2009 DAT sample test errors-confirmed by ADA

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chance8

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Hi Guys and Gals,

Thsi si for those of you who are doing the sample exams...I emailed the ADA RE: errors on last year's exam and here is their response. Anyone took the 2009 exams? anyhow, just FYI. I hope this was not an actual exam and that there wont be such errors on my exam!

"Thank you for your e-mail. I have forwarded your inquiries to our test constructors, and their responses are as follow:

Natural Science:
#17: Answer should be A: B cells. Yes, you are correct.
#18. Answer should be E: fertilization. Yes, you are correct.
#90. None of the choices were C7 carbons (i.e. none of the answers have 7 carbons) We will revise the image in the question stem so that it is consistent with the answer choice.
#97. The figures are not identical. The keyed answer should be A.

Math:
#37: The answer is 1/8, not 3/8. 1/8 is not listed. Yes, you are correct.

Please note the disclaimer at the beginning of the Practice Test material which states that the ADA does not guarantee that the information in released DATs is accurate, current, or relevant. Released materials may no longer be consistent with the current test specifications, content emphasis or test structure. The purpose of the Practice Test is to familiarize examinees with the general exam format and content of the DAT. However, we do appreciate you bringing these errors to our attention, and they will be corrected in future printings."

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Hi Guys and Gals,

Thsi si for those of you who are doing the sample exams...I emailed the ADA RE: errors on last year's exam and here is their response. Anyone took the 2009 exams? anyhow, just FYI. I hope this was not an actual exam and that there wont be such errors on my exam!

"Thank you for your e-mail. I have forwarded your inquiries to our test constructors, and their responses are as follow:

Natural Science:
#17: Answer should be A: B cells. Yes, you are correct.
#18. Answer should be E: fertilization. Yes, you are correct.
#90. None of the choices were C7 carbons (i.e. none of the answers have 7 carbons) We will revise the image in the question stem so that it is consistent with the answer choice.
#97. The figures are not identical. The keyed answer should be A.

Math:
#37: The answer is 1/8, not 3/8. 1/8 is not listed. Yes, you are correct.

Please note the disclaimer at the beginning of the Practice Test material which states that the ADA does not guarantee that the information in released DATs is accurate, current, or relevant. Released materials may no longer be consistent with the current test specifications, content emphasis or test structure. The purpose of the Practice Test is to familiarize examinees with the general exam format and content of the DAT. However, we do appreciate you bringing these errors to our attention, and they will be corrected in future printings."

this is scary.... does this mean the test was administered to applicants WITH ERRORS :confused::eek::confused::eek:
 
HAHA....

Good Point DW...so basically the more wrong answers you give..the higher the scores?????
 
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Well the actual ADA test 2009 delivered to you in the mail is included with a sheet of errors already in the test. I was skeptical from day one this just confirms my theory, ADA is a money hungry machine. Common I give you 300 dollars and so do 11,000 more people. That's 3 million dollars to create one test, you guys better not screw up. But thanks chance for the heads up.
 
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That is scary... Nothing really we can do about it though... So maybe we don't have to feel so dumb when we do a problem and can't find the right answer, it's not because we are wrong it is because they didn't put OUR answer as one of the choices :D lol!!!!
 
[Spoiler Alert]

Wait I just looked up the "Errata Sheet" These are all mentioned there plus there is more:

SNS #19: On answer keys page, the correct answer should be C

ORT #36: The Question stem and diagram should read:
City workers demarcate a rectangular area that measures 120 ft x 60 ft. If the diagonal of the rectangle is plotted, then which of the following is the smallest angle for triangle ABD?

QRT #38: The column headings should read:

Minutes Seconds
A. 99 25
B. 100 45
C. 101 15
D. 101 25
E. 101 45

QRT #39: On the Answer Keys page, the correct answer should be A

QRT #40: THe question stem should read as follows:
Two sides of an isosceles triangle have length 10. If the area is 48, what is the longest possible third side.

That should be all including the ones you listed.
 
Does anyone know a link or where I could buy this practice test online? I have been searching their website for the past 30 minutes and have not been able to find it.

Thanks!
 
Thats how I got mine so its not all that ancient but CAUTION: 2-3 weeks mail time + time it takes them to get your order. I got mine well in advance.
 
Thats how I got mine so its not all that ancient but CAUTION: 2-3 weeks mail time + time it takes them to get your order. I got mine well in advance.

Alright thanks! I am probably going to have to overnight my order up to them, then pay the extra money to get 2nd day delivery back from them. Oh well, it will be worth it :thumbup:
 
What is the benefit of having the hard copy mailed to you? Can you only access the prometric web version once? Thanks!
 
I literally just finished the online version. The interface isn't bad at all, but they don't give you a scaled score - only raw scores. It was also harder than I thought. Definitely harder than topscore imo.
Also, they only let you take the test once... I don't know which I would recommend, the hard copy or web based, because this interface was likely similar if not the same as prometric's since it's hosted by prometric online. The test still has some errors, too. They appeared to have only corrected some answers.

edit: one more annoyance... On top of only showing raw scores, there's no breakdown of the sciences. You only get a raw TS. I had to go back into the detailed report, and count up the number I got wrong for each section. Wasn't too hard, but just sayin....
 
