Expression of ideas & Standard English Conventions
When investigating the link between glacial melt and rising sea ______ scientists often require advanced equipment, including probes that can reach areas that no human explorer could. One such device, an agile submersible dubbed Icefin, has been instrumental in providing images of ice melt below the Thwaites Glacier.
Which choice completes the text so it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
(A) levels and
(B) levels,
(C) levels
(D) levels, and
Answer: B
Explanation: The "Wh-" relative clause modifies the noun "scientists." The "When" relative clause is dependent.
This text is adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1862 novel Agnes of Sorrento. Agnes and Elsie are on a journey through Italy.
Our travelers started in the dewy freshness of one of those gorgeous days which seem to cast an illuminating charm over everything. Even old Elsie's stern features relaxed somewhat under the balmy influences of sun and sky, and Agnes's young, pale face was lit up with a brighter color than for many a day before. Their pilgrimage through this beautiful country had few incidents. They walked in the earlier and latter parts of the day, reposing a few hours at noon near some fountain or shrine by the wayside.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
(A) Elsie and Agnes enjoy a peaceful and pleasing journey.
(B) Agnes finds her travels appealing, but Elsie dislikes the same experiences.
(C) The friendship between Agnes and Elsie has become strained.
(D) Agnes and Elsie are relieved to finish their travels.
Answer: A
The number y is 84 less than the number x. Which equation represents the relationship between x and y?
Answer
A. y = x + 84
B. y = (1/84)x
C. y = 84x
D. y = x − 84
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
The members of a city council wanted to assess the opinions of all city residents about converting an open field into a dog park. The council surveyed a sample of 500 city residents who own dogs. The survey showed that the majority of those sampled were in favor of the dog park. Which of the following is true about the city council's survey?
Answer
A. It shows that the majority of city residents are in favor of the dog park.
B. The survey sample should have included more residents who are dog owners.
C. The survey sample should have consisted entirely of residents who do not own dogs.
D. The survey sample is biased because it is not representative of all city residents.
Answer D
Explanation: We want to assess the opinions of all city residents about converting an open field into a dog park. The council only surveyed city residents who own dogs.
Triangle A has an area of 63 square feet. Square B has side lengths of 9 feet. What is the total area of triangle A and square B, in square feet?
(A) 72
(B) 144
(C) 99
(D) 126
Answer: B
It has long been thought that humans first crossed a land bridge into the Americas approximately 13,000 years ago. ______ based on radiocarbon dating of samples uncovered in Mexico, a research team recently suggested that humans may have arrived more than 30,000 years ago—much earlier than previously thought.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. As a result,
B. Similarly,
C. However,
D. In conclusion,
Answer: C. The new theory of 30,000 years ago contrasts with the old one of 13,000 years ago, so the sentence needs a contrast word.
North American gray wolves usually have mixed gray and white fur, but some members of the species have a version of a gene, or gene variant, that gives them a mostly black coat instead. Sarah Cubaynes and her team studied twelve populations of North American gray wolves. They found that the black-furred wolves are more common in areas where outbreaks of distemper virus happen regularly. The team also discovered that the black-furred wolves are more likely to be immune to distemper than the gray-furred wolves are. Taken together, these findings suggest that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A. North American gray wolves experience more outbreaks of distemper virus than other wolf species do.
B. the gene variant that results in black fur may be linked to immunity to the distemper virus.
C. the average life span of gray wolves is likely to increase over time because of a particular gene variant.
D. gray-furred wolves will soon replace black-furred wolves across North America.
Answer: B. Black wolves are more common where distemper hits, and they’re more likely to be immune to it. That points to the black-fur gene being linked to immunity. A, C, and D all make claims the text never touches.
If 3x + 7 = 25, what is the value of 6x + 5?
A. 6
B. 36
C. 41
D. 43
Answer. C
3x = 18
x = 6
6(6)+5 = 41
For a person m miles from a flash of lightning, the time between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder is k seconds. The ratio of m to k can be estimated as 1 to 5. According to this estimate, how many miles is the person from the lightning if the time interval is 25 seconds?
