Digital SAT Practice Test 8 — Module 1 Reading & Writing: Full Walkthrough of All 33 Questions with Answers & Explanations

Question 1 · Words in Context

Benito Juarez, who became the first Indigenous Mexican president in 1858, is one of the most ______ figures in Mexican history.

• A) unpredictable
• B) important
• C) secretive
• D) ordinary

Question 2 · Words in Context

Researcher Mônica Lopes-Ferreira and her team at the Butantan Institute discovered that the venom of the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon rex varies little across individuals: the age and sex of a stingray have ______ effect on the venom's potency.

• A) a disconcerting
• B) an acceptable
• C) an imperceptible
• D) a substantial

Question 3 · Words in Context

Kelp forests along the eastern Pacific Coast slow down ocean currents, creating a more ______ environment for the many small fish and invertebrates that shelter among the kelp fronds.

• A) tranquil
• B) dangerous
• C) imaginative
• D) surprising

Question 4 · Words in Context

The Mule Bone, a 1930 play by Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, is one of the few examples of ______ in African American literature: the two authors collaborated on the play, though it wasn't published until decades later.

• A) characterization
• B) interpretation
• C) collaboration
• D) commercialization

Question 5 · Words in Context

Ofelia Zepeda's accomplishments in the field of linguistics are ______: she has written a grammar of the Tohono O'odham language, edited multiple volumes of poetry in the language, and helped train a new generation of Indigenous linguists.

• A) pragmatic
• B) controversial
• C) extensive
• D) universal

Question 6 · Central Ideas & Details

In 2020, archaeologists excavating the ancient Roman city of Pompeii uncovered a remarkably well-preserved thermopolium — a type of ancient food shop — complete with painted decorations and food remains still intact in its terracotta pots. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• A) To compare ancient artworks with modern ones
• B) To discuss the political system of Italy
• C) To present a recent archaeological discovery
• D) To describe a region's climate

Question 7 · Central Ideas & Details

The following text is from Sarah Orne Jewett's 1899 short story 'Martha's Lady.' Miss Pyne is waiting to greet a visitor. All morning Miss Pyne had watched from the window, growing more anxious with each passing hour. The garden outside stood absolutely still in the summer heat — no leaf stirred, no bird called — while inside the house Martha bustled about, arranging flowers and setting the tea things with quiet care. Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• A) To convey a character's worries about an upcoming event
• B) To describe how two characters have changed over time
• C) To contrast lively indoor activity with the stillness outside
• D) To depict a setting as characters await a visitor

Question 8 · Text Structure

The following text is from Aphra Behn's 1689 novel The Lucky Mistake. Atlante and Rinaldo are secret lovers. Rinaldo has just sent a note to Atlante using a cleft cane as a hiding place. Atlante seized the cane and, retreating to her chamber, drew forth the letter with a trembling hand. The words she read there set her heart beating so violently that she could hardly breathe — Rinaldo declared his love, and begged her to send some sign in return. She kissed the letter a hundred times and wept for joy. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

• A) It describes a letter's delivery and then depicts a character's reaction to receiving it.
• B) It presents a character's desperation and then reveals what she has been waiting to receive.
• C) It concerns the delivery of a letter and then details its contents.
• D) It reveals the inspiration for a letter and then explores the recipient's response.

Question 9 · Command of Evidence — Textual

The following text is adapted from Vicki L. Ruiz's 2008 book From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. During World War II, Mexican American women workers took jobs in canneries producing canned goods for the US military. As the war effort intensified, employees insisted on more favorable benefits, and employers, who were anxious to fulfill the contracts, complied. As used in the text, what is the function of the underlined portion?

• A) It elaborates on a claim about wartime labor relations by describing a specific dynamic between workers and employers.
• B) It offers an example of a broader trend in women's labor participation.
• C) It notes a possible exception to a general pattern of labor exploitation.
• D) It provides further details about the identities of the workers being discussed.

Question 10 · Inferences

Mixopterid eurypterids are an extinct group of sea scorpions previously known only from Laurussia, an ancient continent that once included what is now North America and Europe. Recently, however, scientists identified a fossilized mixopterid eurypterid called Terropterus xiushanensis in what was once Gondwana — a different ancient continent that included present-day Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. Which choice most logically completes the text about the significance of the discovery?

• A) It provides the first evidence that mixopterid eurypterids lived more than 400 million years ago.
• B) It suggests that mixopterid eurypterids are more closely related to arachnids and horseshoe crabs than previously believed.
• C) It allows researchers to establish a more accurate evolutionary timeline for mixopterid eurypterids.
• D) It represents the first evidence of mixopterid eurypterids outside of Laurussia.

