SAT Inferences (Hard) - English – Real Collegeboard Practice Questions with Answers and Explanations

Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically completes the text’s discussion of the different counts of species in the Mediterranean Sea. The text states that Coll and colleagues reported almost double the number of species that Bianchi and Morri reported in their study ten years earlier. According to the text, this difference can only be partly attributed to new invertebrate species being described in the years between the two studies, which means there must be an additional factor that made Coll and colleagues’ count so much higher than Bianchi and Morri’s count. The text goes on to explain that factor: researchers have a relatively poor understanding of microorganisms’ morphological variability, or the differences in microorganisms’ structure and form. This poor understanding makes it hard to classify microorganisms by species and means that researchers’ decisions about classifying microorganisms can have a large effect on the overall species counts that researchers report. Additionally, the text says that the two censuses reported similar numbers of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, which means that the difference in overall species did not come from differences in those categories. Given all this information, it most logically follows that Coll and colleagues may have treated some of the differences among microorganisms as indicative of the microorganisms being different species, whereas Bianchi and Morri treated those differences as variations within species, resulting in Coll and colleagues reporting many more species than Bianchi and Morri did. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Inferences Difficulty Choice A is incorrect because the text explicitly addresses this issue by stating that the description of new invertebrate species in the years between the two studies can explain only part of the difference in the number of species reported by the studies. The focus of the text is on explaining the difference between Coll and colleagues’ count and Bianchi and Morri’s count that cannot be accounted for by the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Bianchi and Morri’s study. Choice C is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to how much the form and structure of microorganisms vary within the same species than Coll and colleagues were. If Bianchi and Morri had been less sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, Bianchi and Morri would likely have reported more species than Coll and colleagues did, since less sensitivity to within-species variation would lead researchers to classify as different species microorganisms that more sensitive researchers would classify as variations within the same species. The text indicates, however, that Bianchi and Morri reported far fewer species than Coll and colleagues did; since the text also excludes other explanations for this difference, it suggests that in fact Bianchi and Morri were more sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, leading Bianchi and Morri to report fewer overall species. Choice D is incorrect because the text is focused on explaining why Coll and colleagues reported many more species than Bianchi and Morri did, and an underestimate of the number of microorganism species by Coll and colleagues would not explain that difference—it would suggest, in fact, that the difference in the number of species should have been even larger.

Choice B is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text tells us that disruptions to an enjoyable experience increase viewers’ enjoyment. It also says that researchers suspect the opposite is true for disruptions to an unpleasant experience. Thus, we can infer that the researchers expect to find that the interrupted unpleasant experience was worse for listeners than the uninterrupted unpleasant experience. Choice A is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how irritating the disruptions themselves are perceived to be. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences. Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how long any experience is perceived to be. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences. Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how interruptions affect the perceived volume of the unpleasant or pleasant experience. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences.

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Euro-American farmers’ use of Haudenosaunee agricultural techniques. According to the text, some Euro-American farmers were using these techniques in the early nineteenth century despite few of the farmers having seen Haudenosaunee farms. One explanation for these facts might be that the farmers developed techniques on their own that already had been invented centuries earlier by the Haudenosaunee people, but the text explicitly bars, or rules out, this explanation. If Euro-American farmers didn’t learn these techniques from direct observation of Haudenosaunee practices and didn’t invent the techniques independently, then the most logical explanation is that they learned the techniques from other people who were more directly influenced by Haudenosaunee practices than the farmers themselves were. Once they learned about Haudenosaunee agricultural practices, Euro-American farmers could then apply those practices to their own farming. Choice B is incorrect because the fact that some Euro-American farmers in the northeastern United States were using Haudenosaunee techniques suggests that the techniques were likely useful for the crops the farmers raised, not that the crops typically cultivated by the farmers were not well suited to Haudenosaunee farming techniques. If the farmers’ crops were ill suited to the techniques, it’s unlikely that the farmers would have used those techniques. Choice C is incorrect because the text indicates only that Haudenosaunee agricultural techniques were used by Euro-American farmers in the northeastern United States, not that these techniques were widely used outside this region. Choice D is incorrect because the text states that some Euro-American farmers were using Haudenosaunee farming techniques early in the nineteenth century. This suggests that some Euro-American farmers were beginning to recognize the benefits of these techniques near the start of the century, not that such farmers only began to recognize the benefits of the techniques much later. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Inferences Difficulty

