All practice questions

While researching ancient Mesoamerican writing systems, a student takes the following notes:
* The Madrid Codex is one of only four surviving pre-Columbian Maya books and is written on bark paper.
* It contains 112 pages covering detailed tables and records regarding astronomical cycles, rituals, and agricultural schedules.
* The Grolier Codex is another surviving pre-Columbian Maya book written on bark paper.
* It consists of only 11 pages and focuses exclusively on the movements of the planet Venus.
* The authenticity of the Madrid Codex has been universally accepted since its rediscovery in the 19th century.
* The Grolier Codex's authenticity was debated by scholars until radiocarbon dating in 2016 confirmed its 13th-century origin.

The student wants to contrast the Madrid Codex and the Grolier Codex in terms of their physical length and thematic scope. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

During the late nineteenth century, physicists hypothesized the existence of the 'luminiferous ether' to explain how light waves could propagate through otherwise empty space. The famous Michelson-Morley experiment of 1887, however, detected absolutely no difference in the speed of light regardless of the Earth's motion. ______ scientists eventually abandoned the ether hypothesis, prompting a major paradigm shift that culminated in Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity.

Which choice completes the passage with the most logical transition?

For decades, archaeologists studying the diet of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan peoples relied primarily on macrobotanical remains—such as charred corn cobs and squash seeds—to reconstruct prehistoric meals. This approach led to the widespread consensus that their diet was highly homogenized and dominated by agricultural staples. However, recent organic residue analysis of pottery shards has challenged this view by revealing traces of wild culinary herbs, animal fats, and non-staple plants that leave no visible archaeological footprint. By identifying these chemical biomarkers, researchers have demonstrated that Ancestral Puebloan culinary practices were far more diverse and complex than corn-centric models suggest. Thus, residue analysis has not merely added details to the existing dietary record; it has fundamentally transformed archaeological understanding of prehistoric foodways.

Which choice best states the primary purpose of the text?

For decades, planetary scientists hypothesized that the upper atmosphere of Venus was completely dry. However, recent spectral analyses of the planet’s cloud layers have revealed trace amounts of water vapor. Although these findings suggest that the Venusian atmosphere is not entirely devoid of moisture, researchers caution that the water concentration is still far too low to ________ the hypothesis that the planet could support microbial life.

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

While preparing a presentation on early twentieth-century dance, a student takes the following notes:
- In 1913, modern dancer Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed the ballet *The Rite of Spring* for the Ballets Russes in Paris.
- The music for the ballet was composed by Igor Stravinsky.
- The performance's unconventional, rhythmic music and radical choreography broke with traditional classical ballet rules.
- The premiere performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées provoked a riot among members of the audience.
- Some audience members were outraged by the discordant music, while others shouted in support of the experimental performance.

The student wants to support the claim that the premiere performance of *The Rite of Spring* was highly polarizing for the audience. Which choice uses information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Biomimetic engineers studying the deep-sea glass sponge *Euplectella aspergillum* have long marvelled at its intricate skeletal lattice, which is composed entirely of brittle silica. The structure's unique hierarchical organization—spanning from nano-scale silica spheres to macro-scale cylindrical cages—distributes mechanical stress so effectively that it resists structural failure under immense benthic pressures. One might expect that replicating this precise architecture using synthetic polymers would yield materials of comparable resilience. ________, experimental models have shown that synthetic analogs fail to match the sponge’s fracture toughness due to the absence of the organic proteins that glue the natural silica layers together.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Marine biologists have observed that certain deep-sea squid use rapid bioluminescent flashes to confuse and deter nearby predators. ______ they utilize coordinated patterns of light to signal and guide other members of their school when migrating through dark ocean depths.

Which choice completes the passage with the transition that best structures the logical connection between these sentences?

Many plant species adapt to urban fragmentation, where pockets of soil are surrounded by inhospitable concrete. Ecologist Dr. Sarah Jenkins and her team investigated the common dandelion (*Taraxacum officinale*) across urban and rural zones in Chicago. The team hypothesized that urban dandelion populations have adapted to soil fragmentation by producing seeds with lower wind-dispersal capacity—specifically, shorter pappus hairs relative to seed mass���thereby increasing the probability that seeds will settle in the immediate, hospitable soil of the parent plant rather than drifting onto concrete surfaces.

Which choice, if true, would most directly support the team's hypothesis?

Text 1
Biologist Elena Rostova argues that microplastics in agricultural soils pose a severe threat to earthworms ($Lumbricus \ terrestris$). Her laboratory study showed that high concentrations of polyethylene microparticles reduce earthworm growth rates by $20\%$ and impair soil aeration by disrupting burrowing behaviors. Rostova warns that these localized effects could trigger a broader cascade of agricultural soil degradation, ultimately threatening crop yields.

Text 2
Soil scientist Dr. Marcus Thorne acknowledges Rostova’s laboratory findings but argues that her experiment used microparticle concentrations $5$ times higher than those typically recorded in actual agricultural fields. Thorne's field observations show that under realistic conditions, earthworms exhibit negligible behavioral shifts. He suggests that organic matter in natural soil buffers the physical impacts of plastics, mitigating the risks of widespread soil degradation Rostova describes.

