SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

Chapter 49

2025.5 : B-A (analysis included)

READING 2 · 27 questions

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

For most of its length, the Pungue River has sufficiently high flow velocity to suspend sedimentary particles, but when the river reaches the calmer waters of the Indian Ocean, its channel widens and divides, reducing flow velocity and thereby _______ sedimentary particle suspension. Particles are thus deposited, eventually forming deltaic lobes.

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

AcompoundingBobscuringCinterruptingDexpediting

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Writer Lydia Davis observed that while _______ literary forms, such as the short story, are recognizable as such even as they evolve, there are rarer "intergeneric" forms that might, for example, use elements of both fiction and essays to create something unclassifiable. The very short publications of Dlane Williams arguably fit in this category, since they straddle the line between prose and poetry.

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

AequivocalBorthodoxCintermediateDneutral

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The subscription model in which consumers who do not deliberately cancel their subscriptions automatically pay recurring fees for access to products and services benefits retailers when consumer ________ is high. Many of the 8.5 percent of subscribers who canceled their food and beverage subscriptions in January 2022 had stopped valuing their subscriptions long before then, but sellers profited from those customers' passivity in the interim.

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

AinertiaBevasionCdecisivenessDturnover

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Postcranial skeletal pneunaticity (PSP) refers to the presence of extensions of an andinal's lungs and atr sacs inside its bones. Though such structures do not typically fossilize, they are believed to have been present in Tyrannosaurus, Anhanguera, and other Cretaceous theropods and pterosaurs. To ______ PSP from fossils, researchers look for indicators such as large foramina (holes in bones).

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

AinferBpreserveCisolateDacquire

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Founded in Denver in 1991, the Museo de Las Americas is one of the best-known US-based institutions showcasing Latino cultures. Since its founding, it has acquired more than 4,800 objects for its permanent collection. Since 2000, the number of Latino cultural institutions in the US has expanded considerably, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which opened in Los Angeles in 2011 and focuses on Mexican American art and culture, is among the most prominent.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

AIt contrasts the focus of the Latino cultural institution discussed earlier in the text with the focus of the institution discussed later in the text.BIt identifies a historical trend of which the Latino cultural institution discussed later in the text is a part.CIt analyzes how two institutions' approach to exhibiting artworks reflects the approach taken by most Latino cultural institutions.DIt describes a historical development that encouraged the founding of the two Latino cultural institutions discussed in the text.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Movies that are part of larger franchises are often criticized for being predictable. Take, for instance, Spider Man: Far From Home (2019), which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. It's true that this movie resembles earlier Marvel movies. But just because a movie has familiar elements doesn't mean it can't also be worth watching. Critics generally agree that Spider-Man: Far From Home isn't the most exciting franchise movie, but franchise movies are rarely as stale as some people claim. And some franchise movies, like Logan (2017), are wonderfully original.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

AThe text summarizes the plot of a franchise movie, then explains how the plot is continued in a later movie in that franchise.BThe text explains why some people enjoyed a particular franchise movie, then considers why other people disliked it.CThe text describes audiences' reactions to a movie that is part of a larger francluise, then presents some critics' reactions to that movie.DThe text discusses a common criticism of franchise movies, then argues that the criticism is mostly undeserved.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The following text is from George Ellot's 1857 short story "The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton." The Countess Czerlaski is a newcomer to the town of Milby.

