Study Packet for the

Quantitative Reasoning
Assessment
What is the QR Assessment? When will I take the QR Assessment?
The QR Assessment tests your quantitative skills, All new students will take the QR Assessment
including your ability to read and understand online before they arrive on campus.
information presented in formulas, tables, What is included in this study packet?
and graphs; to interpret information and draw This study packet includes review problems and
appropriate inferences; and to solve real world two QR Assessments actually given to students in
problems that deal with numbers or data. The past years, before the assessment was online. Short
mathematical skills you will apply on this test span answers are provided for all problems. In addition,
arithmetic, algebra, graph reading, geometry, complete, worked-out solutions are provided for
and linear and exponential modeling. Logical all but the problems from the second practice
and statistical skills are core “QR skills.” You need assessment. If there are particular types of problems
to demonstrate adequate basic QR skills before that you find challenging, we recommend reviewing
enrolling in an array of first-year courses at the notes or books on these topics.
College. Additionally, strong QR skills are needed Although you will be able to use a basic calculator
to ensure that you can explore any academic major, for the online QR Assessment, we recommend that
pursue any career, and address the wide range of you attempt these study problems without one. The
quantitative problems that arise in everyday life. old-style assessment from which these problems
were drawn did not allow the use of calculators.

What happens if I do not do well on the QR Assessment?

If you do not pass the QR Assessment, you will need to enroll in QR140, “Introduction to Quantitative
Reasoning,” in your first year at the College. After successfully completing this course, you should have
the quantitative skills that are a prerequisite for any introductory level course that emphasizes quantitative
analyses—from science courses to economic courses.
If I have questions, where should I turn?
For more information about Wellesley’s two-part QR requirement or about the QR Assessment itself, visit the
QR website at www.wellesley.edu/QR. The website lists recommended readings, etc. You may also contact
[email protected] with any questions or concerns about the QR Assessment.
 Quantitative Reasoning Assessment • 1

Review Problems

1. Officials estimate that 320,000 Boston-area partygoers attended last year’s

Independence Day celebration on the banks of the Charles River. They also
estimate that the partygoers left behind 40 tons of garbage. Given that a
ton equals 2,000 pounds, how many pounds of garbage did the average
partygoer leave behind?

2. Subway tokens cost 85 cents. How many can you buy with $20?

3. A student’s grade depends on her score on four equally-weighted exams.

Her average on the first three exams is 92. What must she score on the fourth
exam in order to guarantee a final average of at least 90?

4. In 2000, a person places $1,000 in an investment that earned 10% annual

interest, compounded annually. Calculate the value of the investment for the
years 2001, 2002, and 2003.

5. According to The New York Times, scientists studying the atmosphere have
recently detected a decrease in the level of methyl chloroform, a man-made
industrial solvent that is harmful to the ozone layer. In 1990, the level of
methyl chloroform was 150 parts per trillion (150 ppt), but by 1994 the level
had fallen to 120 ppt. By what percentage did the level of methyl chloroform
decrease between 1990 and 1994?

6. In 1990, according to Census data, one in four Americans over 18 years of

age had never married, as compared to one in six in 1970. What is the ratio
of the fraction of never married Americans in 1990 to the fraction of never
married Americans in 1970? Simplify your answer.

7. One year ago, a person invested $6,000 in a certain stock. Today, the value
of the investment has risen to $7,200. If, instead, the person had invested
$15,000 one year ago instead of $6,000, what would the investment’s
value be today? (Assume that the investment would increase by the same
proportion.)
 2 • Quantitative Reasoning Assessment

8. Evaluate the following expressions given that v = -2 and w = 3

(a) 3(v – 2w) (b) v2 + w2

9. Figure 1 gives weight charts for baby boys and girls from birth to 18 months.
Each chart gives weights for three different sizes of babies: 5th percentile
(small babies), 50th percentile (average babies), and 95th percentile (large
babies). For example, according to the chart, the 50th percentile weight for a
six-month-old girl is about 15 pounds, while the 95th percentile weight for a
six-month-old girl is about 18 pounds.
Weight chart Weight chart
for girls for boys
Figure 1:

weight (lbs)
weight (lbs)

Weight charts for baby

boys and girls, age
birth to 18 months
age (months) age (months)

(a) About how much more does an average eighteen-month-old boy

weigh than an average eighteen-month-old girl?

(b) Consider two 6-month-old boys, one in the 5th percentile and one in the
95th percentile. About how old will the smaller boy be when he weighs
as much as the larger boy does now? (You should assume that the
smaller boy remains in the 5th percentile as he grows.)

10. In 2003, there were 80 turtles living in a wetland. That year, the population
began to grow by 12 turtles per year. Find a formula for P, the number of
turtles in terms of t, the number of years since 2003.

11. Find (a) the perimeter and (b) the area of the shape in Figure 2.
10

Figure 2:
For Question 11, find 6 4

the perimeter and

area of this shape.

6
 Quantitative Reasoning Assessment • 3

12. Figure 3 shows the number of movies with weekend receipts in different
dollar ranges for a July 4th holiday weekend. For example, according
to the chart, two movies earned at least $15 million but less than $20 million.
According to Figure 3, how many movies earned more than $10 million?

Figure 3: 2 2 2
The number of movies 1

having total receipts

in various ranges for a 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
to to to to to to to to
July 4th weekend 4.9 9.9 14.9 19.9 24.9 29.9 34.9 39.9
(see Question 12)
weekend receipts ($ millions)

13. Suppose you need to rent a car for one day and that you compare that cost
at two different agencies. The cost (in $) at agency A is given by
CA = 30 + 0.22n, where n is the number of miles you drive. Similarly, the cost
at agency B is given by CB = 12 + 0.40n.

(a) If you drive only a few miles (say, less than 20 miles), which agency costs
less, A or B?

(b) How far would you need to drive in order for the other agency to become
less expensive?

14. According to the Cable News Network, the number of injured in-line skaters
(or “roller-bladers”) was 184% larger this year than it was last year. Did the
number of injured skaters almost double, almost triple, or more than triple?

15. For a certain flight out of Chicago, let Pf be the price of a first-class seat and
Pc be the price of a coach-class seat. Furthermore, let Nf be the number of
first-class seats and Nc be the number of coach-class seats available on
the flight. Assuming that every available seat is sold, write an expression in
terms of these constants that gives the value of R, the total amount of money
brought in by the airline for this flight.
 4 • Quantitative Reasoning Assessment

16. Solve the equation Z1 K1 for K2.

=
Z2 K2

17. There are 0.6 grams of powder in a dish. One-fifth of the powder spills out of
the dish. How many grams of powder are left in the dish?

