SAT Pastpaper with Solutions

Demosthenes, a prominent fourth-century BCE Athenian orator, is said to have been ________ of parrhesia, or speaking freely and openly to ensure productive civic deliberation. He is noted for characterizing parrhesia in several public addresses as the foundation of democracy in classical Athens rather than, more simply, as a facilitator of the political system.

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

While the archival findings of historian Evelyn Vance were initially celebrated for their apparent thoroughness, subsequent historiographical analysis revealed that her evidentiary framework was entirely__________: Vance had selectively incorporated only those administrative correspondences that corroborated her thesis while systematically omitting dozens of contradictory municipal reports.

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

The philosophical treatises of the fourth-century logician were long considered hopelessly _________: dense with self-referential neologisms and obscure dialectical detours that resisted standard methods of exegesis. Recent scholarship, however, has demonstrated that these stylistic eccentricities were deliberate mnemonic devices designed for initiated students.

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

The following text is adapted from Edith Wharton's 1920 novel The Age of Innocence. Newland Archer reflects on the rigid social conventions governing elite New York society.

 

In the subtle and elaborate hierarchy of old New York, an unalterable code regulated every gesture, from the precise date for exchanging summer calls to the exact shade of gloves permissible at an evening opera. It was a world where real feelings were never mentioned, and where the direct expression of an opinion was regarded as almost indecent. Newland Archer had been bred in this atmosphere of delicate evasions; he accepted its decrees unquestioningly, yet he occasionally felt a faint stir of restlessness, a sudden fleeting suspicion that this meticulous preservation of form was merely a collective conspiracy to avoid facing the reality of life.

 

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Marketing research recognizes three distinct types of price endings: round (like $25.00), just-below (like $24.99), and precise (like $24.63). A number of studies have documented significant differences in how frequently these price endings appear in different countries' marketplaces. Although these variations could be attributable to cultural factors, researchers have yet to thoroughly investigate that connection, and it remains unclear which cultural differences may be relevant or how they might interact with other socioeconomic conditions.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

The following text is adapted from Virginia Woolf's 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. Lily Briscoe is attempting to capture a scene in a painting.

 

She could see it all so clearly, so distinctly, when she was not hurried; the color was there, the balance was there, and the mass was right. Yet the moment she took her brush and approached the canvas, a terrible leveling force intervened, reducing the luminous clarity of the inner vision to an awkward and unresponsive array of pigment and line. Between the conceived perfection and the executed form lay an insurmountable chasm that left her standing baffled before her own easel, conscious of a profound discrepancy between imagination and achievement.

 

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

Companies involved in methane distribution include pipelines among their assets. But methane distribution is a very carbon-intensive industry, so as government agencies increase regulations on carbon emissions, demand for methane falls and the pipelines will eventually, or even suddenly, become liabilities as reduced methane prices make it more difficult to recover the expense of maintaining such equipment.

What claim does the text make about the demand for methane?

In 2009, the US state of Montana enacted rate stability regulations (RSRs), constraining insurance companies' latitude to raise premiums (the recurring fees policyholders pay to maintain insurance policies) once policies are in effect. Although RSRs are intended to benefit consumers, Naoki Aizawa and Ami Ko note that RSRs could curtail insurers' profits to such a degree that insurers abandon the market, thereby reducing the competitive pressure that typically restrains premium prices for newly issued policies. To determine whether this occurred in Montana, students first collect data on the number of insurers in the state for a few years leading up to and following 2009 and the premium prices for new policies offered by those insurers.

Based on the text, what would be the most reasonable next step for the students to take to accomplish their goal?

A team of researchers used bacteria to create a biofuel (a renewable fuel produced from plants, algae, or other living materials). The team called the new fuel POP biofuel. To determine how much energy is stored in POP biofuel compared to other fuels, the team calculated the fuels' energy density, in megajoules per liter (MJ/L). The team found that the fuel with the highest energy density is_______.

 

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

A tariff is a tax on imported goods intended to protect domestic producers of similar goods from international competition. Eliminating tariffs can lead to an influx of cheaper imported goods, lowering prices; in a place where domestic production is relatively expensive, this influx can suppress domestic production, as the country's consumers favor more cheaply produced imported goods over domestically produced ones. A student consult a table showing projected changes in production and average market prices of agricultural commodities in four countries in a tariff-elimination scenario. Based on the data, the student claims that compared with India and Russia, agricultural production in Argentina and the United States is likely relatively inexpensive.

 

Which choice most effectively uses information from the text and data from the table to support the student's claim?

Wives and Daughters is an 1866 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. In the novel, two young women named Molly and Cynthia attend a charity ball. Gaskell's narrator, in depicting these characters, acknowledges a historical distance between the reader and the characters themselves: __________.

Which quotation from Wives and Daughters most effectively illustrates the claim?

Students in a biology class investigated why individual house mice (Mus musculus) can differ from one another in their responsiveness to potential rewards. The students compared wild-type mice and knockout mice, which are mice with specific genes deactivated, when mice of each type were presented with the same reward system for particular behaviors. Finding that knockout mice with the gene Cartpt deactivated tended to show less sensitivity to rewards than did wild-type mice, the students concluded that differences in reward responsiveness among house mice in nature are solely attributable to variations in the level of expression of Cartpt.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the students' conclusion?

