SAT Suite Question Bank - 10 (FK U)

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Question ID f1bfbed3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: f1bfbed3
Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity census reported approximately 17,000 species, nearly
double the number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla Morri’s 2000 census—a difference only partly attributable to the
description of new invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the morphological variability of microorganisms
is poorly understood compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and algae, creating uncertainty about how to
evaluate microorganisms as species. Researchers’ decisions on such matters therefore can be highly consequential. Indeed,
the two censuses reported similar counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Coll and colleagues reported a much higher number of species than Bianchi and Morri did largely due to the inclusion of
A. invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Bianchi and Morri’s census.

some differences observed in microorganisms may have been treated as variations within species by Bianchi and Morri
B. but treated as indicative of distinct species by Coll and colleagues.

Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to the degree of morphological variation displayed within a typical
C. species of microorganism than Coll and colleagues were.

the absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among species of microorganisms may have resulted in Coll and
D. colleagues underestimating the number of microorganism species.
Question ID ce4448b7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: ce4448b7
Researchers recently found that disruptions to an enjoyable experience, like a short series of advertisements during a
television show, often increase viewers’ reported enjoyment. Suspecting that disruptions to an unpleasant experience would
have the opposite effect, the researchers had participants listen to construction noise for 30 minutes and anticipated that
those whose listening experience was frequently interrupted with short breaks of silence would thus ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. find the disruptions more irritating as time went on.

B. rate the listening experience as more negative than those whose listening experience was uninterrupted.

C. rate the experience of listening to construction noise as lasting for less time than it actually lasted.

D. perceive the volume of the construction noise as growing softer over time.
Question ID f9bd4e61
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: f9bd4e61
German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit an intellectual rather than an
emotional response from audiences, provoking them to consider social and political realities that extend beyond the
characters and events depicted onstage. Brecht’s influence can be seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill’s 1979 play
Cloud 9: although the play sometimes invites empathetic reactions, it primarily works to engage audiences in an
interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism, which it does by placing audiences at a distance, thereby encouraging them to
______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. focus on the characters’ beliefs about social and political issues as revealed by the characters’ actions.

B. reflect on social and political phenomena not directly related to patriarchy and colonialism.

recognize pertinent social and political parallels between Germany during Brecht’s time and England at the time when
C. Churchill was writing Cloud 9.

D. be dispassionate as they think critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.
Question ID aaddd60f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: aaddd60f
Scientists studying Mars long thought the history of its crust was relatively simple. One reason for this is that geologic and
climate data collected by a spacecraft showed that the crust was largely composed of basalt, likely as a result of intense
volcanic activity that brought about a magma ocean, which then cooled to form the planet’s surface. A study led by Valerie
Payré focused on additional information—further analysis of data collected by the spacecraft and infrared wavelengths
detected from Mars’s surface—that revealed the presence of surprisingly high concentrations of silica in certain regions on
Mars. Since a planetary surface that formed in a mostly basaltic environment would be unlikely to contain large amounts of
silica, Payré concluded that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

the information about silica concentrations collected by the spacecraft is likely more reliable than the silica information
A. gleaned from infrared wavelengths detected from Mars’s surface.

high silica concentrations on Mars likely formed from a different process than that which formed the crusts of other
B. planets.

having a clearer understanding of the composition of Mars’s crust and the processes by which it formed will provide
C. more insight into how Earth’s crust formed.

D. Mars’s crust likely formed as a result of other major geological events in addition to the cooling of a magma ocean.
Question ID 08395130
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 08395130
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.

will no longer be used to observe solar system objects if the telescope recommended by Young and colleagues is
B. 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.
Question ID 95dbdf51
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 95dbdf51
Laura Mulvey has theorized that in narrative film, shots issuing from a protagonist’s point of view compel viewers to identify
with the character. Such identification is heightened by “invisible editing,” or editing so inconspicuous that it renders cuts
between shots almost unnoticeable. Conversely, Mulvey proposes that conspicuous editing or an absence of point-of-view
shots would induce a more critical stance toward a protagonist. Consider, for example, the attic scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s
The Birds, a conspicuously edited sequence of tens of shots, few of which correspond to the protagonist’s point of view.
According to Mulvey’s logic, this scene should affect viewers by ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. obscuring their awareness of the high degree of artifice involved in constructing the montage.

