Question ID 359902ae

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context

ID: 359902ae
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

ID: 359902ae Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because as used in the text, “singular” most nearly means extraordinary. The text portrays an
experiment in which a character rehydrates a dried rose by infusing it with moisture. After prolonged contact with the liquid,
the rose begins to absorb it, undergoing an exceptional transformation: its color deepens, its previously “crushed and dried”
petals shift, and the entire flower revives “from a deathlike slumber.” In other words, an extraordinary change is visible in the
flower.

Choice A is incorrect. Although in some contexts “singular” can mean of or relating to an individual or to a single instance of
something, this usage doesn’t imply loneliness or an otherwise unsatisfactory condition of isolation. Moreover, the text
doesn’t attribute such a condition to the rose. Choice B is incorrect. Although “singular” has several related meanings, none
of them relate to being disagreeable or unpleasant. Moreover, the text doesn’t portray the change undergone by the rose as
necessarily disagreeable. Choice C is incorrect because “singular” means extraordinary, not acceptable. The change is
portrayed as striking, not barely satisfactory.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 22a41819
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context

ID: 22a41819
Rejecting the premise that the literary magazine Ebony and Topaz (1927) should present a unified vision of Black American
identity, editor Charles S. Johnson fostered his contributors’ diverse perspectives by promoting their authorial autonomy.
Johnson’s self-effacement diverged from the editorial stances of W.E.B. Du Bois and Alain Locke, whose decisions for their
publications were more ______.

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

A. proficient

B. dogmatic

C. ambiguous

D. unpretentious

ID: 22a41819 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. A person who is "dogmatic" believes strongly that their principles and opinions are true.
Because Du Bois and Locke are implied to have one "unified vision" of Black American identity that they prioritize over the
"diverse perspectives" of different writers, they can be described as dogmatic.

Choice A is incorrect. "Proficient" means "skilled." Du Bois and Locke are contrasted with Johnson, but nothing in the text
suggests that Johnson was not skilled at making editorial decisions. Based on the text, the three editors just have different
styles; they’re not necessarily more or less skilled. Choice C is incorrect. "Ambiguous" means "unclear" or "open to multiple
interpretations." However, it’s actually Johnson who encouraged multiple interpretations ("diverse perspectives"). Since Du
Bois and Locke are said to "diverge" from Johnson, we can assume that the views they published were not ambiguous, but
instead clear and firm (a "unified vision"). Choice D is incorrect. "Unpretentious" means "not trying to impress others with
greater skill or importance than is actually possessed." Du Bois and Locke are contrasted with Johnson, but nothing in the
text suggests that Johnson is pretentious (trying to impress others).

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84b5125b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context

ID: 84b5125b
Artist Marilyn Dingle’s intricate, coiled baskets are ______ sweetgrass and palmetto palm. Following a Gullah technique that
originated in West Africa, Dingle skillfully winds a thin palm frond around a bunch of sweetgrass with the help of a “sewing
bone” to create the basket’s signature look that no factory can reproduce.

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

A. indicated by

B. handmade from

C. represented by

D. collected with

ID: 84b5125b Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Marilyn Dingle’s baskets. In this
context, to say that Dingle’s baskets are “handmade from” particular plants means that Dingle creates baskets herself using
those plants but without using machines. The text says that Dingle “skillfully winds” parts of palmetto palm plants around
sweetgrass plants to make baskets with an appearance that “no factory can reproduce.” This context suggests that Dingle’s
baskets are handmade from sweetgrass and palmetto palm.

Choice A is incorrect because the text describes how Dingle uses sweetgrass and palmetto palm to create her baskets, not
how her baskets are “indicated by,” or signified by, sweetgrass and palmetto palm. Choice C is incorrect. Although Dingle’s
baskets are described as being made using sweetgrass and palm, there’s nothing in the text to suggest that the baskets are
“represented by,” or exemplified or portrayed by, sweetgrass and palmetto palm. Instead, the focus of the text is on Dingle’s
use of sweetgrass and palmetto palm and the impossibility of replicating the appearance of her baskets using machines.
Choice D is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text to suggest that Dingle’s baskets are “collected with,” or brought
together in a group with, sweetgrass and palmetto palm. Instead, the text describes how Dingle uses those plants to make
her baskets.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID ca50de52
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: ca50de52
“How lifelike are they?” Many computer animators prioritize this question as they strive to create ever more realistic
environments and lighting. Generally, while characters in computer-animated films appear highly exaggerated, environments
and lighting are carefully engineered to mimic reality. But some animators, such as Pixar’s Sanjay Patel, are focused on a
different question. Rather than asking first whether the environments and lighting they’re creating are convincingly lifelike,
Patel and others are asking whether these elements reflect their films’ unique stories.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