18. Read the values at the two pointers shown in Figure 4.

A B
Figure 4:
For Question 18,
read the two values
shown on the scale.
0 0.1 0.2

19. A six-foot tall man is walking home. His shadow on the ground is eight feet
(ft) long. At the same time, a tree next to him casts a shadow that is 28 ft
long. How tall is the tree?

20. Graph the equation 5s + 15 – t = 0 on the set of axes provided in Figure 5.

Label the s- and t- intercepts.

Figure 5:
For Question 20,
t
graph the equation
5s + 15 – t = 0 on
this set of axes.
 Quantitative Reasoning Assessment • 5

21. Express the following values in simplified form, in scientific notation.

(a) ( 2 × 10–4 ) ( 3 × 105 ) (b) ( 3 × 10–4 )( 8 × 105)

4 × 10–7

22. The equations below describe several different animal populations over a
period of time. In the equations, P stands for the size of the population and t
stands for the year. Match the appropriate equation or equations to the verbal
descriptions that follow.

(i) P = 1000 – 50t (ii) P = 8000(0.95)t

(iii) P = 1000 + 70t (iv) P = 5000 + 2000sin(2pt)

(a) This population decreases by 5% each year.

(b) This population increases by the same number of animals each year.

(c) This population rises and falls over the course of the year.

(d) In year t = 0, these populations are at the same level.

23. Match the following equations to the graphs shown in Figure 6.

(a) y = 6 – 0.8x (b) y = 6 + 0.9x

(c) y = 4 + 0.5x (d) y = 8 + 0.5x

y
line A

line B

line C
Figure 6:
Match the equations
given in Question
23 on these graphs.

line D
 6 • Quantitative Reasoning Assessment

24. Figure 7 gives the rate (in thousands of gallons per minute) that water is
entering or leaving a reservoir over a certain period of time. A positive rate
indicates that water is entering the reservoir and a negative rate indicates that
water is leaving the reservoir. State all time intervals on which the volume of
water in the reservoir is increasing.

rate (1000 gallons per minute)

Figure 7:
The rate that water 10
enters (positive
values) or leaves
0 time
0 A B C D E F G
(negative values)
-10
a reservoir (see
Question 24).
 Quantitative Reasoning Assessment • 7

STOP!!!

• Don’t read these solutions until you have tried the problems on your own!

• Short answers are provided on page 11. Check these first.

• Fully worked-out solutions have also been provided, starting on page 13.

• Tip. Work the problems and then check the short answers. If you miss a
question, try to figure out how to solve it on your own before you read the
complete, worked-out solution. You may feel the urge to read the worked-out
solutions right away, but discovering the answer to a problem on your own is
usually a much more valuable learning experience.
8 • Quantitative Reasoning Assessment
 Quantitative Reasoning Assessment • 9

Short Answers to Review Problems

1. 1/4 pound

2. 23 tokens

3. 84

4. $1,100 in 2001, $1,210 in 2002, $1,331 in 2003

5. 20%

6. 3/2 or 1.5

7. $18,000

8. (a) -24 (b) 13

9. (a) about 2 lbs more (b) about 18 months old

10. P = 80 + 12t

11. (a) Perimeter is 32 units. (b) Area is 52 squared units.

12. five movies

13. (a) agency B (b) more than 100 miles

14. almost triple

15. R = Nf Pf + Nc Pc

16. K2 = K1 Z2/Z1

17. 0.48 grams

10 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

18. Pointer A reads 0.06 and pointer B reads 0.14.

19. 21 feet tall

20. The s-intercept is -3 and the t intercept is 15.

See Figure 7 on page 22.

21. (a) 6.0 × 10 1 (b) 6.0 × 10 8

22. (a) ii (b) iii (c) iv (d) i and iii

23. (a) line D (b) line A (c) line C (d) line B

24. from time 0 to time C

 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 11

Worked Solutions to Review Problems

1. The partygoers left behind 40 tons of garbage, each ton weighing 2000
pounds (lbs). That makes
40 tons × 2,000 lbs. = 80,000 lbs.
ton
We can find the average amount of garbage that each person left behind by
dividing the 80,000 pounds of garbage among the 320,000 partygoers:

80,000 lbs. = 1/4 lb. per person.

320,000 people

Thus, the average partygoer left behind one quarter of a pound of garbage.

2. Since $20 ÷ 0.85 = 23.5 (to one decimal of accuracy), this means you can
buy 23 tokens with $20 and expect some change. Another way to work this
problem is to think of buying tokens in sets of 10. One set of 10 tokens
costs 10 × $0.85 = $8.50. This means that two sets of 10 tokens would
cost 2 × $8.50 = $17. So if you buy 20 tokens for $17, you still have $3 left.
This is only enough to buy 3 more tokens, because 3 × $0.85 = $2.55. In
conclusion, $20 will buy 23 tokens and leave you with some change ($0.45,
to be exact).

3. Think about how you calculate an exam average: the point total of all of
your exams is divided by the number of exams. Since this student’s average
for her first 3 exams is 92 points, this means that her point total for these 3
exams is 3 × 92 = 276 points. If you’re not sure about this step, notice that

Exam average = total score

no. exams

Total score = exam average × no. exams

= 92 × 3 = 276.

Now, if the student wants her final average for all 4 exams to be at least 90
points, then her point total for all 4 exams must at least 4 × 90 = 360. Since
she already has 276 points, she only needs 360 – 276 = 84 points more.
Thus, she must score at least an 84.
12 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

4. Table 1 shows the bank balance for 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Table 1: Year Balance

Bank balance 2000 $1,000
over time (see 2001 $1,100
Question 4) 2002 $1,210
2003 $1,331

To find the balance for 2001, we begin with the 2000 balance of $1,000 and
then add 10%:

Balance in 2001 = balance in 2000 + 10% of balance in 2000

= $1,000 + 10% of $1,000
= $1,000 + 0.10 × $1,000 because 10% is 0.10

= $1,000 + $100 = $1,100.

Similarly, to find the balance for 2002, we begin with the 2001 balance of
$1,100 and then add 10%. Notice that 10% of $1,100 is not the same as 10%
of $1,000, and so this time the balance goes up by a different amount:

Balance in 2002 = balance in 2001 + 10% of balance in 2001

= $1,100 + 10% of $1,100
= $1,100 + 0.10 × $1,100
= $1,100 + $110 = $1,210.

