Praxis Core For Dummies with Online Practice Tests

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book .2 Where to Go from Here .3 Part 1: Getting Started With the Praxis Core 5 Chapter 1: Previewing the Praxis 7 Why Take the Praxis? .7 Breaking Down the Praxis .8 Knowing what topics are covered .8 Seeing what types of questions you'll face .9 Understanding How the Test Is Scored 10 Chapter 2: Getting Ready for Test Day 13 Registering for the Test 13 Using Your Time Wisely 14 Budgeting your study time leading up to test day 14 Budgeting your time while taking the test 15 When Test Day Has Arrived 16 Knowing what to bring and what to leave at home 17 Getting familiar with computer testing 17 If You Are Retaking the Test 18 Chapter 3: Practicing the Praxis: Sampling Some Practice Questions 19 Going through the Pre-Assessment Questions 19 Looking at the Pre-Assessment Answers 28 Reading answers and explanations 28 Writing answers and explanations 31 Math answers and explanations 33 Assessing Your Results 35 Identifying categories where you struggled 36 Understanding where you went wrong specifically 36 Part 2: Mastering Math Concepts 39 Chapter 4: Count on It: Number and Quantity 41 Working with Integers: Whole Numbers and Their Opposites 41 Doing basic operations with integers 42 Finding factors of whole numbers 43 Employing some helpful divisibility rules 44 Finding multiples of integers 45 Determining the greatest common factor and least common multiple 45 Exponents and square roots 46 Computing with Fractions and Mixed Numbers 47 Simplifying fractions 47 Converting between fractions and mixed numbers 48 Performing basic operations with fractions and mixed numbers 49 Working with Decimals and Percents 52 Converting between decimals and percents 52 Performing basic operations with decimals 53 Understanding the Number Line 54 Interpreting numeration and place values 54 Knowing the basics of order 55 Finding orders of magnitude 55 Finding numbers in sequences 56 Following Orders: The Order of Operations 56 Remembering "GEMDAS" 57 Using the order of operations within itself 57 Reasoning with Quantities 58 Using the two major systems of measurement 58 Converting units of measurement 59 Basic word problems 60 Practice Questions about Number and Quantity 61 Answers and Explanations 62 Chapter 5: Introducing Letters: Algebra 63 Variables: When Letters Represent Numbers 63 Laying out the terms: Variable terms and expressions 64 Let's get together: Combining like terms 64 Multiplying and dividing with terms and expressions 65 When variable values are given 67 Working with Equations 68 Solving for x and other variables 68 Undoing addition and subtraction 69 Undoing multiplication and division 70 Multistep equations 70 Proportions 71 Systems of equations 72 Solving for variables in terms of other variables 74 Solving Inequalities 74 Following two more rules when solving inequalities 75 Graphing inequalities 76 Describing solution steps 76 Factoring in Algebra 77 Factoring terms out of bigger terms 77 Using reverse FOIL 78 Decoding Algebra Word Problems 79 Translating English into mathematical language 79 Algebraic word problems 80 Thinking Outside the Algebra Box 81 Recognizing relational patterns 81 Algebraic reasoning 81 Practice Questions about Algebra 83 Answers and Explanations 84 Chapter 6: Grasping Geometry Concepts 87 Understanding the Building Blocks of Geometry 87 Getting to the point 88 Defining lines and parts of lines 88 Moving along planes in space 88 Getting the right angles on angles 89 Recognizing congruence 90 Understanding Angle Measures and Relationships 90 Distinguishing degrees of angle measure and naming angles 90 Working with angle relationships 91 Knowing Common Shapes and Their Basic Properties 93 Defining polygons in general 93 Analyzing triangles: Three-sided polygons 93 Identifying facts about quadrilaterals 95 Working with other types