Question ID db876fd5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: db876fd5
Songbirds learn to respond to and imitate their species’ songs from an early age. With each generation, small differences are
introduced that result in distinct variations—called dialects—among geographically isolated populations of the same
species. A research study examined whether twelve-day-old Ficedula hypoleuca (pied flycatcher) nestlings prefer local
dialects over the unfamiliar dialects of nonlocal F. hypoleuca populations: the more begging calls the nestlings made in
response to a song, the stronger their preference. The researchers found that nestlings produced more begging calls in
response to their own dialect than to nonlocal dialects. Since song preference plays a role in songbird mate selection, the
finding suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

F. hypoleuca nestlings’ preference for their own dialect likely disappears as they mature to promote socialization between
A. different F. hypoleuca populations.

F. hypoleuca nestlings who show an early preference for their own dialect are likely to receive more food from their
B. caretakers than nestlings who show no preferences among any F. hypoleuca dialects.

F. hypoleuca nestlings’ preference for their own dialect likely drives them when they mature to reproduce with other F.
C. hypoleuca from local rather than nonlocal populations.

F. hypoleuca nestlings show a preference for both local F. hypoleuca dialects and the songs of other local songbirds over
D. the songs of nonlocal birds of any species.

ID: db876fd5 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. Because “song preference plays a role in songbird mate selection,” and because F. hypoleuca
nestlings display a preference for local dialects, we can infer that they will be more likely to choose mates from local
populations.

Choice A is incorrect. We don’t have any information suggesting that this preference disappears, so there’s no basis for this
inference. Choice B is incorrect. Although the passage discusses the number of begging calls made in response to various F.
hypoleuca dialects, no mention is made about the amount of food received based on dialect preference. Therefore, there’s no
basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. There’s no mention in the passage of methods of other types of local
songbirds, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 6bc0e595
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 6bc0e595
One aspect of in-person shopping that online shopping can’t replicate is the opportunity to touch a product before buying it.
Does this difference matter? In an experiment, researchers asked one group of participants to touch a mug and a toy, while
another group was prohibited from touching the two items. The participants were then asked how much money they’d pay
for the items. People who got to touch the items were willing to pay much more money for them than were people who
weren’t allowed to touch the items. This finding suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. people who mainly shop online probably spend more money every month than people who mainly shop in person do.

B. in-person shopping may make products seem more valuable than they seem if only viewed online.

C. retailers with in-person and online stores should charge the same price for a given product in both places.

D. online retailers may be able to raise the prices they charge for products that are only available online.

ID: 6bc0e595 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text tells us that “people who got to touch the items were willing to pay much more money
for them than people who weren’t allowed to touch” them. This suggests that being able to interact with a product in person
may make it seem more valuable to a shopper.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t discuss how much people spend each month, so there’s not much basis for this claim.
Furthermore, since being able to touch a product tends to make people “willing to pay much more money” for it, we might
predict that an online shopper would be willing to spend less on the same purchases as an in-person shopper. Choice C is
incorrect. The text doesn’t discuss what retailers “should charge,” so there’s not much basis for this claim. Furthermore, the
study in the text suggests that in-person stores may actually be able to charge more for a given product, since shoppers can
touch it. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t discuss products that are only available online, so there’s not much basis for
this claim. Furthermore, products only available online would still have the problem of shoppers not being able to touch
them, and the study suggests that this lowers the prices shoppers are willing to pay.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID f9bd4e61
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: f9bd4e61
German theater practitioner Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) believed that theater should elicit an intellectual rather than an
emotional response from audiences, provoking them to consider social and political realities that extend beyond the
characters and events depicted onstage. Brecht’s influence can be seen in English playwright Caryl Churchill’s 1979 play
Cloud 9: although the play sometimes invites empathetic reactions, it primarily works to engage audiences in an
interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism, which it does by placing audiences at a distance, thereby encouraging them to
______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. focus on the characters’ beliefs about social and political issues as revealed by the characters’ actions.

B. reflect on social and political phenomena not directly related to patriarchy and colonialism.

recognize pertinent social and political parallels between Germany during Brecht’s time and England at the time when
C. Churchill was writing Cloud 9.

D. be dispassionate as they think critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.

ID: f9bd4e61 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. Churchill’s play was influenced by Brecht’s belief that theater should elicit an intellectual rather
than an emotional response from audiences, making them think about social and political issues that also exist outside of
the play. Therefore, it makes sense that Churchill would strive to have audiences think dispassionately (i.e., without emotion)
and critically about the social and political questions raised by the play.