Finally, to find the balance for 2003, we begin with the 2002 balance of
$1,210 and then add 10%:

Balance in 2003 = balance in 2002 + 10% of balance in 2002

= $1,210 + 10% of $1,210
= $1,210 + 0.10 × $1,210
= $1,210 + $121 = $1,331.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 13

5. The formula for percent change – a very useful formula to know – is

amount of change .
Percent change =
original amount

Here, the level of methyl chloroform changes by 30 ppt (parts per trillion),
dropping from its original level of 150 ppt to its current level of 120 ppt. Using
our formula, we see that

amount of decrease
Percent decrease =
original amount

30 ppt
= = 0.20 = 20%.
150 ppt

Note that in general, to convert a decimal to a percentage, we shift the

decimal point two places to the right. (Likewise, to convert a percentage to a
decimal, we shift the decimal point two places to the left.) Here, we converted
the fraction 30/150 to the decimal 0.20 by dividing:
30 = 1 = 0.20 = 20%.
150 5

6. The fraction of never married Americans in 1990 is 1/4, and the fraction of
never married Americans in 1970 is 1/6. The ratio of the first fraction to the
second is given by

1/4
Ratio =
1/6
1 6
= × multiply by reciprocal
4 1

= 6/4 must be reduced

= 3/2 or 1.5.

Recall that to divide by a fraction like 1/6, we must multiply by the fraction’s
reciprocal, which means that we flip the fraction “upside-down” and then
multiply.
14 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

7. Thinking in terms of proportionality, we see that the ratio of the stock’s value
today to its value one year ago ($15,000) should equal the ratio of $7,200 to
$6,000:
value today = $7,200
$15,000 $6,000
value today = $7,200 × $15,000 multiplying
$6,000
= 6 × $15,000 reducing fraction
5

= 6 × $3,000 simplifying

= $18,000.

Thus, the investment would be worth $18,000. Another way to solve this
problem is to use our formula for percent change (see Question 5):
Percent change = amount of change
original amount
= $7,200 – $6,000
$6,000
= $1,200 = 0.20 = 20%.
$6,000

Thus, if the person had invested $15,000, it would grow by 20%:

Value now = $15,000 + 20% × $15,000
= $15,000 + 0.20 × $15,000 because 20% = 0.20

= $15,000 + $3,000 = $18,000,

which is the same answer that we got before.

8. To evaluate these expressions, we find their values by “plugging in” the

values of v and w.

(a) We have 3(v – 2w) = 3((-2) – 2(3))

= 3(-2 – 6)

= 3(-8) = -24.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 15

(b) We have v2 + w2 = (-2)2 + (3)2

= (-2)(-2) + (3)(3)

= 4 + 9 = 13.

9. (a) The average 18-month-old girl weighs 23 pounds (lbs). The average
18-month-old boy weighs 25 lbs, or 2 lbs more than the girl.
Figure 1:
For part (a) of
Weight Weight chart
Question 9, we see
chart for for boys
that the average girls

weight (lbs)
weight (lbs)

18-month-old girl
weighs 23 lbs and
that the average
18-month-old boy age (months) age (months)

weighs 25 lbs.
(b) The larger boy weighs 21 lbs at 6 months of age, and the small boy
won’t weigh this much until he is 18 months of age.
Figure 2:
For part (b) of
Weight chart
Question 9, we see for boys
weight (lbs)

that a 5th percentile,

18- month-old boy
weighs the same as
a 95th percentile,
age (months)
6-month-old boy.

10. We have

no. turtles no. turtles additional turtles

= +
after t years in 2003 since 2003

= 80 + 12 + 12 +…..+ 12
}

12 more turtles each year

80 + 12 × no. years since 2003

= 80 + 12t.
16 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

Thus, a formula for P is P = 80 + 12t.

Another way to work this problem is to notice that the number of turtles is
growing at a constant rate over time, which means that the equation for P
will be linear, so that P = b + mt where b and m are constants. Here, b is the
initial value, or 80, and m is the growth rate, or 12. This gives us P = 80 +
12t, the same answer that we got before.

11. (a) The perimeter of a shape is the distance around its border. The given
shape has two unlabeled sides. From Figure 3, we see that these sides
measure 2 and 4. Thus, adding up all the sides, we see that the
perimeter of the shape is given by

Perimeter = 6 + 10 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 6 = 32 units.

(b) From Figure 4, we see that the shape can be broken into two different
squares, one of side 6 and one of side 4. The area of a square is given by

Area of square = (side)2 = side × side.

10

6 4
Figure 3:
4
Finding the 6 4
perimeter for part
(a) of Question 11 4
2
2

6
This means that the area of the square of side 6 is 6 × 6 = 36 squared units,
and the area of the square of side 4 is 4 × 4 = 16 squared units, and so

area of shape = 36 + 16 = 52 squared units.

If the units were feet, the perimeter (a length) would be 32 ft. and the area
would be 52 ft2.

Figure 4: area is 16
6
Finding the area area is 36

for part (b) of

4
Question 11

6
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 17

12. From Figure 5, we see that 5 of the top 10 movies made more than $10
million on the July 4th holiday weekend.
3
Figure 5: 2 2 2
For Question 12, we 1
see that 5 of the top
10 movies (darkly 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
to to to to to to to to
shaded) made more 4.9 9.9 14.9 19.9 24.9 29.9 34.9 39.9
than $10 million.
weekend receipts ($ millions)

13. The formula for both agencies is linear. This means that for each agency a
graph of cost versus distance will be a straight line.

(a) Suppose we imagine driving only 5 miles. In this case, the value of n
would be 5, and we would have

CA = 30 + 0.22 × 5 = 31.10

CB = 12 + 0.40 × 5 = 14.00.

Thus, the cost for driving 5 miles is $31.10 at agency A but only $14.00 at
agency B. Agency B is cheaper for a short distance like 5 miles. On the
other hand if we imagine driving 200 miles, the costs work out differently:

CA = 30 + 0.22 × 200 = 74

CB = 12 + 0.40 × 100 = 92.

We see that to drive 200 miles would cost $74 at agency A and $92 at agency
B. This means that to drive a long distance, agency A is cheaper.

(b) At what distance should we switch agencies? In other words, at what

distance does agency A cost no more than agency B? We can answer
this by solving the equation CA = CB. Setting the formulas for these two
costs equal to each other gives:

12 + 0.40n = 30 + 0.22n

0.40n – 0.22n = 30 – 12

0.18n = 18

n = 18/0.18 = 100.
18 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

Thus, agency A will cost the same as agency B at n = 100 miles. This means
that if we drive farther than 100 miles, we would save money by renting from
agency A instead of agency B.

14. If a quantity increases by 100% it doubles in size. If it goes up by 200%, it

triples in size; if it goes up by 300%, it quadruples in size; and so on. Since the
number of injured skaters increased by 184%, this means that the number of
injured skaters more than doubled – and almost tripled – in size.

15. We have

Total amount of money = amount for 1st class + amount for coach.

