READING AND WRITING

EXPRESSION AND IDEAS

370 - 410

QUESTION 1

Researchers believe that pieces of hull found off Oregon’s coast are
from a Spanish cargo ship that was lost in 1697. Stories passed down
among the area’s Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians support this
belief. ______Siletz stories describe how blocks of beeswax, an item
the ship had been carrying, began washing ashore after the ship was
lost.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. For this reason,

B. For example,
C. However,
D. Likewise,

QUESTION 2
In 1891, dancer and choreographer Loie Fuller first performed her
celebrated Serpentine Dance, artfully twirling her long, flowing skirt to
create striking visual effects. ______in 1896, cinema pioneers Auguste
and Louis Lumière made a groundbreaking short film of Fuller’s dance.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. However,
B. In conclusion,
C. Later,
D. In other words,

420 - 480

QUESTION 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

● Bioluminescence is the emission of light by living organisms.

● This light is produced by chemical reactions in organisms’ cells.
● Jellyfish emit flashes of blue light.
● This behavior serves to startle predators.
● Black dragonfish emit a steady red light.
● This behavior helps them locate prey in deep waters.
The student wants to emphasize a difference between the behavior of
jellyfish and that of black dragonfish. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Both jellyfish and black dragonfish are organisms that emit light,
which is produced by chemical reactions in these organisms’
cells.
B. Black dragonfish emit a steady red light, which helps them locate
prey in deep waters.
C. Bioluminescence, the emission of light by living organisms,
results from chemical reactions in organisms’ cells.
D. Jellyfish emit light to startle predators, whereas black dragonfish
do so to locate prey.

QUESTION 2

It has long been thought that humans first crossed a land bridge into
the Americas approximately 13,000 years ago. ______based on
radiocarbon dating of samples uncovered in Mexico, a research team
recently suggested that humans may have arrived more than 30,000
years ago—much earlier than previously thought.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 A. As a result,
B. Similarly,
C. However,
D. In conclusion,

490 - 540

QUESTION 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

● Platinum is a rare and expensive metal.

● It is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions.
● Platinum catalysts typically require a large amount of platinum to
be effective.
● Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum
catalyst that combines platinum with liquid gallium.
● Their catalyst was highly effective and required only trace
amounts of platinum (0.0001% of the atoms in the mixture).

The student wants to explain an advantage of the new platinum

catalyst developed by Jianbo Tang and his colleagues. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?
 A. Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum
catalyst that combines platinum, a rare and expensive metal,
with liquid gallium.
B. Like other platinum catalysts, the new platinum catalyst requires
a particular amount of the metal to be effective.
C. Platinum is a rare and expensive metal that is used as a catalyst
for chemical reactions; however, platinum catalysts typically
require a large amount of platinum to be effective.
D. While still highly effective, the new platinum catalyst requires far
less of the rare and expensive metal than do other platinum
catalysts.

QUESTION 2

Before the 1847 introduction of the US postage stamp, the cost of

postage was usually paid by the recipient of a letter rather than the
sender, and recipients were not always able or willing to pay
promptly.______ collecting this fee could be slow and arduous, and
heaps of unpaid-for, undeliverable mail piled up in post offices.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Regardless,
B. On the contrary,
 C. Consequently,
D. For example,

550 - 600

QUESTION 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

● Gravitational waves are powerful ripples that originate in deep

space and eventually pass through Earth.
● The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO)
is a physics study that began in 2002.
● LIGO’s goal is to detect and analyze gravitational waves.
● LIGO uses a pair of massive gravitational wave detectors called
interferometers that are thousands of miles apart.
● In 2015, for the first time in history, LIGO researchers detected a
gravitational wave passing through Earth.

The student wants to present LIGO’s aim and methodology. Which

choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?
 A. In 2015, LIGO’s massive interferometers detected a powerful
ripple that originated in deep space and eventually passed
through Earth.
B. Though the physics study LIGO began in 2002, its massive
interferometers didn’t detect a gravitational wave until 2015.
C. To achieve its aims, LIGO uses a pair of massive interferometers
that are thousands of miles apart.
D. A physics study designed to detect and analyze gravitational
waves, LIGO uses a pair of massive interferometers that are
thousands of miles apart.

QUESTION 2

Plato believed material objects to be crude representations of unseen

ideal forms. In his view, such abstract, nonmaterial forms are the
ultimate source of knowledge. Aristotle disagreed, positing that
knowledge is best obtained through direct engagement with the
material world; ______sensory experience of the material is the
ultimate source of knowledge.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. regardless,
B. admittedly,
 C. in other words,
D. Meanwhile,

610 - 670

QUESTION 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

● Neuroscientists Krishnan Padmanabhan and Zhen Chen sought

to better understand the workings of the brain’s olfactory
system.
● They devised a study using mathematical models.
● They found that certain fibers allow the brain to toggle from one
method of processing smells to another.
● In one method, cells in the piriform cortex (where the perception
of odor forms) capture olfactory information at a given moment.
● In the other, the cells track changes in olfactory information over
time.