of polygons 96 Knowing the basic facts about circles 96 Working with Shapes that Are Alike 97 Forming conclusions about congruent shapes 97 Working with similar shapes 98 Figuring out Geometric Formulas 99 Finding the perimeter 99 Circling the circumference 100 Getting into the area 101 Finding the right volume 102 Combining Shapes 103 Coming together: Shapes that have joined without an invasion 103 Preparing for invasion: When one shape invades another 104 Knowing the Ways of the XY Coordinate Plane 105 Naming coordinate pairs 105 Identifying linear equations and their graphs 106 Using the distance and midpoint formulas 107 Finding meaning in intersecting graphs 107 Transforming coordinate plane figures 108 Touching on Right Triangles 110 Knowing what Pythagoras discovered 111 Working with special right triangles 111 Practice Questions about Geometry 113 Answers and Explanations 114 Chapter 7: Pinning Down Data Interpretation and Representation, Statistics, and Probability 115 Representing Data 115 Tables 116 Bar graphs and line graphs 117 Pie charts 118 Stem-and-leaf plots 119 Box-and-whisker plots 121 Venn diagrams 123 Scrambling around scatter plots 124 Loitering around line plots 124 Analyzing Data 125 Combing through comparisons 125 Homing in on the range 125 Measuring arithmetic mean, median, or mode 126 Variably affecting data 127 Measuring the spread of data 128 Scrutinizing samples for data analysis 129 Interpreting linear models 129 Calculating Probability 130 Determining the likelihood of an event 130 Using complements 130 Pointing Out Scientific Notation Facts 131 Practice Questions about Probability and Statistics 132 Answers and Explanations 134 Chapter 8: Test-Taking Strategies for Core Math 135 Using Helpful Shortcuts 135 Solving equations versus determining what must be solved 136 Using estimation and approximation 137 Using the calculator 137 Identifying calculations you can make in your head 137 The art of guessing as a last resort 138 Working backward 139 Narrowing Down Answer Choices 139 How to eliminate obviously wrong answer choices 139 Avoiding the most common wrong answers 141 Tackling the Constructed Response 142 Tips for preparing responses and answering questions 142 Some proper ways of representing answers 143 Understanding the importance of avoiding careless errors 143 Part 3: Refining Your Reading Comprehension Skills 145 Chapter 9: Reading Comprehension: Finding Meaning and Identifying Purpose 147 Previewing the Praxis Reading Test 147 Knowing what the test contains 148 Applying a general strategy 148 Mastering Short-Passage Questions 149 Ferreting out the main idea 149 Discerning the author's tone and intent 151 Putting vocabulary in context 152 Looking at Long-Passage Questions 153 Purpose and paraphrase 153 Arguments and support 154 Getting the hang of "If" questions 154 Sample questions for long passages 156 Visual- and Quantitative-Information Questions 158 Rethinking charts and graphs 159 Getting graphs 159 Practice Reading-Comprehension Questions 162 Answers and Explanations 165 Chapter 10: Test-Taking Strategies for Core Reading 169 Figuring Out Which to Read First: The Passage or the Question 169 Examining Strategies for the Various Passages 171 Approaching long and short passages 171 Approaching the paired passages 172 Approaching Questions about Charts and Graphs 173 Eliminating Wrong Answers 174 Tips for Slow Readers 174 Part 4: Fine-Tuning Your Writing Skills 177 Chapter 11: Acing the Essay 179 Perusing the Types of Prompts: "Picking a Side" versus "Exploring an Idea" 179 Writing persuasively 180 Sticking to the facts 180 Creating a Solid Essay 180 Making an outline: Essential or overrated? 