Now, suppose (just for sake of argument) that 20 first-class tickets are sold
for $1,000 each. This would mean that

Amount of money
= $1,000 per seat × 20 seats = $20,000.
for 1st class

We see that to calculate the money brought in, we multiply the cost per seat
by the number of seats. Since we aren’t told the number of first-class seats
or how much they cost, we must use the symbols Nf and Pf instead of 20 and
$1,000, but the reasoning is the same:

Amount of money
= $Pf per seat × Nf seats = NfPf .
for 1st class

Similarly, the amount of money for coach is given by

Amount of money
= $Pc per seat × Nc seats = NcPc .
for coach

Adding these two amounts together gives a formula for R, the total amount of
money brought in by the airline for this flight:

R = amount for 1st class + amount for coach

= NfPf + NcPc .
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 19

16. One way to work this problem is to flip or invert both sides of the equation
and then multiply:
K1 Z1
= original equation
K2 Z2

K2 Z2
= flip both sides
K1 Z1

Z K1 Z2
K2 = K1 2 or = multiply by K1.
Z1 Z1

Another approach is more direct. First, because we are solving for K2 , we will
multiply both sides by K2 in order to clear it from the denominator:

Z1 K1
= original equation
Z2 K2

Z1
K2 = K1 multiply by K2.
Z2

Next, divide both sides by the fraction Z1/ Z2 in order to isolate K2 :

K1
K2 = .
Z1/ Z2

To simplify this result, we recall that to divide by a fraction, we must multiply

by its reciprocal. Since the reciprocal of Z1/Z2 is Z2/Z1, we have:

Z2
K2 = K1 .
Z1

17. Since one-fifth of the 0.6 grams (g) is given by

1 0.6 g
× 0.6 g = = 0.12 g,
5 5

we see that 0.12 grams of powder spill from the dish. Thus, there are
0.60 – 0.12 = 0.48 grams left in the dish. Alternatively, since one-fifth of
the 0.6 grams spills out, four-fifths of the 0.6 grams remain. This means
that there are
20 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

4 2.5 g
× 0.6 g = = 0.48 grams left.
5 5

18. The scale is divided into 10 evenly spaced tick marks. This means that each
small tick mark measures 0.20/10 = 0.02 units. Pointer A is at the third tick
mark, which means it reads 3 × 0.02 = 0.06. Pointer B is at the seventh tick
mark which means that it reads 7 × 0.02 = 0.14.

19. From Figure 6, we see that the man, the tree, and the shadow form two
similar triangles. In the figure, x stands for the height of the tree, which is
what we would like to determine. Since the triangles are similar, the ratios of
corresponding sides are equal. In other words, the ratio of the tree’s height to
its shadow’s length, x/28, equals the ratio of the man’s height to his shadow’s
length, 6/8. This gives us the equation x/28 = 6/8, which we can solve for x:

x 6
= by similar triangles
28 8

6
x = × 28
solving for x
8

= 3 × 28 reducing
4

= 21

This means that the tree is 21 feet tall.

Figure 6:
The man and tree x
from Question 19
6 foot man
form two similar
triangles. 8 foot shadow

28 foot shadow

20. If we recognize that this equation is linear, then we know that its
graph will be a straight line. We can find the s-intercept by setting
t = 0, which gives:
5s + 15 – 0 = 0 setting t = 0

5s = -15
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 21

s = -3.

Similarly, we can find the t-intercept by setting s = 0, which gives:

5 × 0 + 15 – t = 0
setting s = 0

15 – t = 0

t = 15.

Thus, the s-intercept is the point (t, s) = (0, -3) and the t-intercept is the point
(t, s) = (15, 0). Plotting these two points, we can draw a line passing through
them to find the graph of the equation. (See Figure 7.)

s
3

2
Figure 7:
1
The graph of the
equation from t
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
-1
Question 20 is a
-2
straight line.
-3

-4

Another approach is to first place this equation into slope-intercept form –

in other words, to write it as s = mt + b where m is the slope and b is the
s-intercept (the vertical intercept). Solving for s gives

5s + 15 – t = 0

5s + 15 = t

5s =
t – 15

s = 1 (t – 15)
5

= 1 t – 3 .
5
1
Thus (as we have already seen) the s-intercept is b = -3. The slope is m =
. 5


To find the t-intercept, we set s = 0 and solve. We obtain t = 15, as before.
22 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

21. (a) We have (2 × 10 -4) (3 × 105) = 2 × 3 × 10 -4 × 10 5

= 6 × 10 -4+5

= 6 × 10 1,

which is the same as 60.

(b) We have (3 × 10-4)(8 × 105) 3 × 8 × 10-4 × 10 5

=
4 × 10 -7 4 × 10 -7

24 10-4+5
= ×
4 10-7

10-1
= 8 × -7
10

= 6 × 10 1-(-7)

= 6 × 10 8,

which equals 600,000,000 or 600 million.

22. Equations (i) and (iii) are both linear. The slope of (i) is -50, so this population
decreases (goes down) by 50 animals per year. The slope of (iii) is +70, so this
population increases by 70 animals per year. Both populations start out at the
same level: 1,000. We can see this by setting t equal to 0 in these equations.

On the other hand, equations (ii) and (iv) are not linear. Equation (ii) is
exponential, and equation (iv) is sinusoidal. If we try several different values
for t in equation (ii), such as t = 0, 1, 2, and 3, we see that this population
goes down by 5% each year:

8000(0.95) 0 = 8000

8000(0.95) 1 = 7600 a 5% decrease

8000(0.95) 2 = 7220 a 5% decrease

8000(0.95) 3 = 6859 a 5% decrease.

 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 23

By process of elimination, we see that (d) must go with equation (iv). This
makes sense, because sinusoidal quantities rise and fall over time.

Putting all of this together, we see that statement (a) goes with equation (ii),
statement (b) goes with equation (iii), statement (c) goes with equation (iv),
and statement (d) goes with equations (i) and (iii).

23. The key to this problem is to understand what the values of m and b tell us
about the graph of the linear equation y = mx + b. A positive value of the
slope m corresponds to a line that rises when read from left to right, while a
negative value of m corresponds to a line that falls. The larger the value of m,
either positive or negative, the steeper the line. The value of the y-intercept,
b, determines where the line crosses the y-axis.

Since equations (a) and (b) have the same y-intercept (b = 6), they must
cross the y-axis at the same point. Moreover, equation (a) has a negative
slope (-0.8) while equation (b) has a positive slope (+0.6). Notice that lines A
and D have the same y-intercept and that line A climbs while line D falls. Thus
line A corresponds to equation (b) while line D corresponds to equation (a).

