THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. Some things about living still weren't quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away. This passage is from "Harrison Bergeron," a short story in Kurt Vonnegut's collection of short stories Welcome to the Monkey House. 1. The narrator's tone can best be described as A. satirical B. harshly critical C. wholly frustrated D. mildly emotional E. excessively casual

The correct answer is A: satirical. The author is mocking this version of equality with over exaggeration and sarcasm. He is being critical, but not harsh. He does not sound frustrated or emotional at all and the passage is appropriately casual.

A spinner has four equal sections: red, yellow, blue and green. It is spun three times. What is the probability that it lands on red for the first time on the third spin?

To answer this question, we can use a geometric model (which finds the probability that a success will occur for the first time on the nth try): P(x=n) = p*q^(n-1) Using this model, we multiply the probability of the spinner landing on red on the third spin by the probability of it not landing on red for the first two spins. p -----> Probability of it landing on red: P(red) = 1/4 = 0.25 q -----> Probability of it not landing on red: P(not red) = 3/4 = 0.75 n ------> Number of trials: 3 spins P(x=n) = p*q^(n-1) P(x=3) = (0.25)*(0.75)^(2) P(x=3) = 27/256 = 0.105 The probability of the spinner landing on red for the first time on the third try is 27/256 or 0.105.

Find the x-intercept of the graph of the following equation: 2x - 5y = 7

The x-intercept of a graph is the point at which the graph passes through the x-axis. Another way of thinking about is as the x-coordinate when y=0. So to find the x-intercept of an equation, we can plug in 0 for y: 2x - 5y = 7 2x - 5(0) = 7 2x - 0 = 7 2x = 7 x = 3.5 The x-intercept is at the point (3.5,0).