A. It reflects a primary goal that many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce.

It represents a concern of computer animators who are more interested in creating unique backgrounds and lighting
B. effects than realistic ones.

It conveys the uncertainty among many computer animators about how to create realistic animations using current
C. technology.

D. It illustrates a reaction that audiences typically have to the appearance of characters created by computer animators.

ID: ca50de52 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a
whole. The text begins with the underlined question, “How lifelike are they?” The text then explains that many computer
animators pose this question about the environments and lighting that they create for animated films, striving for realistic
animation of those components even if the characters themselves aren’t portrayed in realistic terms. The focus of the text
then shifts to describe how some animators strive to create environments and lighting that reflect the film’s unique stories
rather than making them appear realistic. Therefore, the function of the underlined question is to reflect a primary goal that
many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce.

Choice B is incorrect because, as the text makes clear, the underlined question is one posed by computer animators who
wish to create realistic backgrounds and lighting effects, not by those who, instead, wish to create effects that reflect films’
unique stories and aren’t necessarily realistic; this latter group of animators is discussed later in the text. Choice C is
incorrect. As the text explains, many computer animators strive for realistic environments and lighting, while others do not;
this difference of approach relates to whether these components should be realistic, not to how realism can be achieved
using current technology, and the text never suggests that animators are uncertain how to achieve it. Choice D is incorrect
because the underlined question pertains to the perspective of computer animators, not the audience, and the text never
considers audience’s reactions to characters in animated films.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 82cb7dda
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 82cb7dda
The field of study called affective neuroscience seeks instinctive, physiological causes for feelings such as pleasure or
displeasure. Because these sensations are linked to a chemical component (for example, the release of the neurotransmitter
dopamine in the brain when one receives or expects a reward), they can be said to have a partly physiological basis. These
processes have been described in mammals, but Jingnan Huang and his colleagues have recently observed that some
behaviors of honeybees (such as foraging) are also motivated by a dopamine-based signaling process.

What choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

A. It describes an experimental method of measuring the strength of physiological responses in humans.

B. It illustrates processes by which certain insects can express how they are feeling.

It summarizes a finding suggesting that some mechanisms in the brains of certain insects resemble mechanisms in
C. mammalian brains.

It presents research showing that certain insects and mammals behave similarly when there is a possibility of a reward
D. for their actions.

ID: 82cb7dda Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to summarize a
finding suggesting that some mechanisms in the brains of certain insects resemble mechanisms in mammalian brains. The
text begins by explaining that feelings such as pleasure and displeasure are linked to chemical processes in the brain, such
as the release of dopamine when one receives a reward. The text then indicates that such processes have been seen in
mammals but that researchers have recently observed similar processes involving dopamine in honeybees. Taken together,
this information serves to sum up the discovery that some mechanisms in the brains of certain insects may resemble
mechanisms linked to feelings such as pleasure and displeasure in mammals.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t describe any experiments or experimental methods. Instead, the text
describes a phenomenon that has been observed in mammals and then presents the recent observations of Huang and
colleagues that this phenomenon is also seen in honeybees. Choice B is incorrect because there’s nothing in the text to
suggest that certain insects can express how they’re feeling through particular processes. The text does indicate that certain
honeybee behaviors such as foraging are linked to dopamine, but it doesn’t suggest that these behaviors enable honeybees
to communicate feelings or sensations. Choice D is incorrect because the text presents research showing that certain
honeybee behaviors such as foraging are linked to dopamine and therefore may be motivated by similar mechanisms to
those in mammalian brains, not that honeybees and mammals behave similarly when there is the possibility of reward for
their actions.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 5e57efec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context

ID: 5e57efec
Economist Marco Castillo and colleagues showed that nuisance costs—the time and effort people must spend to make
donations—reduce charitable giving. Charities can mitigate this effect by compensating donors for nuisance costs, but those
costs, though variable, are largely ______ donation size, so charities that compensate donors will likely favor attracting a few
large donors over many small donors.

