SAT information and ideas

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Biologists have predicted that birds’ feather structures vary with habitat temperature, but this hadn’t been tested in mountain environments. Ornithologist Sahas Barve studied feathers from 249 songbird species inhabiting different elevations—and thus experiencing different temperatures—in the Himalaya Mountains. He found that feathers of high-elevation species not only have a greater proportion of warming downy sections to flat and smooth sections than do feathers of low-elevation species, but high-elevation species’ feathers also tend to be longer, providing a thicker layer of insulation.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

The results of Barve’s study suggest that the ability of birds to withstand cold temperatures is determined more strongly by feather length than feather structure, challenging an established belief.

Barve’s investigation shows that some species of Himalayan songbirds have evolved feathers that better regulate body temperature than do the feathers of other species, contradicting previous predictions.

Barve discovered that songbirds have adapted to their environment by growing feathers without flat and smooth sections, complicating an earlier hypothesis.

Barve found an association between habitat temperature and feather structure among Himalayan songbirds, lending new support to a general prediction.

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In high concentrations, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is typically toxic to many plants. Frederick D. Dooley and colleagues wanted to understand what effects low doses of H₂S might have on plant growth. They treated bean, corn, wheat, and pea seeds with various concentrations (measured in micromoles per liter) of H₂S and tracked the germination of those seeds along with the germination of untreated seeds. Treatment with particular concentrations of H₂S was associated with accelerated germination: for example, ______blank

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

at 48 hours, approximately 50% of seeds treated with H₂S at a concentration of 10 micromoles per liter had germinated, whereas only approximately 30% of untreated seeds had germinated.

at 168 hours, more than 90% of seeds treated with H₂S at concentrations of 10 or 500 micromoles per liter had germinated, whereas less than 70% of untreated seeds had germinated.

at 48 hours, more than 70% of seeds treated with H₂S at a concentration of 10 micromoles per liter had germinated, whereas only approximately 50% of untreated seeds had germinated.

at 24 hours, less than 10% of seeds treated with H₂S at a concentration of 10 micromoles per liter had germinated, whereas more than 90% of those seeds had germinated at 168 hours.

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While attending school in New York City in the 1980s, Okwui Enwezor encountered few works by African artists in exhibitions, despite New York’s reputation as one of the best places to view contemporary art from around the world. According to an arts journalist, later in his career as a renowned curator and art historian, Enwezor sought to remedy this deficiency, not by focusing solely on modern African artists, but by showing how their work fits into the larger context of global modern art and art history.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the journalist’s claim?

As curator of the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany, Enwezor organized a retrospective of Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui’s work entitled El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, one of the largest art exhibitions devoted to a Black artist in Europe’s history.

Enwezor organized the exhibition In/sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present not to emphasize a particular aesthetic trend but to demonstrate the broad range of ways in which African artists have approached the medium of photography.

In the exhibition Postwar: Art Between the Pacific and the Atlantic, 1945–1965, Enwezor and cocurator Katy Siegel brought works by African artists such as Malangatana Ngwenya together with pieces by major figures from other countries, like US artist Andy Warhol and Mexico’s David Siqueiros.

Enwezor’s work as curator of the 2001 exhibition The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945–1994 showed how African movements for independence from European colonial powers following the Second World War profoundly influenced work by African artists of the period, such as Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq and Thomas Mukarobgwa.

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The domestic sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) descends from a wild plant native to South America. It also populates the Polynesian Islands, where evidence confirms that Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples were cultivating the plant centuries before seafaring first occurred over the thousands of miles of ocean separating them from South America. To explain how the sweet potato was first introduced in Polynesia, botanist Pablo Muñoz-Rodríguez and colleagues analyzed the DNA of numerous varieties of the plant, concluding that Polynesian varieties diverged from South American ones over 100,000 years ago. Given that Polynesia was peopled only in the last three thousand years, the team concluded that blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

Polynesian peoples likely acquired the sweet potato from South American peoples only within the last three thousand years.

the cultivation of the sweet potato in Polynesia likely predates its cultivation in South America.

human activity likely played no role in the introduction of the sweet potato in Polynesia.

