HiSET flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea

The central point a passage conveys about its topic, usually stated in a topic sentence or implied through details that repeat and support it.

Inference

A conclusion a reader draws from evidence in the text combined with prior knowledge; it is not stated directly and must be supported by details.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject or audience, revealed through word choice, sentence structure, and details such as sarcasm or approval.

Mood

The feeling a reader experiences while reading, created by setting, imagery, and diction rather than by the author's own attitude toward the subject.

Text structure

The organizational pattern of a passage, such as cause-effect, compare-contrast, chronological, problem-solution, or description, usually signaled by transition words.

Author's purpose

The reason a writer produces a text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain, identified by examining content, tone, and language choices.

Context clue

Surrounding words or sentences that reveal an unfamiliar word's meaning through definition, example, contrast, or the general sense of the passage.

Comma splice

Two independent clauses joined only by a comma; repair it with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction.

Subject-verb agreement

A verb must match its subject in number; ignore prepositional phrases in between, and note that each, everyone, neither, and nobody are singular.

Dangling modifier

An introductory descriptive phrase that does not clearly refer to the subject of the main clause, producing an illogical or confusing sentence.

Parallel structure

Using the same grammatical form for items in a list or comparison, such as all gerunds or all infinitives, so the sentence reads smoothly.

Its versus it's

Its is a possessive pronoun showing ownership; it's is a contraction of it is or it has and always contains an apostrophe.

Transition: however

A conjunctive adverb signaling contrast; it joins ideas that oppose each other and is followed by a comma when it opens a sentence.

Active voice

The subject performs the action, as in the team wrote the report, producing clearer and usually more concise writing than passive voice.

Slope formula

m equals the change in y divided by the change in x between two points; it measures a line's steepness and direction.

Pythagorean theorem

In a right triangle, the squares of the two legs add to the square of the hypotenuse: a squared plus b squared equals c squared.

Percent change

Subtract the original value from the new value, divide by the original, then multiply by 100; a positive result is an increase.

Mean, median, mode

Mean is the sum divided by the count; median is the middle value when data are ordered; mode is the value appearing most often.

Order of operations

Evaluate parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, then addition and subtraction from left to right.

Area of a circle

Multiply pi by the radius squared, A = pi times r squared; divide the diameter by two first if only the diameter is given.

Probability

The number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of equally likely outcomes, expressible as a fraction, decimal, or percent.

Photosynthesis equation

Carbon dioxide plus water plus light energy yields glucose and oxygen; chloroplasts in plant cells carry out this energy-storing process.

Newton's second law

The net force on an object equals its mass times its acceleration (F = ma); changing mass or force changes the resulting acceleration.

Density

Mass divided by volume (D = m/V); an object denser than the fluid around it sinks, while a less dense one floats.

pH scale

A measure of hydrogen ion concentration from 0 to 14: below 7 is acidic, exactly 7 is neutral, and above 7 is basic.

Mitochondria

Organelles that convert glucose into usable ATP energy through cellular respiration; often described as the powerhouse of the cell.

Speed formula

Speed equals distance divided by time (s = d/t); average speed uses total distance divided by total elapsed time.

Separation of powers

Dividing government authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches so that no single branch holds all governing power.

Checks and balances

Powers each branch uses to limit the others, such as a presidential veto or a court ruling that a law is unconstitutional.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between a national government and state governments, each with its own defined authority.

Supply and demand

As price rises, quantity demanded generally falls while quantity supplied rises; the market settles near the intersection of the two curves.

Primary source

A firsthand record created by a participant or witness at the time, such as a diary, letter, photograph, or original document.