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## MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Practice

 Question 1

#### A family on vacation drove the first 200 miles in 4 hours and the second 200 miles in 5 hours.  Which expression below gives their average speed for the entire trip?

 A $$\large \dfrac{200+200}{4+5}$$Hint: Average speed is total distance divided by total time. B $$\large \left( \dfrac{200}{4}+\dfrac{200}{5} \right)\div 2$$Hint: This seems logical, but the problem is that it weights the first 4 hours and the second 5 hours equally, when each hour should get the same weight in computing the average speed. C $$\large \dfrac{200}{4}+\dfrac{200}{5}$$Hint: This would be an average of 90 miles per hour! D $$\large \dfrac{400}{4}+\dfrac{400}{5}$$Hint: This would be an average of 180 miles per hour! Even a family of race car drivers probably doesn't have that average speed on a vacation!
Question 1 Explanation:
Topic: Solve a variety of measurement problems (e.g., time, temperature, rates, average rates of change) in real-world situations (Objective 0023).
 Question 2

#### How many of the figures pictured above have at least one line of reflective symmetry?

 A $$\large 1$$ B $$\large 2$$Hint: The ellipse has 2 lines of reflective symmetry (horizontal and vertical, through the center) and the triangle has 3. The other two figures have rotational symmetry, but not reflective symmetry. C $$\large 3$$ D $$\large 4$$Hint: All four have rotational symmetry, but not reflective symmetry.
Question 2 Explanation:
Topic: Analyze and apply geometric transformations (e.g., translations, rotations, reflections, dilations); relate them to concepts of symmetry, similarity, and congruence; and use these concepts to solve problems (Objective 0024).
 Question 3

#### All natural numbers from 2 to 266.

Hint:
She only needs to check primes -- checking the prime factors of any composite is enough to look for divisors. As a test taking strategy, the other three choices involve primes, so worth thinking about.

#### All primes from 2 to 266 .

Hint:
Remember, factors come in pairs (except for square root factors), so she would first find the smaller of the pair and wouldn't need to check the larger.

#### All primes from 2 to 133 .

Hint:
She doesn't need to check this high. Factors come in pairs, and something over 100 is going to be paired with something less than 3, so she will find that earlier.

#### All primes from $$\large 2$$ to $$\large \sqrt{267}$$.

Hint:
$$\sqrt{267} \times \sqrt{267}=267$$. Any other pair of factors will have one factor less than $$\sqrt{267}$$ and one greater, so she only needs to check up to $$\sqrt{267}$$.
Question 3 Explanation:
Topic: Identify prime and composite numbers (Objective 0018).
 Question 4

#### A cylindrical soup can has diameter 7 cm and height 11 cm. The can holds g grams of soup.   How many grams of the same soup could a cylindrical can with diameter 14 cm and height 33 cm hold?

 A $$\large 6g$$Hint: You must scale in all three dimensions. B $$\large 12g$$Hint: Height is multiplied by 3, and diameter and radius are multiplied by 2. Since the radius is squared, final result is multiplied by $$2^2\times 3=12$$. C $$\large 18g$$Hint: Don't square the height scale factor. D $$\large 36g$$Hint: Don't square the height scale factor.
Question 4 Explanation:
Topic: Determine how the characteristics (e.g., area, volume) of geometric figures and shapes are affected by changes in their dimensions (Objective 0023).
 Question 5

#### There are 15 students for every teacher.  Let t represent the number of teachers and let s represent the number of students.  Which of the following equations is correct?

 A $$\large t=s+15$$Hint: When there are 2 teachers, how many students should there be? Do those values satisfy this equation? B $$\large s=t+15$$Hint: When there are 2 teachers, how many students should there be? Do those values satisfy this equation? C $$\large t=15s$$Hint: This is a really easy mistake to make, which comes from transcribing directly from English, "1 teachers equals 15 students." To see that it's wrong, plug in s=2; do you really need 30 teachers for 2 students? To avoid this mistake, insert the word "number," "Number of teachers equals 15 times number of students" is more clearly problematic. D $$\large s=15t$$
Question 5 Explanation:
Topic: Select the linear equation that best models a real-world situation (Objective 0022).
There are 5 questions to complete.

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