Work out vs. find out

[Irina]

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #102 "Phrasal verbs", question 6

That maths exam was incredibly difficult. It took me ages to ......... some of the answers.

(a) sort out
(b) put out
(c) work out
(d) find out

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #102 "Phrasal verbs", answer 6

That maths exam was incredibly difficult. It took me ages to work out some of the answers.

Correct answer: (c) work out

Your answer was: incorrect
That maths exam was incredibly difficult. It took me ages to find out some of the answers.
_________________________

Why not "find out"?

Irina

[MarkR]

Hi Irina,

To work out the answers implies that you are trying to solve the answers yourself.

However, if a person was to find out the answer, this would mean that they would probably have to ask someone else to provide them with the answer or obtain the answer from a different source of information.

Regards,
Mark

[Seanmen]

hi

what does "sort out" mean?

[Lost_Soul]

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=75887&dict=CALD

[Seanmen]

so...

would "sort out" be fit in this question?

[Lost_Soul]

no