B. lessening their identification with the protagonist, if not alienating them from the character altogether.

C. compelling them to identify with the film’s director, whose proxy is the camera, and not with the protagonist.

D. diverting their attention away from the film’s content and toward its stylistic attributes.
Question ID a13c1c66
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: a13c1c66
Many animals, including humans, must sleep, and sleep is known to have a role in everything from healing injuries to
encoding information in long-term memory. But some scientists claim that, from an evolutionary standpoint, deep sleep for
hours at a time leaves an animal so vulnerable that the known benefits of sleeping seem insufficient to explain why it
became so widespread in the animal kingdom. These scientists therefore imply that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. prolonged deep sleep is likely advantageous in ways that have yet to be discovered.

B. most traits perform functions that are hard to understand from an evolutionary standpoint.

C. it is more important to understand how widespread prolonged deep sleep is than to understand its function.

D. many traits that provide significant benefits for an animal also likely pose risks to that animal.
Question ID f942646f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: f942646f
Researchers Suchithra Rajendran and Maximilian Popfinger modeled varying levels of passenger redistribution from short-
haul flights (flights of 50 to 210 minutes, from takeoff to landing) to high-speed rail trips. Planes travel faster than trains, but
air travel typically requires 3 hours of lead time for security, baggage handling, and boarding that rail travel doesn’t, so short-
haul routes take similar amounts of time by air and by rail. However, the model suggests that as rail passenger volumes
approach current capacity limits, long lead times emerge. Therefore, for rail to remain a viable alternative to short-haul
flights, ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. rail systems should offer fewer long-haul routes and airlines should offer more long-haul routes.

B. rail systems may need to schedule additional trains for these routes.

C. security, baggage handling, and boarding procedures used by airlines may need to be implemented for rail systems.

D. passengers who travel by rail for these routes will need to accept that lead times will be similar to those for air travel.
Question ID 0dccbf17
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 0dccbf17
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s 1893 painting The Banjo Lesson, which depicts an elderly man teaching a boy to play the banjo, is
regarded as a landmark in the history of works by Black artists in the United States. Scholars should be cautious when
ascribing political or ideological values to the painting, however: beliefs and assumptions that are commonly held now may
have been unfamiliar to Tanner and his contemporaries, and vice versa. Scholars who forget this fact when discussing The
Banjo Lesson therefore ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. risk judging Tanner’s painting by standards that may not be historically appropriate.

B. tend to conflate Tanner’s political views with those of his contemporaries.

C. forgo analyzing Tanner’s painting in favor of analyzing his political activity.

D. wrongly assume that Tanner’s painting was intended as a critique of his fellow artists.
Question ID 61228830
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 61228830
A heliograph is a semaphore device used for sending optical communications—usually in the form of Morse code—by
reflecting flashes of sunlight off a mirror. Heliographs were used for rapid communication across expansive distances for
military, surveying, and forestry purposes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but they were largely
effective only during the daytime, and the range of the device depended on factors such as the opacity of the air and line of
sight. Therefore, heliographs were eventually replaced by technology that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. worked on similar principles but was easier to produce and maintain.

B. was not so constrained by environmental circumstances.

C. could be used for more than military, surveying, or forestry purposes.

D. enabled communication that didn’t require knowledge of Morse code.


Question ID d1539546
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: d1539546
Tides can deposit large quantities of dead vegetation within a salt marsh, smothering healthy plants and leaving a salt panne
—a depression devoid of plants that tends to trap standing water—in the marsh’s interior. Ecologist Kathryn Beheshti and
colleagues found that burrowing crabs living within these pannes improve drainage by loosening the soil, leading the pannes
to shrink as marsh plants move back in. At salt marsh edges, however, crab-induced soil loosening can promote marsh loss
by accelerating erosion, suggesting that the burrowing action of crabs ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. can be beneficial to marshes with small pannes but can be harmful to marshes with large pannes.