On the other hand, equations (c) and (d) have the same slope (+0.5), and
thus they describe lines of the same steepness, which is to say they describe
parallel lines. Moreover, the y-intercept of equation (c) is less than 6, while the
y-intercept of equation (d) is more than 6. This is significant because lines A
and D cross the y-axis at 6. Thus, we know that equation (c) describes a line
that crosses the y-axis below lines A and D. Similarly, equation (d) describes
a parallel line that crosses the y-axis above lines A and D. Thus, line C
corresponds to equation (c) while line B corresponds to equation (d).

24. It is important to realize that the graph does not show the amount of water
in the reservoir; rather, it shows the rate that water is entering or leaving the
reservoir. We are told that water is entering the reservoir when the rate is
positive, which means that the volume is increasing when the rate is positive.
Thus, the answer is time 0 to time C, because on this interval (and at no other
times) the rate is positive.
24 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 25

STOP!!!
Starting on p. 27 are two actual QR Assessments, given to students in 1995 and
1999. They contain problems similar to those on the online QR Assessment that
you will take prior to your arrival at the College.

• Don’t start either assessment until you are ready.

• First, solve the study problems (starting on page 1).

• Allow yourself 90 minutes to finish each practice assessment. (The online QR

Assessment has fewer problems than these old-style assessments and requires
only 60 minutes to complete, but you should allow yourself as much time as was
allowed for these assessments when they were administered.)

• Do not use notes or a calculator. (Although calculators may be used for the
online QR Assessment, they were not allowed when these assessments were
administered.)

• Short answers for both practice assessments have been provided starting
on page 43. Check these first.

• Worked-out solutions for the 1995 assessment have also been provided,
starting on page 45.

• For each of these assessments, a student who answered more than 9 out
of 18 questions correctly was considered to have passed.

• Tip: Work each practice assessment and then check the short answers (starting
on page 43). If you miss a question, try to figure out how to solve it on your own
before you read the solution. You may feel the urge to read the solutions right
away, but discovering the answer to a problem on your own is usually a much
more valuable learning experience.
26 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 27

Practice Exam: QR Assessment for 1995

1. The number of tuberculosis cases in New York state dropped from 4,000 in
1993 to 3,600 in 1994. By what percent did the number of tuberculosis cases
drop during this time period?

2. A rectangular swimming pool is 30 meters long, 10 meters wide, and 3

meters deep. Assuming that 1,000 cubic centimeters of water weighs two
pounds, how much does the water in a full pool weigh?

3. Evaluate the expression 5(3q2 – 4p) assuming that p = -3 and q = -5.

4. Graph the equation 3h + 5c = 30 on the set of axes provided. Label the h-

and c- intercepts.
h

Figure 1:
Use these axes to
c
answer Question 4.

5. The figure shows a 1/4-inch long segment of a ruler. How many inches long
is the object next to the ruler?

Figure 2:
measure this mark
For Question 5,
measure the length
(in inches) of the
object. 0 in 1/4 in
 28 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

6. A patient is given an injection of a therapeutic drug. Over time, the level of the
drug in the body falls as the drug is metabolized. Figure 3 shows the level of the
drug in the body over a 12-hour period. During which of the three 4-hour periods
shown:

Figure 3:
The drug level over
a 12-hour period
(see Question 6)
0 4 8 12
Hours elapsed since injection

(a) does the drug level drop by the greatest amount?

(b) is the drug level most nearly constant?

7. The total cost of planting a crop depends on two things: the cost of the equip-
ment, which is fixed, and the cost of seed, fertilizer, irrigation, and labor, which
depends on the number of acres sown. Suppose a farmer must spend $120,000
on equipment plus $3,500 for every acre sown. Find a formula for
C, the farmer’s total cost, in terms of n, the number of acres sown.

8. A beaker contains 83.2 milliliters (ml) of liquid. The liquid is heated until one-fourth
of it has evaporated. How much liquid (in ml) remains in the beaker?

r
9. Let UA =
. Solve this equation for UB in terms of UA and r.
1 – UB

10. Figure 4 gives the number of U.S. presidents who cast a given number of
vetoes during their terms in office. For example, we see from the figure that only
one president cast between 60 and 69 vetoes during his term in office.
(It happened to be Gerald Ford with 66 vetoes.) Based on the chart, how
many presidents cast fewer than 50 vetoes during their terms in office?

Number of presidents
Figure 4: 5 5
4 4
For Question
2 2
10, how many 1 1 1 1 1
presidents cast
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
fewer than 50 to to to to to to to to to to +
vetoes? 9 19 29 39 49 59 69 79 89 99
Number of vetoes
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 29

11. The hate-crime rate of a state is the ratio of hate or bias-related crimes
per year to the number of people living in the state. According to The
New York Times, in 1994, New Jersey’s hate-crime rate was 13 hate
crimes per 100,000 residents. Assuming that in 1994 the population of New
Jersey was eight million people, how many hate-related crimes were
committed there?

12. A parcel of land measures 2 3/4 acres. A developer wishes to divide the land
into lots for houses for each lot measuring 1/7 of an acre. Into how many
complete lots can the acres of the parcel of land be divided?

13. Let W represent the number of female employees and M the number of male
employees at a certain company. Write an expression in terms of W and M
that represents the fraction of employees that are women.

14. The graphs in Figure 5 describe the growth of four different populations
(labeled A, B, C, and D) over an extended period of time. For each of the
verbal statements following the figure, indicate the two populations that it
best describes. Note that some of the populations shown in the figure may
correspond to no matching verbal statement.

population A
B
Figure 5: C

Match these graphs D

to the statements
below.

time

(a) These two populations begin with the same number of members.

(b) These two populations grow at the same rate.

 30 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

15. As shown in Figure 6, a man whose eyes are six feet above the ground
stands next to a round pit dug into the ground. The pit measures five feet
cross. How deep is the pit (in feet)?
Note: figure NOT
6 ft drawn to scale
Figure 6:
For Question 15, pit
2 ft
find the depth of
the pit

5 ft
16. Based on the charts shown in Figure 7, how much money (in dollars) was
spent on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (labeled AFDC on
the chart)?
Expenditures on Welfare Expenditures on Cash Aid
Other 7 % Cash Aid Other 7 %
Figure 7: Education Aid 7 % 25 % Earned Income Tax Credit 12 %
For Question 16, AFDC 40 %
Housing Benefits 9 %
General Assistance 5 %
find the expenditure
Food Benefits 12 % Pensions for Veterans 7 %
on AFDC
Medical Supplemental Security
Total Expenditures $200 billion Benefits 41 % Income 31 %

17. A commercial artist needs to rent some high quality photographic equipment
to reproduce her artwork. She considers two different types of equipment.
The cost of renting and using the first type is $400 plus $2.50 per copy. The
cost of renting and using the second type is $150 plus $5.00 per copy.