Match each claim or finding from Rostova’s research in Text 1 with the corresponding counterargument or qualification made by Thorne in Text 2.

The sentences below describe the historical development of penicillin as a therapeutic medicine. Arrange the sentences in the correct chronological and logical sequence.

During the Archean Eon, Earth's atmosphere was largely composed of volcanic gases such as methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide, with virtually no free oxygen. Around 2.4 billion years ago, photosynthetic cyanobacteria emerged and began producing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. ________, the oceans became saturated with oxygen, and the excess gas accumulated in the atmosphere, triggering the Great Oxidation Event.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In the mid-twentieth century, municipal planners widely believed that constructing high-occupancy public housing towers was the most efficient method to revitalize economically depressed urban neighborhoods. However, sociologist Jane Jacobs challenged this view, arguing that these monolithic structures isolated residents and destroyed the organic street-level commerce essential for community safety and cohesion. Recent studies in urban design have supported Jacobs’s critique by demonstrating that mixed-use, medium-density neighborhoods exhibit higher rates of social trust and economic stability. Consequently, modern urban developments increasingly prioritize pedestrian-oriented layouts over high-rise residential complexes.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Under elevated carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) levels, plants typically exhibit decreased leaf nitrogen concentrations. Some researchers attribute this decline to carbohydrate dilution, where increased photosynthesis produces excess starches that outpace nitrogen uptake. However, botanist Elena Rostova observed that nitrogen levels still drop under high $CO_2$ even when carbohydrate accumulation is experimentally blocked. Pointing to the fact that nitrogen absorption depends on the transpiration stream—the water movement driven by evaporation—Rostova hypothesized that $CO_2$-induced stomatal closure, which reduces transpiration, is the primary cause of the nitrogen deficit. If Rostova's hypothesis is correct, plants grown under elevated $CO_2$ that are also exposed to wind speeds that artificially enhance transpiration should ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

The surface of Venus is permanently shrouded by a dense atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide and thick clouds of sulfuric acid, which efficiently trap incoming solar radiation. _______, the planet experiences a runaway greenhouse effect that elevates surface temperatures to a scorching $460^\circ\text{C}$—hot enough to melt lead—making it the hottest planet in our solar system despite not being the closest to the Sun.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Text 1
For decades, scholars assumed that early Mesoamerican writing systems, such as the Zapotec script, evolved primarily as administrative tools to record tribute and tax obligations of subject territories. Under this model, the impetus for developing written symbols was strictly pragmatic and economic, tracking agricultural cycles and tribute collections to maintain central authority.

Text 2
Recent excavations at early Zapotec sites reveal that the earliest glyphs occur exclusively on public monuments commemorating military conquests and the divine lineage of rulers, rather than on administrative clay seals. This suggests that writing emerged not as a bureaucratic tool for resource tracking, but as a symbolic medium for political self-glorification and ideological reinforcement, serving to legitimize the ruler's power to the populace.

Based on the texts, match the claims or assumptions from Text 1 with the corresponding counterevidence or alternative perspectives provided in Text 2.

An online bookstore charges a flat shipping fee plus a fixed price per book purchased. The total cost, $y$, in dollars, for purchasing $x$ books is given by the equation $y = 8.5x + 4.5$. If a customer's total cost was $47$ dollars, how many books did the customer purchase?

If $\frac{1}{2}(4x - 8) - \frac{2}{3}(3 - 9x) = 5(x - 1) + 7$, what is the value of $3x - 2$?

For decades, historians of science often characterized the work of Islamic astronomers in the golden age as merely preparatory, serving to preserve Greek texts until the European Renaissance. However, recent scholarship on the complex mathematical models developed at the Maragha Observatory in the thirteenth century, such as the Tusi couple, reveals a different primary motivation. These astronomers were not passive curators; rather, they actively sought to resolve the physical and mathematical inconsistencies in Ptolemy's geocentric model. By designing new geometric devices that could model planetary motion without violating the Aristotelian principle of uniform circular motion, they laid crucial mathematical foundations that Copernicus later adopted, demonstrating that their work was an independent, intellectually creative endeavor that fundamentally reshaped celestial mechanics.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

While researching ancient archaeological sites in Anatolia, a student took the following notes:
* Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük are ancient sites located in the same geographic region of Anatolia.
* Göbekli Tepe was constructed around 9600 BCE by hunter-gatherer groups and functioned primarily as a communal, ritual sanctuary.
* It features massive T-shaped limestone pillars decorated with animal carvings.
* Çatalhöyük was established around 7400 BCE by an early agricultural society and functioned as a dense residential settlement.
* It consists of clustered mud-brick domestic dwellings accessed through openings in the roofs.

The student wants to contrast the two sites in terms of their builders and their primary functions. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

Complete the passage with the transition word or phrase that best transitions by indicating a similarity.