It is true, the countess was a little vain, a little ambitious, a little selfish, a little shallow and frivolous, a little given to white lies,---But who considers such slight blemishes, such moral pimples as these, disqualifications for entering into the most respectable society! Indeed, the severest ladies in Milby would have been perfectly aware that these characteristics would have created no wide distinction between the Countess Czerlaski and themselves: and since it was clear there was a wide distinction---why, It must lie in the possession of some vices from which they were undeniably free.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

AThe residents of Milby had initially viewed the Countess Czerlaski with suspicion, but they have gradually come to see her as mostly harmless.BAlthough the Countess Czerlaski actively cultivates a sense of mystery about her, her background is less interesting than what many residents of Milby have been led to believe.CAlthough the residents of Milby are generally thought to be hospitable, the Countess Czerlaski has committed many social blunders that have caused her to be widely disliked.DSome residents of Milby are determined to disapprove of the Countess Czerlaski, even though the reasons for their dislike are largely groundless.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

In Bhutan, use of solid fuel (e.g., coal, wood) as a share of total household fuel use fell by approximately two thirds between 2000 and 2019; such shifts are often explained by appeal to the energy ladder, a model holding that fuel choice is mediated mainly by household income (specifically, high-technology fuels displace solid fuels as incomes rise). Rasmus Heltberg's study of fuel use in Nepal shows this model to be reductive, however: household fuel use was heterogeneous, flexible, and influenced by several factors, including the stability of the local electrical grid.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

ATo challenge a common explanation for households' fuel choicesBTo contrast patterns in household fuel use in two countriesCTo account for the effect of fuel use on household incomeDTo critique a frequently used model of changes in household fuel prices

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Some researchers posit that species on the South Pacific island of Grande Terre are the surviving members of clades that inhabited other islands in the region before the complete emergence of Grande Terre 37 million years ago. In a 2012 study, however, Hervé Sauquet et al. found that the crown age (the age of the most recent common ancestor of all living and extinct species in the clade) of the clade of southern beeches on Grande Terre is 16.4 million years; Sauquet et al, further found that the crown age of the clade of southern beeches in the South Pacific generally is also approximutely 16.4 million years.

As presented in the text. the findings of Sauquet et al. best support which statement?

AThe southern beeches found on Grande Terre are members of a clade that likely originated outside the South Pacific.BThe most recent common ancestor of the southern beeches found on Grande Terre lived at least 37 million years ago.CThe southern beeches found on Grande Terre are not members of a clade that existed before the island completely emerged.DThe ancestors of most species found on Grande Terre arrived on the island earlier than did the most recent common ancestor of the island's southern beeches.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Periods of subfreezing temperatures in Alaska have been growing shorter as a result of climate changes, potentially enabling increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption through greater productivity of sidebells wintergreen (Orthitia secunda) plants and other vegetation. but also potentially enabling increased CO₂ output through greater heterotrophic respiration (CO₂ generated by the activity of soil microorganisms). Hydrologist Yonghong Yi and her colleagues developed a model incorporating numerous inputs---years of soil moisture and snow cover data among them---to evaluate the effects of climate changes on the CO₂ balance in Alaska, concluding that net CO₂ is likely to increase if seasonal snow cover arrives earlier relative to the onset of soil surface freezing.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers' conclusion?

Relatively early snow cover reduces the amount of soil moisture available for the growth of plant species such as O. secunda and lowers the rate of heterotrophic respiration.

BThe soil insulation provided by snow cover enables heterotrophic respiration to continue during a period in which plant species such as O. secunda are typically not growing.CThe effect of soil moisture on the growth of vegetation and on the rate of heterotrophic respiration is stronger during the period of seasonal snow cover than during the period without snow cover.DSeasonal snow cover tends to persist longer in areas of relatively low vegetation growth and high heterotrophic respiration than in areas of relatively high vegetation growth and low heterotrophic respiration.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

A student is writing a research paper on the history of irrigation in the southwestern United States, situating the development of Lake Sabrina (a man-made body of water created in Inyo County, California, in 1908) in a larger historical context. The student claims that some modern-day irrigation methods used in southwestern states, such as California, Arizona, and New Mexico, have a lineage that long predates the completion of Lake Sabrina.

Which quotation from a historian best supports the student's claim?

