SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

Annie Smith Peck, who was the first person to climb Mount Nevado Huascarán in the Andes, and Sophia Danenberg, who was the first Black woman to summit Mount Everest, are ensured lasting places in our historical memory. No matter what others may do in the future, nobody can ever ______ the standing of these women as the first to accomplish these feats.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

The following text is from Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson's 1895 poem "In Memoriam." The speaker describes sunshine coming into a cathedral.

 

The light streams through the windows arched high,

And o'er the stern, stone carvings breaks

In warm rich gold and crimson waves,

Then steals away in corners dark to die.

 

As used in the text, what does the phrase "steals away" most nearly mean?

The following text is from Oscar Wilde's 1893 play Lady Windermere's Fan.

MRS. ERLYNNE: I am going to live abroad again. The English climate doesn't suit me. My—heart is affected here, and that I don't like. I prefer living in the south. London is too full of fogs and—and serious people, Lord Windermere. Whether the fogs produce the serious people or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know, but the whole thing rather gets on my nerves.

 

As used in the text, what does the word “produce” most nearly mean?

The average age at which people in the United States start businesses is 35. Economist Andrés Hincapié studied why young adults are relatively less likely to start businesses and whether there are ways to increase entrepreneurship in early adulthood. Hincapié found that one impediment is lack of knowledge about the practical details of how businesses are started; he further found that simply providing young adults with good informational resources on the topic significantly alleviates this problem.

Based on the text, what would Hincapié most likely say is a promising way to increase entrepreneurship in early adulthood?

Blue holes, such as Watling's Blue Hole near San Salvador Island, are large marine sinkholes. They are typically located in areas where the ocean bedrock is made of soluble material(e.g., marble) because rock erosion is crucial to their formation. Because of the diverse marine life they contain, blue holes attract numerous divers and scientists. Currently, the Taam Ja' Blue Hole in Chetumal Bay, Mexico, is the deepest blue hole on record, measured by Teresa Álvarez-Legorreta and colleagues to be at least 420 meters below sea level.

According to the text, what draws divers and scientists to blue holes such as Watling's Blue Hole and the Taam Ja' Blue Hole?

In a 2024 study, Caihong Vanderburgh and colleagues examined whether the composition of soil microbial communities could affect plants' flavor chemistry. Whereas Jimenez-Gomez et al. (2017) showed that adding specific bacterial or fungal strains to soil can yield increased vitamin C in strawberry crops, Vanderburgh and team applied intact microbial communities gathered from ecologically distinct settings across Colorado, including areas of aspen grove and sagebrush, to mustard plants and evaluated the flavor compounds in the plants' seeds. This ensured that the microbial conditions in their experiment would better reflect the variation and complexity of naturally occurring communities.

Based on the text, what is the most likely reason Vanderburgh and colleagues chose to avoid the method used in the strawberry study?

A study by Mohamed Alburaki, Dennis vanEngelsdorp, and colleagues suggests that overall, US honey bee populations exhibit low genetic diversity. Working with a large sample of honey bee specimens collected from most US states, the researchers determined that there are just three maternal evolutionary lineages in the populations: the North Mediterranean lineage, the West Mediterranean lineage, and the African lineage. They found that of the specimens from Montana, 100% descended from the North Mediterranean lineage—a finding in keeping with that for the lineage in many of the other states studied.

 

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A student is comparing the speeds of trains on high-speed rail lines in different countries. The table shows information about high-speed rail in four countries.

 

According to the table, what is the maximum speed for high-speed railway lines in China?

An anthropologist is recording the metal contents of various historical deposits of valuables, called hoards, found in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He notes that the hoards differed in their contents; for example, ______

 

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?

 

Since the nation's earliest days, both houses of the United States Congress have counted many military veterans among their elected officials, including Hiram L. Fong (who served in the US Army Air Force) and Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (who served in the US Army). A research institute gathered historical data about congressional members who have reported past military experience and determined that ______

 

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the sentence?

Text 1

The poet Audre Lorde once claimed that poetry is the most inexpensive of art forms to practice. While people who pursue other art forms—sculpture, architecture, theater—require large blocks of uninterrupted time as well as money to complete their work, poets can write, as Lorde said, "between shifts, in the hospital pantry, on the subway, and on scraps of surplus paper." So poets can make worthwhile art even if they must earn their living in another way.

