Students across the state might run screaming from school buildings this morning for two reasons: 1) They just finished taking the Physics Regents and 2) it’s the last Regents they have to take after more than a week of tests….those last screams would be of the joy variety.

All of the Regents tests are high-stakes for students because they must pass five of them in order to graduate. We wish them all luck. And for you? Here are a few questions from the January 2008 Physics Regents. Enjoy. And don’t worry. we picked the easiest questions.

1) Which is a vector quantity?
(a) speed
(b) work
(c) mass
(d) displacement

2) A ball is thrown straight downward with a speed of 0.50 meter per second from a height of 4.0 meters. What is the speed of the ball 0.70 second after it is released? [Neglect friction.]
(a) 0.50 m/s
(b) 7.4 m/s
(c) 9.8 m/s
(d) 15 m/s

3) Which object has the greatest inertia?
(a) a 5.00-kg mass moving at 10.0 m/s
(b) a 10.0-kg mass moving at 1.00 m/s
(c) a 15.0-kg mass moving at 10.0 m/s
(d) a 20.0-kg mass moving at 1.00 m/s

4) Student A lifts a 50.-newton box from the floor to a height of 0.40 meter in 2.0 seconds. Student B lifts a 40.-newton box from the floor to a height of 0.50 meter in 1.0 second. Compared to student A, student B does
(a) the same work but develops more power
(b) the same work but develops less power
(c) more work but develops less power
(d) less work but develops more power

5) A variable-frequency light source emits a series of photons. As the frequency of the photon increases, what happens to the energy and wavelength of the photon?
(a) The energy decreases and the wavelength decreases.
(b) The energy decreases and the wavelength increases.
(c) The energy increases and the wavelength decreases.
(d) The energy increases and the wavelength increases.

6) A 1.0-kilogram laboratory cart moving with a velocity of 0.50 meter per second due east collides with and sticks to a similar cart initially at rest. After the collision, the two carts move off together with a velocity of 0.25 meter per second due east. The total momentum of this frictionless system is
(a) zero before the collision
(b) zero after the collision
(c) the same before and after the collision
(d) greater before the collision than after the collision

BONUS
7) Gravitational forces differ from electrostatic forces in that gravitational forces are
(a) attractive, only
(b) repulsive, only
(c) neither attractive nor repulsive
(d) both attractive and repulsive

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

This morning, students are taking the Living Environment Regents. Have fun with these sample questions from the January 2008 version of the exam. And rest up tonight, the final test — physics — is tomorrow.

1) Damage to which structure will most directly disrupt water balance within a single-celled organism?
(a) ribosome
(b) cell membrane
(c) nucleus
(d) chloroplast

2) Which procedure would most likely provide valid results in a test to determine if drug A would be effective in treating cancer in white mice?
(a) injecting 1 mL of drug A into 100 white mice with cancer
(b) injecting 1 mL of drug A into 100 white mice with cancer and 0.5 mL of drug X into 100 white mice without cancer
(c) injecting 1 mL of drug A into 100 white mice with cancer and 0.5 mL of drug X into another group of 100 white mice with cancer
(d) injecting 1 mL of drug A into 100 white mice with cancer and 1 mL of distilled water into another group of 100 white mice with cancer

3) All life depends on the availability of usable energy. This energy is released when
(a) organisms convert solar energy into the chemical energy found in food molecules
(b) respiration occurs in the cells of producers and high-energy molecules enter the atmosphere
(c) cells carry out the process of respiration
(d) animal cells synthesize starch and carbon dioxide

4) Two primary agents of cellular communication are
(a) chemicals made by blood cells and simple sugars
(b) hormones and carbohydrates
(c) enzymes and starches
(d) hormones and chemicals made by nerve cells

5) Cells that develop from a single zygote all contain identical DNA molecules. However, some of these cells will develop differently because
(a) different groups of cells containing the DNA may be exposed to different environmental conditions
(b) only the DNA in certain cells will replicate
(c) some of the DNA in some of the cells will be removed by chemical reactions
(d) DNA is functional in only 10% of the cells of the body