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.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of scholars’ understanding of Maya ecology and agricultural marketplaces. The text indicates that scholars used to believe that during the Classic period, the Maya civilization didn’t have agricultural marketplaces. According to the text, scholars held this view because they misunderstood the ecology of areas where the Maya lived. The text points out that people tend to create marketplaces in order to acquire resources they don’t otherwise control. Agricultural marketplaces would have allowed farmers who produced one type of crop to trade that crop for other types of crops that they didn’t produce. The text goes on to say, however, that scholars underestimated the ecological diversity of the Maya areas, meaning that scholars thought that the Maya landscape produced a smaller range of resources than it actually produced. Taken together, then, this information suggests that scholars assumed that marketplaces wouldn’t have allowed Maya people to acquire products different from the products they already produced: that is, if everyone produced the same array of crops, as scholars mistakenly believed, then there wouldn’t have been any need for marketplaces where people could trade those crops. Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t say anything about trade between the Maya and people from outside the regions controlled by the Maya. Although scholars’ mistaken belief that the Maya lands weren’t very ecologically diverse would give those scholars a reason to think that the Maya didn’t have marketplaces, it wouldn’t lead scholars to assume that traders from outside Maya lands were uninterested in acquiring resources produced by the Maya. Even if the Maya actually did produce only a small array of resources throughout their lands, there is no reason to believe from the text that people outside Maya lands also produced these same resources and thus would have no need to trade with the Maya people. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Inferences Difficulty Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that scholars underestimated the ecological diversity of the Maya lands, which suggests that they mistakenly believed that the Maya produced a relatively small array of resources throughout their territory, not that the crops the Maya produced varied significantly throughout the Maya lands. Although the scholars might have assumed that a lack of ecological diversity suggests that Maya farming practices were largely the same everywhere, the text does not support that they also assumed there was a lot of variation in the crops that Maya people produced. In fact, the text states that marketplaces emerge when people want to obtain resources they don’t already control. If it were the case that scholars assumed that the crops Maya people produced varied significantly, this would have led them to conclude that Maya people likely established marketplaces so they could trade for resources they didn’t already possess, not that the Maya civilization lacked marketplaces. Choice D is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that scholars assumed that farmers wouldn’t trade their agricultural products unless they had already met their own needs with those products. Instead, the text says that scholars thought that the Maya lands produced a smaller array of resources than they actually did, which the text suggests led scholars to assume that the Maya didn’t have any need for marketplaces. The scholars’ mistaken belief has no bearing on the issue of whether farmers met their own needs before trading their products.