The student wants to summarize the study’s findings. Which choice

most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?
 A. To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of
processing smells in the piriform cortex, Padmanabhan and
Chen devised a study using mathematical models.
B. Padmanabhan and Chen showed that olfactory information is
captured by cells in the piriform cortex, where the perception of
odor forms.
C. Using mathematical models, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a
study to better understand the workings of the brain’s olfactory
system.
D. According to Padmanabhan and Chen, the brain can toggle
between capturing olfactory information at a given moment and
tracking changes in that information over time.

QUESTION 2

In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between

dispersalists and vicariancists. ______there are those who argue that
dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species’
distribution, and those who insist that vicariance (separation due to
geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts
herself among neither.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 A. Furthermore,
B. By contrast,
C. Similarly,
D. That is,

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

● Nissologists are scientists who study islands.

● Some nissologists define an island as any piece of land
surrounded by water.
● Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 221,000
islands.
● Other nissologists define an island as being 1 kilometer square, a
certain distance from the mainland, and having at least 50
permanent residents.
● Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 24
islands.
The student wants to make and support a generalization about
nissologists’ definition of an island. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?

A. The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by

water is supported by some nissologists, scientists who study
islands.
B. Multiple counts of Sweden’s islands have been based on
different definitions of an island.
C. Based on a recent count, Sweden has a relatively small number
of islands with at least 50 permanent residents.
D. Nissologists’ different definitions can result in huge disparities in
counts of islands, as the example of Sweden shows.

QUESTION 2

A 2017 study of sign language learners tested the role of iconicity—the

similarity of a sign to the thing it represents—in language acquisition.
The study found that the greater the iconicity of a sign, the more likely
it was to have been learned. ______the correlation between acquisition
and iconicity was lower than that between acquisition and another
factor studied: sign frequency.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 A. In fact,
B. In other words,
C. Granted,
D. As a result,

KEY

370 - 410

1B 2C

420 - 480

1D 2C

490 - 540

1D 2C

550 - 600

1D 2C

610 - 670
 1D 2D

680 AND HIGHER

1D 2C

CRAFT AND STRUCTURE

370 - 410

QUESTION 1

The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi’s 1894 novel
The Fatal Garland (translated by A. Christina Albers in 1910). Shakti is
walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her
childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to
extend their branches like welcoming arms. They greeted her as
an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in
the text as a whole?

A. It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river.

B. It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the
woods.
C. It emphasizes Shakti’s sense of belonging in the landscape.
D. It conveys Shakti’s appreciation for her long-term friendships.

QUESTION 2

US traffic signals didn’t always contain the familiar three lights (red,
yellow, and green). Traffic lights only ______red and green lights until
the three-light traffic signal was developed in the 1920s.

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

A. avoided
B. featured
C. appreciated
D. disregarded

420 - 480
QUESTION 1

The following text is from Holly Goldberg Sloan’s 2017 novel Short.

More than two years ago my parents bought a piano from

some people who were moving to Utah. Mom and Dad gave it
to my brothers and me for Christmas. I had to act really happy
because it was such a big present, but I pretty much hated the
thing from the second it was carried into the hallway upstairs,
which is right next to my bedroom. The piano glared at me. It
was like a songbird in a cage. It wanted to be set free.

©2017 by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It explains why the narrator always wanted a piano close to her

bedroom.
B. It establishes how the narrator feels about the piano.
C. It suggests that the narrator’s brothers are talented piano
players.
D. It describes the event that led the narrator’s parents to buy a
piano.
QUESTION 2

The following text is from Yann Martel’s 2001 novel Life of Pi. The
narrator’s family owned a zoo when he was a child.

It was a huge zoo, spread over numberless acres, big enough to

require a train to explore it, though it seemed to get smaller as I
grew older, train included.

©2001 by Yann Martel

As used in the text, what does the word “spread” most nearly mean?

A. Hidden
B. Discussed
C. Extended
D. Coated

490 - 540

QUESTION 1

Part of the Atacama Desert in Peru has surprisingly rich plant life
despite receiving almost no rainfall. Moisture from winter fog sustains
plants once they’re growing, but the soil’s tough crust makes it hard
for seeds to germinate in the first place. Local birds that dig nests in
the ground seem to be of help: they churn the soil, exposing buried
seeds to moisture and nutrients. Indeed, in 2016 Cristina Rengifo
Faiffer found that mounds of soil dug up by birds were far more fertile
and supported more seedlings than soil in undisturbed areas.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in

the text as a whole?

