SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
· Felipe Posada (pseudonym The Invisible Realm) is a New York City-based artist who specializes in the form of art known as surrealist collage.
· Manifestation of the unconscious mind is a central aspect of surrealist collage.
· Irrational juxtaposition of disparate elements is a central aspect of surrealist collage.
· Posada's High Maintenance irrationally juxtaposes images of an astronaut, a giant human face, and a waterfall.
· Posada: "My art is a journey through the invisible realm---a space where intuition, memories, visions, and dreams are free to take visual form."
The student wants to provide a specific example of irrational juxtaposition in surrealist collage. 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:
· Carbon can exist in several distinct structural forms called allotropes.
· Graphite is a carbon allotrope.
· Graphite is composed of stacked graphene sheets.
· Each graphene sheet is composed of carbon atoms arranged in a flat honeycomb pattern.
· Carbon nanotubes are carbon allotropes.
· They are composed of one or more graphene sheets wrapped into a cylindrical shape.
The student wants to emphasize a difference between carbon nanotubes and graphite. 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:
· Behavioral plasticity refers to an organism's ability to alter its behavior in response to environmental changes.
· 1995: Biologist Sarah L. Smith proposed that behavioral plasticity in insects is limited to specific survival tasks, such as foraging and predator avoidance.
· In Smith's framework, complex social behaviors (e.g., nest-building, communication) are not considered plastic.
· 2010: Ecologist Maria J. González introduced the universal plasticity hypothesis (UPH), arguing that all behaviors, including social ones, exhibit plasticity under environmental pressures.
· UPH posits that plasticity is a fundamental trait across all behavioral domains, not just basic survival tasks.
The student wants to compare Smith's hypothesis with González's. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

To analyze the evolution of Gothic architecture, begin by examining the flying buttresses of Notre-Dame de Paris, constructed in the 12th century; __________ study the ribbed vaults of Chartres Cathedral, completed in the 13th century, to observe advancements in structural design.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In an ekphrastic poem, a poet explores a work of visual art, such as a drawing, sculpture, or painting. Robert Hayden's 1994 poem "Monet's Waterlilies," for example, meditates on Claude Monet's 1899 painting Water Lilfes; Elizabeth Alexander's 2001 poem "Islands Number Four," __________ takes a painting as its subject: Agnes Martin's 1961 work Islands No. 4.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Recent analysis of 54598 Bienor---an outer solar system object orbiting the Sun between Saturn and Uranus---has determined its color to be gray, suggesting an icy composition. Such interpretations are ultimately ___________ the object's gray coloration may be an incidental effect of radiation, solar wind, or collisions with other objects rather than evidence of its physical makeup.

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

In the list "Adorable Things" from Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, the author delights in baby sparrows, a face drawn on a melon, and a young courtier in ceremonial garb. So shrewd an observer is Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting to Empress Teishi, that her book's musings on tenth-century Japanese courtly life _________ readers a thousand years later.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Recent studies on coral reef resilience suggest that symbiotic algae, which provide corals with essential nutrients through photosynthesis, play a critical role in mitigating thermal stress. Elevated ocean temperatures, however, disrupt this partnership, leading to coral bleaching. Some coral species exhibit adaptive behaviors, __________ their algae partners with more heat-resistant strains, which could enhance their survival in warming seas.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

New Zealand and Greece have two of the longest constitutions in the world. At 48,438 and 26,989 words, respectively, these ___________ according to research by constitutional scholars George Tsebelis and Dominic J. Nardi, correlate with GDPs (gross domestic products) that are lower than those of countries with shorter constitutions.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

The retrospective exhibition Modern Echoes at the National Gallery features the work of painter Amara Chen, whose vibrant canvases blend traditional Chinese ink techniques with bold abstract expressionism. Chen's art explores themes of cultural hybridity, tradition, critics and ___________ she is credited with seamlessly bridging Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

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

Although Eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales generally migrate between their wintering waters along the coast of Mexico and their foraging waters in the Arctic, a subset of this population---known as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG)---forages along the coastlines of Northern California (USA) and British Columbia (Canada) instead. Interestingly, individuals in this subset reach smaller maximum sizes than other ENP whales do, despite having similar pre-maximum growth rates. Researchers hypothesize that this difference may be an adaptation to distinct resource opportunities in the PCFG foraging range.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers' claim regarding the size of PCFG whales?

As urban populations grow, the demand for public transportation has increased significantly. While cities are working to expand their transportation networks, congestion and overcrowding remain major issues. In response, some cities have implemented innovative solutions such as driverless buses and bike-sharing programs to alleviate pressure on traditional transit systems. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives is limited due to challenges such as the need for extensive infrastructure and regulatory hurdles. Consequently, __________.

