- Preston’s mother Ellie is the only child of John and Ruby.
- Preston has exactly one more brother than he has sisters
- Ellie’s husband, who is Kevin’s son, has exactly two siblings, Beulah and Nelson.
- Preston and Kevin have the same number of sisters.

To get started, it’s helpful to locate and focus on the clues with the most concrete information.  In this case, rules one and three give definite information.  Combine the data from them as a basis for your family tree.

You should have drawn two branches of a family tree:

Family:                   Branch One                                    Branch Two

Parents:                  John + Ruby                                 Kevin + Wife

Children:                Ellie                                                  Ellie’s husband, Beulah, & Nelson

Grandchildren:    Preston

Intersection:        These individual family trees became one when Ellie and her husband married.

4. Which of the following could have possibly have exactly five children?

Figure out who is prohibited from having 5 kids from the rules.  John and Ruby had only 1 child so that eliminates A.  Ellie’s unnamed mother-in-law had 3 kids so that eliminates D.  Choices B and C are married and they have an even number of children (Preston + some number of sisters + same number of brothers +1).  So Preston’s aunt Beulah is the sole possibility.

5.  If John has as many children as Beulah has, what is the minimum number if nieces and nephews that Nelson could have?

John has one child so we assume that Beulah does too.  Nelson’s nieces and nephews will include Beulah’s one child, Preston, and the minimum number of one (male) sibling that Preston must have so the answer is 3.

6.  If Dan has exactly one brother and one sister, Dan could be which of the following?

- Kevin’s brother
- Ellie’s husband
- Preston’s brother

Did you notice that Dan makes his first appearance in this question?  Since Dan has exactly two siblings, he can’t be Preston’s brother.  Dan could be Ellie’s husband with his siblings Beulah and Nelson.  Dan could also be Kevin’s brother since no rule precludes this.  The answer is Kevin brother and Ellie's husband only.

Good luck on the LSAT!

The post Answering an Unfamiliar LSAT Logic Game Answer: Part 2 appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

We are going to discuss 2 of the most common bad habits that us nurses seem to have, but first let’s talk a bit more about why. Most people will tell you that they believe that nurses have a really hard job. Beyond the things that the public is aware of, (long shifts, heavy patients, etc), there are the things that the public tends to forget about. One example? That little matter of saving people’s lives. Saving someone’s life is a feeling like no other. It can be exhilarating, yes. But after the life is preserved, we tend to start re-processing the moment. What happened, how did it happen, what could we have done better, or what did we do right? It’s in that process of reliving the incident where we sometimes realize how close that person came, and that can be very nerve-racking. Or what about when the person doesn’t survive? Then, we deal with sadness for a life lost, possible guilt over not being able to save the life, and the family’s sadness and grief. It is a human quality to grieve for others, even when we didn’t know the patient personally. It is emotionally exhausting and hard to bear when it happens repeatedly,  such as the ER, ICU, and OR.

Next blog we will talk about a few specific bad habits we tend to have.

Check back here for my twice weekly blogs on everything nursing!

Nikki

The post Nurses and Bad Habits: Handling Stress appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

An appeal to false authority is a claim that appears to rest on expert evidence, but in fact does not. There are two main ways that these logical fallacies can be set up:

1. Misquoting- this type of appeal to false authority uses a real authority, who truly knows the topic and can make credible claims about it, but misquotes him or takes his words out of context. One possible sign of misquoting is when a quote is filled with ellipses.

For example, imagine that a movie critic writes in the newspaper, "This movie is pretty poorly written and directed, so I definitely do not believe that it will be one of the best movies of the year." In the advertising posters, the movie promoters might quote the critic as saying, "This movie... will be one of the best movies of the year." By cutting out key words, the appeal to authority has been made false.

2. Fake Experts- in this type of appeal to false authority, the authority used claims to be an expert on the subject, but is not really one. These come up a lot in modern media, specifically advertisements.