A"Sprinkler irrigation systems, which were developed in the late 20th century, are a convenient technique of irrigating that makes use of machinery in order to spray water in all directions. Many areas of the Southwestern United States are currently irrigated by this method."B"In the decades following the Second World War, irrigation of arid areas for agriculture increased to such a degree that it now accounts for roughly 70% of the world's water usage."C"The irrigation system developed by the Hohokam people in what is now central Arizona in the 7th century CE, was simple but made use of hydraulic engineering design principles that are still utilized by today's engineers."D"The importance of the development of irrigation infrastructure in the American Southwest today cannot be overstated, since it is the most common means of conveying water for food production."

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Issuing a one-dollar coin yields positive seigniorage---profit generated when the face value of a coin exceeds the unit cost of producing it---for Singapore's government, which can be used to fund such services as education. Issuing coins can also result in negative seigniorage, however, and this phenomenon led Australia to stop producing certain coins. A student argues that it is in the financial interest of the United States to follow the example of Australia with regard to each of the four coins shown in the table.

Which choice best describes data from the table that weaken the student's argument?

ASeigniorage per dollar issued was slightly greater for quarter-dollar coins than for ten-cent coins, but seigniorage in millions of dollars was much greater for quarter-dollar coins than for ten-cent coins.BAlthough issuing one-cent and five-cent coins resulted in negative seigniorage in millions of dollars, issuing ten-cent and quarter-dollar coins resulted in positive seigniorage in millions of dollars.CIssuing one-cent and five-cent coins created negative seigniorage in millions of dollars, but for each of those coins, the gross cost of issuing the coin was lower than the gross cost of issuing ten-cent or quarter-dollar coins was.DAlthough issuing five-cent coins created the greatest negative seigniorage in millions of dollars, issuing one-cent coins created the greatest negative seigniorage per dollar issued.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

To understand the extent of deforestation in the chorotega region of Costa Rica. Juan Pablo Arroyo Mora and colleagues used historical aerial photography and remote sensing data to track changes in the total number of forest patches in areas of different land use capability classes (categories that indicate possible uses of forest land). Due to the Chorotega region's accessibility, various types of forested areas were converted to cattle pasture as rising international meat prices drove a cattle ranching boom in the 1960s and 1970s: this conversion is evident in the _______

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

Ahigh number of patches in Class VII and class VIII in 1986.Bdifference between the number of patches in Class VII and in Class VI in 2000.Cincrease in the number of patches for all classes from 1979 to 2000.Ddecrease in the number of patches for all classes Irom 1960 to 1979.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The Virgin Group's introduction of the Virgin Atlantic airline in 1984 is an instance of brand extension---the company leveraged its brand recognition as a music retailer to enter a new product category. To investigate how market share affects consumers' likelihood of purchasing brand extensions, Alicia Grasby et al. identified 30 extended brand pairs (e.g.the same brand of vacuum cleaner and microwave) in household purchasing data; for each pair, Grasby et al, calculated the branded products' market share and calculated the increase in probability of a brand in one category being purchased if the same brand was purchased in the other category. A broad inverse relationship between the two values emerged, which can most reasonably be attributed to the fact that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Athe purchase probability of a brand is affected by the purchase probability of the particular product category to which it belongs, and thus brands in categories that are rarely purchased tend to have low purchase probabilities regardless of market share.Bas a brand's market share increases, the number of competing brands in the same product category tends to decrease, and thus the rate of increase in market share tends to accelerate as a brand's market share grows.Cbrands with high market share have high purchase probability regardless of whether the other product in the pair is purchased and thus have less potential to increase in purchase probability than brands with low market share do.Dconsumers tend to be less familiar with brands with low market share than brands with high market share and thus may purchase both products in a pair with low market share without recognizing that the products are the same brand.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Though longitudinal studies like the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS), which has surveyed approximately 500,000 participants in Northern Ireland to find trends in public health, are expensive because they are conducted over many years, by spanning these time frames, they can reveal causal patterns. But studies for which cause and effect is not at issue, like a public opinion study that merely seeks to determine the proportion of a city's population that supports a particular tax proposal, can succeed without longitudinal methods, which means that _______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Athe public opinion study could likely be completed at a considerably lower cost than NILS.BIongitudinal methods would likely be less suitable for studies in public opinion than for studies in public health.CIongitudinal methods would likely be less expensive for studies in public opinion than for studies in public health.Dthe results from NILS would likely be more reliable than those from the public opinion study.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Focusing on Mirounga angustirostris---or ______ 2021 study by researchers Akinori Takahashi, Daniel Costa, and Patrick Robinson tound that female elephant seals devote more than 80% of their time to foraging for prey in the northern Pacific Ocean.