Choice D is the best answer. Cooling magma would create basalt, but “a planetary surface that formed in a mostly basaltic environment would be unlikely to contain large amounts of silica.” Since Mars’s crust does contain large amounts of silica, it is unlikely that Mars’s crust was formed exclusively by cooling magma. Therefore, there were likely other major geological events that created the high silica concentrations. Choice A is incorrect. Although the passage discusses these two methods of collecting data about Mars’s crust, it never compares their reliability, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice B is incorrect. The passage never mentions anything about the crusts of other planets, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage never mentions Earth’s crust, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice A is the best answer. The HST will operate until at least 2030, but it’s only observing stuff inside our solar system 6% of the time. If we could get a different telescope to observe stuff inside our solar system 100% of the time and take more extensive images of certain things, then the HST could continue to be used mainly for observing stuff outside the solar system. Choice B is incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported by the text. Even if the new telescope is deployed, the HST might still be used as it’s being used now. Based on the text, the new telescope would just be used for more extensive and long-term imaging of solar system bodies, which doesn’t necessarily overlap with the HST. Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never mentions the possibility of modifying the HST, so there is no basis to make this inference. Rather, the researchers suggest using a different telescope to more closely observe certain objects. Choice D is incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported. The text doesn’t give us enough info to assume that the HST lacks any particular sensors.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Johny Isla and the whalelike geoglyph. The text indicates that the German exhibit about the Nazca Lines included a photograph showing a whalelike geoglyph that Isla hadn’t known about before attending the exhibit, even though Isla “specializes in” Nazca Lines geoglyphs. Given his expertise, and his surprise at being unfamiliar with the whale glyph, the text strongly suggests that Isla believed he would have noticed the glyph if he had been to its location. Thus, the text implies that the whalelike geoglyph is likely in a location Isla had not previously been to.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t address either the species of whale that the geoglyph is meant to represent or its relationship to the earliest humans in the area that is now Peru. Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that the photograph of the whalelike geoglyph was on display at a “German exhibit,” that exhibit was specifically “about the Nazca Lines,” which the text indicates are located in Peru. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text does indicate that the glyphs were created “over a period of many centuries,” the text doesn’t address when in that period of time any particular glyphs were created.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of A. mexicanus. According to the text, A. mexicanus, a river-dwelling fish species, has colonized caves. The fish that live in rivers and those that live in caves show no significant genetic differences and are all capable of making the same sounds. The text indicates, however, that Hyacinthe and colleagues found that sounds that the river fish use in a particular context and for a particular purpose are used in a different context and for a different purpose by the cave fish. Additionally, the sounds made by cave fish show some differences depending on the specific cave the fish inhabit. The text goes on to state that Hyacinthe and colleagues have noted that differences in how the fish use sound to communicate could eventually become so great that they prevent fish from different locations from interbreeding. In other words, the river fish might eventually only breed with other river fish (with whom they share characteristics regarding sonic communication that they do not share with cave fish), while the cave fish might only breed with other cave fish for a similar reason. In context, this observation suggests that even though the fish are a single species right now, they could be in the process of splitting into distinct populations with different characteristics. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Inferences Difficulty Choice A is incorrect because there is no information in the text suggesting that the river fish are less reliant on sonic communication than the cave fish are. Although the text does indicate that the river fish and cave fish are genetically similar, the text describes both groups as using sonic communication and says nothing to indicate that one group depends on that communication more than the other group does. Choice C is incorrect. The text states that all members of the species can emit the same sounds but that the function and context of sounds differ depending on whether the fish live in rivers or caves, but it does not indicate that river fish produce sounds that cave fish do not or vice versa. Choice D is incorrect because it contradicts the text. The text says that there is little genetic difference between the river fish and the cave fish, not that the river fish and cave fish are so genetically distinct that they can be considered separate species.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the relationship between Indigenous languages and knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants. The text states that Indigenous cultures possess special knowledge of the medicinal uses of plants, which is reflected in their vocabulary. The text then discusses how tribal nations are working to preserve their languages, whose daily use is declining as globally dominant languages become increasingly dominant in Indigenous communities. Given that the languages of tribal nations in what is now the United States function as repositories of knowledge about plants’ medicinal uses, it logically follows that continued use of those languages will assist with passing on knowledge about the medicinal value of plants native to the tribal nations’ lands. Choice A is incorrect because the text states that preserving Indigenous languages will increase the knowledge, not the number, of medicinal plants. Choice B is incorrect because the text is concerned with how vocabulary about the medicinal value of plants can be preserved through the continued daily use of Indigenous languages, not with how such vocabulary can be incorporated into globally dominant, non-Indigenous languages. Moreover, the text explains that the exclusive use of globally dominant languages in Indigenous communities comes at an expense to the continued daily use of those communities’ languages. Given this relationship, it is unlikely globally dominant languages would borrow Indigenous vocabulary pertaining to plants’ medicinal uses. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t discuss physical access to medicinal plants, instead focusing on Indigenous knowledge and language surrounding the medicinal uses of plants.

Choice B is the best answer. We’re told that point-of-view shots and “invisible editing” make audiences identify with a character. We’re also told that obvious editing and a lack of point-of-view shots have the opposite effect. Since the sequence in The Birds falls into this second category, it should have the effect of reducing the audience’s connection with the protagonist. Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention viewers’ awareness of artifice (i.e., camera trickery) in films, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention the director at all, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage doesn’t discuss whether a film’s “stylistic attributes” may distract viewers from the film’s story, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice A is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text says that some scientists can’t explain why prolonged deep sleep is so widespread, given that the known benefits of sleep don’t seem to make up for how vulnerable it leaves an animal. This suggests that prolonged deep sleep probably has unknown evolutionary benefits that make up for the vulnerability.

Choice B is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text only discusses the benefits and risks of one trait: sleep. So there’s no basis for an inference about “most traits.” Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text says that it is already known that prolonged deep sleep is widespread in the animal kingdom. Rather, what some scientists can’t explain is WHY prolonged deep sleep is so widespread, given that the known benefits of sleep don’t seem to make up for how vulnerable it leaves an animal. Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text only discusses the benefits and risks of one trait: sleep. So there’s no basis for an inference about “many traits.”

Choice B is the best answer. Air travel usually requires much more “lead time” than train travel, so short flights end up taking the same amount of time as a train trip to the same destination. But train travel starts to need more “lead time” when the trains approach their capacity limits. This suggests that train companies should add more trains for these routes if they want to encourage travelers to take a train instead of a plane. Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses “long-haul routes” for either air travel or rail travel, so there is no basis to make this inference. Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text only mentions these procedures to explain why the “lead time” is so long for air travel. It never suggests that trains need to start implementing these procedures too. Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The goal is to make sure that trains “remain a viable alternative” to short flights, which suggests that anything that makes train travel take longer should be avoided.

