All practice questions

Because the botanist needed to collect various plant specimens, she searched the meadow for wild daisies, red clover, and sweet clover.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

During the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, workers faced dangerous conditions high above the East River. Many of these laborers braved strong winds daily, and low wages were accepted by them to support their families. Ultimately, their dedication helped complete one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century.

Which choice best maintains a consistent grammatical construction in this sentence?

A group of students conducted a physics experiment to study the relationship between the mass of a glider and its acceleration on a horizontal air track. A constant net force was applied to the glider during all trials. The students observed that the acceleration of the glider, $a$, is inversely proportional to its mass, $m$. During Trial 1, a glider with a mass of $0.20\text{ kg}$ was measured to have an acceleration of $5.0\text{ m/s}^2$. During Trial 2, a different glider was used under the same constant net force. If the mass of the glider in Trial 2 is $0.50\text{ kg}$, what is the acceleration of the glider, in $\text{m/s}^2$?

Students debate the extent of global ice cover during the Cryogenian period.

Student 1 (Hard Snowball Model)
During the glaciation, the entire Earth was encased in ice, including the equatorial oceans. Global ocean temperatures dropped drastically, and ice sheets reached thicknesses of up to 1 kilometer. The thick ice cover completely sealed the oceans, preventing any gas exchange between the seawater and the atmosphere and blocking sunlight from reaching the marine water column. Consequently, marine photosynthesis ceased, and biological activity was restricted to isolated hydrothermal vents on the deep seafloor.

Student 2 (Slushball Model)
While ice sheets covered the continents and mid-to-high latitude oceans, the equatorial region remained free of thick, continuous ice. Instead, the equator featured a dynamic band of open ocean water and thin, seasonal ice. This allowed sunlight to penetrate the surface waters and permitted continuous gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere. Marine photosynthetic organisms survived in these open equatorial environments throughout the glacial epoch.

A geochemist analyzes equatorial marine sediment samples deposited during the peak of the Cryogenian glaciation. The sediment shows continuous deposition of organic carbon derived from photosynthetic organisms, indicating active surface-ocean photosynthesis and uninterrupted atmospheric gas exchange. This finding, if true, would best support the viewpoint of which student?

The following sentences are from a paragraph about the engineering feat of reversing the Chicago River. Arrange the sentences in the most logical order to create a cohesive paragraph that begins with a clear introduction of the problem and ends with an effective concluding sentence that summarizes the project's impact.

A portion of the passage below is underlined.

In 1964, astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were troubleshooting a persistent background hiss in their sensitive horn antenna. Initially, they suspected that the interference was caused by nesting pigeons, which had coated the inside of the instrument with debris. After cleaning the antenna and removing the birds, however, they found that the persistent noise continued to remain and still went on without stopping.

Which of the following options most effectively eliminates wordiness while maintaining the meaning and grammatical correctness of the underlined portion?

In modern city planning, the design of sustainable skyscrapers helps reduce a city's carbon footprint. The vertical gardens on these structures, in addition to acting as a natural air filter, creates a cooling effect in dense urban areas.

Which of the following is the correct form of the bolded word 'creates'?

A researcher measured the flow rate, $Q$, of various liquids passing through a narrow capillary tube under constant pressure. The viscosity, $\eta$, of each liquid and its corresponding flow rate are shown in the table.

Based on these results, which of the following equations best represents the relationship between the flow rate, $Q$, and the viscosity, $\eta$, of the liquids?

Read the passage below. Fill in the blank with the correct phrase from the list of options to ensure the sentence is grammatically correct and avoids modifier placement errors.

Options:
- "the delicate tapestries were hung by curators in the lower gallery, where light levels are strictly controlled"
- "museum curators hung the delicate tapestries in the lower gallery, where light levels are strictly controlled"
- "the delicate tapestries was hung by curators in the lower gallery, where light levels are strictly controlled"
- "the delicate tapestries were hung by curators in the lower gallery, they controlled the light levels strictly"

Which phrase correctly completes the sentence?

While foraging for food in the subzero temperatures of the tundra, the thick fur of the arctic fox protects it from frostbite.

Which of the following options best resolves the grammatical error in the underlined portion of the sentence?

Astronomers debate the origin of water on the Moon. Three viewpoints are proposed:

Viewpoint 1 (Asteroid Delivery): Water was delivered to the Moon post-formation via impacts from carbonaceous chondrite asteroids. This water has a high deuterium-to-hydrogen ($D/H$) ratio of approximately $1.5 \times 10^{-4}$.

