ISEE Upper Level
ISEE Upper Level is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
ISEE Upper Level is a trademark of its owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Test Treasure Publication or TTP Prep.
10 sample questions for the ISEE Upper Level, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.
Sections covered on the exam: Verbal Reasoning, Synonyms, Sentencecompletion, Quantitative Reasoning, Measurement, Numbersandoperations, Geometry, Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement, Quantitativecomparison, Sciencepassage, Historypassage, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Essay.
Question 1 · Verbal Reasoning
OBDURATE:
Answer: B. stubborn
Obdurate means stubbornly refusing to change one's mind, so stubborn is the synonym. Durable shares the root "dur-" (hard, lasting) but describes objects that last, not people who will not yield.
Question 2 · Sentencecompletion
The painter's early canvases were bright and exuberant, but after years of hardship her work grew increasingly , dominated by gray skies, bare trees, and empty streets.
Answer: B. somber
"But" contrasts the later work with the "bright and exuberant" early canvases, and the gray, empty scenes confirm a somber mood. Vibrant describes the early work, not the later work.
Question 3 · Quantitativecomparison
x < 0 < y (x − y)² (x + y)²
Answer: A. The quantity in Column A is greater.
(x − y)² − (x + y)² = −4xy, and xy is negative because the signs differ, so the difference is always positive. Column A is greater.
Question 4 · Historypassage
As it is used in the final sentence of the second paragraph, "dispatch" most nearly means
Answer: C. message
The sentence describes something that could "cross the country" along the chain of towers far faster than a rider, which is a message sent by signal. Departure, promptness, and dismissal are other senses of the word that do not fit something being relayed from tower to tower.
Question 5 · Numbersandoperations
Which expression is equivalent to √72 + √50 − √18?
Answer: D. 8√2
Simplify each radical: √72 = 6√2, √50 = 5√2, and √18 = 3√2. Then 6√2 + 5√2 − 3√2 = 8√2; combining the numbers under the radical signs to get √104 is not a valid step.
Question 6 · Measurement
The mean of a student's first six quiz scores is 84. After a seventh quiz, the mean of all seven scores is 86. What was the score on the seventh quiz?
Answer: A. 98
The first six scores total 6 × 84 = 504, and all seven total 7 × 86 = 602. The seventh score is 602 − 504 = 98; raising the mean by 2 points requires much more than a score 2 points above the new mean.
Question 7 · Sentencecompletion
Maya's research for the debate was so that she had anticipated, and prepared a response to, nearly every argument her opponents raised.
Answer: B. exhaustive
The "so … that" structure shows cause and effect: anticipating nearly every argument requires exhaustive preparation. Cursory preparation is quick and shallow, the opposite.
Question 8 · Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement
Two fair six-sided number cubes are rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the two numbers is a prime number?
Answer: D. 5/12
Of 36 outcomes, the prime sums 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 occur 1 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 15 times, so the probability is 15/36 = 5/12. Counting 5 prime sums out of 11 possible sums (5/11) ignores that sums are not equally likely.
Question 9 · Historypassage
Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
Answer: B. A doubtful venture is introduced, the means of its success are explained, and a lesson is drawn.
The first paragraph presents the scheme that "struck most merchants as a joke," the middle paragraphs explain the practical and marketing steps behind its success, and the final paragraph says the story "remains instructive." Only one merchant is discussed, and the passage stresses that success came from no single invention.
Question 10 · Reading Comprehension
The tone of the final paragraph is best described as
Answer: B. admiring and insistent
The author presses the claim that Foley "deserves to be understood as a performing art" and admires the skill of adopting a character's "weight, mood, and pace." Calling invisibility "exactly the problem" shows concern, not bitterness toward audiences or filmmakers.
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