Choice A is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text argues that Tanner and his contemporaries may have been unfamiliar with modern beliefs and values. This suggests that scholars who attribute those modern values to Tanner’s painting are risking judging the painting by standards that are not historically accurate. Choice B is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text argues that Tanner AND his contemporaries may have been unfamiliar with modern views. It never suggests that Tanner’s views were different from his contemporaries’ views. Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never suggests that scholars should analyze Tanner’s political activity instead of his painting. Rather, the text argues that Tanner and his contemporaries may have been unfamiliar with modern beliefs and values. Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never suggests that Tanner wanted to critique his contemporaries with his painting. Rather, the text argues that Tanner AND his contemporaries may have been unfamiliar with modern beliefs and values.

Choice B is the best answer. The passage explains that heliographs “were largely effective only during the daytime” and that “the range of the device depended on factors such as the opacity of the air and line of sight.” These constraints would have greatly limited the use of the heliograph, so we can infer that this would have been a reason to replace it with new technology. Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t discuss the production and maintenance of heliographs, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention any “other purposes” that a heliograph wouldn’t work for, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention knowledge of Morse code as a particular problem with the use of heliographs, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of aerogels. The text states that aerogels—highly porous foams—offer "excellent insulation" but typically break down after prolonged exposure to high heat. However, according to the text, Duan and colleagues developed an aerogel that "contracts rather than expands when heated" and recovers its original volume after this contraction. Thus, it is logical to conclude that Duan’s team’s aerogel material will be less prone to the structural weakness that caused earlier aerogels to break down. Choice A is incorrect. Although the text indicates that aerogels consist "mainly of tiny air pockets within a solidified gel," it doesn’t mention the number or proportion of air pockets to solidified gel in typical aerogels or in the aerogel developed by Duan’s team. Choice B is incorrect because the text suggests that the aerogel developed by Duan’s team has a higher, not a lower, ability to withstand exposure to intense heat due to its contraction and subsequent recovery. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text discusses temperature tolerances of aerogels and says that they offer "excellent insulation despite typically being brittle and eventually fracturing," it doesn’t discuss how different rates of temperature change can affect aerogels.

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.

Choice B is the best answer. ​​Whitten thinks the tool made “one gesture” paintings, while historians think the tool “removed gesture” from the process completely. But putting that debate aside, both Whitten and the historians would agree that the paintings he made with the tool in the ’70s have way fewer gestures than his paintings from the ’60s, in which gestures are “prevalent,” meaning widely and extensively present. Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text only discusses the “developer”—it never mentions other tools. Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. If anything, the text suggests the opposite: that Whitten became more interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed, as his earlier paintings had many gestures, and his ’70s paintings only had “one gesture.” Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses the “realism” of Whitten’s art.

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.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text. The text explains that while desert moss species need sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis, exposure to sunlight can also affect the plants negatively by drying them out. Ekwealor and Fisher’s team found specimens of S. caninervis moss growing under quartz crystals that were semitransparent, allowing some but not all sunlight to pass through them, and the shoot tissue of these specimens was longer than that of S. caninervis specimens found growing on the surface that were unprotected by such crystals. Since, as the text explains, the length of shoot tissue is an indicator of plant growth, and since greater exposure to sunlight results in greater loss of moisture, it can be inferred that S. caninervis growing under quartz crystals experience lower light intensity and are thus able to retain more moisture. Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t mention another moss species besides S. caninervis or discuss whether other such species are able to grow under transparent crystals, as S. caninervis is. Choice B is incorrect because, as the text explains, specimens of S. caninervis were found growing under quartz crystals and exhibited more plant growth than specimens growing on the soil surface. This wouldn’t have been the case if the crystals transmitted insufficient light for the moss’s photosynthesis. Choice D is incorrect. The text contrasts the growth of S. caninervis specimens found beneath semitransparent quartz crystals with that of specimens found on the soil surface absent such crystals, but it doesn’t make a comparison among specimens growing beneath crystals of different degrees of thickness or consider how the relative thickness of the crystals affects the growth of the moss.

Choice B is the best answer. Since resin casting “inevitably requires destroying the burrow,” it would be impossible to make multiple castings of the same burrow over time. Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t discuss size requirements for completing resin casting, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage never mentions how long the casting process takes nor how long A. bellulus takes to construct a borrow, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage never states that recovering the model distorts the resin’s shape, only that it destroys the burrow. Therefore, there’s no basis for this inference.