A. It elaborates on the idea that the top layer of Atacama Desert soil
forms a tough crust.
B. It describes the process by which seeds are deposited into
Atacama Desert soil.
C. It identifies the reason particular bird species dig nests in
Atacama Desert soil.
D. It explains how certain birds promote seed germination in
Atacama Desert soil.

QUESTION 2

The following text is adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1837 story

“Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” The main character, a physician, is
experimenting with rehydrating a dried flower.
 At first [the rose] lay lightly on the surface of the fluid, appearing
to imbibe none of its moisture. Soon, however, a singular change
began to be visible. The crushed and dried petals stirred and
assumed a deepening tinge of crimson, as if the flower were
reviving from a deathlike slumber.

As used in the text, what does the phrase “a singular” most nearly
mean?

A. A lonely
B. A disagreeable
C. An acceptable
D. An extraordinary

550 - 600

QUESTION 1

The following text is adapted from Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto’s 1925

memoir A Daughter of the Samurai. As a young woman, Sugimoto
moved from feudal Japan to the United States.

The standards of my own and my adopted country differed so

widely in some ways, and my love for both lands was so sincere,
 that sometimes I had an odd feeling of standing upon a cloud in
space, and gazing with measuring eyes upon two separate
worlds. At first I was continually trying to explain, by Japanese
standards, all the queer things that came every day before my
surprised eyes; for no one seemed to know the origin or
significance of even the most familiar customs, nor why they
existed and were followed.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

A. To convey the narrator’s experience of observing and making

sense of differences between two cultures she embraces
B. To establish the narrator’s hope of forming connections with new
companions by sharing customs she learned as a child
C. To reveal the narrator’s recognition that she is hesitant to ask
questions about certain aspects of a culture she is newly
encountering
D. To emphasize the narrator’s wonder at discovering that the
physical distance between two countries is greater than she had
expected

QUESTION 2
Some foraging models predict that the distance bees travel when
foraging will decline as floral density increases, but biologists Shalene
Jha and Claire Kremen showed that bees’ behavior is inconsistent
with this prediction if flowers in dense patches are____: bees will
forage beyond patches of low species richness to acquire multiple
resource types.

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

A. depleted
B. homogeneous
C. immature
D. dispersed

610 - 670

QUESTION 1

TEXT 1

Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando is an oddity within her body of

work. Her other major novels consist mainly of scenes of
everyday life and describe their characters’ interior states in great
detail, whereas Orlando propels itself through a series of
fantastical events and considers its characters’ psychology more
superficially. Woolf herself sometimes regarded the novel as a
minor work, even admitting once that she “began it as a joke.”

TEXT 2

Like Woolf’s other great novels, Orlando portrays how people’s

memories inform their experience of the present. Like those works, it
examines how people navigate social interactions shaped by gender
and social class. Though it is lighter in tone—more entertaining,
even—this literary “joke” nonetheless engages seriously with the
themes that motivated the four or five other novels by Woolf that have
achieved the status of literary classics.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely
respond to the assessment of Orlando presented in Text 1?

A. By conceding that Woolf’s talents were best suited to serious

novels but asserting that the humor in Orlando is often effective
B. By agreeing that Orlando is less impressive than certain other
novels by Woolf but arguing that it should still be regarded as a
classic
 C. By acknowledging that Orlando clearly differs from Woolf’s other
major novels but insisting on its centrality to her body of work
nonetheless
D. By concurring that the reputation of Orlando as a minor work has
led readers to overlook this novel but maintaining that the
reputation is unearned

QUESTION 2

The following text is adapted from George Eliot’s 1871–72 novel

Middlemarch.

[Mr. Brooke] had travelled in his younger years, and was held in
this part of the country to have contracted a too rambling habit
of mind. Mr. Brooke’s conclusions were as difficult to predict as
the weather.

As used in the text, what does the word “contracted” most nearly
mean?

A. Restricted
B. Described
C. Developed
 D. Settled

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

TEXT 1

Films and television shows commonly include a long list of

credits naming the people involved in a production. Credit
sequences may not be exciting, but they generally ensure that
everyone’s contributions are duly acknowledged. Because they are
highly standardized, film and television credits are also valuable
to anyone researching the careers of pioneering cast and crew
members who have worked in the mediums

TEXT 2

Video game scholars face a major challenge in the industry’s failure to

consistently credit the artists, designers, and other contributors
involved in making video games. Without a reliable record of which
people worked on which games, questions about the medium’s
development can be difficult to answer, and the accomplishments of
all but its best-known innovators can be difficult to trace.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely
respond to the discussion in Text 2?

