Determining Meaning from Type of Relationship - SSAT Middle Level Verbal

An "oblong" is an example of a "shape," so to solve this analogy you need to determine what a "knife" is an example of. The correct answer is an "implement," which is another word for utensil. Additionally, a "miser" is someone who is not generous with money; a "sorcerer" is someone who performs magic; a "mentor" is someone with experience who provides guidance to a novice; a "vagabond" is a homeless person who wanders from place to place.

A "bicep" is a "muscle" in your arm. So, it is an example of a "muscle." To solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is an example of a "song." The correct answer is that a "carol" is an example of a "song." A "carol" is a popular folk song in a religion. Additionally, "antics" are silly or foolish behavior; a "cull" is an organized killing of a particular animal; a "specter" is a phantom, a ghost; a "truce" is a pause in fighting.

"Chlorine" is an example of a "gas." It is particularly noteworthy for being a poisonous gas that has been used in many wars. To solve this analogy you need to determine what "dysentery" is an example of. The correct answer is that "dysentery" is a "disease."

A "blacksmith" is someone who makes and shapes iron by hand. This is an example of a "tradesman." So, to solve this analogy which of these answer choices is a "catamaran" an example of? Well, a "catamaran" is a "boat" with twin-hulls. So, the correct answer is "boat." Additionally, "occupation" means job, vocation, profession, what someone does for a living.

A "leek" is an example of an "onion," so to solve this analogy you merely need to determine what a "yam" is an example of. The correct answer is "potato."

"Hydrogen" is an element and a "gas." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is an element and "solid." The correct answer is "copper," which is a solid metal element. Additionally, "oxygen" and "nitrogen" are both gases; "fluid" means either liquid or gas, but not a solid.

"Kin" means family member. So, a "brother" is an example of "kin." To solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is an example of a "criminal." The correct answer is an "outlaw," someone who has broken the law and is on the run from the authorities. Additionally, "constable" means police officer; "aviator" means pilot of a plane; "mendicant" means beggar.

A "jaguar" is a type of big "cat" native to South America. So, it is an example of a "cat." To solve this analogy you therefore need to determine which of these is an example of a type of "dog." The correct answer is "hyena."

"Granite" is a type of "rock." So, to solve this analogy you merely need to determine which of these categories a "haiku" belongs in. A "haiku" is a metered "poem" with an established number of lines and syllables. So, the correct answer is "poem."

A "parallelogram" is an example of a "quadrilateral." A "quadrilateral" is a shape with four sides. So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is related to an "isosceles." The correct answer is that "isosceles" is the name given to a certain type of "triangle." A "triangle" is a shape with three sides. Based on this evidence what do you think the prefixes quad- and tri- mean?

"Fog" and "hail" are both varieties of weather, so we're looking for a word which fits into the same category as "red." While both "blue" and "color" may look like potentially correct answers, "color" is the category into which "blue" and "red" both fit, and "blue" an example of something that fits into that category along with "red," so "blue" is the correct answer, because as fog and hail are both types of weather, red and blue are both colors.

"Gold" and "silver" are both elements and precious metals, so to solve this analogy, you have to figure out which answer choice is grouped with "oxygen" in a similar fashion. Oxygen is an elemental gas, so the answer choice should also be a gas. The correct answer is therefore “nitrogen.” The answer cannot be "gas," "atmosphere," or "breathe," because although these words are related to oxygen, their relationship is not comparable to the relationship between "gold" and "silver."

The relationship between "green" and "blue" is an uncommon one: they are both types of colors. Since "sad" is an emotion, we must look for another word that is an emotion. The only choice that shares this relationship with "sad" is "angry." "Blue" is a color and unrelated in this regard. "Smile" and "frown" are facial expressions that accompany certain emotions. "Tears" can also be considered an expression of sadness, but is not an appropriate choice because "tears" are not an emotion themselves.

Since a pillowcase covers the outside of a pillow, we need to pick out a word which represents what covers the outside of an orange. Since we are considering "orange" as a tangible object—the fruit, not the color—we can ignore "blue," and since "citrus" is an adjective, we need not consider it either. Between "rind," "leaf," and "tree," "rind" is the best answer, since it can mean a fruit's tough exterior skin.

Since a sail is the part of a sailboat that propels it forward, we need to pick out an answer choice that describes what part of a carriage propels it forward. While "horse," "door," and "axle" are each components of a carriage, it is a horse that propels a carriage forward by pulling it, so "horse" is the correct answer.

Words are the constituent parts of sentences, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is the constituent part of the second. While "paragraph is to sentence" and "book is to page" might each look potentially correct, sentences make up paragraphs and pages make up books, not the other way around as the answer choices are listed, so neither of those answers can be correct. Letters make up words just as words make up sentences, however, so "letter is to word" is the correct answer.

A shoelace is part of a tennis shoe, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the second word is a part of the first word. Of the potential answer choices, "beak is to bird" and "blubber is to walrus" might each look like potentially correct answers, but because each of those answers's words are in the wrong order, neither can be the correct answer—birds are not part of beaks, but the other way around, and neither are walruses part of blubber. "Computer is to keyboard," however, is the correct answer, because just as shoelaces are part of tennis shoes, keyboards are part of computers.

“Core” can be used as a noun that means the tough part of a fruit found at its center, and apples have cores at their centers which people do not typically eat. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that describes a part of a peach which people do not eat, particularly one found in the center of a peach. While “pit” and “rind” may each look like a potentially correct answer, “rind” is a noun that means a fruit's tough exterior skin, but because peaches don’t have rinds, “rind” cannot be the correct answer. “Pit,” however, when used as a noun, can mean a fruit's stone, and because peaches contain pits just as apples contain cores, “pit” is the correct answer.

“Link” is a word that when used as a noun, can mean a ring that helps to make up a chain, so a link is the individual unit that makes up a chain, and we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is the individual unit that makes up the second word. “Hilt is to sword” and “handle is to bag” may each look like a potentially correct answer, but because swords are made of more than hilts and bags more than handles, neither answer can be the correct one. “Metal is to armor” and “stitch is to fabric” may both look like appealing answer choices because metal makes up armor and stitches make up fabric, but because “stitch” is a repeated unit that makes up fabric whereas “metal” just describes the substance that armor is often made of (and is not a repeating unit), “stitch is to fabric” is the correct answer.