how would you do on a college entrance exam?

Middle is preparing for his college entrance exam.
It's an archaic, odd kind of test, and he's working with a tutor - not so much to improve his grade (he took a practice test and did okay) but to help him understand how to take the test and feel confident that day.
Each day he gets an email with the question of the day, which I'm pretty sure he's been ignoring, but K and I have been having fun trying to answer them. I'm completely lost on any math questions, which K is very proficient at, and he sometimes stumbles on the English questions - but he usually gets them right.

How would you do?
Here are some examples...

1.
The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the one red part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence contains no error, select choice E.

Whereas the caterpillars of most butterflies
A
are harmless, moth caterpillars cause
B
an enormous amount of damage on
C D
plants, forest and shade trees, clothing,

and household goods. No error
E
(A)(B)(C)(D)(E)


2.
Part of the following sentence is red; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A.

It is thought that a dog’s sense of smell is generally 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans.

A. humans
B. humans’ are
C. humans have
D. a human’s
E. a human has


3.
Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Their conversation was unsettling, for the gravity of their topic contrasted so oddly with the ------- of their tone.

A. uniqueness
B. rapidity
C. lightness
D.precision
E. reverence

4.
In a community of 416 people, each person owns a dog or a cat or both. If there are 316 dog owners and 280 cat owners, how many of the dog owners own no cat?

A. 36
B. 100
C. 136
D. 180
E. 316



I'll tell you this: between the mention of dogs and cats and the math involved, I didn't do too well on number 4.



































answers:
1 - The error in this sentence occurs at (D), where there is an improper idiom. Caterpillars (or anything else) can cause damage to something, but they cannot cause damage on something.

2- Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by properly comparing “a dog’s sense of smell” to “a human’s” sense of smell.

3- Only “lightness” fits the logic of the sentence as being contrary to the “gravity” of the topic. Listening to others discuss a grave (or serious) topic in a light-hearted tone would be unsettling and confusing.

4- To solve this problem, you must realize that some of the 316 dog owners also own cats and some of the 280 cat owners also own dogs. This has to be true because 316 + 280 is more than 416! The question asks how many of the dog owners do not own cats. To solve the problem, first find the number of people who own both a dog and a cat. To do this, let b equal the number who own both a dog and a cat. Then 416 = 316 + 280 – b. (Note: Adding 316 and 280 counts b twice, so b must be subtracted from the sum to get 416.) Next, the equation 416 = 596 – b can be solved for b, yielding b = 180. Finally, the number of dog owners who own no cat is 316 – 180 = 136.