B. may promote increases in marsh plants or decreases in marsh plants, depending on the crabs’ location.

C. tends to be more heavily concentrated in areas of marsh interiors with standing water than at marsh edges.

D. varies in intensity depending on the size of the panne relative to the size of the surrounding marsh.
Question ID 9abc3ba5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 9abc3ba5
“Gestures” in painting are typically thought of as bold, expressive brushstrokes. In the 1970s, American painter Jack Whitten
built a 12-foot (3.7-meter) tool he named the “developer” to apply paint to an entire canvas in one motion, resulting in his
series of “slab” paintings from that decade. Whitten described this process as making an entire painting in “one gesture,”
signaling a clear departure from the prevalence of gestures in his work from the 1960s. Some art historians claim this shift
represents “removing gesture” from the process. Therefore, regardless of whether using the developer constitutes a gesture,
both Whitten and these art historians likely agree that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. any tool that a painter uses to create an artwork is capable of creating gestures.

B. Whitten’s work from the 1960s exhibits many more gestures than his work from the 1970s does.

C. Whitten became less interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed.

D. Whitten’s work from the 1960s is much more realistic than his work from the 1970s is.
Question ID 22b3da87
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 22b3da87
During the Bourbon Restoration in France (1814–1830), the right to vote required in part that a person paid at least 300
francs in direct taxes to the government. The four most common taxes (the quatre vieilles) were levied on real estate (both
land and buildings); the doors and windows in taxpayer homes; the rental values of homes; and the businesses of artisans
and merchants. (Foreign investments were either exempt from taxation or taxed lightly.) Although relatively few people paid
the tax on real estate, it was the main means of voter qualification and accounted for over two-thirds of government receipts
during this period, suggesting that during the Bourbon Restoration ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. those people who had the right to vote most likely had substantial holdings of French real estate.

B. the voting habits of French artisans and merchants were effective in reducing tax burdens on businesses.

C. the number of doors and windows in French residences was kept to a minimum but increased after 1830.

D. French people with significant foreign investments were unlikely to have the right to vote.
Question ID cae97f58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: cae97f58
Mosses can struggle in harsh desert conditions because these plants require enough sunlight for photosynthesis but not so
much that they risk drying out. Researchers Jenna Ekwealor and Kirsten M. Fisher found several species of Syntrichia
caninervis, a type of desert moss, growing under quartz crystals in California’s Mojave Desert. To evaluate whether these
semitransparent rocks benefited the moss, the researchers compared the shoot tissue, a measure of plant growth, of S.
caninervis when growing on the soil surface versus when the moss was growing under the quartz rocks. They found that the
shoot tissue was 62% longer for moss growing under the quartz as compared to moss on the soil surface, suggesting that
______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. S. caninervis is one of the few types of moss that can survive under semitransparent rocks.

B. quartz crystals do not transmit the necessary sunlight for photosynthesis in S. caninervis.

C. S. caninervis growing under quartz crystals experience lower light intensity and are thus able to retain more moisture.

D. quartz crystals are capable of supporting S. caninervis growth if the crystals are not too thin.
Question ID 03701ef3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences


Ideas

ID: 03701ef3
To better understand the burrowing habits of Alpheus bellulus (the tiger pistol shrimp), some studies have used resin casting
to obtain precise measurements of the shrimps’ burrows. Resin casting involves completely filling an empty burrow with a
liquid plastic that hardens to create a three-dimensional model; however, recovering the model inevitably requires destroying
the burrow. In their 2022 study, Miyu Umehara and colleagues discovered that an x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner
can accurately record a burrow’s measurements both at a moment in time and throughout the entire burrow-building
process, something that’s impossible with resin casting because ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. it can only be used on burrows below a certain size.

B. it does not allow for multiple castings of the same burrow over time.

C. the casting process takes more time than A. bellulus takes to construct a burrow.

D. the process of recovering the model distorts the resin’s shape.


Question ID afec1a70
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: afec1a70
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
As engineered structures, many bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive.
A research team led by Yashraj Bhosale wanted to better understand the mechanics behind these structural
properties.
Bhosale’s team used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks into nest-like structures.
The researchers analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
When pressure was applied to the model nests, the number of contact points between the sticks increased, making
the structures stiffer.

The student wants to present the primary aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information
from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Bhosale’s team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests’ uniquely flexible yet cohesive structural
A. properties.

The researchers used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks and analyzed the points where
B. sticks touched one another.

After analyzing the points where sticks touched, the researchers found that the structures became stiffer when pressure
C. was applied.

