EJU Japanese flashcards

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

読解 section format

The reading part of EJU Japanese: about 25 four-option questions on short and medium passages in roughly 40 minutes, testing paragraph logic and the author's claim rather than isolated vocabulary.

聴読解 (listening-reading)

A section where a printed graph, table, or diagram is shown while audio plays once; the printed material must be interpreted together with the spoken explanation to choose the answer.

記述 essay requirements

A 20-minute writing task of about 400–500 characters on a stated topic; the writer must present more than one viewpoint, choose one, and support it with reasons and examples.

筆者の考え question

A reading question asking for the author's claim; the answer is usually stated or summarized in the final paragraph, and options that are true but off-claim are distractors.

理由 question strategy

A reading question asking why; the reason is normally in the clause or sentence immediately before or after the underlined phrase, marked by から, ので, or ため.

自動詞 and 他動詞

Japanese verb pairs such as 開く/開ける and 集まる/集める; the intransitive takes が and describes a state, the transitive takes を and an agent.

Keigo three types

尊敬語 raises the other person's action (いらっしゃる), 謙譲語 lowers the speaker's action toward the other (伺う), and 丁寧語 adds politeness with です・ます・ございます.

Connectives by function

したがって marks conclusion, なぜなら reason, 一方 contrast, つまり rephrasing, ただし exception; identifying the function predicts the logic of the next clause.

Constant-acceleration equations

v = v₀ + at, x = v₀t + ½at², and v² − v₀² = 2ax; the last is used when the elapsed time is not given or not asked.

Force on an incline

For a frictionless slope at angle θ, the downhill component of gravity is mg sin θ and the normal force is mg cos θ; acceleration along the slope is g sin θ.

Ideal gas law

PV = nRT with R ≈ 8.31 J/(mol·K); at fixed temperature P₁V₁ = P₂V₂, and at fixed pressure V₁/T₁ = V₂/T₂ with T in kelvin.

Series and parallel resistors

In series, resistances add: R = R₁ + R₂. In parallel, the reciprocals add: 1/R = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂, so the combined resistance is less than the smallest one.

Mole conversions

n = m/M relates moles to mass and molar mass; n = N/N_A uses Avogadro's number 6.0 × 10²³, and one mole of ideal gas is about 22.4 L at standard conditions.

Neutralization equivalence

At the equivalence point, moles of H⁺ equal moles of OH⁻; for an acid with a protons and a base with b hydroxide ions, a·c₁V₁ = b·c₂V₂.

Oxidation and reduction

Oxidation is loss of electrons and a rise in oxidation number; reduction is gain. The substance oxidized is the reducing agent and causes the other substance to be reduced.

Monohybrid cross ratios

Aa × Aa with complete dominance gives a 3:1 phenotype ratio and a 1:2:1 genotype ratio; a test cross pairs the unknown with a homozygous recessive individual.

Mitosis versus meiosis

Mitosis produces two cells with the same chromosome number (2n → 2n) for growth; meiosis produces four cells with half the number (2n → n) and introduces variation.

Constitution of Japan principles

The 1947 Constitution rests on popular sovereignty, fundamental human rights, and pacifism; Article 9 renounces war and does not recognize the right of belligerency.

Separation of powers in Japan

The Diet is the sole law-making organ and designates the Prime Minister; the Cabinet is collectively responsible to the Diet; the Supreme Court is the final judicial instance.

Voting age in Japan

A 2015 revision of the Public Offices Election Act lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, applied from the 2016 elections onward.

GDP versus GNI

GDP measures output produced within a country's borders, while GNI measures income earned by a country's residents, including income from abroad.

Comparative advantage

A country gains from trade by specializing in goods for which its opportunity cost is lower than its trading partner's, then exchanging for other goods.

Modern Japanese history dates

Key milestones: 1868 Meiji Restoration, 1889 Meiji Constitution, 1945 end of WWII, 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1956 UN accession, 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

UN Security Council

The Security Council has five permanent members holding veto power and ten elected non-permanent members serving two-year terms; it bears primary responsibility for peace and security.

Japan's rainy season

The 梅雨 front brings prolonged rain from roughly June to July, followed by hot humid summers; typhoons most frequently approach around August and September.

Quadratic formula and discriminant

x = (−b ± √(b² − 4ac)) / 2a solves ax² + bx + c = 0; the discriminant D = b² − 4ac gives two real roots if positive, one if zero, none if negative.

Vieta's relations

For ax² + bx + c = 0 with roots α and β, the sum α + β = −b/a and the product αβ = c/a, useful when the roots themselves are not needed.

Sine and cosine rules

Sine rule: a/sin A = b/sin B = 2R. Cosine rule: a² = b² + c² − 2bc cos A. Triangle area equals ½ab sin C.

Logarithm laws

log_a(xy) = log_a x + log_a y; log_a(x/y) = log_a x − log_a y; log_a xⁿ = n log_a x; and log_a b = log_c b / log_c a for a change of base.

Arithmetic and geometric sums

Arithmetic: aₙ = a₁ + (n − 1)d, Sₙ = n(a₁ + aₙ)/2. Geometric: aₙ = a₁rⁿ⁻¹, Sₙ = a₁(rⁿ − 1)/(r − 1) for r ≠ 1.

Derivative rules

(xⁿ)′ = nxⁿ⁻¹; product rule (fg)′ = f′g + fg′; quotient rule (f/g)′ = (f′g − fg′)/g². A function increases where its derivative is positive.

Definite integral and area

∫xⁿ dx = xⁿ⁺¹/(n + 1) + C for n ≠ −1; the area between a curve and the x-axis from a to b is the integral of the absolute value.

Probability addition and independence

P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A ∩ B); events A and B are independent exactly when P(A ∩ B) = P(A) × P(B).