Relationship-Analysis Questions
Relationship-analysis questions consist of a specific statement, statement I, followed by another statement, statement II. To answer these questions, you must determine first whether statement I is true or false and then whether statement II is true or false. Next you must decide whether the second statement is the reason for the first statement being true. These questions may appear intimidating to you since they’re probably unfamiliar, but after taking the practice exams in this book, you should feel as comfortable with them as you do with the other question types.
One more thing about this question type: strangely enough, on the SAT II Chemistry test, the section containing relationship-analysis questions is always numbered starting with 101. There will be one section of these on each of the tests, and they also get their own special section on your answer sheet—also beginning with number 101. There are usually about 16 or 17 questions of this type on the SAT II Chemistry exam. Again, take the time to familiarize yourself with these directions so you won’t have to even look at them on test day.
| Directions: Each question below consists of two statements, statement I in the left-hand column and statement II in the right-hand column. For each question, determine whether statement I is true or false and whether statement II is true or false and fill in the corresponding T or F ovals on your answer sheet. Fill in oval CE only if statement II is a correct explanation of statement I. |
|
Statement I |
|
Statement II |
| 101. |
A 1.0 M solution of HCl has a low pH. |
BECAUSE |
HCl contains chlorine. |
| 102. |
An atom of chlorine is smaller than an atom of sulfur. |
BECAUSE |
Chlorine has a greater effective nuclear charge than sulfur. |
Look at question 101. Statement I is true: HCl is an acid, which is a substance that’s capable of donating H+ ions in solution. Acids have a pH that’s lower than 7, while bases have a pH above 7. Statement II is also true: HCl is made up of a hydrogen atom and a chlorine atom. Now do the final step—is the pH of HCl directly related to the concentration of the chlorine ions in solution? No, it is directly related to the number of H+ ions given off by HCl in solution—you would not fill in the bubble marked CE (correct explanation).
Now the answer to question 102. Statement I is true. Statement II is true. As you’ll learn in “The Structure of Matter,” atomic radius decreases from left to right across the periodic table because the more protons in the nucleus of the atom, the more tightly and more closely held are the atom’s electrons. This is an example of another way you can use the periodic table while taking the test. If you understand periodic trends, you won’t have to memorize the atomic radii of all of the elements. The CE, for “correct explanation,” should be bubbled in.