A. By recommending that the scholars mentioned in Text 2

consider employing the methods regularly used by film and
television researchers
B. By pointing out that credits have a different intended purpose in
film and television than in the medium addressed by the scholars
mentioned in Text 2
C. By suggesting that the scholars mentioned in Text 2 rely more
heavily on credits as a source of information than film and
television researchers do
D. By observing that a widespread practice in film and television
largely prevents the kind of problem faced by the scholars
mentioned in Text 2

QUESTION 2

While scholars believe many Mesoamerican cities influenced each

other, direct evidence of such influence is difficult to ascertain.
However, recent excavations in a sector of Tikal (Guatemala)
unearthed a citadel that shows ______Teotihuacán (Mexico)
architecture—including a near replica of a famed Teotihuacán
temple—providing tangible evidence of outside influence in portions of
Tikal.

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

A. refinements of
B. precursors of
C. commonalities with
D. animosities toward

KEY
370 - 410

1C 2B

420 - 480

1B 2C

490 - 540
A city’s Parks and Recreation department is interested in providing
residents with more opportunities for bicycling in their neighborhoods.
They’re considering adding more bike paths and conducted a survey
to understand where demand for more bike paths is highest. The
survey indicated the highest level of demand, with 88 percent of the
residents interested in adding more bike paths, is in the city’s ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete
the statement?

A. South West area.

B. South Central area.
C. North East area.
 D. North Central area.

QUESTION 2

“Valia” is a 1907 short story by Leonid Andreyev. In the story, the

author emphasizes that the setting where the character Valia is
reading is nearly silent: ______

Which quotation from “Valia” most effectively illustrates the claim?

A. “The hand in which he carried his book was getting stiff with
cold, but he would not ask his mother to take the book from him.”
B. “Valia was reading a huge, very huge book, almost half as large
as himself.”
C. “Valia approached the window and examined the toys.”
D. “Everything in the room was quiet, so quiet that the only thing to
be heard was the rustling of the pages he turned.”

420 - 480

QUESTION 1

Oluwaseyi Moejoh cofounded U-recycle Initiative Africa when she was

only a teenager. Moejoh and her team founded the organization to
teach young people how their actions affect the environment and why
recycling is important. For example, the organization put on an exhibit
of art made using recycled materials.

According to the text, what is one reason Moejoh and others founded
U-recycle Initiative Africa?

A. To bring attention to overlooked African artists

B. To teach young people why recycling is important
C. To help adults gain important outdoor skills
D. To give teenagers advice about starting businesses

QUESTION 2

Scientists have long believed that giraffes are mostly silent and
communicate only visually with one another. But biologist Angela
Stöger and her team analyzed hundreds of hours of recordings of
giraffes in three European zoos and found that giraffes make a very
low-pitched humming sound. The researchers claim that the giraffes
use these sounds to communicate when it’s not possible for them to
signal one another visually.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Stöger and her
team’s claim?
 A. Giraffes have an excellent sense of vision and can see in color.
B. The giraffes only produced the humming sounds at night when
they couldn’t see one another.
C. Wild giraffes have never been recorded making humming
sounds.
D. Researchers observed other animals in European zoos humming.

490 - 540

QUESTION 1

The Navajo Nation has the largest land area of any tribal nation in the
United States: over 27,000 square miles in the Southwest. Because
this area is so huge and its communities are located at various
elevations, the people of the Navajo Nation can experience different
climate conditions depending on where they live. For example, in
July,______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete
the statement?

A. the lowest temperature for both Cameron and Teec Nos Pos was
65°.
B. Tuba City’s average highest temperature was 94°, while Teec Nos
Pos’s was 93°.
C. Ramah’s average highest temperature was 83°, while Cameron’s
was 99°.
D. the lowest temperature for both Ramah and Tuba City was 50°.

QUESTION 2

In many of his sculptures, artist Richard Hunt uses broad forms rather
than extreme accuracy to hint at specific people or ideas. In his first
major work, Arachne (1956), Hunt constructed the mythical character
Arachne, a weaver who was changed into a spider, by welding bits of
steel together into something that, although vaguely human, is strange
and machine-like. And his large bronze sculpture The Light of Truth
(2021) commemorates activist and journalist Ida B. Wells using
mainly flowing, curved pieces of metal that create stylized flame.

Which choice best states the text’s main idea about Hunt?

A. He often depicts the subjects of his sculptures using an

unrealistic style.
B. He uses different kinds of materials depending on what kind of
sculpture he plans to create.
C. He tends to base his art on important historical figures rather
than on fictional characters.
D. He has altered his approach to sculpture over time, and his
works have become increasingly abstract.