Answer
A. 10
B. 9
C. 6
D. 5
Answer. D
A circle has a radius of 6 centimeters. What is the area of the circle, in square centimeters?
A. 6π
B. 12π
C. 36π
D. 144π
Answer: C.
Answer: C. πr^2 = π(6)^2 = 36π
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• As engineered structures, many bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive.
• A research team led by Yashraj Bhosale wanted to better understand the mechanics behind these structural properties.
• Bhosale's team used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks into nest-like structures.
• The researchers analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
• When pressure was applied to the model nests, the number of contact points between the sticks increased, making the structures stiffer.
The student wants to present the primary aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Bhosale's team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests' uniquely flexible yet cohesive structural properties.
B. The researchers used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks and analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
C. After analyzing the points where sticks touched, the researchers found that the structures became stiffer when pressure was applied.
D. As analyzed by Bhosale's team, bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive engineered structures.
Answer: A. The question asks for the study’s aim, meaning why it was done. B describes the method and C gives the result. D is just a fact about nests.
Biologists have predicted that birds' feather structures vary with habitat temperature, but this hadn't been tested in mountain environments. Ornithologist Sahas Barve studied feathers from 249 songbird species inhabiting different elevations—and thus experiencing different temperatures—in the Himalayan Mountains. He found that feathers of high-elevation species not only have a greater proportion of warming downy sections to flat and smooth sections than do feathers of low-elevation species, but high-elevation species' feathers also tend to be longer, providing a thicker layer of insulation.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A. Barve's investigation shows that some species of Himalayan songbirds have evolved feathers that better regulate body temperature than do the feathers of other species, contradicting previous predictions.
B. Barve found an association between habitat temperature and feather structure among Himalayan songbirds, lending new support to a general prediction.
C. Barve discovered that songbirds have adapted to their environment by growing feathers without flat and smooth sections, complicating an earlier hypothesis.
D. The results of Barve's study suggest that the ability of birds to withstand cold temperatures is determined more strongly by feather length than feather structure, challenging an established belief.
Answer: B. Barve’s study supports the prediction. A, C, and D all say it contradicted or complicated something, and it didn’t.
x + y = 10
2x − y = 11
What is the value of x in the solution to the system of equations above?
A. 3
B. 7
C. 10
D. 21
Answer. B
Adding the equations gives 3x = 21, so x = 7.
A dealership's website lists 14 cars for sale: 5 nonhybrids priced at no more than $25,000, 3 nonhybrids priced greater than $25,000, 2 hybrids priced at no more than $25,000, and 4 hybrids priced greater than $25,000. If one car is selected at random, what is the probability it is a hybrid priced at no more than $25,000?
Answer
A. 1/7
B. 2/7
C. 1/3
D. 4/7
Answer. A
A right triangle has legs with lengths 9 and 12. What is the length of the hypotenuse?
A. 15
B. 21
C. 108
D. 225
Answer: A
sqrt(9^2 + 12^2 = sqrt(225) = 15
In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there are those who argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species' distribution, and those who insist that vicariance (separation due to geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts herself among neither.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Furthermore,
B. By contrast,
C. Similarly,
D. That is,
Answer: D. The second sentence doesn’t add a new idea or contrast with the first. It explains what the two sides of the debate actually believe, and “that is” signals a clarification like that. B is the trap, because the sentence mentions two opposing sides.
The interiors of many temples in the ancient Middle East needed to satisfy a precise set of acoustic demands: the sounds of chants and hymns should travel with clarity, while profound silences should be fully felt and appreciated. In a research paper, a student claims that the users of one such temple were aware of how the materials that were used within the structure could affect sound quality and that they deliberately applied this knowledge to influence how sound was experienced in the space.
Which quotation from a work by a historian would most directly support the student's claim?
A. "Many researchers believe that the central chamber of the temple had a high ceiling, a feature that has since become essential to the acoustic design of modern concert halls."
B. "The innermost room of the temple was likely among the quietest spaces in the interior of the temple."
C. "The acoustic environment of the temple was best suited for music that eschewed ornamentation in favor of simple melodies, harmonies, and rhythms."