181 Looking at the sections of your essay 181 Don't box yourself in: Theses aren't set in stone 182 Citing the sources 182 Checking out some additional writing pointers 182 Turning a Good Essay into a Great One 183 Adding interesting anecdotes 183 Painting a picture with words 183 Anticipating objections against your position 184 Understanding How the Essay Is Scored 184 Checking Out Some Practice Prompts 185 Prompts for argumentative essays 185 Prompts for informative/explanatory essays 185 Reviewing a Sample Essay 187 Evaluating Your Essay 188 Chapter 12: Giving Grammar a Glance 191 Getting a Grip on the Parts of Speech 191 Finding nouns as subjects and objects 192 Putting verbs to work 192 Using adjectives to describe people, places, and things 195 Calling on adverbs to describe actions and conditions 196 Getting the lowdown on pronouns 197 Considering conjunctions 201 Perusing prepositions 201 Making Sense of Sentence Structure 203 Independent clauses versus everything else 203 The sentence skeleton: Identifying the main subject and verb 204 Run-ons and comma splices 205 Pondering Punctuation 206 Commas 206 Semicolons 208 Apostrophes 209 Misplaced Modifiers 209 Redundancy and Double Negatives 210 Homophones: "They're in there with their bear" 211 Which one has the apostrophe? 211 Spelled and used differently, but sound the same 212 Capitalization: What You Need to Know 213 Practice Questions about Grammar 214 Answers and Explanations 217 Chapter 13: Test-Taking Strategies for Core Writing 221 Knowing the Types of Selected-Response Writing Questions 221 Type 1: Answering usage questions 222 Type 2: Showing your research skills 223 Type 3: Making sentence corrections 224 Type 4: Regarding revision-in-context questions 225 Identifying and Correcting Errors in Selected-Response Items 226 Eliminating the obviously wrong choices 226 Don't be afraid to say it's right the way it is 226 The art of guessing as a last resort 227 A word of advice about "trusting your ear" 227 Mastering the Essay 227 Outlining your thoughts and managing your time 228 Arm yourself with versatile examples 228 Practicing ahead of time 229 Part 5: Tackling Praxis Core Practice Tests 231 Chapter 14: Practice Exam 1 233 Answer Sheet for Practice Exam 1 235 Part 1: Reading 237 Part 2: Writing 253 Argumentative Essay 260 Source-Based Essay 261 Part 3: Mathematics 263 Chapter 15: Practice Exam 1: Answers and Explanations 273 Part 1: Reading 273 Part 2: Writing 289 Argumentative Essay 299 Source-Based Essay 301 Part 3: Mathematics 302 Answer Key 322 Chapter 16: Practice Exam 2 325 Answer Sheet for Practice Exam 2 327 Part 1: Reading 329 Part 2: Writing 343 Argumentative Essay 350 Source-Based Essay 351 Part 3: Mathematics 352 Chapter 17: Practice Exam 2: Answers and Explanations 363 Part 1: Reading 363 Part 2: Writing 380 Argumentative Essay 390 Source-Based Essay 391 Part 3: Mathematics 392 Answer Key 405 Part 6: The Part of Tens 407 Chapter 18: Ten Common Math Errors to Avoid 409 Misusing Negative Signs 409 Confusing Perimeter and Area 410 Incorrectly Combining Like Terms 410 Messing Up When Moving Decimals 410 Not Solving for the Actual Variable 410 Misrepresenting "Less Than" in Word Problems 411 Mixing Up Supplementary and Complementary Angles 411 Finding the Wrong Median 411 Fearing Fractions 411 Forgetting about Fractions in Formulas 412 Chapter 19: Ten Mistakes to Avoid on the Praxis Reading and Writing Exams 413 Avoiding Mistakes Common to the Writing and Reading Tests 413 Don't look for patterns in the answers 413 Don't change answers merely for the sake of changing them 414 Sidestepping Mistakes on the Writing Test 415 Don't equate different with wrong 415 Don't assume something must be correct just because it sounds fancier or more complex 415 Don't turn the essay into a thesaurus explosion 416 Don't paint yourself into a corner with a rigid thesis 416 Evading Mistakes on the Reading Test 416 Don't rule out the "too obvious" 417 Don't word-match 417 Don't ignore your outside knowledge 417 Don't try to answer more than the question asks you to 418 Index 419

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