550 - 600

QUESTION 1

Astronomers investigated the Arabia Terra region of Mars because it

appears to contain irregularly shaped craters that may have been
caused by massive volcanic explosions. In their investigations of
Arabia Terra, the researchers found remnants of ash deposits in an
amount and thickness that would result from a massive volcanic
eruption. However, erosion and past resurfacing events could have
modified the surface of the planet. Therefore, ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. the current makeup of the Arabia Terra region might not

accurately reflect the volcanic activity of Mars’s past.
B. eruptions from Mars’s volcanoes were likely not as massive as
astronomers previously believed.
C. ash was most likely expelled from multiple different volcanoes
on Mars’s surface.
D. the craters found in the Arabia Terra region were necessarily
created by events other than volcanic eruptions.

QUESTION 2
To test the effects of a nitrogen fertilizer on cantaloupe production,
researchers grew cantaloupe plants and harvested their fruit over
three years. In each year, half the plants were grown using a nitrogen
fertilizer, and the other half were grown using a control fertilizer that
contained no nitrogen. The researchers concluded that the nitrogen
fertilizer increases cantaloupe yield.

Which choice best describes data in the graph that support the
researchers’ conclusion?

A. In every year of the experiment, plants treated with the nitrogen

fertilizer had a yield of at least 30 pounds per acre.
 B. In every year of the experiment, plants treated with the nitrogen
fertilizer had a greater yield than did plants treated with the
control fertilizer.
C. The 2018 yield for plants treated with the control fertilizer was
greater than was the 2019 yield for plants treated with the
nitrogen fertilizer.
D. The yield for plants treated with the nitrogen fertilizer increased
from 2017 to 2018.

610 - 700

QUESTION 1

Mosses can struggle in harsh desert conditions because these plants

require enough sunlight for photosynthesis but not so much that they
risk drying out. Researchers Jenna Ekwealor and Kirsten M. Fisher
found several species of Syntrichia caninervis, a type of desert moss,
growing under quartz crystals in California’s Mojave Desert. To
evaluate whether these semitransparent rocks benefited the moss, the
researchers compared the shoot tissue, a measure of plant growth, of
S. caninervis when growing on the soil surface versus when the moss
was growing under the quartz rocks. They found that the shoot tissue
was 62% longer for moss growing under the quartz as compared to
moss on the soil surface, suggesting that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. S. caninervis is one of the few types of moss that can survive

under semitransparent rocks.
B. quartz crystals do not transmit the necessary sunlight for
photosynthesis in S. caninervis.
C. S. caninervis growing under quartz crystals experience lower
light intensity and are thus able to retain more moisture.
D. quartz crystals are capable of supporting S. caninervis growth if
the crystals are not too thin.

QUESTION 2

“On Virtue” is a 1766 poem by Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley addresses

the poem directly to the quality of virtue, imploring it to assist her in
reaching a future goal: ______

Which quotation from “On Virtue” most effectively illustrates the

claim?

A. “Attend me, Virtue, thro’ my youthful years! / O leave me not to

the false joys of time! / But guide my steps to endless life and
bliss.”
 B. “I cease to wonder, and no more attempt / Thine height t’explore,
or fathom thy profound.”
C. “O thou bright jewel in my aim I strive / To comprehend thee.
Thine own words declare / Wisdom is higher than a fool can
reach.”
D. “But, O my soul, sink not into despair, / Virtue is near thee, and
with gentle hand / Would now embrace thee, hovers o’er thine
head.”

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity

census reported approximately 17,000 species, nearly double the
number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla Morri’s 2000 census—a
difference only partly attributable to the description of new
invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the
morphological variability of microorganisms is poorly understood
compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and algae,
creating uncertainty about how to evaluate microorganisms as
species. Researchers’ decisions on such matters therefore can be
highly consequential. Indeed, the two censuses reported similar
counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. Coll and colleagues reported a much higher number of species

than Bianchi and Morri did largely due to the inclusion of
invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of
Bianchi and Morri’s census.
B. some differences observed in microorganisms may have been
treated as variations within species by Bianchi and Morri but
treated as indicative of distinct species by Coll and colleagues.
C. Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to the degree of
morphological variation displayed within a typical species of
microorganism than Coll and colleagues were.
D. the absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among
species of microorganisms may have resulted in Coll and
colleagues underestimating the number of microorganism
species.

QUESTION 2
Aerial robots vary considerably in their holding force; the Ultra-Fast
Robot Hand, for example, has a holding force of 56 newtons, more
than twice that of the Permanent Magnet Hand and more than four
times that of the Yale Model T. Since an aerial robot must lift its own
weight along with its cargo, engineer Jiawei Meng and colleagues
used a ratio of each robot’s holding force to the robot’s weight to
calculate payload capacity, with higher ratios corresponding to greater
capacity, concluding that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher
payload capacity than the Yale Model T.
Which choice best describes data in the graph that support Meng and
colleagues’ conclusion?

A. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh
more than 450 grams.
B. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh
more than the Permanent Magnet Hand does.
C. The Yale Model T has a lower holding force than the Permanent
Magnet Hand despite weighing more.
D. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand weighs only slightly more than the
Yale Model T does.