D. "During special occasions, curtains were placed inside the temple to minimize reverberation and confine the sound to designated locations."
Answer: D. The claim is about people deliberately using materials to control sound. The curtains are the only choice that shows a material being used on purpose for that.
What are the solutions to x² − 5x − 14 = 0?
A. 7 and 2
B. −7 and 2
C. 7 and −2
D. −7 and −2
Answer C.
(x-7)(x+2)=0
x = 7, -2
The population density of Iceland, in people per square kilometer of land area, increased from 2.5 in 1990 to 3.3 in 2014. During this time, Iceland's land area was 100,250 square kilometers. By how many people did Iceland's population increase from 1990 to 2014?
Answer
A. 330,825
B. 132,330
C. 125,312
D. 80,200
Answer: D
In right triangle ABC, angle C measures 90°. If AB = 13 and BC = 5, what is the value of sin A?
A. 5/13
B. 12/13
C. 5/12
D. 13/5
Answer. A
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• British scholar Robert Plot described fossilized dinosaur bones in his 1676 book The Natural History of Oxfordshire.
• Plot earned a reputation for being the first person to have discovered dinosaur remains.
• In 1990, archaeologists in Lesotho, in southern Africa, discovered a fossilized phalanx of a Massospondylus carinatus dinosaur in a cave once inhabited by humans.
• Indigenous Khoesan and Basotho peoples had inhabited the cave beginning around 1100 CE.
• According to paleontologist Julien Benoit, these peoples may have found the phalanx and brought it to the cave centuries before Plot's descriptions.
The student wants to emphasize the significance of the 1990 discovery to Plot's reputation. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Benoit challenged Plot's reputation for being the first person to have discovered M. carinatus remains.
B. Evidence that Khoesan and Basotho peoples may have found an M. carinatus phalanx as long ago as 1100 CE suggests that Plot may not have been the first person to have discovered dinosaur remains.
C. According to Benoit's analysis of the 1990 discovery, Indigenous peoples in southern Africa may have brought the fossilized phalanx to the cave as long ago as 1100 CE.
D. In 1990, more than three centuries after Plot claimed in his book that he had found fossilized dinosaur bones, archaeologists uncovered evidence in southern Africa that disproved his claims.
Answer: B. It’s the only choice that connects the discovery to Plot’s reputation and gets the details right.
Marta Coll and colleagues' 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity census reported approximately 17,000 species, nearly double the number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla Morri's 2000 census—a difference only partly attributable to the description of new invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the morphological variability of microorganisms is poorly understood compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and algae, creating uncertainty about how to evaluate microorganisms as species. Researchers' decisions on such matters therefore can be highly consequential. Indeed, the two censuses reported similar counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
A. Coll andcolleagues reported a much higher number of species than Bianchi and Morri did largely due to the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Bianchi and Morri's census.
B. some differences observed in microorganisms may have been treated as variations within species by Bianchi and Morri but treated as indicative of distinct species by Coll and colleagues.
C. Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to the degree of morphological variation displayed within a typical species of microorganism than Coll and colleagues were.
D. the absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among species of microorganisms may have resulted in Coll and colleagues underestimating the number of microorganism species.
Answer: B. Both censuses got about the same counts for vertebrates, plants, and algae, so the big gap has to come from how each team classified microorganisms. Coll’s team likely split differences into separate species where Bianchi and Morri saw variation within one species. C gets the direction backwards. D would mean Coll’s count was even too low, which doesn’t explain the gap.
The equation x² + bx + 16 = 0 has exactly one real solution, where b is a positive constant. What is the value of b?
A. 4
B. 8
C. 16
D. 32
Answer. B
Exactly one solution means the discriminant is 0. b^2 - 4(1)(16) = 0
b = 8
A school district is forming a committee. Of those invited, 15% are parents, 45% are teachers, 25% are school and district administrators, and the remaining 6 individuals are students. How many more teachers were invited than school and district administrators?
Answer. 8
The equation of a circle in the xy-plane is x² + y² − 6x + 8y = 0. What is the radius of the circle?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 25
Answer: C