Choice A is incorrect. The passage mentions that Churchill was influenced by Brecht’s belief that plays should provoke
audience members “to consider social and political realities that extend beyond the characters and events depicted
onstage,” so there’s no basis for an inference about audience members deeply engaging with characters’ beliefs and actions.
Choice B is incorrect. Reflecting on things that aren’t related to patriarchy and colonialism wouldn’t “engage audiences in an
interrogation of patriarchy and colonialism.” That creates a confusing contradiction. Choice C is incorrect. No mention is
made of social and political issues in Germany during Brecht’s time, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d1539546
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: d1539546
Tides can deposit large quantities of dead vegetation within a salt marsh, smothering healthy plants and leaving a salt panne
—a depression devoid of plants that tends to trap standing water—in the marsh’s interior. Ecologist Kathryn Beheshti and
colleagues found that burrowing crabs living within these pannes improve drainage by loosening the soil, leading the pannes
to shrink as marsh plants move back in. At salt marsh edges, however, crab-induced soil loosening can promote marsh loss
by accelerating erosion, suggesting that the burrowing action of crabs ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. can be beneficial to marshes with small pannes but can be harmful to marshes with large pannes.

B. may promote increases in marsh plants or decreases in marsh plants, depending on the crabs’ location.

C. tends to be more heavily concentrated in areas of marsh interiors with standing water than at marsh edges.

D. varies in intensity depending on the size of the panne relative to the size of the surrounding marsh.

ID: d1539546 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text says that crab burrowing in the pannes enables plants to grow there again. It also says
that crab burrowing at the edges of the marsh speeds up marsh loss. This suggests that burrowing crabs can either help or
hurt marshes, depending on where they’re located.

Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses pannes of different sizes. Choice C is
incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never suggests that crabs do more burrowing in the pannes (the areas with
standing water) than they do at the edges. Rather, the text says that the burrowing that happens in the pannes is beneficial,
while the burrowing that happens at the edges is harmful. Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text
never discusses the intensity of crab burrowing, nor does it discuss the size of the panne relative to the size of the marsh.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9077be25
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 9077be25
Alice Guy-Blaché directed hundreds of films between 1896 and 1920. She wanted audiences to feel like they were watching
real people on screen. She would encourage actors in her films to behave naturally. Guy-Blaché even hung a large sign
reading “Be Natural” in the studio where she made her films. At the time, films lacked sound, so actors needed to rely solely
on their bodies and facial expressions to convey emotions. As a result, actors tended to highly exaggerate their actions and
expressions. The style of acting in Guy-Blaché’s films was therefore ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. copied by many of Guy-Blaché’s peers.

B. familiar to actors who had worked on other directors’ films.

C. very unusual for the period.

D. better than film acting today.

ID: 9077be25 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The text tells us that “actors tended to highly exaggerate their actions and expressions” in films
produced from 1896 to 1920. This suggests that the natural style of acting in Guy-Blaché’s films was very unusual for the
time.

Choice A is incorrect. The text never discusses any other directors copying the style of acting found in Guy-Blaché’s films,
and in fact suggests the opposite—that it was unusual for directors to suggest this style of acting at the time. Choice B is
incorrect. The text never discusses actors’ familiarity with the style of acting found in Guy-Blaché’s films, so there isn’t much
basis for this inference. But since the text tells us that other films of the period used a highly exaggerated form of acting, we
might predict that the natural style in Guy-Blachés films would have been unfamiliar to these actors. Choice D is incorrect.
The text never discusses film acting today, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 485962a6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 485962a6
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.

ID: 485962a6 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of the
Arabia Terra region of Mars. According to the text, there are craters in Arabia Terra that could be the result of volcanic
activity, and researchers have found evidence of ash deposits consistent with a large eruption. The text goes on to note,
however, that erosion and other events could have altered the surface of Mars. This observation suggests that current
conditions on Mars’s surface are not necessarily a reliable guide to past events—some signs of past events could have been
transformed or erased entirely—and thus the current makeup of Arabia Terra may not accurately reflect past volcanic
activity.

Choice B is incorrect because the text suggests only that past events could have changed Mars’s surface such that its
current appearance isn’t a reliable guide to past activity, not that it’s likely that past eruptions were not as massive as
astronomers previously believed. Nothing in the text supports a conclusion about the likely size of past eruptions. Choice C
is incorrect because the observation that resurfacing events could have changed the appearance of Mars doesn’t imply that
the ash discussed in the text likely came from multiple volcanoes. Although it’s possible that the ash came from different
volcanoes, there’s no information in the text supporting a conclusion about how likely that possibility is. Choice D is incorrect
because nothing in the text suggests that the Arabia Terra craters had to have been created by something other than
volcanic eruptions. Although the text does suggest that the evidence consistent with volcanic eruptions shouldn’t be taken
as definitive proof of past eruptions, that doesn’t mean that the craters couldn’t have been created by eruptions, only that we
can’t be certain they were.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID cac82f9b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: cac82f9b
Biologist Natacha Bodenhausen and colleagues analyzed the naturally occurring bacterial communities associated with
leaves and roots of wild Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant. The researchers found many of the same bacterial
genera in both the plants’ leaves and roots. To explain this, the researchers pointed to the general proximity of A. thaliana
leaves to the ground and noted that rain splashing off soil could bring soil-based bacteria into contact with the leaves.
Alternatively, the researchers noted that wind, which may be a source of bacteria in the aboveground portion of plants, could
also bring bacteria to the soil and roots. Either explanation suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. bacteria carried by wind are typically less beneficial to A. thaliana than soil-based bacteria are.