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

A. supplemental to

B. predictive of

C. independent of

D. subsumed in

ID: 5e57efec Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. We’re told that charities that pay donors back for nuisance costs will attract a few large donors
instead of many small donors. This suggests that nuisance costs are not linked to donation size.

Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t fit the logic of the text. If nuisance costs are supplemental to (meaning in addition to)
donation size, that wouldn’t result in charities that compensate donors for those costs attracting a few large donors over
many small donors. Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t fit the logic of the text. If nuisance costs can predict donation size,
that wouldn’t necessarily result in charities that compensate donors for those costs attracting a few large donors over many
small donors. Choice D is incorrect. This doesn’t fit the logic of the text. If nuisance costs are subsumed in (meaning
included in) donation size, that wouldn’t result in charities that compensate donors for those costs attracting a few large
donors over many small donors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 97e5bf55
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Cross-Text

Connections

ID: 97e5bf55
Text 1
In 1916, H. Dugdale Sykes disputed claims that The Two Noble Kinsmen was coauthored by William Shakespeare and John
Fletcher. Sykes felt Fletcher’s contributions to the play were obvious—Fletcher had a distinct style in his other plays, so much
so that lines with that style were considered sufficient evidence of Fletcher’s authorship. But for the lines not deemed to be
by Fletcher, Sykes felt that their depiction of women indicated that their author was not Shakespeare but Philip Massinger.
Text 2
Scholars have accepted The Two Noble Kinsmen as coauthored by Shakespeare since the 1970s: it appears in all major one-
volume editions of Shakespeare’s complete works. Though scholars disagree about who wrote what exactly, it is generally
held that on the basis of style, Shakespeare wrote all of the first act and most of the last, while John Fletcher authored most
of the three middle acts.

Based on the texts, both Sykes in Text 1 and the scholars in Text 2 would most likely agree with which statement?

A. John Fletcher’s writing has a unique, readily identifiable style.

B. The women characters in John Fletcher’s plays are similar to the women characters in Philip Massinger’s plays.

C. The Two Noble Kinsmen belongs in one-volume compilations of Shakespeare’s complete plays.

D. Philip Massinger’s style in the first and last acts of The Two Noble Kinsmen is an homage to Shakespeare’s style.

ID: 97e5bf55 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. Text 1 states that Sykes felt Fletcher’s contributions to the play were obvious because he had a
distinct style in his other plays. Text 2 states that scholars generally agree “on the basis of style” that Fletcher wrote most of
the three middle acts. Both texts imply that Fletcher’s writing has a unique, readily identifiable style that can be used to
distinguish his work from others.

Choice B is incorrect. While Text 1 refers to the women in Massinger plays, neither text compares the women of Fletcher’s
plays to the women of Massinger’s plays. Text 2 doesn’t mention Massinger at all. Choice C is incorrect. Text 1 states that
Sykes disputed that Shakespeare coauthored the play, and implied that it was coauthored by Fletcher and Massinger
instead. Sykes, therefore, would disagree that The Two Noble Kinsmen belongs in a Shakespeare compilation. Choice D is
incorrect. Text 1 doesn’t suggest that Massinger was inspired by Shakespeare, and Text 2 doesn’t mention Massinger at all.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b13378c8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: b13378c8
Early in the Great Migration of 1910–1970, which involved the mass migration of Black people from the southern to the
northern United States, political activist and Chicago Defender writer Fannie Barrier Williams was instrumental in helping
other Black women establish themselves in the North. Many women hoped for better employment opportunities in the North
because, in the South, they faced much competition for domestic employment and men tended to get agricultural work. To
aid with this transition, Barrier Williams helped secure job placement in the North for many women before they even began
their journey.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

To introduce and illustrate Barrier Williams’s integral role in supporting other Black women as their circumstances
A. changed during part of the Great Migration

To establish that Barrier Williams used her professional connections to arrange employment for other Black women,
B. including jobs with the Chicago Defender

