What does the word accurate mean?
Understand Words and Language Structures · TELPAS Grades 4–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 1: work out what words and phrases mean from context, and understand how sentences and word forms work.
Read the text. Then answer the question.
Measuring Rain
A rain gauge is a tool that measures how much rain falls. The simplest kind is a clear tube with lines and numbers on the side, like a ruler. You place it outside in an open spot, away from trees and roofs, so that rain can fall straight into it.
After a storm, you read the number at the top of the water. If the water reaches the line marked 1, then one inch of rain fell. Remember to empty the gauge after you read it. Otherwise, rain from the next storm will be added to the old water, and your measurement will not be accurate. Many weather watchers check their gauge at the same time every day and write the number in a notebook. After a month, they can see which weeks were wet and which were dry.
The question
Choose the best answer.
Read this sentence. Otherwise, rain from the next storm will be added to the old water, and your measurement will not be accurate. What does the word accurate mean?
- correctCorrect answer
- wet
- finished
- large
Why “correct” is correct
This tests a science vocabulary word in context. If old water stays in the gauge, the number you read will be too high, so the measurement will be wrong. "Not accurate" therefore means "not correct." A good strategy is to try each choice in the sentence and see which one makes sense.
Why the other answers are wrong
- wet — Rainwater is wet, but the sentence is about whether the number is right.
- finished — The measurement can be finished and still be wrong.
- large — Old water would make the number larger, so "not large" is the opposite of the problem.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 4–5, or see the TELPAS practice test for 4th and 5th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.