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

Anorthern elephant seals, as they're more commonly known, aBnorthern elephant seals, as they're more commonly known---aCnorthern elephant seals, as they're more commonly known. ADnorthern elephant seals---as they're more commonly known, a

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

A 2016 study by researchers Andreas Keller and Leslie Vosshall evaluating how participants described the odors of various chemical compounds revealed some similarities between the odor of sample 15 (linoleic acid) and that of sample 18 (propionic acid). The _______ primary descriptors both included "sour"; however the next most common word used for sample 15 was "decayed" while that for sample 18 was "musky."

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

Asample's odorsBsamples' odor'sCsamples odors'D

samples' odors'

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The small celestial body known as 2060 Chiron is expected to have a relatively short lifetime in the outer solar system. Within just a few million years, 2060 Chiron is likely to migrate into the inner solar system or be destroyed, according to _______ trajectory.

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

Aastronomers modeling of the objectsBastronomer's modeling of the object'sCastronomers modeling of the object'sDastronomers' modeling of the object's

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Despite differences in history, language, and geography, the geopolitical entities that constitute the South Pacific regions of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia share one feature: ______ an island or a group of islands. For example, the Pitcairn Islands in Polynesia is a territory that is part of Great Britain and consists of only one inhabited island with fewer than one hundred residents.

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

Aall of them areBall of them isCeach of them isDeach of them are

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The Orionid meteor shower's brightness typically surpasses that of the Daytime Arietid meteor shower due to the interplay of three main factors---namely, the size and composition of the ______ velocity upon entering Earth's mesosphere, with higher-velocity meteoroids releasing more energy; and atmospheric fluctuations, such as changes in sky conditions.

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

Ameteoroids; theirBmeteoroids. TheirCmeteoroids, theirDmeteoroids---their

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

Space scientist Antonella Nota is excited about the potential of the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Unlike its predecessor the Hubble Telescope, the JWST is primarily an infrared telescope. Most light from distant galaxies is infrared; ______ the JWST can provide Nota and her team much more information about these galaxies than the Hubble could.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Aalternatively,Bin contrast,Cfor instance,Dhence,

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

The parks of Memphis, Tennessee, seem to be making people happier. In 2022, a team of researchers _______ to find connections between the physical location in which a social media post was created and the content of that post analyzed geotagged social media posts from varlous sites in Memphis. The team found that posts from the city's parks contained more words associated with happiness than did the other posts.

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

AhopedBhopingCwas hopingDwere hoping

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

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

·The Peloncillo-Pan Duro Mountains are located in northwestern Mexico.

·They cover an area of 1,360 square miles(mi²).

·The Big Hatchet Mountains are located in the southwestern United States.

·They cover an area of 65 mi².

·These mountain ranges are two of the dozens of "sky islands" in the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico.

·A sky island is an isolated mountain range whose environment differs drastically from that of the surrounding lowlands.

The student wants to compare the sizes of the two mountain ranges. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

AThere are dozens of isolated mountain ranges located in the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico.B

In terms of area, the Peloncillo-Pan Duro Mountains (which cover 1360 mi²) are larger than the Big Hatchet Mountains (65 mi²).