A prime example of this are commercials that feature "doctors". Anyone with a PhD in any subject is considered a doctor, but in our society we typically reserve that term for medical doctors. So, commercials can abuse that convention by having someone with a PhD in Eastern Religion (for example) say "I'm a doctor and I recommend this medicine."

Both of these two main types of appeal to false authority turn up in non-fiction far more than fiction. On the AP English Exam, the most important place to look out for appeals to false authority is on the synthesis essay. That essay asks you to use evidence provided from other sources in order to build your argument. So, you should analyze the sources provided for appeals to false authority. If any of them seem to rely on false experts or to string together misleading quotes, you can use that to discredit them. Doing so will make your essay stronger and more thorough.

Good luck on the AP English Exam!

The post The AP English Exam: Appeals to False Authority appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

Now that you have obtained your car, you have insured it and registered it with your state of primarily residence and found a place to park your car near your home, the basic issues are resolved relating to ownership.

But a significant portion of ownership is car maintenance and car repairs. Maintenance refers to keep the car up to proper operating standards. Repairs refer to fixing things that are “broken”. An example of the difference would be an oil change, tire rotation, and replacing a turn indicator bulb are maintenance because you need to do this to keep the car up to proper operating standards, plus replacing a turn indicator bulb before a policeman provides you with a written “reminder” can be very cost effective. In the event that someone hits your car in a parking lot and the turn indicator housing (the plastic portion covering the bulb and reflector) is now in several pieces on the ground now that is a repair. Different people may place the same problem in either category, such as replacing the brake linings.

The real concern is that the item needs to be taken care of and it is going to cost you money.

We all want to minimize our expenses so how can we reduce the cost of car maintenance/repairs?

The first way is to try and do it yourself. In today’s society many people do not know how to open the hood of their car, or even be able to identify the major parts of the car they would find there. To overcome this anxiety, read your car’s owner’s manual, it can save you money! I was told I needed an in cabin air filter and the cost to install it was $90! I read the owner’ manual and it showed me how to remove the current filter and replace it with a new filter. I went to a nearby auto parts store and purchased an appropriate filter for less than $20.00. Installation time was less than 5 minutes and no tools were required! In addition, YouTube and the Internet have videos to show you how to do almost everything.

If you think the job is beyond your abilities, contact a few businesses that can do the work you need and check their prices. My car requires synaptic oil when an oil change is needed. One dealer wanted to change $90 for the oil change and another $50 – check around and save money.

Remember that saving money is a long term activity – some businesses offer a low price, but then tell you that you need so much more work than you initially wanted, or do such a poor job you go back and complain and then they say you need to replace other parts. Your key to success in this area is to find a business with a good reputation for the quality of their work at a competitive price.

With proper maintenance, you car should be able to last you many more years than you previously thought.

The post The Cost of Owning A Car - Part II appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

The Cost of Owning A Car  - Part I

Over the last few decades, Americans have stretch out and many have moved away from the crowded cities for less crowded living spaces. Some of us have moved to the suburbs, others to more rural areas.

Due to increasing distances many of us need to travel for work, to school, to be with friends and family a car or more than one car has become almost a necessity for many family units.

The idea of owning an automobile is perhaps part of the American dream. We discussed whether you should buy or lease a car in earlier postings, and now we understand the financial responsibilities of owning a car.

To start off, you need to be making your monthly loan or lease payments on time. Late payments or less than full payments will have a significant impact on your credit.

Owning a car requires the car to be properly registered with your state or local municipality. To properly register a car two items must be provided. The first is proof of insurance. The cost of insuring a car and its owner/drivers can be costly. Insurance companies take into consideration the driver's age, sex, past driving record, type of car, age of car, where the car is parked when you are at home (in a garage or on the street), what the car is being used for (driving to work, driving for household errands in the neighborhood, etc), and other factors. Because car insurance can become expensive, insurance companies offer monthly payment plans to help the consumer better manage their expenses.