Text 2

Any assessment of the state of contemporary poetry must reckon with the professionalization of the field. While it is possible in theory for anyone to publish in Poetry, Kenyon Review, or a similar major poetry outlet, many people who do so have professional training in poetry and extensive practice writing it, which requires time not often available to those who must also work full-time jobs. Thus, financial security indirectly affects which people become poets.

Based on the texts, how would Lorde (Text 1) most likely respond to the argument presented in Text 2?

Evan MacLean and colleagues evaluated behavioral and genetic data from over 14,000 dogs, representing more than 100 breeds, and found that genetic variations track to differing extents with behavioral variations between the breeds. This was the case for the behavioral categories of dog rivalry and excitability but was especially pronounced for attachment and attention-seeking, which can be seen when a dog solicits affection or attention. In another study, researchers found that the boxer and the Yorkshire terrier breeds exhibit very different levels of attachment and attention-seeking. When considered in light of the study by MacLean and colleagues, this finding suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Animals Out of Paper is a 2008 play by Rajiv Joseph. ______ play was first performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theater in New York City.

 

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

In the twentieth century, many countries developed secret codes. These codes were used ______ plans during wartime.

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

A portrait of Silas Wright, former governor of New York, appeared on the $50 gold certificate. This form of paper currency ______ discontinued by the US Treasury in 1933.

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

Still Life with Three Puppies is a painting by Paul Gauguin, a French artist. Gauguin created ______ in 1888.

 

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

Physical barriers, chemical defenses, and protein defenses are the three main categories of plant defense mechanisms. The poplar tree uses a ______ the trees produce chemicals that prevent certain herbivorous insects from feeding on the trees' leaves.

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

Julia Saltz is a biologist at Rice ______ conducts research on animal behaviors.

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

Artists' palettes—the surfaces on which painters arrange and mix their paints—can provide valuable insights into the painters' creative processes. In her 2024 book The Artist's Palette, Alexandra Loske analyzes the palettes of 50 different painters across 500 years. ______ Loske reveals clues about the techniques and practices of such artists as Kerry James Marshall, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Vincent van Gogh.

 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The visual magnitude scale, which measures the brightness of stars, is reverse logarithmic: the brighter a star, the lower its magnitude number. ______ the star Dubhe, the 34th brightest in the sky, has a higher visual magnitude number (1.79) than does the brighter star Adhara. The 22nd-brightest star, Adhara has a magnitude of 1.5.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 

·Save Me is a 2018 sculpture by American artist Olivia Steele.

·It is crafted from pink neon lighting that spells out the title phrase ( "save me ").

·Harvest Moon is a 2013 sculpture by British/Pakistani artist Shezad Dawood.

·It is crafted from yellow neon lighting that forms an abstract moon shape.

 

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

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 

·Usually, a country's capital is also its largest city by population.

·The capital of Cameroon is Yaoundé.

·Its largest city by population is Douala.

·The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz.

·Its largest city by population is Schaan.

 

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Douala and Schaan. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

·The Highpointers Club is a hiking club.

·One of the main goals among club members is to reach the highest points in all fifty US states.

·Those who achieve this are called 50 Completers.

·In Suk Han became a 50 Completer on November 15, 2013.

·The highest point in West Virginia is Spruce Knob, at 4,863 ft.

·The highest point in Colorado is Mount Elbert, at 14,440 ft.

 

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to explain the 50 Completers hiking challenge to a new audience?

·Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) was an Italian instrument maker.

·He made about 1,000 violins in his lifetime.

·Musicians prize his Stradivarius violins for their famed sound quality.

·The Marie Hall Stradivarius is named for former owner Marie Hall, a British violinist.

 

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to introduce Marie Hall to a new audience?

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 

·Lighthouses send out crucial light signals to help ships and other watercraft navigate at night.

·Before automation, lighthouses were run by lighthouse keepers.

·Fannie May Salter was the lighthouse keeper at Turkey Point Light in Maryland.

·She held this position for twenty-two years (1925–1947).

·Ida Lewis was the lighthouse keeper at Lime Rock Light in Rhode Island.

·She held this position for fifty-four years (1857–1911).

 

The student wants to compare the length of time Fannie May Salter and Ida Lewis worked as lighthouse keepers. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 

·The meter of a poem is the rhythmic structure or pattern of accents in its lines.

·Alliterative meter is structured by a pattern of repeated sounds.

·Quantitative meter is structured by a pattern of long and short syllables.

·The Old English poem Widsith uses an alliterative meter.

·The Sanskrit poem Meghadūta uses a quantitative meter.

 

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