All practice questions

The following passage discusses the history of antibiotic resistance.

In the early twentieth century, the discovery of penicillin revolutionized medicine by providing an effective treatment for bacterial infections. However, the widespread and often indiscriminate use of antibiotics has accelerated the evolution of resistant bacterial strains. This growing resistance threatens to ruin the efficacy of these life-saving drugs.

Which choice provides the most precise and contextually appropriate word to replace the underlined portion of the sentence?

To prevent the mechanical type-bars of early manual typewriters from jamming, Christopher Sholes designed the QWERTY layout to separate common letter pairs. By placing these frequently paired letters far apart from each other, Sholes successfully resolved the mechanical jamming issue.

Which choice is the most effective and concise way to write the underlined portion of the sentence?

For all non-zero real numbers $x$, $y$, and $z$, which of the following mathematical equations must be true?

The passage below is from an essay about outdoor recreation. Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

To prepare for a long backpacking trip, hikers must carefully choose their equipment to shrink weight. Every item in the pack must be weighed, and nonessential items should be left behind. Carrying a pack that is too heavy can quickly exhaust a hiker, turning a fun adventure into a painful struggle.

Which choice provides the most precise and logical word for the underlined portion?

Passage

In 1856, eighteen-year-old chemistry student William Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a drug used to treat malaria, in his home laboratory. [1] Conversely, his experiment failed, producing a dark, sticky residue instead of the clear medicine. While cleaning the flask with alcohol, Perkin noticed that the substance left a brilliant purple residue, which led to the accidental discovery of mauveine, the world's first synthetic organic dye.

Which choice best replaces the underlined portion marked [1] to establish a logical transition between the two sentences?

Let the values of three mathematical expressions be represented by $A$, $B$, and $C$, where:

Arrange the expressions $A$, $B$, and $C$ in order from least to greatest numerical value.

What is the value of the expression $(-2)^4 - 3 \times \frac{|12 - 18|}{-2} + 5 \times (3 - 5)^3$?

What is the value of the expression $3 \times (4^2 - 10) - 5 \times |-2|$?

In 1968, 3M chemist Spencer Silver set out to develop a super-strong adhesive for the aerospace industry. [X] Silver spent years promoting his discovery to colleagues, but it was not until a coworker used it to anchor bookmarks in a hymnal that the Post-it Note was born.

The writer wants to replace the bracketed marker [X] with a sentence that emphasizes both the unexpected outcome of Silver's research and the specific characteristics of his new substance. Which choice best fulfills this goal?

In 1957, engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes sealed two plastic shower curtains together in an attempt to create a textured wallpaper. This invention, which was created by them for the purpose of covering walls, did not succeed as home decor, but it soon found a new purpose as protective packaging material.

Which of the following choices, if substituted for the underlined portion, would best eliminate wordiness while preserving the meaning of the passage?

Deep-sea research submarines must withstand extreme hydrostatic pressures, which increase by one atmosphere for every ten meters of depth. In these abyssal zones, organisms have adapted to thrive in environments completely deprived from sunlight.

Which of the following options is the correct idiomatic replacement for the underlined portion?

A student is writing an essay about unique linguistic traditions. The passage below contains an underlined portion that may contain a punctuation error.

Historically spoken on the Canary Island of La Gomera, Silbo Gomero is a whistled language that mimics the phonetic structure of Spanish. The rugged topography of the island—a landscape defined by deep ravines and steep valleys—made whistling an efficient way to communicate across distances of up to five kilometers. Because the language translates Spanish vowels and consonants into high- and low-pitched whistles, speakers—known locally as *silbadores*, can convey complex messages across the mountainous terrain. Historically used by shepherds, this unique form of communication is now taught in local schools to ensure its survival.

Which of the following options represents the correct punctuation for the underlined portion?

Read the passage below. Fill in the blank with the word that most precisely and clearly completes the sentence to maintain a formal, academic tone.

Acoustic archaeologists study how ancient structures manipulated sound. In places like the Greek theater of Epidaurus, the precise arrangement of stone seating rows acted as a natural acoustic filter. This design minimized low-frequency background noise while amplifying the high-frequency voices of actors. Consequently, performers could project their speeches clearly, ensuring that even spectators in the back rows could hear everything they said.

Which choice best maintains the tone established in the passage?

The exceptional preservation of wooden shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea is due to the water's low salinity. This chemical composition prevents wood-boring shipworms from surviving, which is because they cannot live in these conditions, allowing centuries-old vessels to remain intact.

Which choice is the most effective and concise correction for the underlined portion of the passage?

Deep in the damp forests of southern Brazil, a small mushroom glows with a vibrant green light. Researchers studying this fungus, *Mycena luxaeterna*, were amazed by its constant illumination. To understand how the organism generates this glow, scientists collected specimens for laboratory analysis. They discovered that the fungus utilizes a chemical reaction involving a compound called luciferin to produce its noticeable glow.

Which choice best fits the context of the sentence and most precisely describes the light emitted by the fungus?

A baker has $12$ chocolate cupcakes and $15$ vanilla cupcakes. She wants to package them into boxes such that each box has the same number of chocolate cupcakes and the same number of vanilla cupcakes, with no cupcakes left over. What is the greatest number of boxes she can make?

Early audio recordings from the late nineteenth century were captured on fragile wax cylinders, which are now deteriorating rapidly. To preserve these historical sounds, engineers use non-contact optical scanning to create digital 3D models of the grooves, which currently at this present time serve to reproduce the audio without touching the delicate wax.

Which choice is the best version of the underlined portion of the sentence?

In 1948, biophysicist Maria Telkes and architect Eleanor Raymond designed the Dover Sun House, a residence that relied entirely on solar energy for heating. The system that heated the house relied on chemistry, utilizing Glauber's salt, which is a chemical compound that stores heat, to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. During sunny days, the salt absorbed heat from the sun and melted, storing thermal energy. As the temperature dropped at night, the salt solidified and released the stored heat back into the house.

Which choice best replaces the underlined portion to express the idea clearly and concisely?

To preserve the delicate wool and silk fibers of medieval tapestries, conservationists must carefully regulate the temperature and humidity of exhibition spaces. Exposure to fluctuations in moisture can cause fibers to swell and contract, which weakens the structural integrity of the weave. Consequently, museum professionals deem it paramount to execute vigilant oversight of these environmental factors to ensure the longevity of these textile masterpieces.

Which choice best maintains the established tone of the passage?