In perovskite solar cells, electron recombination at the interface between the light-absorbing layer and the electron transport layer (ETL) limits efficiency. Traditional metal-oxide ETLs, such as titanium dioxide, often suffer from slow electron extraction, leading to high recombination rates. Researchers tested a modified ETL by embedding graphene quantum dots (GQDs) into the titanium dioxide matrix. The resulting device showed a 25% increase in power conversion efficiency. Since graphene is highly conductive and facilitates rapid electron movement, the researchers hypothesized that __________.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

Recent studies on Earth's climate systems highlight the significant role of cloud cover in modulating global temperature through albedo effects. However, satellite data on cloud distribution and reflectivity in polar regions remain inconsistent and incomplete. To address this uncertainty, the Global Climate Dynamics (GCD) model assumes a fixed cloud albedo value for polar latitudes. While the GCD model accurately simulates temperature trends in mid-latitude regions, researchers emphasize that __________.
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A thermoelectric generator (TEG) converts waste heat into electricity using temperature gradients. Researchers developed a TEG with a novel bismuth-telluride alloy layer, which significantly improves thermal stability during prolonged high-temperature operation. The study claims this design is critical for industrial sensors, as consistent power output is essential for real-time monitoring systems.
Which finding, if true, most directly supports the claim about industrial sensors?

The table above shows the minimum and maximum depths (in meters) at which four different species of Stony Coral in Caribbean and Indo-Pacific Waters. Based on the information in the table, which of the following statements is accurate?

Life Among the Paiutes is an 1882 autobiographical narrative by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, a Northern Paiute author, educator, and activist. In the work, Winnemucca directly addresses the reader to explain certain customs, writing__________.
Which quotation from Life Among the Paiutes most effectively illustrates the claim?

In 2011 Stephen D. Simpson and colleagues published a study concluding that ocean acidification has a strong effect on the behavior of Amphiprion percula, a species of fish. However, Simpson and colleagues' study relied on a mean sample size of only about 26 fish. In a 2022 review of various scientists' conclusions about the impacts of ocean acidification on fish behavior, Timothy D. Clark and colleagues caution that relying on such a relatively small sample size can increase the potential for biased analysis. Such analysis, in turn, can contribute to reports of exaggerated effects.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text?

Founded in New York City in 1969, El Museo del Barrio is dedicated to the visual arts and cultures of Latin America and of Latino communities in the United States. Since its founding, it has acquired more than 8,500 objects for its permanent collection. More recently founded US-based institutions devoted to Latino cultures include the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Located in Austin, Texas, it focuses on Mexican American art and culture.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

The following text is from Mick Herron's 2023 novel The Secret Hours. The narrator is describing members of a government committee. Finally, and adding much-needed gravitas, was Sir Winston Day, whose features seemed moulded to adorn a bust, or possibly a stamp, and whose forehead was so evidently bulging with grey matter that it would have been impertinent to inquire too closely into the actual achievements his half century of public service had produced. His recently published memoirs possibly cast light on this enigma, but given that such details were not provided until after the thirty-page mark, they might as well have remained state secrets.
Based on the text, which choice best describes Sir Winston Day?

Paintings by the Florida Highwaymen---an informal collective of prolific landscape artists active in Florida during the 1950s and ' 60s---are recognizable by their reiteration of the same general compositional structures and subjects: moonlit waters and poinciana trees, to name two. But there was room for individuation: Lemuel Newton's Salmon Sky Sunset, for example, may resemble other Highwaymen paintings at first glance, but his works stand out for their attention to detail and warm color palette.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Agglomeration economies arise when multiple firms in related industries ___________ an area, as with knitted fabrics manufacturers and knitted clothing manufacturers in Derby, UK. Economists have assumed that companies cluster for the same reasons, but Giulia Faggio et al. found that factors driving agglomeration in some cases are only weakly correlated with agglomeration in others.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A study on the efficacy of online learning platforms found that student engagement levels were strongly ________ the design of interactive course modules: completion rates for courses with gamified elements averaged 85%, compared to just 45% for courses relying solely on static video lectures.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise phrase?

In some of his sculptures, Allan Houser uses abstract geometric shapes to depict his subjects rather than portraying them in realistic detail. For instance, his 1989 work Embrace is highly abstract and therefore differs strikingly from some of his other pieces in which the viewer can easily __________ familiar objects.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Any effort to raise the toll that drivers must pay to use the Ogdensburg-Prescott Bridge, which spans the Saint Lawrence River to connect New York State and Ontario, Canada, should explain why a higher toll is necessary; no amount of justification, however, is likely to persuade some drivers who believe the current toll is__________.

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

The familial structure of the black swan (Cygnus atratus) shows tremendous_________: breeding pairs with demonstrated success in rearing cygnets (young swans) have been observed to foster those of less successful pairs, and while rearing by female-male pairs is most common, male-male pairs sometimes rear cygnets too, achieving a significantly higher rate of survival to adulthood than female-male pairs.

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