(a) Which type of equipment is less expensive if the artist only needs to
make a small number of copies, the first or the second?

(b) How many copies would the artist need to make before the other type of
equipment becomes less expensive?

18. Find the perimeter and area of the shape in Figure 8.

3
Figure 8:
For Question 18, find 8 6
the perimeter and
5
area of this shape.
19
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 31

Practice Exam: QR Assessment for 1999

1. Figure 1 shows the states with the highest and lowest rates of prisoners.1
The figure shows both the total number of prisoners (in 1,000s) in each state
and the prison rate per million people in the population. For instance, we see
from the figure that in Vermont (VT), there is a total of 1,300 prisoners, which
works out to 14 prisoners for every million people in the population.

Highest rates no. prisoners (1000s)

per million people

140.7
71.7 67.2 61.7 53.1
53.6
Figure 1: 29.3 20.5 21.2 15.4
States with the
TX LA OK SC MI
highest rates (top
chart) and lowest
Lowest rates 17.4
rates (bottom chart) 14.0
11.3 12.4
11.2
of prisoners in 1997 5.3
1.6 1.3 3.2
0.8

ND MN ME VT WV

One of the statements (a)-(d) is not supported by Figure 1. Which statement

is it?

(a) There are more prisoners in Texas (TX) than the combined total of the
other nine states shown by the figure.

(b) The percentage of the population that is in prison in Minnesota (MN) is

more than five times the percentage of the population of North Dakota
(ND) that is in prison.

(c) Although there are twice as many prisoners in West Virginia (WV) as
there are in Maine (ME), the rate (per million) in West Virginia is less than
twice the rate (per million) in Maine.

(d) The state with the smallest number of prisoners is North Dakota (ND),
and the state with the next smallest number of prisoners is Vermont
(VT).

1Data are from The New York Times, August 9, 1998. Data are for 1997.
 32 • Q U A N T I T A T I V E REASONING ASSESSMENT

2. Figure 2 shows the breakdown of urban and rural populations in the U.S. in
1900 and in 1990.
Figure 2: U.S. in 1900 U.S. in 1990
75 million people rural 248 million people
Breakdown of urban 25%
urban and rural 40%

populations in rural
U.S. in 1900 and 60%
urban
in 1990 75%

(a) How large was the rural population of the U.S. in 1900?

(b) The rural population of the U.S. actually grew in size between 1900 and
1990, even though it went down in proportion to the overall population.
By how many people did the rural population grow?

3. Figure 3 gives an enlarged view of a flat piece of metal.

1 in length

Figure 3: flat piece of metal width

A flat piece of metal
0 in

0 in 1 in 2 in 3 in

(a) What is the length of the piece of metal in inches (in)?

(b) What is the area of the piece of metal in square inches (in2)?

4. A hectare is a metric unit of area and an acre is a U.S. unit of area. Both are
often used to measure the sizes of large plots of land.

(a) A hectare is equivalent in area to a square plot of land measuring

100 meters by 100 meters. Suppose a certain piece of land measures
4 km by 8 km. What is its area in hectares? Note: Recall that 1 kilometer
(km) equals 1,000 meters.
 Q U A N T I TAT I V E R E A S O N I N G A S S E S S M E N T • 33

(b) An acre is approximately equivalent to 1/640 of a square mile. One

hectare equals two and a half acres. A certain piece of land measures
5 miles by 5 miles. What is its area in hectares?

5. The national debt is the amount of money owed by the U.S. government. As
of July 1998, the U.S. national debt amounted to $5.54 trillion.

(a) Suppose the debt were reduced by $120 billion. What would the new
debt be? Note: In the U.S., 1 trillion equals 1,000 billion.

(b) As of July 1998, the size of the U.S. population was 270 million. Suppose
every person in America contributed $5,000 towards paying off the
national debt. What would the remaining balance be? Note: In the U.S.,
1 billion equals 1,000 million.

6. A busy corporate executive divides her time at the office each week between
meetings with staff and meetings with clients. Each staff meeting takes
4 hours, and each client meeting takes two hours. The number of staff
meetings changes from week to week, and she must attend all of them. She
works a full 60 hours every week, and every hour not spent at a staff meeting
is spent meeting with clients. Table 1 shows the number of staff and client
meetings each week over a six-week period. For example, we see that during
week 1 the executive has six staff meetings. In a 60-hour week, this leaves
her enough time for 18 client meetings.

week week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6

Table 1:
Weekly meeting s, no. staff
6 5 9 4 7 15
schedule of a meetings
corporate executive
c, no. client
18 20 12 22 16 0
meetings

Let c stand for the number of client meetings and s stand for the number of
staff meetings. Find a simplified formula for c in terms of s.
 34 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

7. According to the logistic model of population growth, an initially small

population will grow rapidly at first but then will level off at a maximum value
(the so-called carrying capacity). The size of the population in year t is given
by the formula

Population L
=
in year t 1 +k (1/2) t/τ

where L is the carrying capacity and where k and τ are constants. Suppose
that for a certain population of insects, L = 4500, k = 8, and τ = 3.

(b) How large is this population initially (in year t = 0)?

(c) How large is this population 9 years later (in year t = 9)?

8. When studying sedimentary deposits, geologists are often interested in the

distribution of grain size – that is, the proportions of different sizes of grains
there are in a given deposit. To measure grain size, geologists use what is
known as the φ grade scale, where φ is a Greek letter pronounced either fee
or fie. Numbers on this scale range from -12 for very coarse material (like
boulders) to +14 for very fine material (like clay). A zero (0) on the scale
represents coarse sand. Figure 4 shows grain-size distrib- utions for four
different samples of sediment, numbered (i) through (iv).
Figure 4:
(i) ( ii )
Grain-size distributions
for four different
samples. The
horizontal axis shows
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

grain size using the

( iii ) ( iv )
φ grade scale. The
columns represent
the proportion of each
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
sample consisting of a
given grain size. Match each of the following statements to the grain-size distribution from
Figure 4 it best describes.

(a) This sample is taken from a sandy beach with no rocks. The sand grains
range in size from coarse to fine.

(b) This sample is taken from a laboratory sieve. All of the coarsest and finest
grains have been filtered out, leaving a very uniform mix.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 35

9. Figure 5 describes twelve earthquakes that occurred in different parts of

the world. The horizontal axis gives the magnitude of the earthquake using
the Richter scale. The vertical axis gives the number of people killed by
the quake.
no. of deaths
106
T’ang-shan, China (1976)
Figure 5: Kansu Province, China (1920)
105
Kansu Province, China (1932)
Earthquakes this Southern India (1993)
century from around 104 Guatemala City (1976)
Mexico City (1985)
the world San Salvador (1986)
Kobe, Japan (1995)
103 Assam, India (1950)
Northeastern Italy (1976)
San Francisco (1906)

102

Northern California (1989)

101

5 6 7 8 9 Richter magnitude
less severe more severe

(a) How many earthquakes were less severe than the Mexico City
earthquake in 1985, and yet killed more people?