Question 11 · Command of Evidence — Quantitative

Video Game Availability by Initial Release Years — 1975-1979: 0.89%; 1980-1984: 3.65%; 1985-1989: 15.38%; 1990-1994: 19.33%; 1995-1999: 14.22%. In a recent study, researchers found that relatively few video games released over the decades remain available today. For example, only 14.22 percent of games are still available that were initially released in ______

See figure/table in the original College Board PDF above.

• A) 2000-2004.
• B) 1995-1999.
• C) 1970-1974.
• D) 1985-1989.

Question 12 · Command of Evidence — Quantitative

Depths at Which Four Deep-Sea Fish Species Live: Footballfish 200-1,000 m; Southern stoplight loosejaw 500-2,000 m; Black seadevil 250-2,000 m; Bollons' rattail 300-800 m. Based on the information in the table, at what depth does the southern stoplight loosejaw live?

See figure/table in the original College Board PDF above.

• A) More than 2,000 meters below the surface
• B) 150 to 400 meters below the surface
• C) 500 to 2,000 meters below the surface
• D) 250 to 500 meters below the surface

Question 13 · Command of Evidence — Quantitative

Housing Starts in the US, January-April 2022 (in thousands): January 1,669; February 1,771; March 1,713; April 1,803. When construction of a single-family house begins, it is called a housing start. In the first four months of 2022, the highest number of housing starts in the United States was in ______

See figure/table in the original College Board PDF above.

• A) April.
• B) March.
• C) January.
• D) February.

Question 14 · Command of Evidence — Textual

Born in 1891 to a Quechua-speaking family in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Martin Chambi is today considered to be one of the most renowned figures of Latin American photography. In a paper for an art history class, a student claims that Chambi's photographs have considerable ethnographic value — in his work, Chambi was able to capture diverse elements of Peruvian society, representing his subjects with both dignity and authenticity. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the student's claim?

• A) Chambi took many commissioned portraits of wealthy Peruvians, but he also produced hundreds of images carefully documenting the peoples, sites, and customs of Indigenous communities of the Andes.
• B) Chambi's photographs demonstrate a high level of technical skill, as seen in his strategic use of illumination to create dramatic light and shadow contrasts.
• C) During his lifetime, Chambi was known and celebrated both within and outside his native Peru, as his work was published in places like Argentina, Spain, and Mexico.
• D) Some of the peoples and places Chambi photographed had long been popular subjects for Peruvian photographers.

Question 15 · Command of Evidence — Textual

Researchers hypothesized that a decline in the population of dusky sharks near the mid-Atlantic coast of North America led to a decline in the population of eastern oysters in the region. Dusky sharks do not typically consume eastern oysters but do consume cownose rays, which are the main predators of the oysters. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers' hypothesis?

• A) Declines in the regional abundance of dusky sharks' prey other than cownose rays are associated with regional declines in dusky shark abundance.
• B) Eastern oyster abundance tends to be greater in areas with both dusky sharks and cownose rays than in areas with only dusky sharks.
• C) Consumption of eastern oysters by cownose rays in the region substantially increased before the regional decline in dusky shark abundance began.
• D) Cownose rays have increased in regional abundance as dusky sharks have decreased in regional abundance.

Question 16 · Command of Evidence — Textual

In the mountains of Brazil, Barbacenia tomentosa and Barbacenia macrantha — two plants in the Velloziaceae family — establish themselves on soilless, nutrient-poor patches of quartzite rock. Plant ecologists Anna Abrahao and Patricia de Britto Costa used microscopic analysis to determine that the roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha, which grow directly into the quartzite, have clusters of fine hairs near the root tip; further analysis indicated that these hairs secrete both malic and citric acids. The researchers hypothesize that the plants depend on dissolving underlying rock with these acids, as the process not only creates channels for continued growth but also releases phosphates that provide the vital nutrient phosphorus. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers' hypothesis?

• A) Other species in the Velloziaceae family are found in terrains with more soil but have root structures similar to those of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha.
• B) Though B. tomentosa and B. macrantha both secrete citric and malic acids, each species produces the acids in different proportions.
• C) The roots of B. tomentosa and B. macrantha carve new entry points into rocks even when cracks in the surface are readily available.
• D) B. tomentosa and B. macrantha thrive even when transferred to the surfaces of rocks that do not contain phosphates.