Registering may it require the car pass either a safety inspection and/or an emission test. New cars are usually exempt from these items for a few years. If you plan to acquire an "older model", you must be prepared to make any repairs necessary to have the car meet your state's requirements.

With your automobile properly registered and insured, you now need to be concerned about where it will be parked. If your home has a garage or parking area your costs are free. But if you live in a major city, you may have to find street parking or have to pay to park your car. Some people rent a garage near their home, while others rent a parking spot in their high rise building. The costs for parking can vary from free to several hundred dollars a month.

In The Cost of Owning a Car - Part II will discuss more about operating costs, maintenance and repair costs.

The post The Cost of Owning A Car - Part I appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

THE PROBLEM:

Temperatures are commonly measured using several different scales: Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin. The following facts may be used to compare the three scales:

1. Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, or 212 degrees Fahrenheit.3.  To convert a temperature on the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, add 273.154.  Fahrenheit temperature is a linear function of Celsius temperature.

Company XYZ hires a consultant to determine the optimum thermostat setting for its offices. Some of the thermostats give readings in degrees Fahrenheit, others give readings in degrees Celsius. Company XYZ wants the temperature setting of the thermostats to maximize worker efficiency but minimize energy consumption. The consultant conducts a study and reports that the optimum thermostat setting is at 297.15 degrees on the Kelvin scale. What should be the equivalent Celsius setting and Fahrenheit setting, to the nearest degree? Please make only one selection in each of the first two columns by picking the letter that corresponds to the correct number of degrees (shown in the third column) in Celsius or Fahrenheit, as appropriate.

Celsius Setting     Fahrenheit Setting        Number of degrees
A                                     A                                      12
B                                     B                                      21
C                                     C                                      24
D                                    D                                     42
E                                     E                                      75
F                                     F                                      78

THE SOLUTION:
If this is your first time to see the "Two-Part Analysis" question format, please note that on the GMAT's computerized test the first two columns will contain "radio buttons" that you can click to select your answer. Here the letters A-F are used to substitute for the radio buttons. The data in the third column would not be clickable.
If the format seems a bit confusing at first glance, don't worry.  As we find the answers, we'll look at how to select them from the columns.
The problem forces us to deal with converting temperatures back and forth between 3 different scales. Fortunately, the conversion from Celsius to Kelvin and vice versa only involves adding or subtracting 273.15.  So, it's quick and easy to take the recommended 297.15 degrees Kelvin setting, subtract 273.15, and find that the equivalent Celsius setting is 24 degrees Celsius, which is Choice C in Column 1.
Keep in mind that there will be a simple pop-up onscreen calculator available for the Integrated Reasoning section, although you can also use your notepad if you prefer.
The conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit looks a bit tougher, because we're not given a conversion formula (if you happen to know the conversion formula, you're ahead of the game). However, we can figure out the conversion process by using the data given to us about freezing points and boiling points.
Since the Fahrenheit temperature is a linear function of the Celsius temperature, we can treat the freezing and boiling equivalences as two different (x,y) coordinate points on the line, and try to calculate the linear function in its slope-intercept form.
First, let's calculate the slope. Slope equals the change in y divided by the change in x. The change in y is the difference between the Fahrenheit values, or 212 - 32, which equals 180. The change in x is the difference between the Celsius values, or 100 - 0, which is 100. So the slope is 180 divided by 100, which simplifies to 9/5 or 1.8.
Now let's find the y intercept of the line. The y-intercept occurs when x equals zero. We're in luck, because we already have the coordinates of the point (0, 32) which occurs at water's freezing point, when Celsius (the x value) is zero, and Fahrenheit (the y value) is 32.
So, in slope intercept form, the line looks like y = 1.8x + 32. Or we can rewrite it as F = 1.8C + 32 to reflect that the y variable is degrees Fahrenheit and the x variable is degrees Celsius.
Now we have our formula, and it's easy to make the conversion and find part two of the answer. Plugging in 24 for degrees Celsius, we find that F = 1.8(24) + 32. Simplifying, we find that the equivalent degrees is 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit. To the nearest degree, that is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is Choice E in Column 2.