Economist George Akerlof demonstrated that in markets characterized by asymmetric information—where sellers know the true quality of a good but buyers cannot independently verify it prior to purchase—adverse selection can cause market unraveling. Because risk-averse buyers will only pay an average price reflecting expected market quality, owners of high-quality goods will refuse to sell at that discounted rate and will withdraw from the market. Consequently, the proportion of low-quality goods increases, driving buyer valuations down further. Akerlof concluded that without external signaling mechanisms, such as third-party certifications or binding warranties,_________.

 

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Some desert plants produce seeds that remain dormant in the soil for years before germinating. Rather than sprouting immediately after they are dispersed, these seeds often require unusually heavy rainfall to trigger growth. Because prolonged dry periods are common in desert environments, this strategy reduces the likelihood that seedlings will emerge during conditions too harsh to support their survival. Researchers have therefore suggested that seed dormancy is one factor contributing to the long-term persistence of certain desert plant populations. In light of this information, unusually frequent periods of heavy rainfall could _________.

Which choice most logically completes the text?

In 1811, twelve-year-old Mary Anning discovered the fossilized skull of an Ichthyosaurus along the cliffs of Lyme Regis in Dorset, England. Over the next three decades, she _________ numerous significant marine reptile specimens that transformed the emerging scientific field of paleontology, despite receiving little formal recognition from contemporary academic societies during her lifetime.

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

By reassessing evidence from a 1991 archaeological dig in Argentina, researchers Ophélie Lebrasseur and Cinthia Abbona have reclassifed the remains of a large foxlike animal and have further determined that this __________ was most likely domesticated by humans 1,500 years ago.

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

Today, the ancient stone tombs at Newgrange are regarded as one of Ireland's cultural treasures—dubbed "Ireland's Stonehenge," in reference to the better-known British formation. Yet Newgrange was hidden from sight until the 1600s when, excavating the area, _______

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

George Saunders concludes his essay "What Writers Really Do When They Write" by comparing the work of fiction writing to the act of juggling. The author-as-juggler performs a _________ gathering of central themes and tensions, the tossing of these elements into a dynamic narrative, and the catching of the resolutions that emerge.

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

Written as a satire of materialism with some whimsical touches, _______ on the imaginary Washington family, whose wealth hinges on the mythical, mountainous diamond in Fitzgerald's title.

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

Superconductors are substances that enable the flow of electricity with maximum efficiency and minimal resistance, but many of these materials (which include metal compounds such as copper oxide) only exhibit their superconducting properties at extremely low temperatures. _________ material scientists and engineers are searching for ways to create superconductors that are not so situation specific.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In a 2005 study by Sandoval et al., the researchers' aim was to analyze the diet composition of elk and mule deer in New Mexico. ______ they aimed to analyze the ratio of three different plant subtypes within these animals' diet: graminoids, forbs, and browse.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

When Sophie Taeuber-Arp produced mannequin-like sculptures and knitwork images in the 1920s, some critics wondered whether items in these media should be classified as works of art or simply as handicraft items. These questions have mostly been resolved in favor of art, and commentary surrounding Taeuber-Arp has, _______ shifted to assessment of the aesthetic virtues of her specific wood and textile creations.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In economics, sugar is considered a soft commodity, while copper and crude oil are considered hard commodities. The categorical distinction between soft and hard commodities lies not in the products' strength or durability but in their origin: the former type is grown or farmed, while the latter is mined or drilled. _______ pine lumber is as much a soft commodity as sugar, despite its decidedly sturdier composition.

 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

 

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

 

·Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) regularly observe and analyze the Kīlauea Volcano.

·Volcanoes are typically classified as either active or dormant.

·Dormant volcanoes have not erupted recently but have reserves of underground molten rock, or magma, that could reach the surface in a future eruption.

·Active volcanoes have exhibited bursts of magma and often cause other disturbances such as earthquakes.

·The Kīlauea Volcano is considered an active volcano because it has been continuously erupting for the past several years.

·HVO scientists use seismometers to record the earthquakes caused by the Kīlauea Volcano.

 

The student wants to summarize the HVO scientists' research for an audience unfamiliar with the Kīlauea Volcano. 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:

 

·Princess Pauline von Metternich (1836–1921) was an Austrian socialite and the granddaughter-in-law of Klemens von Metternich, a noteworthy statesman.

·She was married to Richard von Metternich, an Austro-Hungarian prince and diplomat who served as an ambassador to France in the nineteenth century.

·French painter Edgar Degas (1834–1917) completed a portrait of Pauline von Metternich.

·Rather than working from live sessions with the princess as a sitter, Degas based his painting on a photographed image that appeared on a card circulated by the princess and her husband.

 

The student wants to make and support a generalization about Degas's painting. 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:

 

·Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack was an artist and musician born in Frankfurt, Germany.

·He began attending the Bauhaus in 1919.

·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?