(b) How many of the earthquakes killed at least 100 times as many people
as the San Salvador earthquake in 1986?

10. A general contractor is hired to complete an addition to a single-family

house. The contractor does much of the work herself, but hires a plumber
and electrician for certain parts of the job. The contractor charges $p1 per
hour and bills a total of n1 hours. She pays the plumber $p2 for n2 hours of
work and the electrician $p3 per hour for n3 hours of work. How much money
does the contractor keep after paying the plumber and the electrician?
Note: Your answer will be an algebraic expression.
36 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

11. A patient is given an injection of a therapeutic drug. Over time, the level
of the drug in the body falls as the drug is metabolized. Figure 6 shows
the level of the drug in the body (in milligrams, or mg) over a 30-hour
time period.

Figure 6: drug level (mg) 50

The drug level in a 40

patient’s body 30

20

10

0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
time (hours)

(a) Which of the following drops in drug level takes the most time?

From 50 mg From 45 mg From 40 mg From 30 mg From 20 mg

to 45 mg to 40 mg to 30 mg to 20 mg to 10 mg

(b) On average, about how fast (in mg/hr) does the drug level drop between
hour 20 and hour 30?

1 2 3 4 5 10 20 30 40 50

12. Nantucket, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts, is the smallest
county in the state. Wellesley is in Norfolk County, the fifth largest county in
the state.

(a) Over the past few years the population of Nantucket has grown rapidly.
In 1990, its population was 6,000, but by 1996 its population had grown
to 7,200. Suppose the population of Nantucket goes on to increase by
the same proportion between 1996 and 2002 as it did between 1990 and
1996. How large will it be in 2002? Note: The population is assumed to
increase by the same proportion—not by the same number of persons.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 37

(b) In 1996, the population of Norfolk County was 639,000. Suppose the
population of Norfolk County had increased by the same proportion
between 1990 and 1996 as Nantucket’s population did. How large
would Norfolk County’s population have been in 1990?

13. Let E stand for the fuel efficiency of a car, in miles per gallon (mpg).

(a) Suppose the car travels for 4 hours at a rate of 60 mph, and that it
burns 8 gallons of gas during this time. Find the value of E, the car’s
fuel efficiency.

(b) How far must the car travel on 8 gallons of gas in order for the value of
E to be 42.5?

14. If 1 calorie of heat energy is added to a 1 gram (g) piece of copper, the
temperature of the copper will go up by 11°C. The temperature of a 1 g piece
of copper is 25°C. Find a formula for its temperature, T, after Q calories of
heat energy have been added.

15. Four different animal populations are increasing in size as time goes by.
Each population grows at a constant annual rate. Let P1, P2, P3, and P4 stand
for the sizes of the four populations in year t. Formulas for these
four populations are
P1 = L + rt
P2 = 3L + 2rt
P3 = L/2 + (r + 250) t
P4 = L + 250 + rt

where L and r are positive constants. For each of the following verbal
descriptions, determine which of the populations of the statement could
describe. Note: Some statements may describe none of the populations, and
some may describe more than one.

(a) This population begins (in year t = 0) at the same level as P1.

P2 P3 P4 No match

(b) This population grows at the same annual rate as P1.

P2 P3 P4 No match
 38 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

(c) This population grows by 250 more animals per year than P1.

P2 P3 P4 No match

(d) This population begins (in year t = 0) with more animals than P1, and it
grows at a faster rate.

P2 P3 P4 No match

16. Sketch a graph of the equation

5R – 12n = 60

on the set of axes in Figure 7. Label the coordinates of the n- and

R-intercepts.
R

Figure 7:
Use these axes to n
sketch your graph.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 39

17. Children with elevated lead levels in their blood are typically given high
doses of iron (in the form of iron sulfide), because iron displaces lead from
vulnerable receptors in a child’s developing brain. Iron sulfide is sold without
a prescription as a liquid to be taken orally. The concentration of iron sulfide
in this form is 15 mg for every 0.6 ml of liquid.

(a) If a child takes 1.8 ml of this liquid, how much iron sulfide (in mg) is she
receiving?

(b) Another child needs 75 mg of iron sulfide per day. How much of the
liquid (in ml) should he be given?

18. Figure 8 shows two polygons labeled A and B. As illustrated in Figure 8 these
polygons fit together to form a square.

polygon B
Figure 8: 3

Polygons A and B 12
fit together to form
a square. 8 polygon A 6 polygon B polygon A

(a) What is the perimeter of polygon A?

(b) What is the perimeter of polygon B?

40 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 41

STOP!!!

• Don’t read these solutions until you have tried the problems on your own!

• Short answers for both practice assessments are provided beginning on the
next page.

• Worked-out solutions have also been provided for the 1995 assessment,
starting on page 47.

• Tip: Solve the study problems and then check the short answers. If you miss a
question, try to figure out how to solve it on your own before you read the answer.
You may feel the urge to read the answers right away, but discovering how to solve
a problem on your own is usually a much more valuable learning experience.
42 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

Short Answers to QR Assessment for 1995

1. 10%

2. 1,800,000 lbs

3. 435

4. The c-intercept is 6 and the h-intercept is 10.

5. 9/64 inches

6. (a) 2nd 4-hour period (b) 1st 4-hour period

7. C = 120,000 + 3,500n

8. 62.4 ml

9. UB = 1 – r/UA

10. 17 presidents

11. 1,040 crimes

12. 19 complete lots

13. W/(W+M)

14. (a) C and D (b) B and C

15. 15 feet

16. $20 billion ($20,000,000,000)

17. (a) 2nd type (b) more than 100 copies

18. (a) Perimeter is 54 units. (b) Area is 110 squared units.