Viewpoint 2 (Earth Mantle Heritage): The Moon inherited its water directly from Earth’s mantle during the giant impact that formed the Moon. This water has a low $D/H$ ratio of approximately $0.3 \times 10^{-4}$ and is locked deep within the lunar mantle.

Viewpoint 3 (Solar Wind Implantation): Water ($H_2O$) and hydroxyl ($OH$) are continuously produced on the surface when solar wind protons ($H^+$) impact oxygen-rich minerals in the lunar regolith (soil). This process only affects the exposed outermost layer of the soil.

Match each of the following new findings to the viewpoint that it directly supports.

Spanning thousands of miles across the rugged Andes, the Inca Empire required a highly efficient communication system to maintain control over its vast territories. Without written language or wheeled vehicles, the Inca relied on the *chasquis*—agile messengers stationed along the royal road network, or *Qhapaq Ñan*. These runners operated in a relay system, passing messages, goods, and administrative orders from one outpost (*tambo*) to the next.

To maximize speed, chasquis were trained from youth for high-altitude endurance and speed. They carried a *pututu* (a conch-shell horn) to signal their arrival and a *quipu* (a knotted string device) containing encoded data. As a runner approached a *tambo*, he would blow the *pututu* to alert the next runner, who would begin running alongside him to memorize the message or receive the *quipu* without stopping. This relay method allowed messages to travel up to 150 miles per day, traversing steep peaks and deep gorges in a fraction of the time a single runner would take.

Although the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century led to the rapid decline of the Inca state, the legacy of the chasquis endured. The Spanish initially kept the runner network active to send their own official correspondence across the difficult mountain terrain. Today, the ancient pathways of the *Qhapaq Ñan* remain a testament to this remarkable system.

Which choice most effectively concludes the passage by emphasizing the historical significance of the *chasquis*' communication network?

The following passage is an excerpt from an article about behavioral psychology.

The spotlight effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they actually are. During social interactions, individuals often overestimate the prominence of their mistakes or appearance, they assume that everyone's attention is focused on them. In reality, most people are focused on their own anxieties and pay very little attention to the minor flaws of others.

Which of the following options is the best replacement for the underlined portion to ensure the sentence is grammatically correct?

### Tectonic Gateways vs. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

About $34\text{ million}$ years ago, Earth's climate transitioned from a warm "greenhouse" state to a cold "icehouse" state, resulting in the rapid glaciation of Antarctica. Two scientists debate the primary cause of this cooling event.

Scientist 1
The primary driver of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) cooling was the opening of tectonic gateways, specifically the Drake Passage and the Tasmanian Gateway. As Australia and South America drifted away from Antarctica, a continuous Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) was established. This current thermally isolated Antarctica by preventing warm tropical waters from reaching high southern latitudes. The resulting drop in regional temperature initiated the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet, which increased Earth's albedo and triggered global cooling. Atmospheric $\text{CO}_2$ drawdown occurred as a consequence, rather than the primary driver, of this glaciation due to changes in ocean circulation patterns.

Scientist 2
The opening of tectonic gateways played a negligible role in the EOT cooling. Instead, the transition was driven primarily by a significant decline in global atmospheric $\text{CO}_2$ concentrations, which fell below a critical threshold of approximately $600\text{ ppm}$ (parts per million). This decline was caused by increased silicate weathering of continental rocks, which absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and deposited it in marine sediments. As $\text{CO}_2$ levels dropped, the greenhouse effect weakened globally, allowing temperatures at both poles to fall sufficiently for continental glaciation to begin. The establishment of the ACC was an effect of the cooling and ice sheet growth, which rearranged surface winds and ocean currents, rather than its cause.

Based on the passage, which of the following statements best describes the core claim of Scientist 1 regarding the factor that directly initiated Antarctic glaciation?

The committee proposed that the funding allocated to each regional research initiative should be commensurate for the scope and expected impact of the proposed project.

Which of the following choices is the best replacement for the underlined portion of the sentence?

For the science experiment, the students need to bring a plastic bottle, a roll of duct tape, and a pair of scissors to class tomorrow.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

Though the research team hoped to discover a diverse array of cave-dwelling insects, they soon realized that the subterranean cavern's high sulfur concentrations made the environment inimical toward the survival of all but the most specialized organisms. Which choice best replaces the underlined portion?

Read the passage and fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses to maintain tense consistency.

While documenting the ruins of the ancient Roman harbor, the lead archaeologist instructed the junior researcher and he that they're analysis of the pottery shards must remain objective.

Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined portion?

Complete the sentence by filling in the blanks with the correct comparative form of the adjective in parentheses and the appropriate comparative conjunction.