KEY

370 - 410

1A 2D

420 - 480

1B 2B
490 - 540

1C 2A

550 - 600

1A 2B

610 - 700

1C 2A

680 AND HIGHER

1B 2D

STANDARD ENGLISH CONVENTIONS

370 - 410

QUESTION 1

Wanda Diaz-Merced is an astrophysicist who lost her sight when she

was young. Diaz-Merced’s condition inspired her to develop software
that can translate scientific data into sound. Sound-based tools ______
scientists to detect subtle patterns in data. Such patterns may not be
evident in traditional graphs.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. has enabled
B. enable
C. is enabling
D. Enables

QUESTION 2

In 1990, California native and researcher Ellen Ochoa left her position
as chief of the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch at a NASA
research center ______ the space agency’s astronaut training program.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. to join
B. is joining
C. joined
 D. joins

420 - 480

QUESTION 1

Occupying a significant part of modern-day Nigeria, the Kingdom of

Benin was one of the major powers in West Africa between the
thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. It ______ ruled by Oba Ewuare I
from 1440 to 1473.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. is
B. will be
C. has been
D. was

QUESTION 2

Earth is not a perfect sphere. Due to the ______gravitational pull, Earth

bulges out on the sides closest to and farthest from the Moon. This
distorting pull is known as a tidal force, and it is responsible for the
changes in water levels that are called high and low tides.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. Moon’s
B. Moons
C. Moons’
D. Moon

QUESTION 1

Humans were long thought to have begun occupying the Peruvian

settlement of Machu Picchu between 1440 and 1450 CE. However, a
team led by anthropologist Dr. Richard Burger used accelerator mass
spectrometry to uncover evidence that it was occupied ______1420 CE,
according to Burger, humans were likely inhabiting the area.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. earlier, In
B. earlier, in
 C. earlier, which in
D. earlier in

QUESTION 2

Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s star quilt poems offer an
unusually open-ended reading experience. With ______eight panels of
text stitched together in the shape of a traditional eight-pointed Lakota
star quilt, the poems present viewers with a seemingly infinite number
of ways to read them.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. their
B. it’s
C. they’re
D. its

550 - 600

QUESTION 1
Swedish scientists Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann developed a
method for measuring the concentration of different proteins in a
biological sample. Their ______ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay), is used to detect and measure proteins that indicate the
presence of certain diseases.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. method (called
B. method—called
C. method, called
D. method called

QUESTION 2

In discussing Mary Shelley’s 1818 epistolary novel Frankenstein,

literary theorist Gayatri Spivak directs the reader’s attention to the
character of Margaret Saville. As Spivak points out, Saville is not the
protagonist of Shelley’s ______as the recipient of the letters that frame
the book’s narrative, she’s the “occasion” of it.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?
 A. novel
B. novel,
C. novel; rather,
D. novel, rather,

610 - 670

QUESTION 1

In 2018, a team of researchers led by Dr. Caitlin Whalen compiled

every available measurement of ocean mixing rates from the past two
decades. With this novel data set, the team was able to determine how
current-driven mixing varies across ______and what impact it has on
the distribution of heat and nutrients in the ocean.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. regions,
B. regions:
C. regions;
D. regions

QUESTION 2
In a 2016 study, Eastern Washington University psychologist Amani
El-Alayli found that, among the study participants who experienced
frisson (a physiological response akin to goosebumps or getting the
chills) while listening to music, there was one personality trait that
they scored particularly ______openness to experience.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. high. On
B. high on;
C. high on
D. high on:

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

The 1977 play And the Soul Shall Dance depicts two Japanese
American farming families in Depression-era Southern California.
Critics have noted the way pioneering ______compares the
experiences of issei (Japanese nationals who emigrated to America)
and nisei (their American-born children).
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the
conventions of Standard English?

A. playwright, Wakako Yamauchi,

B. playwright, Wakako Yamauchi
C. playwright Wakako Yamauchi,
D. playwright Wakako Yamauchi

QUESTION 2

Ten of William Shakespeare’s plays are classified as histories.

Although each one of these plays, which include Henry V and Richard
III, ______on a single historical figure (specifically, an English king),
some, such as Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two, feature
different episodes from the same monarch’s life.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the

conventions of Standard English?

A. focuses
B. focus
C. are focused
D. were focused
 1D 2A

MATH

ALGEBRA

360 AND LOWER

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
370 - 410

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
420 - 460

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
470 - 540

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
500 - 600

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
610 - 670

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 2
 1A 2. -12

680 AND HIGHER

1B 2D

ADVANCED MATH

360 AND LOWER

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
370 - 410

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

420 - 460

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

470 - 540

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
550 - 600

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
610 - 670

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
A city’s Parks and Recreation department is interested in providing
residents with more opportunities for bicycling in their neighborhoods.
They’re considering adding more bike paths and conducted a survey
to understand where demand for more bike paths is highest. The
survey indicated the highest level of demand, with 88 percent of the
residents interested in adding more bike paths, is in the city’s ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete
the statement?