D. As analyzed by Bhosale’s team, bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive engineered structures.
Question ID 16631d34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 16631d34
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The Million Song Dataset (MSD) includes main audio features and descriptive tags for popular songs.
Audio features include acoustic traits such as loudness and pitch intervals.
Many algorithms use these audio features to predict a new song’s popularity.
These algorithms may fail to accurately identify main audio features of a song with varying acoustic traits.
Algorithms based on descriptive tags that describe fixed traits such as genre are more reliable predictors of song
popularity.

The student wants to explain a disadvantage of relying on audio features to predict a song’s popularity. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Many popularity-predicting algorithms are based on a song’s audio features, such as loudness and pitch intervals.

Algorithms based on audio features may misidentify the main features of a song with varying acoustic traits, making
B. such algorithms less reliable predictors of popularity than those based on fixed traits.

Audio features describe acoustic traits such as pitch intervals, which may vary within a song, whereas descriptive tags
C. describe fixed traits such as genre, which are reliable predictors of popularity.

D. The MSD’s descriptive tags are reliable predictors of a song’s popularity, as the traits they describe are fixed.
Question ID 6c9df5d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 6c9df5d1
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Some powerful works of literature have so influenced readers that new legislation has been passed as a result.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789) is the autobiography of a man who endured slavery
on both sides of the Atlantic.
Equiano’s book contributed to the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
The Jungle (1906) is a fictional work by Upton Sinclair that describes unsanitary conditions in US meatpacking
plants.
Sinclair’s book contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two books. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Although both are powerful works of literature that contributed to new legislation, Equiano’s book is an autobiography,
A. while Sinclair’s is fictional.

B. They may have written about different topics, but Equiano and Sinclair both influenced readers.

The 1807 Slave Trade Act resulted in part from a book by Equiano, while the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act resulted in part
C. from a book by Sinclair.

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and The Jungle are two works of literature that contributed to
D. new legislation (concerning the slave trade and food safety, respectively).
Question ID 64e88c58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 64e88c58
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1971, experimental musician Pauline Oliveros created Sonic Meditations.
Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based exercises called meditations.
Each meditation consists of instructions for participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.
The instructions for Meditation V state, “walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.”
Those for Meditation XVIII state, “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

The student wants to provide an explanation and an example of Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based meditations that consist of instructions; Meditation
A. XVIII, for instance, instructs participants to “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

In 1971, Oliveros created Sonic Meditations, a series of meditations that consist of instructions for participants to make,
B. imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.

“Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears” is one example of the instructions found in Oliveros’s Sonic
C. Meditations.

While both meditations consist of instructions, Meditation XVIII instructs participants to “listen,” whereas Meditation V
D. instructs participants to “walk.”
Question ID af88c47a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: af88c47a
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Freddie Wong (born 1985) is a director and special effects artist from the United States.
He is best known for the action-comedy web series Video Game High School (VGHS).
VGHS premiered in 2012 on RocketJump, a YouTube channel that Wong cocreated.
The series was celebrated for its inventive video game–centric world and high-quality special effects.
VGHS was nominated for a Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Digital Series.

The student wants to begin a narrative about Wong’s award-nominated web series. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

In 2012, director and visual effects artist Freddie Wong launched a new action-comedy web series: Video Game High
A. School.

Video Game High School was celebrated for its inventive video game–centric world and high-quality special effects, and
B. it was nominated for a Producer’s Guild Award for Outstanding Digital Series.

Wong, cocreator of the YouTube channel RocketJump, would go on to see his web series be nominated for a Producers
C. Guild Award.

D. In 2012, Video Game High School premiered on RocketJump; it would later be nominated for an award.
Question ID fdd9a360
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: fdd9a360
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The popular wood-wide web theory posits that trees can communicate and exchange resources with one another via
common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) of fungi.
Ecologist Dr. Suzanne Simard first suggested this theory in 1997. She described trees as “super-cooperators.”
In the 2022 study “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” mycologist Dr. Justine Karst and colleagues evaluated
dozens of CMN studies.
They write that CMNs “have captured the interest of broad audiences. We are concerned, however, that recent claims
about CMNs in forests are disconnected from evidence.”

The student wants to use a quotation to emphasize a potential problem with the wood-wide web theory. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Describing trees as “super-cooperators,” Simard first suggested that trees can exchange resources with one another in
A. 1997.