To demonstrate that the factors that motivated the start of the Great Migration were different for Black women than they
C. were for Black men

To provide an overview of the employment challenges faced by Black women in the agricultural and domestic spheres in
D. the southern United States

ID: b13378c8 Answer

Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the text’s purpose, which is to discuss the important role
Barrier Williams played in supporting many other Black women as they relocated to the northern United States during the
early years of the Great Migration. After introducing Barrier Williams, the text describes how she helped find jobs for other
Black women, who in many cases relocated in search of better employment prospects than the South could offer at the time.
The text indicates that by doing so, she eased these women’s transition as their circumstances changed.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text mentions Barrier Williams’s work as a political activist and writer for the Chicago
Defender, it doesn’t discuss any professional connections she made in these roles or indicate that she used any such
connections in her work to secure employment for other Black women. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text discusses a
factor that caused many women to relocate during the Great Migration, their difficulty finding employment in the South, the
text doesn’t indicate that this factor motivated the start of the Great Migration. Moreover, the text doesn’t discuss the factors
that motivated Black men to migrate. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text mentions the difficult employment prospects
for Black women in the domestic and agricultural sectors in the South during the Great Migration, the text’s main purpose
isn’t to provide an overview of the employment challenges Black women faced in these sectors. Rather, it provides this
information to show that Barrier Williams played a crucial role in supporting many Black women who relocated to the North
by helping them achieve one of their main goals, securing a job.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 2af2016f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 2af2016f
A study by Dr. Paul Hanel and colleagues concluded that people are more likely to behave politely when listening to ideas
they disagree with if they think about values before they engage in a discussion. Study participants were assigned to one of
two groups. The experimental group spent a few minutes writing about one of their personal values before they had a group
discussion on a controversial topic. And the control group spent a few minutes writing about a drink (tea, milk, etc.) before
their group discussion on that topic. Hanel and colleagues found that the experimental group’s discussion was more civil
than the control group’s discussion was.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

A. To describe a widely held belief and how a study’s results support that belief

B. To argue that researchers were surprised by the results of a certain study

C. To suggest ways to improve a certain study’s experimental design

D. To explain a study’s conclusion and how a research team arrived at that conclusion

ID: 2af2016f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to explain a study’s
conclusion and how researchers involved in the study arrived at that conclusion. The text begins by summarizing the main
conclusion of the study conducted by Paul Hanel and colleagues: when confronted with ideas they disagree with in
discussions about controversial topics, people are more likely to respond politely if they think about their personal values
before engaging in such discussions. The text then goes on to describe the design of Hanel and colleagues’ experiment. By
comparing interactions between members of an experimental group (who had been prompted to write about their personal
values beforehand) to those between members of a control group (who had been prompted to write about a beverage), the
team found that people in the experimental group behaved more civilly, or politely, than people in the control group did during
discussions about a controversial topic. This finding led to the conclusion described at the beginning of the text.

Choice A is incorrect. Although the text discusses the results of a study, it doesn’t provide any indication that the conclusion
the study supported—that when facing disagreement, people behave more politely when they have thought about their
values—is a belief that is widely held. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t indicate that the researchers found the
results of their study to be surprising, or contrary to what they expected. In fact, there’s no indication provided in the text
about how the researchers felt about the study’s results or that the results should be considered surprising. Choice C is
incorrect. Although the text discusses the experimental design of a study, it doesn’t suggest any improvements to that
design; instead, it focuses on how the design enabled the researchers to draw a particular conclusion.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 757077f9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context

ID: 757077f9
During a 2014 archaeological dig in Spain, Vicente Lull and his team uncovered the skeleton of a woman from El Algar, an
Early Bronze Age society, buried with valuable objects signaling a high position of power. This finding may persuade
researchers who have argued that Bronze Age societies were ruled by men to ______ that women may have also held
leadership roles.

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

A. waive

B. concede

C. refute

D. require

ID: 757077f9 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the significance of the 2014
archaeological finding at El Algar. In this context, “concede” means to admit something is true after first resisting that
admission. The text indicates that some researchers believe “Bronze Age societies were ruled by men.” But the Bronze Age
burial of a woman at El Algar included “valuable objects signaling a high position of power,” which would raise the possibility
that “women may have also held leadership roles.” Thus, the text is calling into question the notion that only men were
leaders in these societies and speculating that people holding this view may reconsider their opinion.