A. South West area.

B. South Central area.
C. North East area.
 D. North Central area.

QUESTION 2

“Valia” is a 1907 short story by Leonid Andreyev. In the story, the

author emphasizes that the setting where the character Valia is
reading is nearly silent: ______

Which quotation from “Valia” most effectively illustrates the claim?

A. “The hand in which he carried his book was getting stiff with
cold, but he would not ask his mother to take the book from him.”
B. “Valia was reading a huge, very huge book, almost half as large
as himself.”
C. “Valia approached the window and examined the toys.”
D. “Everything in the room was quiet, so quiet that the only thing to
be heard was the rustling of the pages he turned.”

420 - 480

QUESTION 1

Oluwaseyi Moejoh cofounded U-recycle Initiative Africa when she was

only a teenager. Moejoh and her team founded the organization to
teach young people how their actions affect the environment and why
recycling is important. For example, the organization put on an exhibit
of art made using recycled materials.

According to the text, what is one reason Moejoh and others founded
U-recycle Initiative Africa?

A. To bring attention to overlooked African artists

B. To teach young people why recycling is important
C. To help adults gain important outdoor skills
D. To give teenagers advice about starting businesses

QUESTION 2

Scientists have long believed that giraffes are mostly silent and
communicate only visually with one another. But biologist Angela
Stöger and her team analyzed hundreds of hours of recordings of
giraffes in three European zoos and found that giraffes make a very
low-pitched humming sound. The researchers claim that the giraffes
use these sounds to communicate when it’s not possible for them to
signal one another visually.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support Stöger and her
team’s claim?
 A. Giraffes have an excellent sense of vision and can see in color.
B. The giraffes only produced the humming sounds at night when
they couldn’t see one another.
C. Wild giraffes have never been recorded making humming
sounds.
D. Researchers observed other animals in European zoos humming.

490 - 540

QUESTION 1

The Navajo Nation has the largest land area of any tribal nation in the
United States: over 27,000 square miles in the Southwest. Because
this area is so huge and its communities are located at various
elevations, the people of the Navajo Nation can experience different
climate conditions depending on where they live. For example, in
July,______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete
the statement?

A. the lowest temperature for both Cameron and Teec Nos Pos was
65°.
B. Tuba City’s average highest temperature was 94°, while Teec Nos
Pos’s was 93°.
C. Ramah’s average highest temperature was 83°, while Cameron’s
was 99°.
D. the lowest temperature for both Ramah and Tuba City was 50°.

QUESTION 2

In many of his sculptures, artist Richard Hunt uses broad forms rather
than extreme accuracy to hint at specific people or ideas. In his first
major work, Arachne (1956), Hunt constructed the mythical character
Arachne, a weaver who was changed into a spider, by welding bits of
steel together into something that, although vaguely human, is strange
and machine-like. And his large bronze sculpture The Light of Truth
(2021) commemorates activist and journalist Ida B. Wells using
mainly flowing, curved pieces of metal that create stylized flame.

Which choice best states the text’s main idea about Hunt?

A. He often depicts the subjects of his sculptures using an

unrealistic style.
B. He uses different kinds of materials depending on what kind of
sculpture he plans to create.
C. He tends to base his art on important historical figures rather
than on fictional characters.
D. He has altered his approach to sculpture over time, and his
works have become increasingly abstract.

550 - 600

QUESTION 1

Astronomers investigated the Arabia Terra region of Mars because it

appears to contain irregularly shaped craters that may have been
caused by massive volcanic explosions. In their investigations of
Arabia Terra, the researchers found remnants of ash deposits in an
amount and thickness that would result from a massive volcanic
eruption. However, erosion and past resurfacing events could have
modified the surface of the planet. Therefore, ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. the current makeup of the Arabia Terra region might not

accurately reflect the volcanic activity of Mars’s past.
B. eruptions from Mars’s volcanoes were likely not as massive as
astronomers previously believed.
C. ash was most likely expelled from multiple different volcanoes
on Mars’s surface.
D. the craters found in the Arabia Terra region were necessarily
created by events other than volcanic eruptions.

QUESTION 2
To test the effects of a nitrogen fertilizer on cantaloupe production,
researchers grew cantaloupe plants and harvested their fruit over
three years. In each year, half the plants were grown using a nitrogen
fertilizer, and the other half were grown using a control fertilizer that
contained no nitrogen. The researchers concluded that the nitrogen
fertilizer increases cantaloupe yield.