In “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” Karst and colleagues note that common mycorrhizal networks “have captured
B. the interest of broad audiences.”

After evaluating dozens of CMN studies, Karst and colleagues expressed concern that recent claims about common
C. mycorrhizal networks are “disconnected from evidence.”

Despite the concerns expressed in the 2022 study “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” the wood-wide web theory
D. remains popular.
Question ID 10cd0327
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 10cd0327
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A thermal inversion is a phenomenon where a layer of atmosphere is warmer than the layer beneath it.
In 2022, a team of researchers studied the presence of thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants.
Gas giants are planets largely composed of helium and hydrogen.
The team found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were also likely to contain heat-absorbing metals.
One explanation for this relationship is that these metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere, where their
absorbed heat causes an increase in temperature.

The student wants to present the study’s findings to an audience already familiar with thermal inversions. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Heat-absorbing metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere.

B. The team studied thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants, which are largely composed of helium and hydrogen.

Researchers found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals, which may
C. reside in the planets’ upper atmospheres.

Gas giants were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals when they featured a layer of atmosphere warmer than the layer
D. beneath it, researchers found; this phenomenon is known as a thermal inversion.
Question ID 5b8b69a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 5b8b69a2
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Archaeologist Jon Erlandson and colleagues argue that humans first arrived in the Americas by sea.
They propose that humans traveled between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines from northeast Asia to the
Americas.
Many of these islands and coastal zones were later submerged as glaciers melted and sea levels rose.
The researchers think that “a coastal route, including kelp forests and estuaries, would have provided a rich mix of
marine, estuarine, riverine, and terrestrial resources” such as seaweeds, fish, and birds.
This proposed scenario is known as the kelp highway hypothesis.

The student wants to summarize the kelp highway hypothesis. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from
the notes to accomplish this goal?

Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines likely contained “a rich mix of marine, estuarine, riverine, and terrestrial resources”
A. such as seaweeds, fish, and birds, according to researchers.

One argument about how humans first arrived in the Americas is the kelp highway hypothesis proposed by Jon Erlandson
B. and colleagues.

Humans may have first arrived in the Americas by sea, traveling between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines and
C. subsisting on a variety of resources.

D. As glaciers melted and sea levels rose, many Pacific Ocean islands and coastal zones were submerged.
Question ID 5222ffab
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 5222ffab
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Neuroscientists Krishnan Padmanabhan and Zhen Chen sought to better understand the workings of the brain’s
olfactory system.
They devised a study using mathematical models.
They found that certain fibers allow the brain to toggle from one method of processing smells to another.
In one method, cells in the piriform cortex (where the perception of odor forms) capture olfactory information at a
given moment.
In the other, the cells track changes in olfactory information over time.

The student wants to summarize the study’s findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of processing smells in the piriform cortex, Padmanabhan and
A. Chen devised a study using mathematical models.

Padmanabhan and Chen showed that olfactory information is captured by cells in the piriform cortex, where the
B. perception of odor forms.

Using mathematical models, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study to better understand the workings of the brain’s
C. olfactory system.

According to Padmanabhan and Chen, the brain can toggle between capturing olfactory information at a given moment
D. and tracking changes in that information over time.
Question ID 3dcc7140
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 3dcc7140
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Nissologists are scientists who study islands.
Some nissologists define an island as any piece of land surrounded by water.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 221,000 islands.
Other nissologists define an island as being 1 kilometer square, a certain distance from the mainland, and having at
least 50 permanent residents.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 24 islands.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?

The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by water is supported by some nissologists, scientists who
A. study islands.

B. Multiple counts of Sweden’s islands have been based on different definitions of an island.

C. Based on a recent count, Sweden has a relatively small number of islands with at least 50 permanent residents.

D. Nissologists’ different definitions can result in huge disparities in counts of islands, as the example of Sweden shows.
Question ID 622a351d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 622a351d
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1978, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway.
The dam would disrupt Sámi fishing and reindeer herding.
The dam was ultimately built, but the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.
It brought international attention to the issue of Sámi rights.
It led to a set of 2005 legal protections establishing Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about the Alta conflict. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

During the Alta conflict, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway
A. that would disrupt local fishing and reindeer herding.

B. Although the dam that the Sámi activists had protested was ultimately built, the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.

Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources received international attention and legal protections as a result of the Alta
C. conflict.

The Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and legal protections for Sámi rights to lands,
D. waters, and resources.
Question ID db3ad406
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: db3ad406
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Stars form in a galaxy when gravity causes a massive cloud of dust and gas to collapse.
A galaxy in a phase of rapid star formation is called a starburst galaxy.
Quenching is a process in which a galaxy loses star-forming gas.
A galaxy that no longer forms stars is called a quenched galaxy.
A quenched galaxy has entered the poststarburst phase.

The student wants to explain what a quenched galaxy is. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Before quenching, a starburst galaxy will form stars at a rapid rate.

B. When it becomes quenched, a starburst galaxy enters the poststarburst phase.

C. Having entered the poststarburst phase, a quenched galaxy is one that no longer forms stars.

D. A starburst galaxy will lose star-forming gas and eventually become quenched.
Question ID b74f676f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: b74f676f
Classical composer Florence Price’s 1927 move to Chicago marked a turning point in her career. It was there that Price
premiered her First Symphony—a piece that was praised for blending traditional Romantic motifs with aspects of Black folk
music—and ______ supportive relationships with other Black artists.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. developing

B. developed

C. to develop

D. having developed
Question ID 684b8bd2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: 684b8bd2
Far from being modern inventions, ______ more than 5,000 years ago.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia used drinking straws

B. drinking straws were used by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia

C. the use of drinking straws by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia happened

D. ancient Mesopotamia was home to Sumerians who used drinking straws


Question ID c52652c9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: c52652c9
The human brain is primed to recognize faces—so much so that, due to a perceptual tendency called pareidolia, ______ will
even find faces in clouds, wooden doors, pieces of fruit, and other faceless inanimate objects. Researcher Susan Magsamen
has focused her work on better understanding this everyday phenomenon.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. she

B. they

C. it

D. those
Question ID 36944347
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: 36944347
Official measurements of the Mississippi River’s length vary: according to the US Geologic Survey, the river is 2,300 miles
long, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency records its length as 2,320 miles. This disparity can be explained in part
by the fact that rivers such as the Mississippi expand and contract as ______ sediment.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. they accumulate

B. one accumulates

C. it accumulates

D. we accumulate
Question ID 8d53e7a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: 8d53e7a0
Slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel The Poet X, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s
Literature, is composed of ______ protagonist, fifteen-year-old Xiomara Batista.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. poems putatively written by the novel’s

B. poem’s putatively written by the novel’s

C. poem’s putatively written by the novels’

D. poems putatively written by the novels’


Question ID 0bcb4417
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: 0bcb4417
Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s star quilt poems offer an unusually open-ended reading experience. With ______ eight
panels of text stitched together in the shape of a traditional eight-pointed Lakota star quilt, the poems present viewers with a
seemingly infinite number of ways to read them.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. their

B. it’s

C. they’re

D. its
Question ID db2e480a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: db2e480a
By the time Hawaiian king Kamehameha III ______ the throne, the number of longhorn cattle, first introduced to the islands in
1793, had drastically increased, and so too had the need for paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) to manage the wild herds that then
roamed throughout the volcanic terrain.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. ascended

B. will ascend

C. ascends

D. is ascending
Question ID a30567fd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: a30567fd
Nuhād al-Ḥaddād, known as Fairuz, was one of the most beloved Lebanese singers of the twentieth century. Her broad
singing repertoire—which included traditional forms, such as the Arabic qasida and maqam, alongside modern pop and jazz
styles—lent Fairuz a timeless, cross-generational appeal, ______ her the moniker “the soul of Lebanon.”

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. earned

B. had earned

C. earning

D. earn
Question ID e44db0a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: e44db0a0
Because a cycle of lunar phases ______ 29.5 days to complete, it’s possible to observe two full moons in a single month, one
at the beginning and one at the end.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. are taking

B. have taken

C. take

D. takes
Question ID 67614549
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure, and


Conventions Sense

ID: 67614549
After winning the 1860 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln appointed Edward Bates, Salmon P. Chase, and William H.
Seward to his cabinet. Lincoln’s decision was surprising, since each of these men had run against him, but historians have
praised it, noting that Lincoln ______ his rivals’ diverse talents to strengthen his administration.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

A. has leveraged

B. is leveraging

C. will leverage

D. leveraged

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