ISEE Upper Level flashcards

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

Synonym question strategy

Define the stem word in your own words, then substitute each option into a short sentence using the stem. The option that preserves the sentence's meaning is correct.

Contrast signal words

Words such as although, despite, yet, but, and rather than signal that the blank means the opposite of another idea in the sentence, reversing your predicted word.

Support signal words

Words such as because, since, thus, indeed, and moreover signal that the blank restates or extends another idea, so the correct word matches that idea's meaning.

Connotation charge

Whether a word feels positive, negative, or neutral. Eliminating options with the wrong charge narrows choices before you compare precise shades of meaning.

Prefix mal-

A Latin prefix meaning bad or wrong, as in malfunction, malice, and malnutrition. It signals a negative or faulty meaning in an unfamiliar word.

Root cred

A Latin root meaning believe or trust, appearing in credible, credulous, incredulous, and credential. Words with this root concern belief or acceptance as true.

Root ject

A Latin root meaning throw, seen in reject, eject, project, and interject. The prefix tells you the direction of the throwing.

Two-blank completion method

Predict both words from the sentence's logic, then eliminate any option pair in which either word fails. The two correct words must be logically consistent with each other.

Percent change formula

Percent change equals the difference between new and old values divided by the original value, times 100. The original value is always the denominator.

Successive percent changes

Convert each percent change to a multiplier and multiply them. A 20% increase then a 25% decrease gives 1.20 times 0.75, which equals 0.90, a net 10% loss.

Mean and sum relation

The mean equals the sum divided by the count, so sum equals mean times count. Use this to find a missing data value when the mean is known.

Combined work rate

If one worker finishes in a hours and another in b hours, their combined rate satisfies 1/a plus 1/b equals 1/t, where t is the time working together.

Ratio part formula

For a ratio a to b with total T, the two parts are aT divided by (a plus b) and bT divided by (a plus b). Add the ratio terms first.

Probability multiplication rule

For independent events, the probability that both occur equals the product of their individual probabilities. Independence means one outcome does not change the other's chance.

Pythagorean triples

Whole-number right triangles worth memorizing: 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17, and 7-24-25. Any multiple of a triple is also a right triangle.

Quantitative comparison testing

When variables appear, test convenient values such as 0, 1, negative one, and a fraction between zero and one. If results differ, the relationship cannot be determined.

Circle formulas

Area equals pi times the radius squared, and circumference equals 2 times pi times the radius. Diameter is twice the radius, so circumference also equals pi times diameter.

Main idea versus topic

The topic is what the passage is about; the main idea is the author's central claim about that topic. Correct answers cover the whole passage, not one paragraph.

Tone intensity matching

The correct tone answer matches how strongly the author writes. Mild criticism supports words like skeptical or mild, not condemnatory or outraged.

Valid inference standard

A correct inference follows in one small step from stated text. Choices requiring outside knowledge or two logical leaps are not supported by the passage.

Vocabulary in context

Return to the sentence containing the word and substitute each option. Keep the choice that preserves the sentence's logic and tone, not the word's most common meaning.

EXCEPT and NOT questions

These ask which option the passage does not support. Find the three options the passage confirms and select the remaining one.

Structure signpost words

However signals a shift or contrast, for example signals illustration, and therefore signals a conclusion. Tracking these words reveals how a passage is organized.

Absolute language distractor

Options using words like all, never, proves, or always are usually wrong unless the passage states the absolute directly. Qualified answers are safer.

Author's purpose questions

These ask why the author wrote a passage or a paragraph: to explain, persuade, describe, or compare. The answer must fit the whole passage's function.

Order of operations

Evaluate parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right. This order determines every arithmetic result.

Slope formula

Slope equals the change in y divided by the change in x between two points. Parallel lines have equal slopes; perpendicular slopes are negative reciprocals.

Exponent product rule

When multiplying powers with the same base, add the exponents. When dividing, subtract them. When raising a power to a power, multiply the exponents.

Difference of squares

An expression of the form a squared minus b squared factors as (a minus b)(a plus b). This pattern lets you factor quickly without guessing.

Quadratic formula

For ax squared plus bx plus c equals zero, x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus 4ac, all divided by 2a.

Polygon angle sum

A polygon with n sides has interior angles summing to (n minus 2) times 180 degrees. Each exterior angle of a regular n-gon measures 360 divided by n degrees.

Solid volume formulas

Rectangular solid volume is length times width times height. Cylinder volume is pi times radius squared times height. Cone volume is one third of the cylinder with the same base and height.