CSky islands in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern US can vary in size.DThe Peloncillo-Pan Duro Mountains and the Big Hatchet Mountains are both isolated mountain ranges whose environments differ drastically from that of the surrounding lowlands.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

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

·Bengali is a language in the Indo-Aryan language family.

·In Bengali, a noun takes a different form when that noun functions as a location in a sentence.

·The Bengali noun bari (house) is combined with the locative suffix-te to become the locative noun barite (in the house).

·Danish is a language in the Germanic language family.

·In Danish, nouns do not change form to indicate location.

·In Danish, nouns used as a location must be indicated by prepositions such as i (in) or på (on).

The student wants to emphasize a difference between Bengali and Danish nouns. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

ATo indicate location in Bengali, a suffix is appended to a noun, but in Danish, the noun is unchanged and a preposition is used.BBengali and Danish belong to two distinct language families: the former is in the Indo-Aryan family, while the latter is a Germanic language.CThough nouns in Bengali change form to indicate location, this Indo-Aryan language belongs to a different language family than Danish does.DIn Bengali, nouns take a different form when they function as a location, as the language belongs to the Indo-Aryan family: Danish, however, belongs to the Germanic family.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

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

·Hina Hanta is an online archive curated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

·It features images of many cultural artifacts relevant to the history of the Choctaw people.

·It features basketry, including a trunk basket (tapushik pothoma in Choctaw) made from cane.

·The trunk basket was made in 2019.

·The archive features household items, including a stamp (isht inchunwa) made from rubber.

·The stamp was made in the 1800s.

The student wants to support the claim that the online archive features both older and newer artifacts. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

AThe rubber stamp (isht inchunwa) was made in the 1800s.BHina Hanta, an online archive, features both basketry and household items.CNot all artifacts in the Hina Hanta archive are from the 1800s.DThe Hina Hanta online archive features cultural artifacts both old and new, including a rubber stamp from the 1800s and a cane trunk basket from 2019.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

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

·According to researcher Muhammad Rayyan Fazal, "geothermal electric energy...[is] capable of producing more energy per megawatt per year as compared to similar capacity solar and wind power systems."

·Geothermal power plants typically employ dry steam systems, flash steam systems, or binary cycle systems to produce electricity from high-temperature geothermal fluid.

·The Platanares geothermal power plant in Honduras uses a binary cycle system.

·Fazal says that binary cycle systems "pump 100% geothermal fluid back to the injection well, hence offering the least environmental impact with little or no emissions."

The student wants to use a quotation from Fazal to explain an advantage of the geothermal system at the Platanares plant. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

ACompared with dry steam systems and flash steam systems, the binary cycle system used at the Platanares plant is "capable of producing more energy per megawatt per year," Fazal notes.BAccording to Fazal, because it uses high-temperature geothermal fluid to produce electricity, the system used at the Platanares plant results in "little or no emissions," making it environmentally friendly.CSince they return all geothermal fluid to the injection well, binary cycle systems---such as the one at the Platanares plant---produce "the least environmental impact," according to Fazal.DThe Platanares plant uses a binary cycle system to produce electricity; in this type of geothermal system, fluid is pumped "back to the injection well," Fazal explains.

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Chapter 49 · 2025.5 : B-A (analysis included) · READING 2

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

·Lou Scheper-Berkenkamp was a painter and author born in Wesel, Germany.

·She began attending the Bauhaus in 1920 .

·The Bauhaus was an influential German art and design school.

·The school famously espoused the design principle of "form follows function."

·"Form follows function" means that an object's shape should be determined primarily by its intended purpose.

The student wants to explain the principle espoused by the Bauhaus. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

AAccording to the Bauhaus, an object's intended purpose (function) should primarily determine its shape (form).BLou Scheper-Berkenkamp was a painter and author who attended the Bauhaus. famous for espousing the principle of "form follows function."CFamous for its principle of "form follows function." the Bauhaus was an influential German art and design school.DAn object's intended purpose and its shape are two elements of the design principle "form follows function."

READING 2 · 27 questions

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