So the complete two-part answer is Choice C in Column 1 and Choice E in Column 2.
Always remember on GMAT Integrated Reasoning questions, receiving credit for a question requires that you answer all the parts of the question correctly.

The post GMAT Integrated Reasoning: Solving a Two-Part Analysis question appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

We each are anxious about different things, and we each react differently to their stimuli.

Anxiety is a learned response to these stimuli, if we try enough we can minimize the level of anxiety we experience to make it become more tolerable, and we become more functional and effective.

I have been teaching high school and college level math for more than 10 years, and I can scare the majority of my students with the words “fractions” or “word problems”. Perhaps just reading these words has caused you some anxiety. Let me share with you how I help my students overcome some of their anxieties.

First you need to be able to face your anxieties and verbally identify what they are. The second step is that you believe that you can control your anxieties and you want to control them.

The secret is to slowly take small steps and chip away at these anxieties. You cannot study for your Praxis Test the night before the test and expect to be successful (I proved it as described in my posting on Test Anxiety). You need to use your study plan (see previous posting) and work at mastering one portion at a time. Perhaps using educational buzz-words, you need to do “chunking”, mastering one chunk of the test at a time, then moving to the next area. Since most subjects build on previous knowledge, you may need to review those previous topics (again the educational buzz-word is “scaffolding”, where you are building upon previous knowledge.

As you prepare for the Praxis Test, either have a mentor who you can ask comfortably ask questions to or a “study buddy” who you can share your emotional ups and downs, as well as ask them questions.

As you study one area at a time, use the various study guides available to evaluate your progress. Nothing succeeds like success. So as you study and master one area at a time, you are gaining the confidence to tackle the next section, and then the next.

In addition to studying, you need to keep your mind and body prepared for the test. If you are concerned about extra-ordinary events occurring such as the illness of a close family member or friend, significant financial issues, a romance either evolving or falling apart, your abilities to study may be significantly diminished. Perhaps taking the Praxis Test at this time is not the best idea since you do not have the ability to focus on your studying.

Using various study guides found on the Internet, plus resources available from local bookstores and friends who previously have passed the Praxis Test you are planning to take can be very helpful.

Anxiety is something we put on ourselves and we need to learn how to control it, so we can pass our Praxis Test and other events in our life.

The post Coping Strategies for Test Anxiety appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

Gary Rothbard, M.D., M.S.

 In fact, as you know, unlike taking extra courses, which may or may not contribute to successful admission, you won’t have a chance without it. But it’s quite important that you learn to balance these two sometimes-competing agendas, because neglecting either one will significantly reduce your chances of entering med school in the months or years to come.

The guidelines here are quite simple: do not make the mistake of emphasizing the MCAT and its preparation to the extent that it forces you to dismiss some or all of your school work. While this rule is simple, its execution may not be. With such a large and important test looming, it isn’t difficult to become so wrapped up in the prep work that you inadvertently disregard your regular studies. But doing so will, at best, leave you with less than stellar grades and a decreased chance of acceptance that year; at worst, it will require you to forego that dream for the time being, while you retake certain classes to improve your grades. Naturally, those operating at superhuman genius levels will be exempted from this rule, as studying often seems unnecessary for these lucky few.

For the rest of us, however, great MCAT scores juxtaposed with poor academics will be unlikely to leave you in good standing regarding admission. While the high scores will indicate a clear aptitude and ability, the unimpressive grades accompanying them will probably reflect poorly on your work ethic. This combination will force the committee to wonder, “This student can clearly do the work, but is he/she up to the task?” Except for the geniuses, it won’t matter how innately smart you are if the med school people aren’t confident about your capacity for juggling responsibilities and multitasking.