Choice A is incorrect because “waive” means to refrain from insisting that something, such as a right or a requirement, be
observed; the word isn’t used, however, in contexts where someone acknowledges that an opinion they hold may be invalid,
as is the case in the text. Choice C is incorrect. According to the text, the finding from the El Algar burial site undermines the
view that Bronze Age societies were exclusively ruled by men. However, “refute” means to demonstrate that something is
false and would not make sense in context. Lull and team’s finding supports the view that women may have also held
leadership roles, not that they did not participate in such roles. Choice D is incorrect because in this context, “require” means
to demand or specify as mandatory. However, it would not make sense for contemporary researchers to demand that Bronze
Age “women may have also held leadership roles.”

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID d4732483
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: d4732483
Studying late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artifacts from an agricultural and domestic site in Texas, archaeologist
Ayana O. Flewellen found that Black women employed as farm workers utilized hook-and-eye closures to fasten their clothes
at the waist, giving themselves a silhouette similar to the one that was popular in contemporary fashion and typically
achieved through more restrictive garments such as corsets. Flewellen argues that this sartorial practice shows that these
women balanced hegemonic ideals of femininity with the requirements of their physically demanding occupation.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

To describe an unexpected discovery that altered a researcher’s view of how rapidly fashions among Black female
A. farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas changed during the period

To discuss research that investigated the ways in which Black female farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early
B. twentieth-century Texas used fashion practices to resist traditional gender ideals

To evaluate a scholarly work that offers explanations for the impact of urban fashion ideals on Black female farmworkers
C. in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas

To summarize the findings of a study that explored factors influencing a fashion practice among Black female
D. farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas

ID: d4732483 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text provides an overview of a scholarly work discussing the fashion practices of Black
female farmworkers in late 19th- and early 20th-century Texas, and how these practices were influenced by both the fashion
ideals of the time and the demands of farmwork.

Choice A is incorrect. The text never discusses the rate of fashion change among Black female farmworkers. The text also
never categorizes Flewellen’s findings as "unexpected." Choice B is incorrect. The text actually explains that Black female
farmworkers were trying to achieve traditional feminine ideals, not resist them. Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn’t
evaluate a scholarly work but rather simply describes it. Furthermore, the text is focused on "agricultural and domestic"
fashion, not urban fashion as this choice suggests.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d9915c15
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: d9915c15
In 2020, rap artist and professor A.D. Carson published the first peer-reviewed rap album about his experiences with Black
masculinity called “i used to love to dream.” Typically in peer review, experts evaluate scholarly articles prior to publication.
For Carson’s album, dubbed a “mixtap/e/ssay,” peer review involved both scholars and rap artists. In combining elements of
a mixtape album with scholarly essays that connect Carson’s lyrics to historical and contemporary contexts for listeners
both inside and outside academia, Carson’s album helped redefine how scholarship is created and shared.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To compare the relative public impact of scholarly articles and albums

B. To capture one scholar’s opinion of a new rap album

C. To explain why a certain rap album is particularly innovative

D. To describe how each step of the peer review process unfolds

ID: d9915c15 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it best describes the main purpose of the text, which is to explain why a certain rap
album is particularly innovative. The text mentions rap artist and professor A.D. Carson, who published "the first peer-
reviewed rap album." The text also describes the unusual process of having the work evaluated by both scholars and rap
artists before its release, and details how the album combines elements of a mixtape album with elements of scholarly
essays. All of these characteristics of the album and the way in which it was developed help to demonstrate the album’s
novelty.

