All practice questions

The passage below is adapted from an article about twentieth-century astronomy.

In 1964, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected a persistent, low-frequency hiss while testing a highly sensitive horn antenna. They initially blamed the static on nesting pigeons and painstakingly cleaned the instrument. <u>Consequently,</u> the mysterious signal remained, eventually leading to the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation.

Which choice provides the most logical transition between the two sentences?

Passage Excerpt:
In 1945, engineer Percy Spencer was working on active radar sets when he noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had suddenly melted. Intrigued by this phenomenon, Spencer decided to investigate the heating effect of magnetrons. He placed various foods near the radar equipment, including popping corn, which quickly began to pop and scatter across the lab. [X] Realizing that microwave energy could cook food rapidly, Spencer and his employer, Raytheon, filed a patent for the first commercial microwave oven.

The writer wants to add a sentence at point [X] to emphasize that the food Spencer tested became increasingly complex as his experiments progressed. Given that all the choices are true, which choice best accomplishes this goal?

[1] In 1998, an anonymous collector purchased a damaged medieval prayer book at auction for two million dollars, initiating one of the most complex projects in modern conservation. [2] The book was a palimpsest—a manuscript whose original text had been scraped away to reuse the parchment. [3] Beneath the thirteenth-century prayers lay the only surviving copies of several treatises by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. [4] Conservationists immediately began a decade-long effort to separate the bound pages and read the erased writing. [5] Archimedes is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of classical antiquity, alongside figures like Euclid and Eratosthenes. [6] Ultimately, by utilizing multispectral imaging and X-ray fluorescence, the team successfully recovered the hidden mathematical texts.

The writer is considering deleting Sentence 5 from the passage. Should this sentence be kept or deleted?

Botanical illustrators play a vital role in scientific communication by translating complex plant structures into clear, detailed drawings. Unlike photographs, which can capture distracting background elements or temporary damage to a leaf, a botanical illustration highlights only the essential diagnostic features of a specimen. Historically, explorers and scientists relied entirely on these artists to document new species. To produce these works, illustrators must possess both artistic skill and a deep understanding of plant anatomy. Even today, modern herbaria continue to commission hand-drawn illustrations because they are way better at showing details that a camera might obscure.

Which option best maintains the formal, academic tone of the passage?

What is the value of the expression $-3 \times (4 - 7)^2 + \frac{24}{2^3 - 4}$?

The following paragraph contains numbered sentences.

[1] In 1967, postgraduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell was analyzing data from a new radio telescope she had helped build. [2] She noticed a repeating, anomalous signal on the chart recorder papers, which she referred to as a "bit of scruff." [3] This signal was incredibly precise, pulsing regularly at intervals of 1.33 seconds. [4] Her advisor, Antony Hewish, initially dismissed the rapid pulses as man-made radio interference. [5] Eventually, the discovery was recognized as a breakthrough in astrophysics, earning Hewish the Nobel Prize in 1974.

The writer wants to add the following sentence to the paragraph:

"Because of this regularity, she initially nicknamed the signal 'LGM-1' for 'Little Green Men,' half-jokingly implying an extraterrestrial origin."

To make the paragraph most logical, this sentence should be placed after which sentence?

Although the chemist had analyzed the liquid compound in the beaker multiple times, she resolved to test the substance once again in order to re-examine the chemical solution a second time.

Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion to make the sentence clear and concise?

For a positive integer $n$, the greatest common factor of $n$ and $120$ is $15$, and the least common multiple of $n$ and $120$ is $360$. What is the value of $n$?

A writer is editing an essay about the history of the crossword puzzle and has drafted the following paragraph:

Arthur Wynne, an editor at the New York World, was tasked in 1913 with creating a new game for the newspaper’s Sunday fun section. Remembering a game called "magic squares" from his childhood in England, Wynne designed a diamond-shaped grid with blank spaces and clues to help readers fill in the letters. He called his creation a "Word-Cross." The game was an instant success, prompting readers to write in for more puzzles, which eventually led to the standardized crossword puzzles we solve today.

The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the paragraph (placed after the sentence "He called his creation a 'Word-Cross.'"):

"Wynne's father, a local metalworker, had also taught him how to play chess and checkers during their family travels."

Should the writer make this addition?

What is the value of the expression below?

What is the sum of the distinct prime factors of $30$?

On a standard number line, point $A$ is located at $-7$ and point $B$ is located at $5$. What is the distance between point $A$ and point $B$?

To avoid costly fines, the factory manager ensured that the new manufacturing process was in strict compliance to the environmental regulations regarding waste disposal.

Which of the following options is the most idiomatically correct choice for the underlined portion?

In 1911, physicist Ernest Rutherford proposed a nuclear model of the atom based on his famous gold foil experiment. He observed that while most alpha particles passed straight through the foil, a small fraction was deflected at large angles. Due to the reason that the vast majority of the atom's mass is concentrated in a tiny nucleus, the deflective behavior surprised the scientific community. Which choice most clearly and concisely replaces the underlined portion of the sentence?

An algebra student is simplifying the expression $a(b - c) - d(e - f)$ by applying the distributive property. Instead of distributing correctly, the student incorrectly writes the expansion as $a(b - c) - de - df$. If $a = 2$, $b = 3$, $c = 5$, $d = -3$, $e = 4$, and $f = -2$, what is the absolute difference between the student's incorrect result and the correct value of the expression?

A student is adding the fractions $\frac{5}{12}$ and $\frac{7}{18}$. What is the least common denominator they should use to add these fractions?

If $x$, $y$, and $z$ are integers such that $-5 \leq x < y < z \leq 5$, what is the minimum possible value of the expression $(x - y)^2 - z(y - x) - |x| \cdot |y - z|$?

The treaty was signed in 1919, but its terms were so harsh that they [underlined]fertilized[/underlined] the very instability they were meant to prevent. This systemic fragility ultimately paved the way for another global conflict, demonstrating how retributive peace agreements can yield catastrophic consequences. Historians continue to study this period to understand the delicate balance between justice and reconciliation.

Which choice most precisely and clearly completes the sentence?

To protect the colony's brood from extreme heat, honeybees perform a behavior known as fanning. By beating their wings rapidly in a coordinated fashion, they can cool down the temperature of the hive and lower it to a safe level. Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion?

By analyzing the microscopic air bubbles trapped in ancient ice sheets, glaciologists can reconstruct the atmospheric composition of Earth from hundreds of thousands of years ago. These ice cores serve as invaluable archives of historical climate data. Researchers must extract and store these samples under strict temperature controls, making sure they don't mess up the delicate chemical signatures preserved within.

Which choice best maintains the established tone of the passage?