Question 17 · Inferences

Many mosquito repellents contain natural components that work by activating multiple odor receptors on mosquitoes' antennae. As the insects develop resistance, new repellents are needed. Ke Dong and her team found that EBF, a molecular component of a chrysanthemum-flower extract, can repel mosquitoes by activating just one odor receptor — and this receptor, Or31, is present in all mosquito species known to carry diseases. Therefore, the researchers suggest that in developing new repellents, it would be most useful to ______

• A) identify molecular components similar to EBF that target the activation of Or31 receptors.
• B) investigate alternative methods for extracting EBF molecules from chrysanthemums.
• C) verify the precise locations of Or31 and other odor receptors on mosquitoes' antennae.
• D) determine the maximum number of different odor receptors that can be activated by a single molecule.

Question 18 · Inferences

Birds of many species ingest foods containing carotenoids, pigmented molecules that are converted into feather coloration. Coloration tends to be especially saturated in male birds' feathers, and because carotenoids also confer health benefits, the deeply saturated colors generally serve to communicate what is known as an honest signal of a bird's overall fitness to potential mates. However, ornithologist Allison J. Shultz and others have found that males in several species of the tanager genus Ramphocelus use microstructures in their feathers to manipulate light, creating the appearance of deeper saturation without the birds necessarily having to maintain a carotenoid-rich diet. These findings suggest that ______

• A) individual male tanagers can engage in honest signaling without relying on carotenoid consumption.
• B) feather microstructures may be less effective than deeply saturated feathers for signaling overall fitness.
• C) scientists have yet to determine why tanagers have a preference for mates with colorful appearances.
• D) a male tanager's appearance may function as a dishonest signal of the individual's overall fitness.

Question 19 · Boundaries — Verb Form

When writing The Other Black Girl (2021), novelist Zakiya Dalila Harris drew on her own experiences working at a publishing office. The award-winning book is Harris's first novel, but her writing ______ honored before. At the age of twelve, she entered a contest to have a story published in American Girl magazine — and won. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) were
• B) have been
• C) has been
• D) are

Question 20 · Boundaries — Verb Form

In order to prevent nonnative fish species from moving freely between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, marine biologist Bella Galil has proposed that a saline lock system be installed along the Suez Canal in Egypt's Great Bitter Lakes. The lock would increase the salinity of the lakes and ______ a natural barrier of water most marine creatures would be unable to cross. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) creates
• B) create
• C) creating
• D) created

Question 21 · Boundaries — Punctuation

Paintings by the renowned twentieth-century US ______ were featured in Artist to Artist, an exhibition at the Smithsonian Art Museum that paired the works of artists whose career trajectories intersected in meaningful ways. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) artists: Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock,
• B) artists Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock
• C) artists Thomas Hart Benton, and Jackson Pollock,
• D) artists, Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock

Question 22 · Boundaries — Punctuation

In 1943, in the midst of World War II, mathematics professor Grace Hopper was recruited by the US military to help the war effort by solving complex equations. Hopper's subsequent career would involve more than just ______ as a pioneering computer programmer, Hopper would help usher in the digital age. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) equations, though:
• B) equations, though,
• C) equations. Though,
• D) equations though

Question 23 · Boundaries — Verb Form

Increased gender diversity is revitalizing the field of economics, according to Harvard's Claudia Goldin. The trailblazing accomplishments of Goldin, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics for her work on women in the labor force, ______ to the value of scholars of diverse backgrounds in spurring research into previously unexplored, but vitally important, topics. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) attests
• B) has attested
• C) is attesting
• D) attest

Question 24 · Boundaries — Punctuation

During the English neoclassical period (1660-1789), many writers imitated the epic poetry and satires of ancient Greece and Rome. They were not the first in England to adopt the literary modes of classical ______ some of the most prominent figures of the earlier Renaissance period were also influenced by ancient Greek and Roman literature. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) antiquity, however
• B) antiquity, however,
• C) antiquity, however;
• D) antiquity; however,

Question 25 · Boundaries — Verb Form

English poet and Shakespeare contemporary John Donne's ______ much admired during his lifetime (1572-1631) and in the decades that followed, had, at the time of their enthusiastic rediscovery by the early twentieth-century modernists, been essentially gathering dust for the intervening 250 years. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) works were
• B) works, were
• C) works,
• D) works had been

Question 26 · Boundaries — Punctuation

Compared to that of alumina glass, ______ silica glass atoms are so far apart that they are unable to re-form bonds after being separated. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

• A) silica glass is at a significant disadvantage due to its more dispersed atomic arrangement:
• B) silica glass has a more dispersed atomic arrangement, resulting in a significant disadvantage:
• C) a significant disadvantage of silica glass is that its atomic arrangement is more dispersed:
• D) silica glass's atomic arrangement is more dispersed, resulting in a significant disadvantage:

Question 27 · Transitions

In November 1934, Amrita Sher-Gil was living in what must have seemed like the ideal city for a young artist: Paris. She was studying firsthand the color-saturated style of France's modernist masters and beginning to make a name for herself as a painter. ______ Sher-Gil longed to return to her childhood home of India; only there, she believed, could her art truly flourish. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A) Still,
• B) Therefore,
• C) Indeed,
• D) Furthermore,

Question 28 · Transitions

In 1974, Mexican chemist Mario Molina and US chemist F. Sherwood Rowland discovered that chemicals called CFCs were harmful to the ozone layer. Their research was extremely influential in the fight against CFCs. ______ it laid the foundation for a 1987 treaty that phased out the use of CFCs across the globe. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A) Regardless,
• B) Specifically,
• C) However,
• D) Earlier,

Question 29 · Transitions

With his room-sized installation Unicorn/My Private Sky, Norwegian artist Borre Saethre succeeds in creating a whimsical yet perplexing experience. ______ when visitors set foot inside the fantastically blue room and encounter the life-sized stuffed unicorn preening at the far end of it, they are both dazzled and confused — as if stepping into a strange and enchanting new world. Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

• A) Second,
• B) Instead,
• C) Indeed,
• D) Nevertheless,

Question 30 · Rhetorical Synthesis

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike was a road built between 1792 and 1794. It was the first private turnpike in the United States. It connected the cities of Philadelphia and Lancaster in the state of Pennsylvania. It was sixty-two miles long. The student wants to emphasize the distance covered by the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A) The sixty-two-mile-long Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike connected the Pennsylvania cities of Philadelphia and Lancaster.
• B) The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike was the first private turnpike in the United States.
• C) The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which connected two Pennsylvania cities, was built between 1792 and 1794.
• D) A historic Pennsylvania road, the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike was completed in 1794.

Question 31 · Rhetorical Synthesis

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Most, but not all, of the Moon's oxygen comes from the Sun, via solar wind. Cosmochemist Kentaro Terada from Osaka University wondered if some of the unaccounted-for oxygen could be coming from Earth. In 2008, he analyzed data from the Japanese satellite Kaguya. Kaguya gathered data about gases and particles it encountered while orbiting the Moon. Based on the Kaguya data, Terada confirmed his suspicion that Earth is sending oxygen to the Moon. The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A) As it orbited the Moon, the Kaguya satellite collected data that was later analyzed by cosmochemist Kentaro Terada.
• B) Before 2008, Kentaro Terada wondered if the Moon was receiving some of its oxygen from Earth.
• C) Cosmochemist Kentaro Terada set out to determine whether some of the Moon's oxygen was coming from Earth.
• D) Kentaro Terada's study determined that Earth is sending a small amount of oxygen to the Moon.

Question 32 · Rhetorical Synthesis

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: The factors that affect clutch size (the number of eggs laid at one time) have been well studied in birds but not in lizards. A team led by Shai Meiri of Tel Aviv University investigated which factors influence lizard clutch size. Meiri's team obtained clutch-size and habitat data for over 3,900 lizard species and analyzed the data with statistical models. Larger clutch size was associated with environments in higher latitudes that have more seasonal change. Lizards in higher-latitude environments may lay larger clutches to take advantage of shorter windows of favorable conditions. The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A) Researchers wanted to know which factors influence lizard egg clutch size because such factors have been well studied in birds but not in lizards.
• B) After they obtained data for over 3,900 lizard species, researchers determined that larger clutch size was associated with environments in higher latitudes that have more seasonal change.
• C) We now know that lizards in higher-latitude environments may lay larger clutches to take advantage of shorter windows of favorable conditions.
• D) Researchers obtained clutch-size and habitat data for over 3,900 lizard species and analyzed the data with statistical models.

Question 33 · Rhetorical Synthesis

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: British musicians John Lennon and Paul McCartney shared writing credit for numerous Beatles songs. Many Lennon-McCartney songs were actually written by either Lennon or McCartney, not by both. The exact authorship of specific parts of many Beatles songs, such as the verse for 'In My Life,' is disputed. Mark Glickman, Jason Brown, and Ryan Song used statistical methods to analyze the musical content of Beatles songs. They concluded that there is 18.9% probability that McCartney wrote the verse for 'In My Life,' stating that the verse is 'consistent with Lennon's songwriting style.' The student wants to make a generalization about the kind of study conducted by Glickman, Brown, and Song. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A) Based on statistical analysis, Glickman, Brown, and Song claim that John Lennon wrote the verse of 'In My Life.'
• B) There is only an 18.9% probability that Paul McCartney wrote the verse for 'In My Life'; John Lennon is the more likely author.
• C) It is likely that John Lennon, not Paul McCartney, wrote the verse for 'In My Life.'
• D) Researchers have used statistical methods to address questions of authorship within the field of music.