B. some bacteria in A. thaliana leaves and roots may share a common source.

C. many bacteria in A. thaliana leaves may have been deposited by means other than rain.

D. A. thaliana leaves and roots are especially vulnerable to harmful bacteria.

ID: cac82f9b Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. Both explanations suggest that the bacteria come from the same place: either they come from
the ground and make their way to the leaves, or they come from above the ground and make their way to the roots.

Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses any benefits of any kind of bacteria. Choice C
is incorrect. This conflicts with the text. One of the theories is that the bacteria in the leaves were deposited by rain splashing
off soil. Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text only discusses “naturally occurring” bacteria. It never
mentions either the harms or benefits of these bacteria.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 299c5303
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 299c5303
As the name suggests, dramaturges originated in theater, where they continue to serve a variety of functions: conducting
historical research for directors, compiling character biographies for actors, and perhaps most importantly, helping writers of
plays and musicals to hone the works’ stories and characters. Performance scholar Susan Manning observes that many
choreographers, like playwrights and musical theater writers, are concerned with storytelling and characterization. In fact,
some choreographers describe the dances they create as expressions of narrative through movement; it is therefore
unsurprising that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. dramaturges can have a profound impact on the artistic direction of plays and musicals.

choreographers developing dances with narrative elements frequently engage dramaturges to assist in refining those
B. elements.

dances by choreographers who incorporate narrative elements are more accessible to audiences than dances by
C. choreographers who do not.

D. some directors and actors rely too heavily on dramaturges to complete certain research tasks.

ID: 299c5303 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. Dramaturges help playwrights with storytelling and characterization. Choreographers often tell
stories through dance, so they are also concerned with storytelling and characterization. This suggests that the fact that
choreographers seek the help of dramaturges with the storytelling aspects of their dances should be “unsurprising.”

Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The beginning of the text does imply that this is true, but the end is
leading to a conclusion about how choreographers use dramaturges. Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported.
The text never mentions dances by choreographers who don’t incorporate narrative elements. Choice D is incorrect. This
inference isn’t supported. The text mentions in passing that directors use dramaturges to conduct research, but it never
suggests that directors and actors are too reliant on them. Also, the text is leading to a conclusion about how
choreographers use dramaturges.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 5b4829d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 5b4829d2
Researchers wanted to study how consumers’ reactions to an ad may be affected by other ads. The researchers began by
showing study participants an ad for a product, with some seeing a less detailed ad and others seeing a more detailed one.
Then, all participants viewed the same second ad for a store and shared their opinion of the store based on this second ad.
Participants who had first seen an ad less detailed than the second ad had a higher opinion of the store than the participants
who had first seen a more detailed ad. The researchers concluded that reactions to an ad may be affected by ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. the number of people who viewed the ad.

B. the length of time viewing previous ads.

C. the amount of detail viewed in previous ads.

D. the time of day that the ad is viewed.

ID: 5b4829d2 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The passage tells us that participants who had seen a less detailed ad for a product beforehand
had a higher opinion of the store than those who had seen a more detailed ad. This suggests that reactions to an ad may be
affected by the amount of detail viewed in previous ads.

Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention the number of people who viewed the ad, so there’s no basis for this
inference. Choice B is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention the length of time viewing previous ads, so there’s no basis for
this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention the time of day that the ad is viewed, so there’s no basis
for this inference.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 22b3da87
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences

Ideas

ID: 22b3da87
During the Bourbon Restoration in France (1814–1830), the right to vote required in part that a person paid at least 300
francs in direct taxes to the government. The four most common taxes (the quatre vieilles) were levied on real estate (both
land and buildings); the doors and windows in taxpayer homes; the rental values of homes; and the businesses of artisans
and merchants. (Foreign investments were either exempt from taxation or taxed lightly.) Although relatively few people paid
the tax on real estate, it was the main means of voter qualification and accounted for over two-thirds of government receipts
during this period, suggesting that during the Bourbon Restoration ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. those people who had the right to vote most likely had substantial holdings of French real estate.

B. the voting habits of French artisans and merchants were effective in reducing tax burdens on businesses.

C. the number of doors and windows in French residences was kept to a minimum but increased after 1830.

D. French people with significant foreign investments were unlikely to have the right to vote.

ID: 22b3da87 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. We’re told that people needed to pay “at least 300 francs in direct taxes” to be able to vote.
We’re also told that, while “relatively few people paid the tax on real estate,” real estate taxes were both the main way people
qualified to vote and the main source of revenue for the government. Based on this, we can infer that those who did qualify
to vote likely had significant French real estate holdings.

Choice B is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention the voting habits of artisans and merchants nor any reduction in tax
burdens on businesses, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. Although we know that doors and
windows were taxed during the Bourbon Restoration, we don’t have enough information to infer if doors and windows
increased after this time. Choice D is incorrect. Although we know that foreign investments were only minimally taxed, we
don’t have enough information to determine if those with significant foreign investments were unlikely to have voting rights.
For example, it’s possible that those with significant foreign investments were likely to also be people with significant
domestic investments which they did pay taxes on, so we don’t have the information necessary to make this inference.

Question Difficulty: Hard