All practice questions

While researching bioluminescent insects, a student took the following notes:

* *Photinus pyralis* is a North American firefly species that flashes to attract mates.
* The light-producing reaction in *Photinus pyralis* is ATP-dependent, requiring the enzyme luciferase.
* *Arachnocampa luminosa* is a cave-dwelling gnat species endemic to New Zealand.
* The larvae of *Arachnocampa luminosa* glow continuously to lure prey into sticky webs.
* The bioluminescent pathway in *Arachnocampa luminosa* is ATP-independent and utilizes a novel luciferase enzyme.

The student wants to contrast both the biological purposes and the biochemical mechanisms of bioluminescence in the two species. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

Text 1
Many paleontologists argue that the prominent neural spine sail of the dinosaur *Spinosaurus* functioned primarily as a thermoregulatory structure. According to this view, the massive sail allowed the creature to absorb or dissipate heat in its semi-aquatic environment. Researchers point to the extensive network of vascular grooves on the fossilized spines as evidence of active blood flow, which would have facilitated rapid heat exchange. Under this hypothesis, the sail was a crucial physiological adaptation for survival in a hot, Cretaceous climate.

Text 2
Conversely, paleontologist Dr. Maya Lin contends that the thermoregulatory hypothesis is biologically implausible. Lin notes that modern semi-aquatic apex predators, such as crocodilians, regulate their body temperatures effectively without specialized dorsal sails. Instead, Lin proposes that the sail served a visual display function, signaling maturity to potential mates and rivals. She argues that the vascular grooves observed in the fossils are merely byproducts of rapid skeletal growth during adolescence, rather than evidence of a dedicated heat-exchange system.

Based on the texts, how would Dr. Lin (Text 2) most likely characterize the 'vascular grooves' cited by the paleontologists in Text 1?

In cognitive linguistics, the "embodied cognition" hypothesis suggests that human language and thought are deeply rooted in physical experiences and motor actions. Proponents of this view point to neuroimaging studies showing that reading action-related verbs, such as "kick" or "grasp," activates the same motor cortices used to execute those actions physically. However, skeptics argue that this activation may merely be a secondary byproduct of semantic retrieval rather than a necessary component of comprehension. To address this debate, recent research has analyzed patients with motor system damage, finding that their ability to comprehend abstract concepts remains intact even when their action-verb processing is impaired.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

The following passage describes early twentieth-century Swedish architecture. Fill in the blank with a transition word or phrase that best establishes a relationship of similarity between the work of Ragnar Östberg and Carl Westman.

For years, historians assumed that the ancient trade route was used exclusively for mercantile exchange. However, recent archaeological findings of diverse cultural artifacts along the path suggest that the route also facilitated a dynamic cultural synthesis, rendering the traditional, single-purpose view of the route ______.

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

During the mid-twentieth century, urban planner Jane Jacobs argued that active street life promotes neighborhood safety by ensuring natural surveillance, or 'eyes on the street.' Jacobs observed that streets with mixed-use zoning attract continuous pedestrian traffic throughout the day. These busy public spaces, ________, experience lower rates of crime, as the persistent presence of observers deters illicit behavior.

Which choice completes the passage with the most logical transition?

Complete the passage below with the form of the verb 'abandon' that correctly completes the sentence to conform to the conventions of Standard English. What is the correct form of the verb 'abandon'?

While preparing a presentation on space exploration, a student took the following notes:
* Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are robotic space probes launched by NASA in 1977.
* Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977, to study the outer Solar System.
* Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, also to study the outer Solar System.
* Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012.
* Voyager 2 entered interstellar space in 2018.

The student wants to contrast when Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 entered interstellar space. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

While preparing a presentation on medieval economic history, a student takes the following notes:
* Economic historian Dr. Aris Thorne investigated the economic impact of paving roads in medieval England between 1200 and 1350 CE.
* He compared towns that paved their main access roads with towns that kept unpaved dirt roads.
* Towns with newly paved roads saw a 25% increase in market tax receipts, which Thorne used as a measure of trade volume.
* Towns with unpaved roads showed no change in market tax receipts during the study period.
* Critics suggest that a general increase in regional population, rather than the paved roads, caused the trade volume growth.
* Thorne's data revealed that both groups of towns experienced the same rate of regional population growth.

The student wants to present Thorne's study and support the claim that the paving of roads, rather than general population growth, drove the increase in local trade volume. Which choice most effectively uses information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

In 1912, meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift, suggesting that Earth's continents were once joined in a single landmass. Because he could not identify a mechanism for how the continents moved, his ideas were widely dismissed. ______ in the 1950s, researcher Marie Tharp mapped the ocean floor using sonar data, revealing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and providing the crucial evidence of seafloor spreading. This discovery validated Wegener's concepts, cementing the modern theory of plate tectonics.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Text 1
Ecologist Angela Yu contends that mature trees within forest communities actively manage resource distribution via underground mycorrhizal fungal networks. According to Yu’s research, these dominant "mother trees" can identify their own offspring and preferentially channel vital carbon, nitrogen, and defense signals to genetically related saplings, thereby ensuring the survival of their kin in highly competitive, resource-scarce environments.

