SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

Often, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is given to a single person, such as Theodore William Richards in 1914. But scientific breakthroughs are rarely the work of lone geniuses. Instead, success in fields like chemistry has often been achieved through__________other experts, as was the case for Alan J. Heeger, who was among those

awarded for "their discovery and development of conductive polymers."

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

The province of Xoconochco was situated on the Pacific coast, hundreds of kilometers southeast of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Because Xoconochco's location within the empire was so ______, cacao and other trade goods produced there could reach the capital only after a long overland journey.

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

Players of online games are largely aware that the games collect their data, and they're often willing to trade some privacy for a fun experience. But the games are often quite_________about what data they collect and why. Because of this, data-privacy advocates are seeking to expand online players' knowledge of data collection practices and improve their ability to navigate privacy-setting features in games.

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

Al Black's Sunset Backwater Scene with Egrets, a wetland landscape with silhouettes of moss-covered trees contrasted by a vibrant orange sky, is typical of paintings by the Florida Highwaymen, loosely affiliated landscape artists mainly active in Fort Pierce, Florida, during the 1950s and '60s. Some art historians suggest that Highwaymen paintings played a role in shaping popular perceptions of the state that persist today: the natural iconography that Black and colleagues constantly revisited—lush tropical forests, vivid sunsets—is now seen as classically Floridian.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

The metal featured in both the structure of the House in Kamiaraya by Kazuto Nishi Architects and the hardware in the One-Room Residence of 5 Layers by Matsuyama Architect and Associates is representative of a trend in contemporary Japanese interior design to juxtapose sleek, modern accents with traditional organic materials such as paper. The prominent featuring of metal stems from the post-World War II emphasis on technological progress, while more traditional natural materials help preserve longstanding architectural and aesthetic approaches.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Like all species of baleen whales, the Antarctic minke whale feeds on tiny creatures known as krill by filtering water through bristlelike keratin structures called baleen plates. In this way, baleen whales can eat up to 30 percent of their total mass per day. And while no one would call the Antarctic minke whale small—it can have a mass as high as 10,000 kg—it is one of the smaller baleen whales and is much smaller than the bowhead whale, which can weigh a whopping 66,000 kg and consume as much as 19,800 kg of krill per day.

 

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

The 1958 production of Maybe Tuesday was the first Broadway show for which Ann Roth was credited as a costume designer. Roth was among the Broadway costume designers interviewed by Sara Jablon-Roberts and Eulanda A. Sanders for their study of historical accuracy in costume design for shows with a historical setting. They found that even designers who value historical accuracy will often include contemporary design elements that don't fit with the historical period. In a research paper about theatrical costume design, a student argues that costume designers for modern productions of plays such as the musical Our Town (set in the early 1900s) sometimes include such elements unintentionally.

Which quotation from an interview with a costume designer would most effectively support the student's claim?

Deposits of valuable objects, called hoards, have been unearthed in many different parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Technological advancements in the twenty-first century have made it easier to locate hoards, but plenty of hoards were found earlier. For example,__________.

 

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

A marine biologist is researching four scleractinian coral species, which are also called stony corals because of the hard skeletons they develop. Consulting the table, she notes that the two species for which the maximum depths are most similar are___________.

 

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

Mountain summits are often described in terms of their elevation, or height above sea level. But a summit's elevation may not be as good an indication of how high the mountain appears to observers as is the summit's prominence, or its height above its surroundings, and these values can differ significantly. For example, the Indian mountain of__________.

 

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

A team of public transportation experts in Oceanside, California, is creating a new light rail stop for the SPRINTER system that will service a neighborhood in which a stop does not currently exist. To decide where to place the stop, the team is using a survey from ten years ago that asked how far neighborhood residents would be willing to walk to a light rail stop. The team also looked at studies showing that people's willingness to walk to public transit is influenced by factors like weather and the presence of well-enforced low speed limits for cars. A researcher has argued that the survey does not accurately reflect the feelings of today's residents of this neighborhood.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researcher's claim?

The Underdogs is a 1915 novel by Mariano Azuela, originally written in Spanish. In the novel, Azuela makes a comparison using natural imagery to convey the mental state of the protagonist, Demetrio:_________.

Which quotation from a translation of The Underdogs most effectively illustrates the claim?

