Algorithms are the core logic behind software. They play an increasingly important and ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Algorithms tell computers how to process data, power search engines, recommend videos on social media, and run artificial intelligence.
SAT test writers are aware of the growing importance of algorithms. A recent vocabulary in context passage pointed out that algorithms have specific PARAMETERS or fixed rules that help influence production schedules by allowing for the rapid solution of manufacturing planning problems.
I am happy to report that most students chose PARAMETERS as the most logical and precise answer. However, ANOMALIES and especially OPTIMIZATIONS tempted many students. An ANOMALY is a deviation from a rule or pattern. While ANOMALIES was clearly a wrong answer, OPTIMIZATIONS did provide a tempting answer.
OPTIMIZATIONS are the acts or results of making something as perfect or effective as possible. The passage relied upon a cause-and-effect relationship where the missing answer must influence production schedules. An algorithm uses PARAMETERS as inputs to create an OPTIMIZED output or production schedule.
OPTIMIZATION provides an important insight into how SAT test writers create tempting wrong answers. They deliberately included OPTIMIZATIONS because it sounds highly relevant to “algorithms” and “production schedules.” This is a classic SAT trap! Watch out for answers in which a word matches the general topic of the passage but fails to match the exact logic of the passage!
PARAMETERS – fixed rules or limitations
ANOMALIES – deviations from the norm
OPTIMIZATIONS – making something as perfect or effective as possible