Polynesian sweet potato varieties likely descend from a single South American variety that was domesticated, not wild.

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One theory behind human bipedalism speculates that it originated in a mostly ground-based ancestor that practiced four-legged “knuckle-walking,” like chimpanzees and gorillas do today, and eventually evolved into moving upright on two legs. But recently, researchers observed orangutans, another relative of humans, standing on two legs on tree branches and using their arms for balance while they reached for fruits. These observations may suggest that blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

bipedalism must have evolved simultaneously with knuckle-walking and tree-climbing.

moving between the ground and the trees would have been difficult without bipedalism.

a knuckle-walking human ancestor could have easily moved bipedally in trees.

bipedalism evolved because it was advantageous to a tree-dwelling ancestor of humans.

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Many of William Shakespeare’s tragedies address broad themes that still appeal to today’s audiences. For instance, Romeo and Juliet, which is set in the Italy of Shakespeare’s time, tackles the themes of parents versus children and love versus hate, and the play continues to be read and produced widely around the world. But understanding Shakespeare’s so-called history plays can require a knowledge of several centuries of English history. Consequently, blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

some of Shakespeare’s tragedies are more relevant to today’s audiences than twentieth-century plays.

experts in English history tend to prefer Shakespeare’s history plays to his other works.

Romeo and Juliet is the most thematically accessible of all Shakespeare’s tragedies.

many theatergoers and readers today are likely to find Shakespeare’s history plays less engaging than the tragedies.

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For centuries, the widespread acknowledgment of the involvement of the cerebellum—a dense brain structure in vertebrates—in coordinating motor control in humans has hindered recognition of other possible functions of the structure. Neuroscience research from the last two decades now suggests that the cerebellum regulates emotion and social behavior, and recent research by Ilaria Carta and colleagues has identified a pathway connecting the cerebellum to a center for motivation and reward processing known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

The cerebellum has primarily been thought to regulate motor functioning, but in recent years neuroscience researchers have been uncovering additional functions.

Technological limitations have historically hindered the study of the cerebellum, but the recent development of new technologies has led to greater insights into its functions.

Recent advances in the field of neuroscience have challenged widely accepted claims about the function of a pathway connecting the VTA and the cerebellum.

The recent verification of a pathway between the VTA and the cerebellum confirms the cerebellum’s long-suspected role in motor coordination.

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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 blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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The following text is adapted from María Cristina Mena’s 1914 short story “The Vine-Leaf.”

It is a saying in the capital of Mexico that Dr. Malsufrido carries more family secrets under his hat than any archbishop.
The doctor’s hat is, appropriately enough, uncommonly capacious, rising very high, and sinking so low that it seems to be supported by his ears and eyebrows, and it has a furry look, as if it had been brushed the wrong way, which is perhaps what happens to it if it is ever brushed at all. When the doctor takes it off, the family secrets do not fly out like a flock of parrots, but remain nicely bottled up beneath a dome of old and highly polished ivory.

Based on the text, how do people in the capital of Mexico most likely regard Dr. Malsufrido?

Most would be unimpressed by him were it not for his professional expertise.

Many have come to tolerate him despite his disheveled appearance.

Some dislike how freely he discusses his own family.

Few feel concerned that he will divulge their confidences.

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10.

In West Africa, jalis have traditionally been keepers of information about family histories and records of important events. They have often served as teachers and advisers, too. New technologies may have changed some aspects of the role today, but jalis continue to be valued for knowing and protecting their peoples’ stories.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

Jalis have been entertaining the people within their communities for centuries.

Technology can now do some of the things jalis used to be responsible for.

Although jalis have many roles, many of them like teaching best.

Even though there have been some changes in their role, jalis continue to preserve their communities’ histories.

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11.