Whereas Mara Aruguete and colleagues' 1992 study of captive chimpanzees and squirrel monkeys reported more right-handedness than left-handedness, William C. McGrew and colleagues' 1999 study of wild chimpanzees did not. According to a meta-analysis of studies of nonhuman primates, captive populations are more likely to be described as right-handed than wild populations are. Statistical analysis indicates a handedness study would need a minimum of 176 individuals to show a representative result; however, the study by Aruguete and colleagues included a total population of 27, and the study by McGrew and colleagues included a total population of 13. This suggests that___________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A few years ago, a study found that participants who rode a bicycle while listening to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll"—which, at 169 beats per minute, or bpm, is a high-tempo song—exhibited a faster pace and higher heart rate than did participants who listened to Ella Fitzgerald's "From This Moment On" (93 bpm). In a recent effort to replicate this study's findings, researchers played the same songs while two groups of participants similar to those from the earlier study climbed steps for 30 minutes. Average paces and heart rates were similar across the two groups in the new study, leading the researchers to suggest that________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

In Puerto Rico, it's not unusual for a city or town to be known by a nickname that corresponds to one of its notable features, like landscape, climate, famous residents, or chief export. For example, the Puerto Rican municipality of Guaynabo is well known for its popular annual carnival that celebrates the Taino Chief__________this distinction has earned it a fitting nickname: "the Village of the Mabó Carnival."

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

Today, the Michelin Guide is widely known as the arbiter of fine dining, with its coveted 3-star rating being awarded to top restaurants like The Table in Hamburg. However, few know the guide started as a marketing gimmick in 1900, when brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin sought to increase profits for their tire company by encouraging their customers to__________their cars across France, visiting the guide's recommended hotels and restaurants along the way.

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

The town of Mevang in Gabon_________almost directly on the equator, making it a rare place on the globe.

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

Miguel Luciano's 2006 sculpture Pure Plantainum is a striking and thought-provoking work of art. Fittingly, curator E. Carmen Ramos decided_________it in a 2013 exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

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

At the Solar Walk in Washington, visitors can walk 57 meters from the model Earth to the model Sun, then 2,700 meters from the model Sun to the model Pluto. The purpose of this arrangement is_________visitors a sense of the true scale of the solar system.

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

In 2015, Scottish mixed-media artist Rebecca E. Fry created Great Mother Earth, a giant abstract image inspired by the inkblots used in Rorschach psychological tests. The symmetrical blotches were made from crude oil—the natural product from which gasoline and other petroleum products are ________ Fry intentionally included these natural resources to pose a question about how humanity assigns value to some elements of nature.

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

Ecologists, such as Petra H. Lenz, use trophic pyramids to illustrate the food chain within a given ecosystem. At a typical pyramid's base are primary producers, like phytoplankton, followed by herbivores at the second trophic level, then omnivores and carnivores at the third._________at the fourth, highest trophic level are apex predators, like polar bears, that feed on the animals below.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Many puppeteers specialize in a specific type of puppetry. Japanese puppeteer Kanjuro Kiritake,__________is a specialist in bunraku puppetry, while Mustafa Mutlu, a Turkish puppeteer, is a shadow puppetry specialist.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

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

· Pedestrian malls are outdoor streets in a city or town where vehicle traffic is prohibited.

· Many pedestrian malls were built in the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and Asia.

· Qianmen Dajie is a famous pedestrian mall in Beijing.

· It has existed since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE).

· Rue Mouffetard is a famous pedestrian mall in Paris.

· It has existed since the mid-Roman Empire (117-235 CE).

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the ages of the malls. 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:

· Happiness Is Expensive is a 2012 sculpture by American artist Alejandro Diaz.

· It is crafted from white neon lighting that spells out the title phrase ("happiness is expensive").

· Pyramid (Yellow) is a 2011 sculpture by Mexican-Swiss artist Ana Roldán.

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

The student wants to describe Diaz's sculpture. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

· The Mozambique Workers' Organization (OTM) is a national union federation for the African nation of Mozambique.

· It helps improve conditions for workers in that nation.

· ITUC-Africa is a regional union federation that represents national union federations across Africa.

· It represents the OTM.

Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to explain the relationship between ITUC-Africa and the OTM?

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

· Gwendolyn Bennett was an African American poet, journalist, and illustrator.

· Bennett lived and worked in New York City for many years.

· "Street Lamps in Early Spring" is a poem by Bennett.

· It was published in 1926.

The student wants to indicate the year "Street Lamps in Early Spring" was published. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?