Choice A is incorrect because though the text mentions an album that combines elements of scholarly essays and mixtapes,
it does not compare the relative public impact of scholarly articles and albums. Choice B is incorrect because the text does
not present the opinion of a scholar regarding the rap album. Choice D is incorrect because though the text mentions that
the album was peer reviewed, it does not detail the steps of the review.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 105ea6de
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Cross-Text

Connections

ID: 105ea6de
Text 1
Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the conjugation of multiple distinct nanomaterials, such as
iron oxide and gold nanomaterials conjugated for use in magnetic imaging—has outpaced studies of nanohybrids’
environmental risks. Unfortunately, risk evaluations based on nanohybrids’ constituents are not reliable: conjugation may
alter constituents’ physiochemical properties such that innocuous nanomaterials form a nanohybrid that is anything but.
Text 2
The potential for enhanced toxicity of nanohybrids relative to the toxicity of constituent nanomaterials has drawn deserved
attention, but the effects of nanomaterial conjugation vary by case. For instance, it was recently shown that a nanohybrid of
silicon dioxide and zinc oxide preserved the desired optical transparency of zinc oxide nanoparticles while mitigating the
nanoparticles’ potential to damage DNA.

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

By concurring that the risk described in Text 1 should be evaluated but emphasizing that the risk is more than offset by
A. the potential benefits of nanomaterial conjugation

By arguing that the situation described in Text 1 may not be representative but conceding that the effects of
B. nanomaterial conjugation are harder to predict than researchers had expected

By denying that the circumstance described in Text 1 is likely to occur but acknowledging that many aspects of
C. nanomaterial conjugation are still poorly understood

By agreeing that the possibility described in Text 1 is a cause for concern but pointing out that nanomaterial conjugation
D. does not inevitably produce that result

ID: 105ea6de Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The author of Text 2 acknowledges that nanohybrids may be more toxic than their constituent
parts, but also provides an example of a nanohybrid that has reduced toxicity compared to its components: silicon dioxide
and zinc oxide together have all the benefits of zinc oxide nanoparticles without any of the DNA harm zinc oxide has on its
own.

Choice A is incorrect. While the author of Text 2 gives an example of a nanohybrid that isn’t as toxic as its constituent parts,
they don’t argue that the benefit outweighs the risk. They merely argue that “the effects of nanomaterial conjugation vary by
case.” Choice B is incorrect. The author of Text 2 states that the effects of nanomaterial conjugation “vary by case,” and that
the attention that their potential toxicity has drawn is warranted. If the situation in Text 1 weren’t representative, then there
would be less attention to the potential danger of these materials. Furthermore, neither passage suggests that researchers
had expected that they could predict the effects of nanomaterial conjugation. Choice C is incorrect. The author of Text 2
agrees that the potential toxicity of nanohybrids “has drawn deserved attention,” so they aren’t denying the problem.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID eaea6f8f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: eaea6f8f
Ordinary soap bubbles usually exist for a minute or less before popping due to either a rupture forced by gravity-induced
drainage or the evaporation of the liquid from which the bubble is composed. But physicist Aymeric Roux and colleagues
discovered ways to mitigate these factors, resulting in bubbles that can last for a year or more. For example, glycerol tends
to adhere to water molecules, so a bubble with a shell that contains both water and glycerol is able to draw additional water
molecules from the surrounding air and thereby compensate for evaporation.

Which choice best states the purpose of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

It describes the effects of a process devised by researchers that increases the longevity of an object discussed in the
A. text.

B. It details the circumstances that prompted the research discussed in the text.

C. It presents a reason why the phenomenon discussed in the text that the researchers wanted to avoid will inevitably occur.

D. It mentions a method discussed in the text that researchers intend to test in future experiments.

ID: eaea6f8f Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it describes how the underlined portion of the sentence functions in the text as a
whole. The text begins by discussing ordinary soap bubbles, objects that usually exist for less than a minute before popping
due to either evaporation or gravity-induced drainage. The text then goes on to mention work by researchers Aymeric Roux
and colleagues, who have discovered how to increase the longevity of bubbles by altering their chemical composition.
Finally, the underlined portion of the text describes how this process works: since the bubble contains both water and
glycerol, it can draw water molecules from the surrounding air to replace those lost to evaporation. Therefore, the underlined
portion of the sentence describes the effects of a process devised by researchers that increases the longevity of an object
described in the text.

Choice B is incorrect because the circumstance that prompted the research is discussed in the first sentence of the text, not
the underlined portion. Choice C is incorrect because the underlined portion of the text does not address why soap bubbles
must eventually rupture. Rather, it explains how the longevity of soap bubbles can be extended. Choice D is incorrect
because the underlined portion of the text does not mention any future experiments.

Question Difficulty: Easy