BONUS
6) A five-year study was carried out on a population of algae in a lake. The study found that the algae population was steadily decreasing in size. Over the five-year period this decrease most likely led to
(a) a decrease in the amount of nitrogen released into the atmosphere
(b) an increase in the amount of oxygen present in the lake
(c) an increase in the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere
(d) a decrease in the amount of oxygen released into the lake

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

We imagine the week has been trying for the state’s high school students who have been slogging through a battery of Regents exams, including this afternoon’s Earth Science test. Here are some questions from the January 2008 exam. No Regents tests are scheduled for Monday, so we’ll resume posting sample questions on Tuesday with the Living Environment exam and finishing on Wednesday with physics. (UPDATE: Foreign language Regents are also next week, but they don’t translate well to a blog so we’ll skip them…lucky you.)

1) Which planet is located approximately ten times farther from the Sun than Earth is from the Sun?
(a) Mars
(b) Jupiter
(c) Saturn
(d) Uranus

2) What is the inferred age of our solar system, in millions of years?
(a) 544
(b) 1300
(c) 4600
(d) 10,000

3) The upward movement of air in the atmosphere generally causes the temperature of that air to
(a) decrease and become closer to the dewpoint
(b) decrease and become farther from the dewpoint
(c) increase and become closer to the dewpoint
(d) increase and become farther from the dewpoint

4) Which New York State location is most likely to experience the heaviest winter snowfall when the surface winds are blowing from the west or north-west?
(a) New York City
(b) Binghamton
(c) Oswego
(d) Plattsburgh

5) Compared to Earth’s continental crust, Earth’s oceanic crust is
(a) thinner and more dense
(b) thinner and less dense
(c) thicker and more dense
(d) thicker and less dense

6) Which type of surface absorbs the greatest amount of electromagnetic energy from the Sun?
(a) smooth, shiny, and light colored
(b) smooth, shiny, and dark colored
(c) rough, dull, and light colored
(d) rough, dull, and dark colored

BONUS
7) The presence of eurypterid fossils in New York State bedrock indicates that
(a) eurypterids lived in land environments
(b) eurypterids first appeared on Earth during the Devonian Period
(c) most of New York State was once a mountainous region
(d) areas of New York State were once covered with shallow seas

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

Yeah, you probably know that Christopher Columbus landed on this continent in 1492. But what happened after that?

A lot over the centuries, and students this morning will be tested on just how much of that history they know. They’re taking the U.S. History & Government Regents — and so are you with a few of these sample questions from the January 2008 exam.

1) The conflict over representation in Congress was addressed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by
(a) creating a two-house legislature
(b) limiting the terms of lawmakers to four years
(c) giving Congress implied powers
(d) ending the importation of enslaved persons

2) During the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, Antifederalists argued that
(a) the new Constitution left too much political power to state governments
(b) a strong national government would gain respect from European nations
(c) checks and balances were unnecessary in a federal government
(d) the new Constitution would threaten the rights of individual citizens

3) The Reconstruction plans of President Abraham Lincoln and President Andrew Johnson included a provision for the
(a) resumption of full participation in Congress by Southern States
(b) long-term military occupation of the Confederacy
(c) payment of war reparations by Southern States
(d) harsh punishment of former Confederate officials

4) Which argument was used by the Supreme Court in reaching its “clear and present danger” ruling in Schenck v. United States(1919)?
(a) The military is under civilian control.
(b) Powers are separated between the federal
and state governments.
(c) Constitutional rights are not absolute.
(d) The Constitution provides for equal pro – tection under the laws

5) In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was criticized for his proposal to add justices to the United States Supreme Court because these
appointments would have
(a) broken earlier campaign promises
(b) violated the constitutional limit on the number of justices
(c) threatened the system of checks and balances
(d) established a more conservative CourtBesides,

6) The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were all part of the foreign policy of
(a) isolationism
(b) détente
(c) colonialism
(d) containment

7) What was the primary reason Richard Nixon resigned his presidency?
(a) He was convicted of several serious crimes.
(b) He was facing impeachment by the House of Representatives.
(c) His reelection was declared invalid by the Supreme Court.
(d) His actions in Cambodia and Laos were exposed in thePentagon Papers.

