Praxis Core Sample Questions and Explanations

Only this finding measures flexibility before and after, and compares students who stretched with students who did not. That directly tests the claim.

Wrong choices

• "Many students say they enjoy stretching before class.": Enjoying stretching says nothing about flexibility.
• "Professional athletes often stretch before games.": What athletes do is not evidence that it works.
• "Some students who stretched daily also played soccer.": This does not measure flexibility and mixes in another activity.
• "A daily stretching routine takes about ten minutes.": The time it takes does not show any result.

The subject is "box," which is singular, so the verb must be "was." The words "of old photographs" only describe the box; they are not the subject.

Wrong choices

• "photographs": "Photographs" is the correct plural form; it is part of the phrase that describes the box.
• "after": "After" correctly shows the order of events.
• "moved": "Moved" is the correct past tense for an action that already happened.
• "No error": There is an error: "were" does not agree with the singular subject "box."

1. Sum: 10 + 15 + 9 + 22 + 16 = 72.
2. Mean: 72 ÷ 5 = 14.4.

Check: 14.4 × 5 = 72.

Wrong choices

• "15": 15 is the median (the middle value when ordered), not the mean.
• "18": This divides the total (72) by 4 instead of by 5 numbers.
• "13": 13 is the range (22 − 9), not the mean.
• "72": 72 is the total. It must be divided by how many numbers there are.

Passage 1 says gardens teach science through planting and measuring. Passage 2 says teachers use gardens for science lessons. Science is the shared point.

Wrong choices

• "cost too much to maintain": Only Passage 2 mentions cost, and it still says gardens offer real benefits.
• "make children more willing to eat vegetables": Only Passage 2 mentions tasting vegetables.
• "should replace classroom lessons": Neither passage says gardens should replace lessons.
• "are useful only in the spring": Neither passage mentions seasons.

"Me and Tom" is the subject of the verb "carpooled," so it needs the subject pronoun: "Tom and I carpooled." Test it by dropping Tom: you would say "I carpooled," not "Me carpooled."

Wrong choices

• "because": "Because" correctly gives the reason for carpooling.
• "was": "Was" agrees with the singular subject "center."
• "our": "Our" is the correct possessive form here.
• "No error": There is an error: "Me" cannot be the subject of a verb.

1. Order: 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12.
2. The two middle values are 7 and 8.
3. Median: (7 + 8) ÷ 2 = 7.5.

Check: three values (3, 4, 7) are below 7.5 and three (8, 9, 12) are above it.

Wrong choices

• "6.5": This takes the middle two numbers without first putting the list in order (9 and 4).
• "7": With six numbers there are two middle values (7 and 8); the median is their average.
• "8": This picks only one of the two middle values.
• "9": 9 is the range (12 − 3), not the median.

Every sentence in the passage explains how the waggle dance tells other bees the direction and distance of food. A main idea must cover the whole passage, and this choice does.

Wrong choices

• "The length of a waggle run shows how sweet the flowers are.": The passage says the length shows how far away the flowers are, not how sweet they are.
• "Honeybees can only find flowers that are close to the hive.": The passage never limits bees to nearby flowers; the dance tells them the distance.
• "Honeybees always fly straight toward the sun when they leave the hive.": The dance gives a direction in relation to the sun; it does not say bees always fly toward it.
• "Young worker bees learn to dance by watching older bees for weeks.": The passage says nothing about how bees learn the dance.

A primary source is created by someone who was there, at the time. A letter written by a soldier during the war is a firsthand record. The others explain or interpret the war later, so they are secondary sources.

Wrong choices

• "A chapter in a modern history textbook": A modern textbook summarizes events long afterward.
• "An online encyclopedia article about the war": An encyclopedia article is a secondary summary.
• "A biography of a general written by a historian": A biography by a historian interprets other sources.
• "A documentary film made in 2010": A documentary made in 2010 is created long after the war.

1. The common denominator of 4 and 3 is 12.
2. 3/4 = 9/12 and 2/3 = 8/12.
3. 9/12 + 8/12 = 17/12 (which is 1 and 5/12).

Check: 0.75 + 0.667 ≈ 1.417, and 17 ÷ 12 ≈ 1.417.

Wrong choices

• "5/7": This adds the tops and the bottoms (3 + 2 and 4 + 3). Fractions need a common denominator first.
• "11/12": This changes 3/4 to 9/12 correctly but writes 2/3 as 2/12 without multiplying the top by 4.
• "1/2": This is the product 3/4 × 2/3 = 6/12, not the sum.
• "1/12": This is the difference 9/12 − 8/12, not the sum.

Neighbors "who had never spoken before" began trading tomatoes and recipes. This supports the conclusion that the garden brought neighbors together.

Wrong choices

• "The garden will close next year because it has run out of space.": Families asked to add plots; nothing says the garden will close.
• "Most residents did not want the garden at first.": The passage never describes residents opposing the garden.
• "The tool shed was the most popular part of the garden.": The shed is mentioned only once, with no sign that it was the most popular part.
• "The garden produced more food than any other garden in the city.": The passage makes no comparison with other gardens in the city.