An instructive example of the danger of falling prey to this imbalance can be found in the story of a friend of mine from college. Though he was certainly no slouch intellectually, he made the mistake of stressing MCAT prep over class work, figuring that his previously superb grades, coupled with a good score would be more than enough. What he didn’t count on was his grades dropping precipitously over two semesters, as he focused on the exam at the expense of his academics. As a result, rather than gain acceptance at any number of schools for which he was qualified, he was waitlisted, at only one school.

To end on a positive note, the story above does have a happy ending – he eventually got in and has become a very successful and competent surgeon – but that’s not always the case. Since medical school admission is a numbers game, dependent on not only your personal achievements, but also the number of overall applicants and spots available, why not give yourself the best odds possible by maintaining a balance between the two concerns. Rest assured, a decent MCAT score accompanied by decent grades will get you much further than performing exceptionally in one area at the expense of the other.

The post Balancing the MCAT and Academics appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

1. A lawyer in private practice shall not practice under a trade name, a name that is misleading as to the identity of the lawyer or lawyers practicing under such name, or a firm name containing names other than those of one or more of the lawyers in the firm, except that the names of a professional corporation, professional association, limited liability partnership, or professional limited liability company may contain “P.C.,” “P.A.,” “L.L.P.,” “P.L.L.C.,” or similar symbols indicating the nature of the organization, and if otherwise lawful a firm may use as, or continue to include in, its name the name or names of one or more deceased or retired members of the firm or of a predecessor firm in a continuing line of succession. Nothing herein shall prohibit a married woman from practicing under her maiden name.

2. A lawyer shall not hold himself or herself out as being a partner, shareholder, or associate with one or more other lawyers unless they are in fact partners, shareholders, or associates. (e) A lawyer shall not advertise in the public media or seek professional employment by any communication under a trade or fictitious name, except that a lawyer who practices under a firm name as authorized by paragraph (a) of this Rule may use that name in such advertisement or communication but only if that name is the firm name that appears on the lawyer’s letterhead, business cards, office sign, fee contracts, and with the lawyer’s signature on pleadings and other legal documents.

3. A lawyer shall not use a firm name, letterhead, or other professional designation that violates Rule 7.02(a).

See the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

The post Regulation of Texas Attorneys: Attorney Advertising appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.

- Preston’s mother Ellie is the only child of John and Ruby.
- Preston has exactly one more brother than he has sisters
- Ellie’s husband, who is Kevin’s son, has exactly two siblings, Beulah and Nelson.
- Preston and Kevin have the same number of sisters.

To get started, it’s helpful to locate and focus on the clues with the most concrete information.  In this case, rules one and three give definite information.  Combine the data from them as a basis for your family tree.

You should have drawn two branches of a family tree:

Family:                   Branch One                                    Branch Two

Parents:                  John + Ruby                                 Kevin + Wife

Children:                Ellie                                                Ellie’s husband, Beulah, & Nelson

Grandchildren:     Preston

Intersection:        These individual family trees became one when Ellie and her husband married.

1.  If Kevin has two sisters, how many brothers does Preston have?

According to rule 4, Kevin and Preston have the same number of sisters. Rule 2 reveals that Preston has one more brother than sisters so 2 + 1 = 3.

2.  Ellie’s husband is Beulah’s brother.

If you drew the family tree correctly, this was an easy question.

3.  If Ellie has eight children, how many sisters does Kevin have?

Since Preston has one fewer sister than brothers, Ellie’s children must be Preston + 4 brothers + 3 sisters.  Rule 4 says that Preston and Kevin have the same number of sisters so the answer is 3.

Look to the next blog for answers to the remaining question, good luck on the LSAT!

The post Answering an Unfamiliar LSAT Logic Game Answer: Part 1 appeared first on BenchPrep Blog.