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

Students this afternoon are taking the Mathematics A and Mathematics B Regents. Here are some questions from the January 2008 Math B test. Reading through this entire test gives you an appreciation for how tough some of this work can be. I’ll spare your brain — and mine — and give you just four questions.

1) Jack wants to plant a border of flowers in the shape of an arc along the edge of a circular walkway. If the circle has a radius of 5 yards and the angle subtended by the arc measures 1 1/2 radians, what is the length, in yards, of the border?
(a) 0.5
(b) 2
(c) 5
(d) 7.5

2) Which method of collecting data would most likely result in an unbiased random sample?
(a) selecting every third teenager leaving a movie theater to answer a survey about entertainment
(b) placing a survey in a local newspaper to determine how people voted in the 2004 presidential election
(c) selecting students by the last digit of their school ID number to participate in a survey about cafeteria food
(d) surveying honor students taking Mathematics B to determine the average amount of time students in a school spend doing homework each night

3) On a standardized test with a normal distribution, the mean was 64.3 and the standard deviation was 5.4. What is the best approximation of the percent of scores that fell between 61.6 and 75.1?
(a) 38.2%
(b) 66.8%
(c) 68.2%
(d) 95%

BONUS
4) Solve for all values of x: |2x-5|=3

(You only get full credit if you show your work.)

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

We apologize for the late start with today’s Regents exam sample questions. In the morning, students took the second part of the Comprehensive English Regents and will take Mathematics A or Mathematics B Regents this afternoon. For the English portion, read the passage below and answer the questions. Come back later for the math questions.

Night Light
Only your plastic night light dusts its pink
on the backs and undersides of things; your mother,
head resting on the nightside of one arm,
floats a hand above your cradle
to feel the humid tendril of your breathing.
Outside, the night rocks, murmurs … Crouched
in this eggshell light, I feel my heart
slowing, opened to your tiny flame

as if your blue irises mirrored me
as if your smile breathed and warmed
and curled in your face which is only asleep.
There is space between me, I know,
and you. I hang above you like a planet—
you’re a planet, too. One planet loves the other.
_
tendril — something resembling a long, slender, coiling extension on a plant stem

—Anne Winters
from The Key to the City, 1986
The University of Chicago Press

QUESTIONS
1) The mother’s action in lines 4 and 5 demonstrates her
(a) need for sleep
(b) desire for understanding
(c) concern for the child
(d) wish for the dawn

2)The poet’s use of the pronoun “I” reveals that the
(a) child has awakened
(b) mother is the narrator
(c) poet is the observer
(d) father has arrived

3) The phrase “blue irises” (line 9) refers to the
(a) eyes of the child
(b) photos near the cradle
(c) flowers below the window
(d) sky above the house

4) Lines 13 and 14 convey the concept that the parent and child are
(a) uninterested
(b) unhappy
(c) lonely
(d) connected

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

These questions from the January 2008 Global History and Geography Regents should give you some insight into what students across the state, who are taking the test this afternoon, will face.

1) Which feature would most likely be included in an economic system based on traditional agriculture and self-sufficiency?
(a) banks
(b) barter
(c) gold standard
(d) tariffs

2) What was one reason the Spanish conquistadors were able to conquer the Aztec Empire?
(a) The Spanish soldiers made effective use of their military technology against the Aztecs.
(b) Aztec religious beliefs promoted nonviolence.
(c) Spain joined the Incas in their fight against the Aztecs.
(d) The Spanish cavalry outnumbered the Aztec warriors.

3) A primary reason for Japan’s involvement in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War was to
(a) acquire natural resources in Manchuria and Korea
(b) control trade and markets in Southeast Asia
(c) end Japan’s policy of isolationism
(d) remove foreign invaders from Japanese soil

4) Which action occurred in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev?
(a) Peasants were forced onto collective farms.
(b) Citizens experienced more personal freedoms under glasnost.
(c) The United States and the Soviet Union ended diplomatic relations.
(d) The Soviet government increased its control over the Orthodox Church.

