SAT Reading Questions PDF

Question ID a0120582 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard...

Question ID a0120582 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: a0120582 Economic Policy Uncertainty in the United Kingdom, 2005–2010 (larger values = more uncertainty) 200 150 Uncertainty 100 50 0 005 006 007 008 009 010 2 2 2 2 2 2 Year tax and public spending policy trade policy general economic policy High levels of public uncertainty about which economic policies a country will adopt can make planning difficult for businesses, but measures of such uncertainty have not tended to be very detailed. Recently, however, economist Sandile Hlatshwayo analyzed trends in news reports to derive measures not only for general economic policy uncertainty but also for uncertainty related to specific areas of economic policy, like tax or trade policy. One revelation of her work is that a general measure may not fully reflect uncertainty about specific areas of policy, as in the case of the United Kingdom, where general economic policy uncertainty ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to illustrate the claim? A. aligned closely with uncertainty about tax and public spending policy in 2005 but differed from uncertainty about tax and public spending policy by a large amount in 2009. B. was substantially lower than uncertainty about tax and public spending policy each year from 2005 to 2010. C. reached its highest level between 2005 and 2010 in the same year that uncertainty about trade policy and tax and public spending policy reached their lowest levels. D. was substantially lower than uncertainty about trade policy in 2005 and substantially higher than uncertainty about trade policy in 2010. ID: a0120582 Answer Correct Answer: D Rationale Choice D is the best answer because it uses data from the graph to effectively illustrate the text’s claim about general economic policy uncertainty in the United Kingdom. The graph presents values for economic policy uncertainty in tax and public spending policy, trade policy, and general economic policy in the UK from 2005 to 2010. The graph shows that in 2005, the value for general economic policy uncertainty (approximately 90) was substantially lower than the value for uncertainty about trade policy specifically (approximately 160). It also shows that in 2010, the value for general economic policy uncertainty (approximately 120) was substantially higher than the value for uncertainty about trade policy (approximately 70). The substantial differences between these values in 2005 and 2010 support the claim that a general measure may not fully reflect uncertainty about specific areas of policy. Choice A is incorrect because the graph shows that the level of general economic policy uncertainty was similar to the level of uncertainty about tax and public spending policy in both 2005 (with values of approximately 90 and 100, respectively) and 2009 (with values of approximately 80 and 75, respectively). Choice B is incorrect because the graph shows that general economic policy uncertainty was higher than uncertainty about tax and public spending policy in 2006, 2007, and 2009, not that it was lower each year from 2005 to 2010. Choice C is incorrect because the graph shows that general economic policy uncertainty reached its highest level in 2010, which was when uncertainty about tax and public spending policy also reached its highest level, not its lowest level. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 15c0ed26 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard Ideas ID: 15c0ed26 The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is projected to maintain operation until at least 2030, but it has already revolutionized high-resolution imaging of solar-system bodies in visible and ultraviolet (UV) light wavelengths, notwithstanding that only about 6% of the bodies imaged by the HST are within the solar system. NASA researcher Cindy L. Young and colleagues assert that a new space telescope dedicated exclusively to solar-system observations would permit an extensive survey of minor solar-system bodies and long-term UV observation to discern how solar-system bodies change over time. Young and colleagues’ recommendation therefore implies that the HST ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A. will likely continue to be used primarily to observe objects outside the solar system. B. will no longer be used to observe solar system objects if the telescope recommended by Young and colleagues is deployed. C. can be modified to observe the features of solar system objects that are of interest to Young and colleagues. D. lacks the sensors to observe the wavelengths of light needed to discern how solar system bodies change over time. ID: 15c0ed26 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer. The HST will operate until at least 2030, but it’s only observing stuff inside our solar system 6% of the time. If we could get a different telescope to observe stuff inside our solar system 100% of the time and take more extensive images of certain things, then the HST could continue to be used mainly for observing stuff outside the solar system. Choice B is incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported by the text. Even if the new telescope is deployed, the HST might still be used as it’s being used now. Based on the text, the new telescope would just be used for more extensive and long-term imaging of solar system bodies, which doesn’t necessarily overlap with the HST. Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never mentions the possibility of modifying the HST, so there is no basis to make this inference. Rather, the researchers suggest using a different telescope to more closely observe certain objects. Choice D is incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported. The text doesn’t give us enough info to assume that the HST lacks any particular sensors. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID d2b5e069 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: d2b5e069 Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt have argued that experiencing awe—a sensation of reverence and wonder typically brought on by perceiving something grand or powerful—can enable us to feel more connected to others and thereby inspire us to act more altruistically. Keltner, along with Paul K. Piff, Pia Dietze, and colleagues, claims to have found evidence for this effect in a recent study where participants were asked to either gaze up at exceptionally tall trees in a nearby grove (reported to be a universally awe- inspiring experience) or stare at the exterior of a nearby, nondescript building. After one minute, an experimenter deliberately spilled a box of pens nearby. Which finding from the researchers’ study, if true, would most strongly support their claim? A. Participants who had been looking at the trees helped the experimenter pick up significantly more pens than did participants who had been looking at the building. B. Participants who helped the experimenter pick up the pens used a greater number of positive words to describe the trees and the building in a postexperiment survey than did participants who did not help the experimenter. C. Participants who did not help the experimenter pick up the pens were significantly more likely to report having experienced a feeling of awe, regardless of whether they looked at the building or the trees. D. Participants who had been looking at the building were significantly more likely to notice that the experimenter had dropped the pens than were participants who had been looking at the trees. ID: d2b5e069 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most strongly support the researchers’ claim that they found evidence that experiencing awe can make people feel more connected to others and thus more likely to behave altruistically (with beneficial and unselfish concern for others). According to the text, the researchers tested for this effect by first having participants look at either something known to be awe-inspiring (very tall trees) or something ordinary (a plain building) and then purposely spilling pens near the participants. The finding that participants who had looked at the trees helped pick up significantly more pens than did participants who had looked at the building would support the researchers’ claim by demonstrating that the people who had experienced awe behaved more altruistically when the experimenter needed help than the other participants did. Choice B is incorrect because a finding about helpful participants using positive words to describe the trees and the building after the experiment was over wouldn’t have any bearing on the researchers’ claim that experiencing awe increases altruistic behavior. The text doesn’t address the use of positive words to describe things or suggest any connection between using such words and having experienced awe, so that behavior wouldn’t serve as evidence that experiencing awe played a role in promoting helpful behavior. Choice C is incorrect because a finding that participants who didn’t help the experimenter were significantly more likely than others to report having experienced awe whether they had looked at the building or the trees would weaken the researchers’ claim that experiencing awe increases altruistic behavior by suggesting that the opposite might be true—that experiencing awe is in fact linked to choosing not to act in a way that benefits someone else. Choice D is incorrect because a finding about participants noticing that the experimenter had dropped the pens wouldn’t have any bearing on the researchers’ claim about people behaving altruistically. Being aware of a challenge or problem isn’t necessarily beneficial on its own and isn’t the same as offering help, so the finding wouldn’t support the idea that experiencing awe increases altruistic behavior. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 3009048e Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Easy Ideas Evidence ID: 3009048e Area of Three Glaciers in the 2016 Swiss Glacier Inventory 50 40 Area (square km) 30 20 10 0 Glacier Gorner Fiescher Unteraar To monitor changes to glaciers in Switzerland, the government periodically measures them for features like total area of ice and mean ice thickness, which are then reported in the Swiss Glacier Inventory. These measurements can be used to compare the glaciers. For example, the Gorner glacier had ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the example? A. a larger area than either the Fiescher glacier or the Unteraar glacier. B. a smaller area than the Fiescher glacier but a larger area than the Unteraar glacier. C. a smaller area than either the Fiescher glacier or the Unteraar glacier. D. a larger area than the Fiescher glacier but a smaller area than the Unteraar glacier. ID: 3009048e Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer. The claim is that measurements such as total area can be used to compare glaciers. The graph shows us the area measurements for three glaciers. Of those, Gorner has the largest area. Choice B is incorrect. This choice misreads the graph. The graph shows that Gorner has the largest area of the three. Choice C is incorrect. This choice misreads the graph. The graph shows that Gorner has the largest area of the three. Choice D is incorrect. This choice misreads the graph. The graph shows that Gorner has the largest area of the three. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID ae51efb8 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Medium Ideas Evidence ID: ae51efb8 The Post Office is a 1912 play by Rabindranath Tagore, originally written in Bengali. The character Amal is a young boy who imagines that the people he sees passing the window of his home are carefree even when engaged in work or chores, as is evident when he says to the daughter of a flower seller, ______ Which quotation from The Post Office most effectively illustrates the claim? A. “I see, you don’t wish to stop; I don’t care to stay on here either.” B. “Oh, flower gathering? That is why your feet seem so glad and your anklets jingle so merrily as you walk.” C. “I’ll pay when I grow up—before I leave to look for work out on the other side of that stream there.” D. “Wish I could be out too. Then I would pick some flowers for you from the very topmost branches right out of sight.” ID: ae51efb8 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it most effectively illustrates the claim that Amal imagines the people he sees are carefree even when engaged in work. In the quotation, Amal observes that the flower seller’s daughter is “flower gathering,” or working, as the text indicates. Moreover, Amal notes that the daughter’s feet “seem so glad” and her “anklets jingle so merrily,” suggesting that Amal believes that the flower seller’s daughter is cheerful. Choice A is incorrect because the quotation makes no observation about the cheerful mood of the flower seller’s daughter. Choice C is incorrect because the quotation discusses how Amal envisions his future, not the feelings of the flower seller’s daughter. Choice D is incorrect because the quotation discusses Amal’s wishes, not the feelings of the flower seller’s daughter. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID 7e1dd168 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: 7e1dd168 Neural networks are computer models intended to reflect the organization of human brains and are often used in studies of brain function. According to an analysis of 11,000 such networks, Rylan Schaeffer and colleagues advise caution when drawing conclusions about brains from observations of neural networks. They found that when attempting to mimic grid cells (brain cells used in navigation), while 90% of the networks could accomplish navigation-related tasks, only about 10% of those exhibited any behaviors similar to those of grid cells. But even this approximation of grid-cell activity has less to do with similarity between the neural networks and biological brains than it does with the rules programmed into the networks. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the claim in the underlined sentence? A. The rules that allow for networks to exhibit behaviors like those of grid cells have no equivalent in the function of biological brains. B. The networks that do not exhibit behaviors like those of grid cells were nonetheless programmed with rules that had proven useful in earlier neural-network studies. C. Neural networks can often accomplish tasks that biological brains do, but they are typically programmed with rules to model multiple types of brain cells simultaneously. D. Once a neural network is programmed, it is trained on certain tasks to see if it can independently arrive at processes that are similar to those performed by biological brains. ID: 7e1dd168 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer. While many networks can perform navigation tasks, or even mimic grid cells, it doesn’t mean they’re actually behaving like biological brains—this finding suggests that the rules that govern neural network behavior are completely unlike the way real brains work. Choice B is incorrect. Although it mentions the rules that are programmed into the networks, this finding wouldn’t clarify whether or not these rules have anything to do with the function of biological brains. Choice C is incorrect. This choice suggests that neural networks are modeled after multiple types of brain cells, which sidesteps the question of whether these rule-based networks are genuinely similar to biological brains. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t address the key point of the claim, which is that the apparent similarity between neural networks and biological brains is only due to the rules programmed into the networks. It focuses on training tasks, not the originally programmed rules. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 0a017199 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard Ideas Details ID: 0a017199 Some animal-behavior studies involve observing wild animals in their natural habitat, and some involve capturing wild animals and observing them in a laboratory. Each approach has advantages over the other. In wild studies, researchers can more easily presume that the animals are behaving normally, and in lab studies, researchers can more easily control factors that might affect the results. But if, for example, the results from a wild study and a lab study of Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) contradict each other, one or both of the studies must have failed to account for some factor that was relevant to the birds’ behavior. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? A. When the results of a natural-habitat study and those from a lab study of a wild animal such as the Western scrub-jay conflict, the study in the natural habitat is more likely than the lab study to have accurate results. B. Studying wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay in both their natural habitat and lab settings is likely to yield conflicting results that researchers cannot fully resolve. C. Wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay can be effectively studied in their natural habitat and in the lab, but each approach has drawbacks that could affect the accuracy of the findings. D. Differing results between natural-habitat and lab studies of wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay are a strong indication that both of the studies had design flaws that affected the accuracy of their results. ID: 0a017199 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The text begins by explaining that wild animals can be studied in their natural habitat or in a laboratory setting, with each setting offering unique advantages to researchers. The text then highlights an instance in which Western scrub-jays were studied in both settings but with conflicting results, indicating that one or both studies may have failed to account for the disadvantages of its research setting. Thus, the main idea of the text is that while wild animals can be effectively studied in natural or lab settings, there are drawbacks to each that need to be considered to ensure accurate results. Choice A is incorrect because the text does not position one study setting (natural or lab) as superior to the other; rather, the text states that each one has advantages over the other. Choice B is incorrect. The text provides a hypothetical example of two studies in different environments with conflicting results, but this single example cannot be extrapolated to a general claim about the likelihood that results of studies in different environments will conflict. Additionally, the text does not assert anything about how researchers can or cannot resolve conflicting study results. Choice D is incorrect because the text does not state that discrepancies between natural-habitat and lab-based animal behavior studies are due to both of the designs being flawed. Rather, the text states that the conflict in results can be the consequence of one or both of the studies having failed to account for some factor. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 4d671b68 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard Ideas Details ID: 4d671b68 Algae living within the tissues of corals play a critical role in keeping corals, and the marine ecosystems they are part of, thriving. Some coral species appear brown in color when healthy due to the algae colonies living in their tissues. In the event of an environmental stressor, the algae can die or be expelled, causing the corals to appear white. To recover the algae, the bleached corals then begin to produce bright colors, which block intense sunlight, encouraging the light-sensitive algae to recolonize the corals. What does the text most strongly suggest about corals that produce bright colors? A. These corals have likely been subjected to stressful environmental conditions. B. These corals are likely more vulnerable to exposure from intense sunlight than white corals are. C. These corals have likely recovered from an environmental event without the assistance of algae colonies. D. These corals are more likely to survive without algae colonies than brown corals are. ID: 4d671b68 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer. The text says that corals produce bright colors to block sunlight and encourage algae to recolonize after “an environmental stressor.” From this, we can infer that corals that produce bright colors have probably been subjected to an environmental stressor. Choice B is incorrect. The text says that corals produce bright colors to block intense sunlight, which protects the light- sensitive algae that keep the coral healthy. In other words, bright colors make the coral’s health less vulnerable to intense sunlight. Choice C is incorrect. The text says that corals produce bright colors to encourage algae to recolonize, not that they have recovered without the assistance of algae colonies. Choice D is incorrect. The text never compares the likelihood of differently colored corals surviving without algae colonies. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID a0f3b38c Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Easy Ideas Evidence ID: a0f3b38c Scientists have long believed that giraffes are mostly silent and communicate only visually with one another. But biologist Angela Stöger and her team analyzed hundreds of hours of recordings of giraffes in three European zoos and found that giraffes make a very low-pitched humming sound. The researchers claim that the giraffes use these sounds to communicate when it’s not possible for them to signal one another visually. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Stöger and her team’s claim? A. Giraffes have an excellent sense of vision and can see in color. B. The giraffes only produced the humming sounds at night when they couldn’t see one another. C. Wild giraffes have never been recorded making humming sounds. D. Researchers observed other animals in European zoos humming. ID: a0f3b38c Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support Stöger and her team’s claim that giraffes use humming to communicate when they cannot signal to one another visually. The text indicates that scientists have long thought that giraffes produce little sound and exclusively rely on visual signals to communicate with one another. The text goes on to say, however, that Stöger and her team have recorded giraffes in three European zoos making a low- pitched humming sound, which the team claims the giraffes use to communicate when they cannot see each other. If the giraffes produced these sounds when visual communication was impossible and never produced them otherwise, that would support Stöger and her team’s claim about the circumstance in which giraffes make the sound. Choice A is incorrect because finding that giraffes have excellent vision and can see in color would have no bearing on Stöger and her team’s claim that giraffes produce a low-pitched humming noise to communicate when they cannot communicate visually. As presented in the text, Stöger and her team’s claim is restricted to circumstances in which giraffes cannot signal one another visually; if the giraffes are unable to signal visually, their sense of vision is irrelevant to their communication. Choice C is incorrect because finding that wild giraffes have never been recorded making humming noises would not support Stöger and her team’s claim about the function of the humming noise that the researchers recorded from the giraffes in European zoos. The text provides no information about whether researchers have even attempted to record low-pitched humming in wild giraffes, so nothing can be concluded about the implications of the lack of such recordings. Choice D is incorrect because finding that other animals in European zoos had been observed humming would not support Stöger and her team’s claim, since it would not indicate anything about why giraffes produce humming sounds. Different species could produce similar sounds for different purposes, so scientists could not conclude anything about the function of giraffe humming from a finding that some other animals in zoos also hum. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID 2e16d315 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Easy Ideas Evidence ID: 2e16d315 Number and Origin of Clamshell Tools Found at Different Depths below the Surface in Neanderthal Cave Depth of tools found below Clamshells that Neanderthals Clamshells that Neanderthals surface in cave (meters) collected from the beach harvested from the seafloor 2–3 7 0 3–4 99 33 4–5 2 0 5–6 18 7 6–7 1 0 Two kinds of clamshell tools used by Neanderthals were dug up in a cave on the western coast of Italy. Archaeologist Paola Villa and her colleagues studied the tools and determined that Neanderthals either collected clams that had washed onto the beach or harvested clams from the seafloor and then sharpened the shells to make tools. The highest number of tools made from clamshells that were collected from the beach was found at a depth of ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the text? A. 5–6 meters below the surface. B. 4–5 meters below the surface. C. 3–4 meters below the surface. D. 6–7 meters below the surface. ID: 2e16d315 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement about the depth at which the highest number of tools made from clamshells that Neanderthals collected from the beach was found. The table presents the depths at which Neanderthal clamshell tools were found, and, for each depth, the number of those tools made from clamshells that washed up on the beach and the number made from clamshells harvested from the seafloor. The table indicates that the highest number made from clamshells collected from the beach was 99 and that these tools were found at a depth of 3–4 meters. Choice A is incorrect because the table indicates that 18 tools made from clamshells collected from the beach were found at a depth of 5–6 meters, which is fewer than the 99 tools found at a depth of 3–4 meters. Choice B is incorrect because the table indicates that 2 tools made from clamshells collected from the beach were found at a depth of 4–5 meters, which is fewer than the 99 tools found at a depth of 3–4 meters. Choice D is incorrect because the table indicates that 1 tool made from clamshells collected from the beach was found at a depth of 6–7 meters, which is fewer than the 99 tools found at a depth of 3–4 meters. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID 206ecbfd Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Medium Ideas Evidence ID: 206ecbfd Plants like potatoes, tomatoes, and soybeans are susceptible to bacterial wilt disease caused by the bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum. A multinational team of scientists led by Zhong Wei studied whether other microbes in the soil might influence the degree to which plants are affected by the disease. The team sampled soil surrounding individual tomato plants over time and compared the results of plants that became diseased with those that remained healthy. They concluded that the presence of certain microbes in the soil might explain the difference between healthy and diseased plants. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the team’s conclusion? A. The soil surrounding healthy plants contained significantly higher concentrations of microbes known to inhibit Ralstonia solanacearum than the soil surrounding diseased plants did. B. The soil surrounding the plants contained high concentrations of Ralstonia solanacearum regardless of whether the plants were affected by wilt disease. C. The soil surrounding healthy plants tended to have significantly higher moisture levels than the soil surrounding diseased plants did. D. By the end of the experiment, over half the plants had been affected by wilt disease regardless of differences in the types and concentrations of microbes in the surrounding soil. ID: 206ecbfd Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer. This choice provides evidence that directly links the presence of R. solanacearum-inhibiting microbes in the soil to the health of tomato plants. Choice B is incorrect. This choice would weaken the team’s conclusion. It suggests that the presence of the disease-causing bacteria had no effect on the health of the tomato plants. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the team’s conclusion. The conclusion is about microbes, not soil moisture. Choice D is incorrect. This choice would weaken the team’s conclusion. It suggests that the presence of the bacteria-inhibiting microbe in soil had no effect on the health of the tomato plants. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID bf1fe112 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: bf1fe112 Researchers hypothesized that a decline in the population of dusky sharks near the mid-Atlantic coast of North America led to a decline in the population of eastern oysters in the region. Dusky sharks do not typically consume eastern oysters but do consume cownose rays, which are the main predators of the oysters. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis? A. Declines in the regional abundance of dusky sharks’ prey other than cownose rays are associated with regional declines in dusky shark abundance. B. Eastern oyster abundance tends to be greater in areas with both dusky sharks and cownose rays than in areas with only dusky sharks. C. Consumption of eastern oysters by cownose rays in the region substantially increased before the regional decline in dusky shark abundance began. D. Cownose rays have increased in regional abundance as dusky sharks have decreased in regional abundance. ID: bf1fe112 Answer Correct Answer: D Rationale Choice D is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis about the connection between the dusky shark population decline and the eastern oyster population decline. The text indicates that although dusky sharks don’t usually eat eastern oysters, they do consume cownose rays, which are the main predators of eastern oysters. An increase in the abundance of cownose rays in the region in response to a decline in the abundance of dusky sharks would directly support the researchers’ hypothesis: a higher number of cownose rays would consume more eastern oysters, driving down the oyster population. Choice A is incorrect because a finding that there’s an association between a decline in the regional abundance of some of dusky sharks’ prey and the regional abundance of dusky sharks wouldn’t directly support the researchers’ hypothesis that a decline in dusky sharks has led to a decline in eastern oysters in the region. Although such a finding might help explain why shark abundance has declined, it would reveal nothing about whether the shark decline is related to the oyster decline. Choice B is incorrect because a finding that eastern oyster abundance tends to be greater when dusky sharks and cownose rays are present than when only dusky sharks are present wouldn’t support the researchers’ hypothesis that a decline in dusky sharks has led to a decline in eastern oysters in the region. The text indicates that the sharks prey on the rays, which are the main predators of the oysters; if oyster abundance is found to be greater when rays are present than when rays are absent, that would suggest that rays aren’t keeping oyster abundance down, and thus that a decline in rays’ predators, which would be expected to lead to an increase in the abundance of rays, wouldn’t bring about a decline in oyster abundance as the researchers hypothesize. Choice C is incorrect because a finding that consumption of eastern oysters by cownose rays increased substantially before dusky sharks declined in regional abundance wouldn’t support the researchers’ hypothesis that the decline in dusky sharks has led to a decline in eastern oysters in the region. Such a finding would suggest that some factor other than shark abundance led to an increase in rays’ consumption of oysters and thus to a decrease in oyster abundance, thereby weakening the researchers’ hypothesis. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 7b249420 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Medium Ideas ID: 7b249420 Biologist Natacha Bodenhausen and colleagues analyzed the naturally occurring bacterial communities associated with leaves and roots of wild Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant. The researchers found many of the same bacterial genera in both the plants’ leaves and roots. To explain this, the researchers pointed to the general proximity of A. thaliana leaves to the ground and noted that rain splashing off soil could bring soil-based bacteria into contact with the leaves. Alternatively, the researchers noted that wind, which may be a source of bacteria in the aboveground portion of plants, could also bring bacteria to the soil and roots. Either explanation suggests that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A. bacteria carried by wind are typically less beneficial to A. thaliana than soil-based bacteria are. B. some bacteria in A. thaliana leaves and roots may share a common source. C. many bacteria in A. thaliana leaves may have been deposited by means other than rain. D. A. thaliana leaves and roots are especially vulnerable to harmful bacteria. ID: 7b249420 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer. Both explanations suggest that the bacteria come from the same place: either they come from the ground and make their way to the leaves, or they come from above the ground and make their way to the roots. Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses any benefits of any kind of bacteria. Choice C is incorrect. This conflicts with the text. One of the theories is that the bacteria in the leaves were deposited by rain splashing off soil. Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text only discusses “naturally occurring” bacteria. It never mentions either the harms or benefits of these bacteria. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID 14ea5897 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: 14ea5897 Icebergs generally appear to be mostly white or blue, depending on how the ice reflects sunlight. Ice with air bubbles trapped in it looks white because much of the light reflects off the bubbles. Ice without air bubbles usually looks blue because the light travels deep into the ice and only a little of it is reflected. However, some icebergs in the sea around Antarctica appear to be green. One team of scientists hypothesized that this phenomenon is the result of yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in Antarctic waters mixing with blue ice to produce the color green. Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the team’s hypothesis? A. White ice doesn’t change color when mixed with dissolved organic carbon due to the air bubbles in the ice. B. Dissolved organic carbon has a stronger yellow color in Antarctic waters than it does in other places. C. Blue icebergs and green icebergs are rarely found near each other. D. Blue icebergs and green icebergs contain similarly small traces of dissolved organic carbon. ID: 14ea5897 Answer Correct Answer: D Rationale Choice D is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would weaken the scientists’ hypothesis about icebergs that appear to be green. The text indicates that most icebergs are either mostly white or blue in color but that some icebergs in Antarctica appear to be green. The text goes on to say that the scientists hypothesized that this green color occurs when yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in ocean waters mixes with blue ice. A finding that both blue icebergs and green icebergs contain similarly small traces of dissolved organic carbon would suggest that something other than yellow-tinted organic carbon causes some icebergs’ green color, since the blue icebergs that contain yellow-tinted organic carbon remained blue instead of turning green. Choice A is incorrect because, according to the text, the scientists’ hypothesis was that blue icebergs, not white ones, change color when their ice mixes with yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon. A finding that white ice, because of its air bubbles, doesn’t change color when it’s mixed with dissolved organic carbon would therefore have no bearing on the scientists’ hypothesis. Choice B is incorrect because the text focuses only on Antarctic icebergs that appear to be green. It doesn’t indicate that icebergs in locations other than Antarctica have been found to have a green hue. A finding that dissolved organic carbon has a stronger yellow color in Antarctic waters than in other places would therefore have no bearing on the scientists’ hypothesis that green color in icebergs in Antarctica is caused by yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon mixing with blue ice. Choice C is incorrect because, according to the text, the scientists’ hypothesis was that blue icebergs turn green when their ice mixes with yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in the sea around them. If that’s correct, one would expect blue icebergs and green icebergs to be located at a distance from each other since all blue icebergs in an area where the waters contain yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon would take on a green hue. A finding that blue icebergs and green icebergs are rarely found near each other would therefore strengthen, not weaken, the researchers’ hypothesis. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 98caa09d Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Easy Ideas Evidence ID: 98caa09d Singer Sewing Machine Sales in Four Countries, 1903–1918 60,000 50,000 Machines sold 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 903 908 19 13 19 18 1 1 Year New Zealand Australia the Philippines Turkey By the early 1900s, the Singer Corporation, a US sewing machine manufacturer founded in 1851, began to see rapidly increasing sales abroad, particularly in Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. These markets were responsible for the bulk of Singer’s overseas sales, but demand for the company’s machines in other countries also grew significantly in the early twentieth century. For instance, sales of their sewing machines in ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the example? A. the Philippines increased dramatically from 1908 to 1918. B. New Zealand were largely consistent from 1903 to 1918. C. Australia increased steadily from 1903 to 1918. D. Turkey declined substantially from 1913 to 1918.  ID: 98caa09d Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the example. According to the graph, fewer than 10,000 sewing machines were sold in the Philippines in both 1903 and 1908, but nearly 30,000 were sold in 1913 and around 45,000 were sold in 1918. This increase illustrates the statement in the text that demand for Singer sewing machines grew significantly in the early twentieth century in overseas countries other than Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Choice B is incorrect because consistent sales of Singer sewing machines in New Zealand from 1903 to 1918 do not indicate that demand for the product increased but rather that demand remained relatively the same. Choice C is incorrect because it does not accurately describe the data in the graph. Although sales in Australia did increase somewhat between 1903 and 1908, there was very little change between 1908 and 1913, and then sales declined between 1913 and 1918. The data for Australia, then, do not show a steady increase from 1903 to 1918. Choice D is incorrect because declining sales of Singer sewing machines in Turkey from 1913 to 1918 do not point to an increase in demand for the product but rather to a decline in demand. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID ff953239 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Medium Ideas Details ID: ff953239 The recovery of a 1,000-year-old Chinese shipwreck in the Java Sea near present-day Indonesia has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts, including thousands of small ceramic bowls. Using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer tool, Lisa Niziolek and her team were able to detect the chemical composition of these bowls without damaging them. By comparing the chemical signatures of the bowls with those of the materials still at old Chinese kiln sites, Niziolek and her team can pinpoint which Chinese kilns likely produced the ceramic bowls. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? A. Because of a new technology, researchers can locate and recover more shipwrecks than they could in the past. B. Researchers have been able to identify the location of a number of Chinese kilns in operation 1,000 years ago. C. With the help of a special tool, researchers have determined the likely origin of bowls recovered from a shipwreck. D. Before the invention of portable X-ray fluorescence, researchers needed to take a small piece out of an artifact to analyze its components. ID: ff953239 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. According to the text, thousands of ceramic bowls were found in a recovered Chinese shipwreck. The text goes on to say that Niziolek and her team used a special tool, a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer, to determine the bowls’ chemical signatures. Comparing these chemical signatures with the chemical signatures of materials they had collected from old Chinese kiln sites, the text says, allowed the researchers to identify which kilns had produced the bowls. In other words, the researchers determined the bowls’ origin. Choice A is incorrect. Although the text indicates that the researchers used technology in the form of a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer, it doesn’t specifically state that this technology is new. In addition, the text says that Niziolek and her team used the tool to determine the chemical composition of bowls that were found in a Chinese shipwreck, not to locate and recover the shipwreck itself. There’s no indication in the text that a new technology can help researchers locate and recover shipwrecks. Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that the researchers collected materials from old kiln sites for chemical comparison with the ceramic bowls, which means that the researchers must have already known the location of those kiln sites. Rather than identifying the location of the kilns, the researchers determined which kilns in operation 1,000 years ago had likely produced the bowls that were found in the shipwreck. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text says that using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer tool enabled Niziolek and her team to analyze artifacts in the form of ceramic bowls without damaging them, the text doesn’t discuss how researchers analyzed artifacts before this tool was invented. Moreover, the point that the bowls were left undamaged isn’t the text’s main idea. Rather, it’s a detail that’s provided to develop the main idea, which is that the researchers used a special tool to determine where the bowls had been produced. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID e0d51f42 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard Ideas ID: e0d51f42 Ancestral Puebloans, the civilization from which present-day Pueblo tribes descended, emerged as early as 1500 B.C.E. in an area of what is now the southwestern United States and dispersed suddenly in the late 1200s C.E., abandoning established villages with systems for farming crops and turkeys. Recent analysis comparing turkey remains at Mesa Verde, one such village in southern Colorado, to samples from modern turkey populations in the Rio Grande Valley of north central New Mexico determined that the latter birds descended in part from turkeys cultivated at Mesa Verde, with shared genetic markers appearing only after 1280. Thus, researchers concluded that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A. conditions of the terrains in the Rio Grande Valley and Mesa Verde had greater similarities in the past than they do today. B. some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried farming practices with them. C. Indigenous peoples living in the Rio Grande Valley primarily planted crops and did not cultivate turkeys before 1280. D. the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde likely adopted the farming practices of Indigenous peoples living in other regions. ID: e0d51f42 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of Ancestral Puebloans’ migration to the Rio Grande Valley. The text states that in the late 1200s C.E., the Ancestral Puebloan civilization abandoned villages in its original homeland, which included the Mesa Verde site. The text goes on to say that recent genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande Valley descends partly from the ancient turkeys raised at Mesa Verde, and that the genetic markers shared by the two turkey populations first appeared at Mesa Verde only after 1280 C.E. Therefore, it can reasonably be concluded that some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried their agricultural practices—including the farming of turkeys—to their new home. Choice A is incorrect because the text never compares the condition of the Rio Grande Valley’s terrain to that of Mesa Verde’s terrain, either in the present or in the past. Choice C is incorrect. Although genetic analysis has demonstrated that the modern turkey population in the Rio Grande valley descended in part from the turkey population raised by the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde before their migration to the valley in 1280, this finding doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Indigenous peoples living in the valley before 1280 might also have farmed turkeys. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t consider the possibility that before their migration to the Rio Grande Valley after 1280, the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde might have adopted turkey farming from an outside Indigenous civilization in another region; instead, the text provides evidence suggesting that the Ancestral Puebloans brought turkey farming to another region—the Rio Grande Valley—after 1280. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 93a05d57 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Medium Ideas ID: 93a05d57 When the Vinland Map, a map of the world purported to date to the mid-1400s, surfaced in 1957, some scholars believed it demonstrated that European knowledge of the eastern coast of present-day North America predated Christopher Columbus’s 1492 arrival. In 2021, a team including conservators Marie-France Lemay and Paula Zyats and materials scientist Anikó Bezur performed an extensive analysis of the map and the ink used. They found that the ink contains titanium dioxide, a compound that was first introduced in ink manufacturing in the early 1900s. Therefore, the team concluded that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A. mid-1400s Europeans could not have known about the eastern coast of present-day North America. B. the Vinland Map could not have been drawn by mid-1400s mapmakers. C. mapmakers must have used titanium compounds in their ink in the 1400s. D. there isn’t enough information to determine when the ink was created. ID: 93a05d57 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur’s 2021 analysis of the Vinland Map. The text indicates that while some scholars have believed that the map was drawn in the mid- 1400s, the 2021 analysis showed the presence of the compound titanium dioxide in the ink used to draw the map. The text goes on to say that titanium dioxide wasn’t used to manufacture ink until the early 1900s, which means that ink containing this compound couldn’t have been available to mapmakers in the 1400s. Since mapmakers in the mid-1400s couldn’t have used ink with titanium dioxide, it follows that the Vinland Map couldn’t have been drawn by mid-1400s mapmakers. Choice A is incorrect because the 2021 finding that the ink used to draw the Vinland Map wasn’t available until the early 1900s doesn’t imply that Europeans in the mid-1400s couldn’t have known about the eastern coast of North America. While this finding suggests that the map couldn’t have been created in the mid-1400s, it doesn’t preclude the possibility that Europeans nevertheless had knowledge—and perhaps even drew other maps that are no longer in existence or are yet to be discovered by researchers—of the eastern coast of present-day North America as early as the mid-1400s. Choice C is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text that suggests that the 2021 discovery of the presence of titanium dioxide in the ink used to draw the Vinland Map caused Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur to question or reach a new conclusion about when mapmakers began using ink containing titanium compounds. Instead, the text indicates that titanium dioxide wasn’t used in ink before the early 1900s. This knowledge led the team to conclude that the map, which was drawn with ink containing titanium dioxide, couldn’t have been created in the mid-1400s. Choice D is incorrect because although the text doesn’t indicate that Lemay, Zyats, and Bezur established an exact date for the creation of the ink that was used to draw the Vinland Map, the text does say that titanium dioxide was introduced in ink manufacturing in the early 1900s. This fact provides enough information to determine that the ink that was used to draw the map was created no earlier than the early 1900s. This finding, in turn, led the team to conclude that the Vinland Map couldn’t have been drawn in the mid-1400s. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID 533d6d0e Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Easy Ideas Details ID: 533d6d0e To make her art more widely available, graphic artist Elizabeth Catlett turned to linocuts. In linocut printing, an artist carves an image into a sheet of linoleum to create a stamp that is used to mass-produce prints. In the linocut series The Black Woman (1946–1947), Catlett depicts the everyday experiences of Black women alongside the achievements of well-known Black women. This pairing invites the viewer to draw connections among the women. The linocut process enabled Catlett’s work to reach a wide audience and supported her aim to unite Black women through her art. According to the text, what is significant about Catlett’s use of linocut printing? A. Linocut printing involved using materials that were readily available to Catlett. B. Linocut printing helped Catlett use art to connect people, especially Black women. C. Catlett became commercially successful once she started using linocut printing. D. Catlett was one of the first Black artists to use linocut printing. ID: 533d6d0e Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer. The last sentence states that the linocut process “supported her [Catlett’s] aim to unite Black women through her art.” Choice A is incorrect. The text briefly describes the linocut printing process but doesn’t discuss the availability of the materials used in the process. Choice C is incorrect. The text says that the linocut process “enabled Catlett’s work to reach a wide audience,” but that doesn’t mean that linocuts made her “commercially successful.” In other words, we don’t know how much money she made off her linocuts—we only know that more people were able to see her work. Choice D is incorrect. The text says that Catlett depicted Black women in her linocuts, but not that she was one of the first Black artists to use linocut printing. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID e55ded58 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: e55ded58 Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a nutritionally dense food, but they are difficult to digest in part because of their high levels of soluble fiber and compounds like raffinose. They also contain antinutrients like tannins and trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the body’s ability to extract nutrients from foods. In a research article, Marisela Granito and Glenda Álvarez from Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela claim that inducing fermentation of black beans using lactic acid bacteria improves the digestibility of the beans and makes them more nutritious. Which finding from Granito and Álvarez’s research, if true, would most directly support their claim? A. When cooked, fermented beans contained significantly more trypsin inhibitors and tannins but significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans. B. Fermented beans contained significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans, and when cooked, the fermented beans also displayed a significant reduction in trypsin inhibitors and tannins. C. When the fermented beans were analyzed, they were found to contain two microorganisms, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, that are theorized to increase the amount of nitrogen absorbed by the gut after eating beans. D. Both fermented and nonfermented black beans contained significantly fewer trypsin inhibitors and tannins after being cooked at high pressure. ID: e55ded58 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that would best support Granito and Álvarez’s claim that fermenting black beans makes them easier to digest and more nutritious. The text indicates that high levels of soluble fiber and raffinose in black beans make the beans hard to digest and that tannins and trypsin inhibitors make it harder for the body to extract nutrients from the beans. If it were found that fermenting the beans significantly reduces their levels of soluble fiber, raffinose, trypsin inhibitors, and tannins when cooked, this would directly support the claim that fermentation improves the digestibility of the beans and makes them more nutritious. Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that trypsin inhibitors and tannins interfere with the body’s ability to extract nutrients from black beans; if fermentation and cooking were found to increase these antinutrients, fermented beans would likely be less nutritious than unfermented ones, not more nutritious (as Granito and Álvarez claim). Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t address the idea that greater nitrogen absorption in the gut has an effect on a food’s digestibility or level of nutrition, so the discovery of the presence of microorganisms that may increase nitrogen absorption wouldn’t provide relevant support for the claim that fermentation makes black beans easier to digest and more nutritious. Choice D is incorrect because Granito and Álvarez’s claim focuses on the effect of fermenting black beans, but the finding that nonfermented black beans also have fewer trypsin inhibitors and tannins when cooked at high pressure would suggest that the role of the cooking method could be significant when it comes to nutrition; further, the finding wouldn’t address the beans’ digestibility. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID e4466b2f Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard Ideas Details ID: e4466b2f The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen’s 1926 poem “Thoughts in a Zoo.” They in their cruel traps, and we in ours, Survey each other’s rage, and pass the hours Commiserating each the other’s woe, To mitigate his own pain’s fiery glow. Man could but little proffer in exchange Save that his cages have a larger range. That lion with his lordly, untamed heart Has in some man his human counterpart, Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped, But in the stifling flesh securely trapped. Based on the text, what challenge do humans sometimes experience? A. They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion. B. They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation. C. They quickly become frustrated when faced with difficult tasks because of a lack of self-control. D. They have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations. ID: e4466b2f Answer Correct Answer: D Rationale Choice D is the best answer. The text metaphorically likens humans to animals in a zoo, suggesting that humans have dreams that they cannot fulfill because they are trapped. Choice A is incorrect. The speaker says that the lion has an “untamed heart,” but the speaker doesn’t actually mention anything about humans taming wild animals or a lack of compassion. Choice B is incorrect. The speaker doesn’t suggest that humans lack motivation. Rather, the speaker thinks that humans are “trapped” and prevented from achieving their dreams. Choice C is incorrect. The speaker doesn’t mention anything about humans becoming frustrated or lacking self- control. Rather, the speaker thinks that humans are “trapped” and prevented from achieving their dreams. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID aefb6235 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Medium Ideas Details ID: aefb6235 NASA’s Aspera mission, led by Carlos Vargas, will investigate the circumgalactic medium (CGM), the huge swaths of low-density gas that fill and surround galaxies. Specifically, the team will focus on portions of the gas that exist in a “warm-hot” phase: these portions haven’t previously been observable but are thought to fuel new star formation and hold most of the mass that makes up a galaxy. Using a telescope capable of revealing these parts of the CGM, the Aspera mission should help answer long-standing questions about how galaxies emerge, change, and even interact. Which choice best states the main idea of the text? A. As the leader of NASA’s Aspera mission, Vargas will be the first person to investigate the makeup of the CGM. B. Although galaxies that are surrounded by the CGM have been studied, researchers have been unable to directly observe low-density gas in the CGM in the “warm-hot” phase. C. Researchers don’t yet have a complete understanding of the process of galaxy evolution but have raised the possibility that galaxies interact with each other at times. D. The Aspera mission is expected to produce the first direct observations of CGM gas in the “warm-hot” phase, which likely has an important role in the evolution of galaxies. ID: aefb6235 Answer Correct Answer: D Rationale Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The text begins by mentioning NASA’s Aspera mission, which will investigate the low-density gas that makes up the circumgalactic medium (CGM). According to the text, this mission will focus on a portion of the CGM’s gas that exists in a “warm-hot” phase; this “warm-hot” gas has not been previously observed, but it is thought to make up most of the mass of galaxies and play a part in star formation. Finally, the text mentions a telescope capable of examining this previously unobservable “warm-hot” gas: the Aspera mission will use this telescope in the hope of answering questions about galaxy formation and change. Therefore, the main idea of the text is that the Aspera mission is likely to produce the first direct observations of CGM gas in the “warm- hot” phase, which likely has an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Choice A is incorrect. Although this choice mentions the Aspera mission, names its leader, and generally states the mission’s purpose, it does not reference the “warm-hot” gas or fully convey the reason why the Aspera mission is significant. Choice B is incorrect. Although this choice mentions the “warm-hot” gas that makes up a portion of the CGM, it does not reference the Aspera mission or describe its importance. The text also does not mention that galaxies surrounded by the CGM have been studied. Choice C is incorrect. Although this choice describes a problem related to the CGM that researchers have been attempting to solve and presents the speculation of those researchers, it does not mention the Aspera mission or describe its purpose. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID 6736cf78 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Medium Ideas Evidence ID: 6736cf78 “Mrs. Spring Fragrance” is a 1912 short story by Sui Sin Far. In the story, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, a Chinese immigrant living in Seattle, is traveling in California. In letters to her husband and friend, she demonstrates her concern for what’s happening at her home in Seattle while she is away: ______ Which quotation from Mrs. Spring Fragrance’s letters most effectively illustrates the claim? A. “My honorable cousin is preparing for the Fifth Moon Festival, and wishes me to compound for the occasion some American ‘fudge,’ for which delectable sweet, made by my clumsy hands, you have sometimes shown a slight prejudice.” B. “Next week I accompany Ah Oi to the beauteous town of San José. There will we be met by the son of the Illustrious Teacher.” C. “Forget not to care for the cat, the birds, and the flowers. Do not eat too quickly nor fan too vigorously now that the weather is warming.” D. “I am enjoying a most agreeable visit, and American friends, as also our own, strive benevolently for the accomplishment of my pleasure.” ID: 6736cf78 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer because it presents a quotation that illustrates the claim that Mrs. Spring Fragrance demonstrates concern for what’s happening at home while she’s in California. By giving reminders to “care for the cat, the birds, and the flowers,” “not eat too quickly,” and avoid engaging in strenuous activity in the heat, Mrs. Spring Fragrance shows that she’s thinking about what’s happening at home and wants to ensure everything is taken care of. Choice A is incorrect because the quotation, while it does suggest that Mrs. Spring Fragrance has made fudge at home before, is focused on preparations for an upcoming festival, not on concerns for anything happening at home while Mrs. Spring Fragrance is away. Choice B is incorrect because the quotation has to do with an upcoming event during Mrs. Spring Fragrance’s trip—visiting San José and meeting someone new—rather than her concern for what’s happening at home. Choice D is incorrect because the quotation is focused on how Mrs. Spring Fragrance feels about her trip and the friends she’s seeing, not on her concern for what’s happening at home. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID f1be8b46 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard Ideas Evidence ID: f1be8b46 Number and Origin of Clamshell Tools Found at Different Levels Below the Surface in Neanderthal Cave Depth of tools found below Clamshells that Neanderthals Clamshells that Neanderthals surface in cave (meters) collected from the beach harvested from the seafloor 3–4 99 33 6–7 1 0 4–5 2 0 2–3 7 0 5–6 18 7 Studying tools unearthed at a cave site on the western coast of Italy, archaeologist Paola Villa and colleagues have determined that prehistoric Neanderthal groups fashioned them from shells of clams that they harvested from the seafloor while wading or diving or that washed up on the beach. Clamshells become thin and eroded as they wash up on the beach, while those on the seafloor are smooth and sturdy, so the research team suspects that Neanderthals prized the tools made with seafloor shells. However, the team also concluded that those tools were likely more challenging to obtain, noting that ______ Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the research team’s conclusion? A. at each depth below the surface in the cave, the difference in the numbers of tools of each type suggests that shells were easier to collect from the beach than to harvest from the seafloor. B. the highest number of tools were at a depth of 3–4 meters below the surface, which suggests that the Neanderthal population at the site was highest during the related period of time. C. at each depth below the surface in the cave, the difference in the numbers of tools of each type suggests that Neanderthals preferred to use clamshells from the beach because of their durability. D. the higher number of tools at depths of 5–6 meters below the surface in the cave than at depths of 4–5 meters below the surface suggests that the size of clam populations changed over time. ID: f1be8b46 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the table to support the researchers’ conclusion about the harvesting of clamshells by Neanderthals for use as tools. The text explains that Neanderthals used clamshells to make tools and that the sturdiest, and therefore the most desirable, shells for this purpose are found on the seafloor, not on the beach. However, the researchers also concluded that the clamshell tools made from shells from the seafloor are rarer than those made from shells from the beach. Meanwhile the table shows that at each depth, the number of tools made from shells from the beach exceeds the number made from the more desirable shells from the seafloor. The fact that the more desirable shells are less common suggests that it was significantly more difficult to harvest shells from the seafloor than from the beach. Choice B is incorrect because knowing which depth represents the period of time with the highest Neanderthal population does not help answer the question of why the Neanderthals consistently made more tools from the less desirable shells from the beach than they made from the more desirable shells from the seafloor. Choice C is incorrect because it claims that the beach shells are more durable than the seafloor shells, which contradicts the text’s description of shells from the seafloor as smoother and sturdier than shells from the beach. Choice D is incorrect because knowing which depth has the most artifacts or whether the clam population fluctuated does not help explain why tools made from the less desirable shells from the beach outnumber tools made from the more desirable shells from the seafloor. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID 12b370c2 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard Ideas Details ID: 12b370c2 Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century. But as scholars have argued, the genre is far less superficial than many people believe. Take the case of disco icon Donna Summer: she may have been associated with popular songs about love and heartbreak (subjects hardly unique to disco, by the way), but like many Black women singers before her, much of her music also reflects concerns about community and identity. These concerns are present in many of the genre’s greatest songs, and they generally don’t require much digging to reveal. What does the text most strongly suggest about the disco genre? A. It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many of the genre’s songs. B. It evolved over time from a superficial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious concerns. C. It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical genres. D. It gave rise to a Black women’s musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in the late twentieth century. ID: 12b370c2 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer. The text argues that disco is "far less superficial" than its popular perception might indicate, and that love and heartbreak are "subjects hardly unique to disco." Choice A is incorrect. This choice conflicts with the text, which says that scholars argue that disco "is far less superficial than many people believe." Choice B is incorrect. This choice says the opposite of what the text suggests. The writer argues that the genre is not as superficial as commonly believed, but that it always reflected "concerns about community and identity." Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t support this choice. There’s nothing in the text about disco giving rise to an enduring Black women’s musical tradition. Question Difficulty: Hard Question ID f48d9861 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Medium Ideas Details ID: f48d9861 Cats can judge unseen people’s positions in space by the sound of their voices and thus react with surprise when the same person calls to them from two different locations in a short span of time. Saho Takagi and colleagues reached this conclusion by measuring cats’ levels of surprise based on their ear and head movements while the cats heard recordings of their owners’ voices from two speakers spaced far apart. Cats exhibited a low level of surprise when owners’ voices were played twice from the same speaker, but they showed a high level of surprise when the voice was played once each from the two different speakers. According to the text, how did the researchers determine the level of surprise displayed by the cats in the study? A. They watched how each cat moved its ears and head. B. They examined how each cat reacted to the voice of a stranger. C. They studied how each cat physically interacted with its owner. D. They tracked how each cat moved around the room. ID: f48d9861 Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer because it explains how the researchers determined the level of surprise displayed by the cats in the study. The text states that Saho Takagi and colleagues played recordings of the voice of each cat’s owner and measured how surprised the cat was by the recording based on how it moved its ears and head. Choice B is incorrect because, as the text explains, the recordings played for each cat in the study were of the voice of the cat’s owner, not a stranger’s voice. Choice C is incorrect because the text explains that during the study, the cats didn’t interact directly with their owners; instead, the cats listened to recordings of their owners’ voices. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that the researchers monitored the cats’ movement around the room in which the study was conducted. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID a450897e Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Easy Ideas Evidence ID: a450897e O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by Willa Cather. In the novel, Cather portrays Alexandra Bergson as having a deep emotional connection to her natural surroundings: ______ Which quotation from O Pioneers! most effectively illustrates the claim? A. “She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects down in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring.” B. “Alexandra talked to the men about their crops and to the women about their poultry. She spent a whole day with one young farmer who had been away at school, and who was experimenting with a new kind of clover hay. She learned a great deal.” C. “Alexandra drove off alone. The rattle of her wagon was lost in the howling of the wind, but her lantern, held firmly between her feet, made a moving point of light along the highway, going deeper and deeper into the dark country.” D. “It was Alexandra who read the papers and followed the markets, and who learned by the mistakes of their neighbors. It was Alexandra who could always tell about what it had cost to fatten each steer, and who could guess the weight of a hog before it went on the scales closer than John Bergson [her father] himself.” ID: a450897e Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer because it presents the quotation that most directly illustrates the claim that Cather portrays Alexandra as having a deep emotional connection to her natural surroundings. This quotation states that the country meant a great deal to Alexandra and then goes on to detail several ways in which her natural surroundings affect her emotionally: the insects sound like “the sweetest music,” she feels as though “her heart were hiding” in the grass “with the quail and the plover,” and near the ridges she feels “the future stirring.” Choice B is incorrect because the quotation doesn’t suggest that Alexandra had a deep emotional connection to her natural surroundings but instead describes how she interacts with the people around her to learn more about crops, poultry, and experiments with clover hay. Choice C is incorrect because the quotation doesn’t suggest that Alexandra has a deep emotional connection to her natural surroundings but instead describes her nighttime departure in a wagon. The quotation says nothing about Alexandra’s emotional state. Choice D is incorrect because the quotation doesn’t convey Alexandra’s deep emotional connection to her natural surroundings; instead, this quotation describes how well she understands the markets and livestock. Question Difficulty: Easy Question ID b1068f41 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Medium Ideas ID: b1068f41 The Indus River valley civilization flourished in South Asia from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. Many examples of the civilization’s writing system exist, but researchers haven’t yet deciphered it or identified which ancient language it represents. Nevertheless, archaeologists have found historical artifacts, such as clay figures and jewelry, that provide information about the civilization’s customs and how its communities were organized. The archaeologists’ findings therefore suggest that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text? A. investigating an ancient civilization is easier without knowledge of the civilization’s language. B. knowing an ancient civilization’s language isn’t necessary in order to learn details about the civilization. C. archaeological research should focus on finding additional artifacts rather than deciphering ancient languages. D. examining the civilization’s historical artifacts has resolved the debate about this civilization’s language. ID: b1068f41 Answer Correct Answer: B Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the Indus River valley civilization. The text establishes that archaeologists haven’t been able to interpret the Indus River valley civilization’s writing system but have nevertheless acquired information about the civilization through historical artifacts. The fact that archaeologists have been able to learn about the Indus River valley civilization’s customs and community organization from historical artifacts suggests that it isn’t necessary to understand an ancient civilization’s language to learn about the civilization. Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss how easy it is to investigate ancient civilizations with or without knowledge of the civilization’s language; rather, it states that even though researchers have not yet deciphered the language of the Indus River valley civilization, they are still able to learn about it through historical artifacts. Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t make any claims as to what the focus of archaeological research should be. Rather, the text discusses how archaeologists have been able to learn about an ancient civilization through historical artifacts despite not understanding the civilization’s language. Choice D is incorrect because the text states that the civilization’s language has not yet been interpreted; it makes no mention of a debate about the language. Instead, the text suggests that examination of the historical artifacts has allowed archaeologists to learn about the civilization but has not aided thus far in deciphering its language. Question Difficulty: Medium Question ID ce9b3b84 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Medium Ideas Evidence ID: ce9b3b84 Rotor Diameters of Newly Installed Wind Turbines in the United States, 2011–2021 90 Percent of newly installed 80 70 60 turbines 50 40 30 20 10 0 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 0 21 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 202 20 Year >130 meters