Worked examples
Two examples
Example 1
- A model is a simpler version of something real, used to understand it. Every model leaves something out.
- Ask first what the model is for. This one shows the layers of a tooth and where each one is.
- Then ask what it cannot show. It is plastic, so it cannot show a living tooth: blood flowing in the center, or the feeling of pain when the nerve is reached.
- It also may not be to scale. Models are often made larger than life so the parts can be seen.
Answer: That a real tooth is alive, with blood and working nerves inside
Example 2
- Ask what the model is for. A subway map is for getting from one station to another: which line to take, and where to change trains.
- For that job, the order of the stations and the transfer points matter. The real distances and curves do not.
- So the map leaves out true distances on purpose, to make its job easier.
- A model is judged by whether it does its job, and a careful reader knows what it leaves out. To find how far apart two stations really are, you would need a street map instead.
Answer: No. It leaves out true distances on purpose; it is built to show the order of stations and where to change trains.
Where this is taught: Look Again Quiz 4: Diagrams and Models
In your Kaplan book: Unit 4, Chapter 1, Lesson 1: Comprehend Scientific Presentations · Map of the Terrain, topic 4: Diagrams and models
The drill
Ten questions
Read what is in the box first, if there is one. Then tap your answer; a few questions ask you to choose words from a drop-down instead, the way the GED test does. Press Check my answers at the bottom.Read what is in the box first, if there is one. Circle your answer; where there are brackets, circle the choice that fits. The answer key, with the reasoning, is on the last page.