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bumping this because I was wondering if anyone knows how to solve this??? :(


Two sides of an isosceles triangle have length 10. If the area is 48, what is the longest possible third side

why is this test soo stresssfulll ahhhh asdjfa
 
Hannibal: LMAO!!! LOL!!! It made my day!! you smart a**!
LOL i try i try

bumping this because I was wondering if anyone knows how to solve this??? :(

Two sides of an isosceles triangle have length 10. If the area is 48, what is the longest possible third side

why is this test soo stresssfulll ahhhh asdjfa

I) Isosceles triangle has two equilateral sides right?
Lets label those sides a and a and the third side b
a = 10

II) Area = 1/2bh = 48
96 = bh

III) General triangle rule where a+b>c and a-b<c
a+a>b
a-a<b
Longest whole possible number for b is 19-20

IV) Pythagorean theorem to find out h:
Divide the isosceles triangle into 2
a^2 = (1/2b)^2 + h^2
Solve for h:
100 - 1/4b^2 = h^2
(100 - 1/4b^2)^(1/2) = h

You know have two equations:

WOW I had to bust out the quadratic equation for this but the answer actually comes out to be 19.3

Proof:
(100 - 1/4b^2)^(1/2) = 96/b
100 - 1/4b^2 = 9216/(b^2)
b^2[100-(1/4)b^2] = 9216
100b^2 - 1/4b^4 = 9216
1/4b^4 - 100b^2 - 9216 = 0

Quadratic:
{100 +/- [10000-4(1/4)(-9216)]^(1/2)}/2
{100+/-138.6}/2
= 19.6 I know I know its negative but I probably messed up somewhere but I originally guessed it would be around there in Step III

Long story short this is way harder than what you are going to see on the DAT. I would just stop at step III and look for my answer right around that alleyway.
 
Can someone tell me how #6 is B on QR
 

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I literally just finished the online version. The interface isn't bad at all, but they don't give you a scaled score - only raw scores. It was also harder than I thought. Definitely harder than topscore imo.
Also, they only let you take the test once... I don't know which I would recommend, the hard copy or web based, because this interface was likely similar if not the same as prometric's since it's hosted by prometric online. The test still has some errors, too. They appeared to have only corrected some answers.

edit: one more annoyance... On top of only showing raw scores, there's no breakdown of the sciences. You only get a raw TS. I had to go back into the detailed report, and count up the number I got wrong for each section. Wasn't too hard, but just sayin....
How did you see what you got wrong in each section? I could not find where the correct answers were.
 
For #14 Bio, I believe the extracellular buffer is bicarbonate and the intracellular buffer is phosphate. Answer should be C, and not D.
 
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bumping this because I was wondering if anyone knows how to solve this??? :(


Two sides of an isosceles triangle have length 10. If the area is 48, what is the longest possible third side

why is this test soo stresssfulll ahhhh asdjfa

This question is kind of ridiculous as they tell you on the one hand, that the third side is shorter than the two other sides of 10....yet the answer choices are ALL >10. If it were exactly 10, then the question would be incorrect in saying a) that it is an isosceles and b) that it is SHORTER than the other 2 sides. Did they even read the test beforehand? It is rife with errors.
 
This question is kind of ridiculous as they tell you on the one hand, that the third side is shorter than the two other sides of 10....yet the answer choices are ALL >10. If it were exactly 10, then the question would be incorrect in saying a) that it is an isosceles and b) that it is SHORTER than the other 2 sides. Did they even read the test beforehand? It is rife with errors.
For this question, try the answers given.
See picture attached.
To find the height, you need to use the Pythagorean theorem.
Choices A, C, and E won't work. Only choices B and D work. Since the question is asking for the largest third side, the answer is D

Hope this helps.

sdn pic.jpg
cleardot.gif
 
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For this question, try the answers given.
See picture attached.
To find the height, you need to use the Pythagorean theorem.
Choices A, C, and E won't work. Only choices B and D work. Since the question is asking for the largest third side, the answer is D

Hope this helps.

View attachment 223754
cleardot.gif

Hi thanks for the help. I definitely understand your method of plugging in answer choices but I'm still confused about the fact that they are all >10. I find it egregiously misleading and unfair.

I just wrote my DAT yesterday and I am satisfied with the scores, but they were lower than I anticipated when I was actually taking the test. Is there a possibility that the test has mistakes. If it is anything similar to the 2009 DAT how would they even go about correcting everyone's scores?

I just hate not knowing what I got wrong and why.
 
I just wrote my DAT yesterday and I am satisfied with the scores, but they were lower than I anticipated when I was actually taking the test. Is there a possibility that the test has mistakes. If it is anything similar to the 2009 DAT how would they even go about correcting everyone's scores?

I just hate not knowing what I got wrong and why.

Even if the test had mistakes, the ADA isn't going to go back and change your score after the fact. The only time I've seen someone's DAT score change is when there was a major test center error that prevented someone's input from being registered. You can request a score audit, but I assure you it isn't going to change anything.
 
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