ll be a link to click.

2. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

The origins of the ancient structure, one that is likely more than two millennia old, _____ back to the time period when the Visigoths held dominion over the area.

A) is traced B) has traced C) trace D) traces

The correct answer is (C).

The ideal way for you to smash this question could be via our friend the 3/4 SvP Pattern.

Options (A), (B), and (D) are all singular; option (C) is the lone plural option. The Pattern tells us to select (C).

If you’re not sure which options are singular and which are plural, or if you’re not sure how to know this Pattern is in play, give the page linked above a thorough read.

And, for those seeking to push past the Pattern here, let’s acknowledge that the plural subject of this sentence is the “origins”. The presence of the preposition “of” could reveal that this is the case. If you’re on the Path to 700+, confidently identifying the subject here is something you want to be a thing.

3. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

After witnessing what had transpired over the duration of the match, the commentators enthusiastically proclaimed the effort of all of the players to be top drawer work. _____ they felt that each of the twenty-two people on the pitch had put forth sterling performances.

A) In other words, B) Regardless, C) Consequently, D) To that end,

The correct answer is (A).

For whatever reason(s), the transition “In other words” appears quite regularly within the current officially published questions. But, it is almost never the actual correct answer.

So, we thought if you wanted to see how it could work as the correct answer, we’d give you that opportunity here. To that end, we wrote this blurb so that there was a bit of a quirky, lesser known phrase, “top drawer work” before the blank. Then, after the blank, what that phrase means is given in the other words of “put forth sterling performances”.

If you are not super familiar with TQ classics such as “Regardless” and “Consequently”, definitely give this link a read.

4. For each real number r, which of the following points lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given system.

$3x - 14y = -56$

$-3/7x + 2y = 8$

A) $(7r - 21, \nicefrac{3}{2r} - \nicefrac{1}{2})$ B) $(r, 4r - \nicefrac{3}{})$ C) $(4r - \nicefrac{3}{4}, r)$ D) $(-\nicefrac{7}{3r} + \nicefrac{8}{7}, r)$

The correct answer is (A).

We had a particular, single designed route to confidently arrive at a correct answer here, but our friend Eden has made it so there is another route we will discuss here. :)

The first route, which is mapped within our Linear Learning Library on this page and acknowledged as a particular variant, starts with us inputting both equation in to desmos and seeing that they produce the same line.

From there, we bring our friend Sub Numbers(SN) in to the mix. If we said r is 4, option (A)’s x-coordinate is 7 and its y-coordinate is 5.5. Clicking on the line we have graphed within desmos, we can see that (7, 5.5) is indeed a point on this line. With any number subbed in for r, only the correct answer will always be a point on the line.

The second route(a.k.a. the Eden Amorelli way) is one that brings our friend Use the Given Answers(UGA) in to the mix.

If we use $‘7r - 21’$ as the $x$ within the top equation that is given and $‘\nicefrac{3}{2r} - \nicefrac{1}{2}’$ as the $y$, we would have….

$3(7r - 21) -14(\nicefrac{3}{2r} - \nicefrac{1}{2}) = -56$

Distributing, we arrive at….

$21r - 63 - 21r + 7 = -56$

The ’$21r$’ terms cancel. And, after we combing the -63 and the 7, we get -56 = -56.

Only the correct answer would lead to such a result. And, if we had used the coordinates from (A) within the bottom equation, we would have gotten 8 = 8.

To close out here, let’s acknowledge two things….

• i) We very much like seeing how so many questions can be done in more than one way.
• ii) Something you could keep somewhere in mind, maybe because it used to be a fairly regularly appearing thing, is that the presence of xy-coordinates within the answer options is typically a classic signal that UGA is available.

5. What is the maximum value of the given function?

$p(t) = -2/11t2 + 16t - 1250/3$

The correct answer is -64.66 or -64.67 or $\nicefrac{-194}{3}$.

The word “maximum” does not currently appear within an officially published question, but the word “minimum” does. Either word can be a signal to head to desmos.

Typing the given equation in to desmos, we can then zoom out four times and see the graph. Clicking on the dot at the parabola’s vertex, we see coordinates of (44, -64.66667). Two things….

• i) The maximum itself is the y-coordinate.
• ii) If the test writers want us to input the x-coordinate, we can expect a question to directly mention x.

If you opted to change -64.66666(repeating) to the fractional equivalent of $\nicefrac{-194}{3}, doing so would certainly be a correct way to input your final answer. For the rest of us who are going to type in what we’re seeing in desmos, it is important to acknowledge that typing in just -64.6 would be wrong

the nsivwotw(not-so-important-vocab-word-of-the-week)

weary

definition - very tired

more importantly….have it on your radar to not confuse this word for wary, which understandably happens, given how similar they look. It would not be surprising if you are already familiar with weary; it would also not be surprising if you were not familiar with wary. Knowing what wary means is secondary to knowing that the spelling difference between the two words indicates that they are separate, unrelated words.

Submit Answer

Select an option above to enable

Have a request for a future miniQUIZ or a question about this week’s mQ?

Let us know, and your request may pop up sooner than later!

EMAIL US

#OnlyHardWork