 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 43

Short Answers to QR Assessment for 1999

1. statement (b)

2. (a) 45 million (b) 17 million

3. (a) 2 5/16 inches, or 37/16 inches (b) 1 47/64 in2, or 111/64 in2

4. (a) 3,200 (b) 6,400

5. (a) $5,420 billion or $5.42 trillion (b) $4,190 billion or $4.19 trillion

6. c = 30 – 2s

7. (a) 500 (b) 2,250

8. (a) histogram (i) (b) histogram (ii)

9. (a) 4 (b) 2

10. p1n1 – p2n2 – p3n3

11. (a) from 50 mg to 45 mg (b) 3

12. (a) 8,640 (b) 532,500

13. (a) 30 (b) 340

14. T = 25 + 11Q

15. (a) no match (b) P4

(c) P3 (d) P2
44 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

16. See Figure 1: solution to Question 16.

R
40
•
30

20
• (0, 12)
(-5, 0) 10
• n
-10 -5 5 10
• -10

-20

-30

-40

17. (a) 45 (b) 3

18. (a) 46 units (b) 48 units

 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 45

Worked Solutions to QR Assessments for 1995

1. The formula for percent change – a good formula to memorize – is

Percent change = amount of change .

original amount

Here, the number of tuberculosis cases dropped by 400, from 4,000 to 3,600.
This means that the number of tuberculosis cases dropped by

Percent decrease = amount of decrease = 400 = 10%.

original amount 4000

2. The volume of the pool is given by

Volume = length × width × depth

= 30 m × 10 m × 3 m = 900 m3.

We aren’t told how much a cubic meter (m3) of water weighs. However, we
know that 1000 cubic centimeters (cm3) weigh about 2 pounds (lbs). This
means that we should convert our volume from m3 to cm3:

Volume (in cm3) = 900 m3 × ( 100 cm

)
3
.
1m

Notice that we must multiply by three factors of 100 to convert from

m3 to cm3.

This gives (counting zeros)

Volume = 900 × 100 × 100 × 100 = 900,000,000 cm3.

Since 1,000 cm3 weighs about 2 lbs, we have

2 lbs
Weight = 900,000,000 cm3 × = 1,800,000 lbs.
1000 cm3

3. We have 5(3q2 – 4p) = 5(3(-5)2 – 4(-3))

= 5(3(25) + 12)
= 5(87) = 435.
 46 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

4. This equation is linear, so its graph will be a line. One way to work this
problem is to find the axis intercepts and use them to draw the line. To find
the h-intercept, we set c = 0 and solve:

3h + 5(0) = 30
3h = 30
h = 10.

Thus, the point (c,h) = (0, 10) is on the line. We now find the c-intercept:

3(0) + 5c = 30
5c = 30
c = 6.

Thus, the point (c, h) = (6, 0) is on the line. (See Figure 1.)
h
Figure 1: 3h + 5c = 30
(0, 10)
The graph of
the equation in c
(6, 0)
Question 4 is a
straight line.

5. The ruler shows a 1/4-inch length divided into 16 smaller units. The length of
each of these units is

1/4
Length = 1/4 inch ÷ 16 = = 1/64 in.
16

The length of the mark is 9 of these units. Thus, the length of the mark is 9 ×
1/64 = 9/64 inches.

6. See Figure 2.

drug level in body

Figure 2: drug level
drug level doesn’t change changes slightly
The drug level over much on this interval drug level on this interval
changes greatly
a 12-hour period on this interval

(see Question 6) 0 4 8 12
Hours elapsed since injection
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 47

(a) The drug level drops by the greatest amount during the second 4-hour
period, so it is falling most rapidly on this time interval.

(b) The drug level hardly drops at all during the first 4-hour period, so it is
almost constant on this time interval.

7. We have

Total cost = cost for equipment + cost per acre × no. acres

which gives

C = 120,000 + 3,500n.

8. One-fourth of the liquid, or one-fourth of 83.2 ml, evaporates. This amounts to

(1/4) × 83.2 = 20.8 ml of liquid. Since this is the amount that evaporates, the
amount remaining is 83.2 – 20.8 = 62.4 ml.

9. We have

r
UA =
1 – UB

UA (1 – UB) = r multiply by 1 – UB

1 – UB = r/UA divide by UA

– UB = r/UA – 1 subtract 1

UB = 1 – r/UA change signs (multiply by -1).

10. The darker columns in Figure 3 indicate those presidents who cast
fewer than 50 vetoes. From Figure 3, we see that in total there are
4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 5 = 17 presidents in this category.

Figure 3: For Number of presidents

Question 10, the 5

5 4 4
darker columns
2 2
show those U.S.
presidents casting 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
fewer than 50 to to to to to to to to to to +
9 19 29 39 49 59 69 79 89 99
vetoes
Number of vetoes
48 • Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t

11. We have no. hate crimes in NJ 13 crimes .

=
no. people in NJ 100,000 persons

Since there are 8 million people in New Jersey, we have

no. hate crimes in NJ 13 crimes

=
8,000,000 persons 100,000 persons

8,000,000 persons × 13 crimes

no. hate crimes in NJ =
100,000 persons

= 13 crimes × 80 = 1040 crimes.

12. There are 2 3/4 acres, which can be written as 11/4 acres. To find out how
many 1/7-acre lots will fit on this land, we must divide 11/4 by 1/7:

11/4 11 7 77
= × = = 19.25.
1/7 4 1 4

This means that 19 complete lots can be built, leaving 0.25 (1/4 acre)
undeveloped.

13. The total number of women is W and the total number of employees is
W + M. We have

Fraction of employees no. of women W .

= =
that are women no. employees W + M

14. See Figure 4.

ends with the most
population A
B these 2 grow by the
}
C same amount
Figure 4:
D ends with the fewest
Solution to begins with the most

Question 14 these 2 begin at the same level

begins with the fewest

time

(a) From the figure, we see that populations C and D begin with the same
number of members, because lines C and D start at the same point on
the vertical axis.
 Q u a n t i t a t i v e R e a s o n i n g A s s e s s m e n t • 49

(b) We also see that populations B and C grow at the same rate, because
lines B and C are parallel.

15. Letting x stand for the depth of the pit, we have (by similar triangles)

x = 6
5 2

x = 15.

16. From the chart, we see that $200 billion was spent on welfare. Of this $200
billion, 25%, or $50 billion, was spent on cash aid. And of this $50 billion,
40% was spent on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Since
40% of $50 billion is $20 billion, this means that $20 billion was spent on
AFDC.

17. (a) To make 1 copy using the first type of equipment costs $400 + $2.50
= $402.50. To make 1 copy using the second type of equipment costs
$150 + $5 = $155. Clearly, the second type of equipment is cheaper to
use than the first type, provided that only a few copies are needed.

(b) We can answer this question by finding the value of n where the cost for
the first method equals the cost for the second method. This gives

400 + 2.50n = 150 + 5.00n

250 = 2.50n

n = 100.

This means that both methods cost the same amount for n = 100. We know
from part (a) that the second method is cheaper for just a few copies. Here
we see that if n > 100, then the first method becomes less expensive.

18. See Figure 5. 5 5

3 3 3 15 = 5 × 3
Figure 5: 8 6
Finding the
5 5 95 = 19 × 5 5
perimeter and area
19 19
for Question 18

(a) The perimeter is 54 units. (b) The area is 110 squared units.
3/11 2M