Text 2
In contrast, evolutionary biologist Marcus Chen argues that while resource transfer through mycorrhizal networks is well-documented, it should not be characterized as a directed act of parental altruism. Chen’s models demonstrate that the mycorrhizal fungi, rather than the host trees, control resource routing. Fungi allocate nutrients to diverse tree hosts to optimize the overall stability and carbon-sink capacity of the fungal network itself, irrespective of the trees' genetic relatedness.

Based on the passages, is the statement that Chen would disagree with Yu's claim that mycorrhizal resource allocation is driven by the trees' genetic relationships true or false?

Stylometry—the statistical analysis of literary style—has revolutionized authorship attribution by identifying subconscious linguistic patterns, such as the frequency of function words, unique to individual writers. Scholars have successfully used these computational methods to resolve long-standing debates over anonymous political pamphlets and disputed historical texts. However, digital humanities researchers caution that stylometric models struggle when applied to early modern theatrical works. In this era, collaborative playwriting was the industry standard, and playwrights frequently revised, co-wrote, or interspersed their work with that of their peers. Consequently, while stylometry excels at mapping isolated authorial signatures, it often misattributes or oversimplifies texts produced within highly collaborative creative networks.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

While preparing a presentation on Maya archaeology, a student takes the following notes:
- Tatiana Proskouriakoff was an art historian and archaeologist who studied Maya hieroglyphic writing.
- Before her research in the 1960s, most scholars believed Maya hieroglyphs depicted only calendar dates and astronomical events.
- Proskouriakoff analyzed sequences of dates carved on monuments at the site of Piedras Negras.
- She demonstrated that the span between the earliest and latest dates on a single monument never exceeded a human lifespan.
- Based on this finding, she argued that the hieroglyphs recorded the historical biographies of Maya rulers rather than astronomical events.

The student wants to support the claim that Proskouriakoff’s work changed how archaeologists understood the primary function of Maya hieroglyphs. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

While preparing a presentation on plate tectonics, a student took the following notes:
* Ophiolites are fragments of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that have been uplifted and exposed on land.
* These geological structures are typically preserved within continental mountain ranges, such as the Alps or the Himalayas.
* The term "ophiolite" was first introduced by French mineralogist Alexandre Brongniart in 1813.
* Geologists study ophiolites because they offer a rare opportunity to examine the deep oceanic lithosphere without drilling.

The student wants to introduce ophiolites and define what they are. Which choice uses information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

In many preindustrial agrarian communities, informal cooperative labor networks, such as barn raisings or communal harvests, reinforced social cohesion by distributing the intensive physical burdens of large-scale projects across the neighborhood. ______ the mutual aid societies that emerged in early industrial cities served to buffer migrant workers against systemic economic precarity by pooling financial resources to cover medical emergencies and funeral expenses.

Which choice completes the passage with the most logical transition?

While preparing a presentation on indigenous language preservation, a student takes the following notes:
* The Haida language is an indigenous language traditionally spoken in Haida Gwaii, Canada.
* In $2018$, linguist Dr. Clara Sterling began documenting fluent speakers to create a digital dictionary.
* The project recorded audio of over $1{}500$ unique Haida words spoken by elder community members.
* In $2021$, the digital dictionary was launched online, offering free pronunciation guides and English translations.
* Following the launch, the number of active Haida language learners among local youth increased by $40\%$.

The student wants to support the claim that the digital dictionary project successfully helped increase interest in learning the Haida language. Which choice best uses information from the notes to support this claim?

While preparing a presentation on climatology, a student takes the following notes:
* Volcanic eruptions release sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$), a gas that can reflect solar radiation and lower global temperatures.
* Climatologist Marcus Thorne analyzed data from two major nineteenth-century volcanic eruptions: the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora and the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.
* The 1815 Mount Tambora eruption released an estimated $60\text{ million}$ tons of $SO_2$ into the atmosphere and was followed by a $0.53^\circ\text{C}$ drop in global temperatures.
* The 1883 Krakatoa eruption released an estimated $20\text{ million}$ tons of $SO_2$ and was followed by a $1.2^\circ\text{C}$ drop in global temperatures.
* Thorne claims that the volume of sulfur dioxide released is not the sole factor determining the magnitude of post-eruption global cooling.

The student wants to support Thorne's claim. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

Deep-sea shrimp of the species *Rimicaris exoculata* inhabit hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a habitat completely devoid of solar light. Because they reside in permanent darkness, these shrimp lack the functional compound eyes typical of other decapod crustaceans. ______ they possess a specialized dorsal organ beneath their carapace that detects faint, near-infrared thermal radiation emitted by the hot vent fluids, allowing them to navigate their environment.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

During a study of medieval European and Islamic cartography, a student compiled the following notes:
* Completed in 1459 by a Venetian monk, the Fra Mauro map depicted the Old World and oriented south at the top of the map.
* The Fra Mauro map was celebrated for incorporating contemporary geographical details from recent Portuguese maritime expeditions.
* Completed in 1154 by the Moroccan scholar Al-Idrisi, the *Tabula Rogeriana* also oriented south at the top.
* The *Tabula Rogeriana* relied primarily on classical geographic traditions and accounts from pre-existing trade routes.

The student wants to contrast the geographical sources used to construct the Fra Mauro map and the *Tabula Rogeriana* while also acknowledging a design similarity between the two maps. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?