Which choice best describes data in the graph that support the
researchers’ conclusion?

A. In every year of the experiment, plants treated with the nitrogen

fertilizer had a yield of at least 30 pounds per acre.
 B. In every year of the experiment, plants treated with the nitrogen
fertilizer had a greater yield than did plants treated with the
control fertilizer.
C. The 2018 yield for plants treated with the control fertilizer was
greater than was the 2019 yield for plants treated with the
nitrogen fertilizer.
D. The yield for plants treated with the nitrogen fertilizer increased
from 2017 to 2018.

610 - 700

QUESTION 1

Mosses can struggle in harsh desert conditions because these plants

require enough sunlight for photosynthesis but not so much that they
risk drying out. Researchers Jenna Ekwealor and Kirsten M. Fisher
found several species of Syntrichia caninervis, a type of desert moss,
growing under quartz crystals in California’s Mojave Desert. To
evaluate whether these semitransparent rocks benefited the moss, the
researchers compared the shoot tissue, a measure of plant growth, of
S. caninervis when growing on the soil surface versus when the moss
was growing under the quartz rocks. They found that the shoot tissue
was 62% longer for moss growing under the quartz as compared to
moss on the soil surface, suggesting that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. S. caninervis is one of the few types of moss that can survive

under semitransparent rocks.
B. quartz crystals do not transmit the necessary sunlight for
photosynthesis in S. caninervis.
C. S. caninervis growing under quartz crystals experience lower
light intensity and are thus able to retain more moisture.
D. quartz crystals are capable of supporting S. caninervis growth if
the crystals are not too thin.

QUESTION 2

“On Virtue” is a 1766 poem by Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley addresses

the poem directly to the quality of virtue, imploring it to assist her in
reaching a future goal: ______

Which quotation from “On Virtue” most effectively illustrates the

claim?

A. “Attend me, Virtue, thro’ my youthful years! / O leave me not to

the false joys of time! / But guide my steps to endless life and
bliss.”
 B. “I cease to wonder, and no more attempt / Thine height t’explore,
or fathom thy profound.”
C. “O thou bright jewel in my aim I strive / To comprehend thee.
Thine own words declare / Wisdom is higher than a fool can
reach.”
D. “But, O my soul, sink not into despair, / Virtue is near thee, and
with gentle hand / Would now embrace thee, hovers o’er thine
head.”

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1

Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity

census reported approximately 17,000 species, nearly double the
number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla Morri’s 2000 census—a
difference only partly attributable to the description of new
invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the
morphological variability of microorganisms is poorly understood
compared to that of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and algae,
creating uncertainty about how to evaluate microorganisms as
species. Researchers’ decisions on such matters therefore can be
highly consequential. Indeed, the two censuses reported similar
counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. Coll and colleagues reported a much higher number of species

than Bianchi and Morri did largely due to the inclusion of
invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of
Bianchi and Morri’s census.
B. some differences observed in microorganisms may have been
treated as variations within species by Bianchi and Morri but
treated as indicative of distinct species by Coll and colleagues.
C. Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to the degree of
morphological variation displayed within a typical species of
microorganism than Coll and colleagues were.
D. the absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among
species of microorganisms may have resulted in Coll and
colleagues underestimating the number of microorganism
species.

QUESTION 2
Aerial robots vary considerably in their holding force; the Ultra-Fast
Robot Hand, for example, has a holding force of 56 newtons, more
than twice that of the Permanent Magnet Hand and more than four
times that of the Yale Model T. Since an aerial robot must lift its own
weight along with its cargo, engineer Jiawei Meng and colleagues
used a ratio of each robot’s holding force to the robot’s weight to
calculate payload capacity, with higher ratios corresponding to greater
capacity, concluding that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher
payload capacity than the Yale Model T.

Which choice best describes data in the graph that support Meng and
colleagues’ conclusion?
 A. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh
more than 450 grams.
B. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh
more than the Permanent Magnet Hand does.
C. The Yale Model T has a lower holding force than the Permanent
Magnet Hand despite weighing more.
D. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand weighs only slightly more than the
Yale Model T does.

KEY

370 - 410

1A 2D

420 - 480

1B 2B

490 - 540

1C 2A

550 - 600
 1A 2B

610 - 700

1C 2A

680 AND HIGHER

1B 2D

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DATA ANALYSIS

360 AND LOWER

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
370 - 410

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
420 - 460

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
470 - 540

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
550 - 600

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

610 - 670

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

680 AND HIGHER

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

KEY
680 AND HIGHER

1. 41 2.D

GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY

360 AND LOWER

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2
370 - 410

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

420 - 460
QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2

470 - 540

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2
550 - 600

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

610 - 670

QUESTION 1
QUESTION 2

KEY

360 AND LOWER