Scholars have noted that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writings were likely influenced in part by his marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald, but many don’t recognize Zelda as a writer in her own right. Indeed, Zelda authored several works herself, such as the novel Save Me the Waltz and numerous short stories. Thus, those who primarily view Zelda as an inspiration for F. Scott’s writings blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

may draw inaccurate conclusions about how F. Scott and Zelda viewed each other’s works.

tend to read the works of F. Scott and Zelda in an overly autobiographical light.

risk misrepresenting the full range of Zelda’s contributions to literature.

overlook the many other factors that motivated F. Scott to write.

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12.

Paleontologists searching for signs of ancient life have found many fossilized specimens of prehistoric human ancestors, including several from the Pleistocene era discovered in a geological formation in the Minatogawa quarry in Japan. However, to study the emergence of the earliest multicellular organisms to appear on Earth, researchers must turn elsewhere, such as to the Ediacaran geological formation at Mistaken Point in Canada. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 146-hectare reserve contains more than 10,000 fossils that together document a critical moment in evolutionary history.

What does the text indicate about the geological formation at Mistaken Point?

It has provided evidence that the earliest human species may have emerged before the Pleistocene era.

It holds a greater number of fossils but from a smaller variety of species than the formation in the Minatogawa quarry does.

It contains specimens from an older time period than those found in the formation in the Minatogawa quarry.

It is widely considered by paleontologists to be the most valuable source of information about prehistoric life forms.

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13.

Archaeologists and historians used to believe that the Maya civilization during its Classic period (roughly 250–900) lacked agricultural marketplaces. One reason for this belief was that these scholars misunderstood the ecology of the regions the Maya inhabited. Marketplaces typically emerge because different individuals or groups want to trade resources they control for resources they don’t control. Scholars seriously underestimated the ecological diversity of the Maya landscape and thus assumed that blank

Which choice most logically completes the text?

marketplaces likely would not have attracted many traders from outside the regions controlled by the Maya.

farmers would trade agricultural products only if they had already produced enough to meet their own needs.

marketplaces would not have enabled Maya people to acquire many products different from those they already produced.

farming practices would have been largely the same throughout Maya lands even if the crops people produced varied significantly.

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14.

The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen’s 1926 poem “Thoughts in a Zoo.”

They in their cruel traps, and we in ours,
Survey each other’s rage, and pass the hours
Commiserating each the other’s woe,
To mitigate his own pain’s fiery glow.
Man could but little proffer in exchange
Save that his cages have a larger range.
That lion with his lordly, untamed heart
Has in some man his human counterpart,
Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped,
But in the stifling flesh securely trapped.

Based on the text, what challenge do humans sometimes experience?

They have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations

They quickly become frustrated when faced with difficult tasks because of a lack of self-control.

They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation.

They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion.

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15.

Urbanization, industrialization, and the warming climate create thermal pollution (excess heat) in the shallow subsurface soil. Susanne A. Benz and colleagues analyzed thousands of sites on three continents under one scenario in which surface temperature remains at the current level and under another in which the surface reaches the maximum plausible temperature. They then categorized each site according to the percentage of local home heating needs that could be met using this excess subsurface heat. The team concluded that if surface temperature approaches the maximum plausible level, the percentage of sites where thermal pollution could feasibly contribute to meeting home heating needs will increase.

Which choice best describes data in the graph that support Benz and colleagues’ conclusion?

At current surface temperatures, more than 80% of the sites have no need for supplemental local home heating from subsurface thermal pollution, but at the maximum plausible surface temperature, more than 70% of sites exhibit significantly greater home heating needs.

Under both temperature conditions, less than 10% of sites were in the up-to-25% group, but at the maximum plausible surface temperature, almost 80% of sites could have all their local heating needs met by thermal pollution.

At current surface temperatures, more than 80% of the sites cannot use subsurface thermal pollution to meet any portion of local home heating needs, but at the maximum plausible surface temperature, that percentage drops below 20%.

At current surface temperatures, more than 80% of sites can meet, at most, 25% of local home heating needs with subsurface thermal pollution, but at the maximum plausible surface temperature, more than 80% of sites can meet greater than 25% of local home heating needs.

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