5) A comparison of the feudal system in Europe and the encomienda system in Latin America shows that both systems
(a) awarded land to the elite
(b) promoted religious tolerance
(c) relied on global trade for goods
(d) used a parliamentary system of government

BONUS:
6) Which sequence of Russian events is in the correct chronological order?
A. Catherine the Great westernizes Russia.
B. Ivan III defeats the Mongols.
C. Khrushchev places missiles in Cuba.
D. Czar Nicholas II abdicates the throne.
(1) A → B → C → D
(2) B → A → D → C
(3) B → C → A → D
(4) D → A → C → B

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

The Comprehensive English Regents (Session One), which high school students across the state are taking today, is a reading comprehension exercise that tests listening and note-taking skills so making it a blog post is a bit of a challenge. But don’t think that’ll get you out of having to answer some questions. We’ll post one essay from the test followed by multiple choice questions. In the real test, the teacher reads the account twice and the students takes notes. So, you can read the essay twice. But when answering the questions, you can not refer back to the material.

The essay about a man named Kenneth E. Behring and questions are after the jump. This post will be updated later in the day with the answers.

UPDATE: Answers added. Read more of this entry »

This afternoon, high school students across the state are taking the Chemistry Regents. Take a seat and see if you can tackle these questions from the January 2008 version of the exam.

1) Under which conditions of temperature and pressure is a gas most soluble in water?
(a) high temperature and low pressure
(b) high temperature and high pressure
(c) low temperature and low pressure
(d) low temperature and high pressure

2) Which radioactive isotope is used in treating cancer?
(a) carbon-14
(b) cobalt-60
(c) lead-206
(d) uranium-238

3) Which equation shows conservation of atoms?
(a) H2+ O2→H2O
(b) H2+ O2→2H2O
(c) 2H2+ O2→2H2O
(d) 2H2+ 2O2→2H2O

4) Which energy conversion occurs in a voltaic cell?
(a) chemical energy to electrical energy
(b) chemical energy to nuclear energy
(c) electrical energy to chemical energy
(d) nuclear energy to electrical energy

5) A solid substance is an excellent conductor of electricity. The chemical bonds in this substance are most likely
(a) ionic, because the valence electrons are shared between atoms
(b) ionic, because the valence electrons are mobile
(c) metallic, because the valence electrons are stationary
(d) metallic, because the valence electrons are mobile

BONUS
6) Which nuclear emission has the greatest mass?
(a) alpha particle
(b) beta particle
(c) gamma ray
(d) positron

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

High school students, who will begin taking Regents exams today, aren’t the only ones being tested this week. Here at The Hall Monitor, your math, English, science, history and, foreign language skills will be put to the test all week long.

To help you understand what students are going through — in case you don’t remember — we’ll be posting questions from past Regents exams to coincide with the test students are taking that day. The tests being given today are Integrated Algebra and Chemistry. Algebra is up first.

Come back in the afternoon for your chemistry test. And don’t be late.

1) If x varies directly as y, and x=8 when y=24, what is the value of x when y=6?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4

2) What is the value of p in the equation 8p+2 =4p−10?
(a) 1
(b) −1
(c) 3
(d) −3

3) What are the factors of x−5x+6?
(a) (x+2) and (x+3)
(b) (x−2) and (x−3)
(c) (x+6) and (x−1)
(d) (x−6) and (x+1)

4) If x represents a given number, the expression “5 less than twice the given number” is written as
(a) 5<2x
(b) 5<2 +x
(c) 2x−5
(d) 5 −2x

5) What is the total number of different seven-letter arrangements that can be formed using the letters in the word “MILLION”?
(a) 30
(b) 210
(c) 1,260
(d) 2,520

Answers after the jump. Read more of this entry »

This is going to be a busy — and nerve-wracking — week for many high-schoolers, who will be tackling Regents exams. The tests start tomorrow with algebra and chemistry and continue through Wednesday of next week with the granddaddy of all Regents exams, physics. To view a test schedule, go here.

In the past few years, the Regents have gained a new significance because students must pass five exams in order to graduate. That’s a tall order, but many parents and educators are in favor of toughening standards for students.

Still, just to make sure you know how tough the students have it, we’ll be posting questions from the Regents exams taken in January to coincide with the Regents exam being given this week and next. So, when students take the algebra and chemistry Regents tomorrow, you can come here and tackle some questions in those subjects.

So study up and to all the test-takers, good luck.